Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 19:12
The king’s wrath [is] as the roaring of a lion; but his favor [is] as dew upon the grass.
12. as dew upon the grass ] Comp. Pro 16:15; Psa 72:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 12. The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion] There is nothing more dreadful than the roaring of this tyrant of the forest. At the sound of it all other animals tremble, flee away, and hide themselves. The king who is above law, and rules without law, and whose will is his own law, is like the lion. This is strongly descriptive of the character of Asiatic sovereigns.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
12. (Compare Pro 16:14;Pro 16:15; Pro 20:2).A motive to submission to lawful authority.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The king’s wrath [is] as the roaring of a lion,…. Which is very terrible when hungry, and is after its prey, and has got it. Kings, especially tyrannical ones, are compared to lions; as Nebuchadnezzar by Jeremiah, Jer 4:17; and Nero by the Apostle Paul, 2Ti 4:7; and the rage of such is very dreadful, as Ahasuerus’s was to Haman. Jarchi interprets the king, of the holy blessed God. It may be applied to Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah; who is said to cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth; and whose wrath is terrible to wicked men, and even to the kings of the earth, Re 5:5;
but his favour [is] as dew upon the grass; which refreshes and revives it, and causes it to grow and flourish: and so the favour and good will of a king to his subjects delights them, and causes joy and cheerfulness in them; and such an effect has the love of God and Christ on the children of men, Ho 14:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12 A murmuring as of a lion is the wrath of the king,
And as dew on plants is his favour.
Line 1 is a variation of Pro 20:2; line 2a of Pro 16:15. is not the being irritated against another, but generally ill-humour, fretfulness, bad humour; the murmuring or growling in which this state of mind expresses itself is compared to that of a lion which, growling, prepares and sets itself to fall upon its prey ( vid., Isa 5:29, cf. Amo 3:4). Opposed to the stands the beneficial effect of the , i.e., of the pleasure, the delight, the satisfaction, the disposition which shows kindness (lxx ). In the former case all are afraid; in the latter, everything lives, as when the refreshing dew falls upon the herbs of the field. The proverb presents a fact, but that the king may mirror himself in it.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
12 The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
This is to the same purport with what we had Pro 16:14; Pro 16:15, and the design of it is, 1. To make kings wise and considerate in dispensing their frowns and smiles. They are not like those of common persons; their frowns are very terrible and their smiles very comfortable, and therefore it concerns them to be very careful that they never frighten a good man from doing well with their frowns, nor ever give countenance to a wicked man in doing ill with their smiles, for then they abuse their influence, Rom. xiii. 3. 2. To make subjects faithful and dutiful to their princes. Let them be restrained from all disloyalty by the consideration of the dreadful consequence of having the government against them; and let them be encouraged in all good services to the public by the hopes of the favour of their prince. Christ is a King whose wrath against his enemies will be as the roaring of a lion (Rev. x. 3) and his favour to his own people as the refreshing dew, Ps. lxxii. 6.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Power of Authority
Verse 12 emphasizes the power of one in authority to afflict or favor. Proverbs has counsel for superior and subordinate. Authority is a fact of life and should not be needlessly provoked, Pro 16:14; Pro 19:12; Pro 20:2. The superior is subject to divine law and will answer to the LORD for the way his authority is exercised, Pro 16:12; Pro 20:28; Pro 29:4; Pro 29:14; 2Sa 23:3.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. King’s wrath The verse presents a striking picture of an Oriental despot, on whose smile or frown life or death depends. The word rendered lion means a young lion, said to be the strongest and fiercest. Comp. Pro 16:14; Pro 20:2; Pro 28:15. For the figure of dew, comp. Pro 16:15; Psa 72:6.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 12. The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 19:12 The king’s wrath [is] as the roaring of a lion; but his favour [is] as dew upon the grass.
Ver. 12. The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion.] Heb., Of a young lion, which, being in his prime, roars more terribly; sets up his roar with such a force that he amazeth the other creatures whom he hunteth, so that, though far swifter of foot than the lion, they have no power to fly from him. a Kings have long hands, strong clutches. Good therefore is the wise man’s counsel in Ecc 8:2-4 . See Trapp on “ Pro 16:14 “ See Trapp on “ Pro 16:15 “
a Ambros., Hexs., lib. vi. cap. 5.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
dew = night mist.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 19:12
Pro 19:12
“The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; But his favor is as dew upon the grass.”
The thought here is parallel to Pro 15:14-16.
Pro 19:12. Numerous passages compare a kings wrath to a roaring lion: Pro 20:2; Pro 16:14; Pro 28:15. Pro 16:25 also compares a kings favor to refreshing moisture. Geike: The secret of the luxuriant fertility of many parts of Palestine lies in the rich supply of moisture afforded by the sea-winds which blow inland each night and water the face of the whole land…From May till October rain is unknown, the sun shining with unclouded brightness day after day. The heat becomes intense, the ground hard; and vegetation would perish but for the moist west winds that come each night from the sea. The bright skies cause the heat of the day to radiate very quickly into space so that the nights are as cold as day is the reverse…To this coldness of the night air the indispensable watering of all plant-life is due. The winds, loaded with moisture, are robbed of it as they pass over the land, the cold air condensing it into drops of water, which fall in a gracious rain of mist on every thirsty blade…The amount of moisture thus poured on the thirsty vegetation during the night is very great.
Dew seemed to the Israelites a mysterious gift of Heaven, as indeed it is. That the skies should be stayed from yielding it was a special sign of Divine wrath…The favor of an Oriental monarch could not be more beneficially conceived than by saying that while his wrath is like the roaring of a lion, his favor is as the dew upon the grass.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
king’s: Pro 16:14, Pro 16:15, Pro 20:2, Pro 28:15, Est 7:8, Ecc 8:4, Dan 2:12, Dan 2:13, Dan 3:19-23, Dan 5:19, Dan 6:24, Luk 12:4, Luk 12:5
his: 2Sa 23:4, Psa 72:6, Hos 14:5
Reciprocal: Gen 40:2 – wroth Gen 44:18 – as Pharaoh Exo 2:14 – Moses Deu 33:13 – the dew 1Sa 20:30 – Saul’s 2Sa 19:2 – turned Est 1:12 – was the king Est 7:7 – for he saw Psa 7:2 – like Pro 14:35 – king’s Pro 19:6 – will Eze 19:7 – and the land Zec 8:12 – the heavens Eph 4:31 – wrath 1Pe 5:8 – as Rev 10:3 – loud
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 19:12. The kings wrath is as the roaring of a lion The words of a king in anger are as much to be feared as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass Any token of his favour and kindness is as comfortable as the dew which refreshes the grass and herbs, parched by the hot beams of the sun.