Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 21:15

[It is] joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction [shall be] to the workers of iniquity.

15. destruction shall be] There is no necessity for inserting the words shall be. The subject may be continued from the preceding clause but it (sc. to do judgement) is a destruction to (in the estimation of) the workers of iniquity. It is the ruin, they think, of all their prospects. Comp. Pro 10:29.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Pro 21:15

It is joy to the just to do Judgment.

The pleasure of doing right

The text virtually says, When good magistrates discharge their trust faithfully, and execute justice impartially, all honest and good men are greatly rejoiced at it, but it brings a sore terror and consternation upon the workers of iniquity.

I. It is a great pleasure to a just man to do justice.

1. Because it is acting according to his own inclinations. It is always pleasant to a man to pursue the natural or habitual inclinations of his mind. Even evil and naughty inclinations make it pleasant in some degree for the time to act according to them.

2. Because he knows that he does well in so doing, and that his action is approved by Almighty God.

3. Because of the assured hope it gives him of Gods favour, who is evermore a lover and rewarder of the upright.

4. Because it is a high honour done him by Almighty God to be employed in doing part of His work. For it is God that is the great doer of justice to all His creatures.

II. It is a great pleasure to the spectators, if they be righteous and good men, to see good magistrates faithfully discharging their duty in the execution of justice.

1. Because this is a thing so very necessary and so beneficial to mankind.

2. There are some particular eases wherein it is more especially a pleasant thing to do justice or to see it well done.

III. The execution of justice is terrible to evil-doers. It must needs be so, since it is they who suffer by it.

IV. Injustice and wickedness will most certainly bring a man to ruin without repentance. In this world it cannot otherwise be but some will escape from justice, as it is executed by men. There is One above whom no man can deceive, none can bribe, who will not fail to do right to all. This doctrine will afford us motives sufficient to the duties which all or any of us are now called to.

1. To choose such a magistrate as we believe will be faithful to the trust reposed in him.

2. To discharge the great trust of magistracy accordingly, and so as to answer the hopes and expectations of good men.

3. To be aiding and assisting in the doing thereof, which is every ones duty as he has ability and opportunity.

4. To behave ourselves so that a good magistrate faithfully discharging his trust may be no terror, but a joy and comfort to us. (Samuel Barton, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

It is joy to the just: the sense is either,

1. He is highly pleased and delighted with it. Or,

2. He reapeth much comfort and benefit by it, which is opposed to the following destruction: joy is put for matter or cause of joy.

To do judgment; to do what is just or good, for this is opposed to working of iniquity.

Destruction; or, as others render it, terror or horror, opposite to joy.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

15. But the just love right andneed no bribes. The wicked at last meet destruction, though for atime happy in concealing corruption.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

[It is] joy to the, last to do judgment,…. It is with pleasure he does it; he delights in the law of God, after the inward man, and finds much peace of mind and joy in the Holy Ghost in keeping it, and observing its commands, which are holy, just, and good; yea, it gives him pleasure to see justice done by others; both by private persons in their dealings with one another; and especially by judges putting the laws in execution, as their office requires; whereby much good comes to a nation in general, and to particular persons;

but destruction [shall be] to the workers of iniquity; that make a trade of sinning; whose whole life is a continued series of sin and iniquity; who take much pains in committing sin, and are constant at it; everlasting destruction is in their ways, and they lead unto it: or, “terror” a shall be to them; terror of mind now at times, in opposition to the joy and peace a good man finds; and dreadful horror at death and to all eternity: or, as it is joy to a just man to see public justice done, and good laws put in execution, it is a terror to evildoers, Ro 13:3.

a “pavor”, V. L. “horror”, Tigurine version; “terror”, Vatablus, Mercerus; “consternatio”, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

15 It is a joy to the just to do justice,

And a terror for them that work iniquity.

To act according to the law of rectitude is to these as unto death; injustice has become to them a second nature, so that their heart strives against rectitude of conduct; it also enters to little into their plan of life, and their economy, that they are afraid of ruining themselves thereby. So we believe, with Hitzig, Elster, Zckler, and Luther, this must be explained in accordance with our interpretation of Pro 10:29. Fleischer and others supplement the second parallel member from the first: ; others render 15b as an independent sentence: ruin falls on those who act wickedly. But that ellipsis is hard and scarcely possible; but in general , as contrasted correlate to , can scarcely have the pure objective sense of ruin or destruction. It must mean a revolution in the heart. Right-doing is to the righteous a pleasure (cf. Pro 10:23); and for those who have , and are devoid of moral worth, and thus simply immoral as to the aim and sphere of their conduct, right-doing is something which alarms them: when they act in conformity with what is right, they do so after an external impulse only against their will, as if it were death to them.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

      15 It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

      Note, 1. It is a pleasure and satisfaction to good men both to see justice administered by the government they live under, right taking place and iniquity suppressed, and also to practise it themselves, according as their sphere is. They no only do justice, but do it with pleasure, not only for fear of shame, but for love of virtue. 2. It is a terror to wicked men to see the laws put in execution against vice and profaneness. It is destruction to them; as it is also a vexation to them to be forced, either for the support of their credit or for fear of punishment, to do judgment themselves. Or, if we take it as we read it, the meaning is, There is true pleasure in the practice of religion, but certain destruction at the end of all vicious courses.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Two Sides of Justice

Verse 15 suggests that it is joy to the righteous when justice is done; but such is fearful to the wicked because justice means punishment or destruction for them, Pro 10:29; Pro 29:1; Psa 1:4-6; Psa 18:2; Psa 28:7.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES.

Pro. 21:15. Shall be. These words are not in the original, and destroy the sense, which is that justice is joy to the good, and destruction to the bad. Luther renders, It is a joy to the just to do what is right; but to the wicked a terror.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 21:15

THE JOY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

I. The just mans own character and actions give him joy. It is a matter of experience with all the righteous beings in the universe that joy comes to them from uprightness of character. The blessedness and joy of God Himself comes from His supreme and absolute righteousness, and in proportion as His creatures are conscious of partaking of His rectitude of character they feel joy. But this righteousness of character is made manifest in righteous deeds. We know that God is a righteous God by what He has done, and by what He has promised to do, and the character of righteous men is likewise manifested in their acts. From these deeds come joy to the doer. Whenever a good man is able to redress some injury, or to make right some moral wrongto put into exercise the love of right which is always latent within himhe feels joy.

II. The just man derives joy from the justice and righteousness of others. His great desire is to see the world freed from the rule of sin, with all its consequent miseries, and he hails every act of justice done as one more step towards that end. He sympathises with all those who struggle for right against might, whether with human or Satanic powers, and every victory gained by them gladdens his heart. As he is on the side of justice he has nothing to fear, but everything to gain, from the advance of justice in the world, and in the universe, and therefore he not only rejoices in the doings of other righteous men, but especially in the righteous acts of God. Knowing that everyone of them tends to bring in the rule of everlasting righteousness, and knowing that this rule will be the best possible for both the just and the unjust, and having a glad consciousness that to him it can bring nothing but good, the just dealings of God are the constant theme of his glad meditations. With the Psalmist he can sing, Seven times a day do I praise Thee, because of Thy righteous judgments (Psa. 119:164).

III. The workers of iniquity have no such source of personal joy. The name given implies their character. It is iniquitous, unequal, crooked. Their path lies quite apart from the straight road of obedience to God and justice to men, and therefore none of the flowers and fruits which grow only in the one path can be gathered upon the other. But they not only miss the joy of the just, but are active agents in creating their own misery. Sin is a destructive power. Destruction is used in two senses. A thing is destroyed when the elements which composed it cease to be, but it is also destroyed when the form which made it precious and beautiful is lost. The palace is destroyed when the earthquake lays it level with the ground, although all the stones and timbers are still there. The garment is destroyed when the fire blackens and scorches it, although the warp and woof of the fabric is still in existence. So a mans destruction is, as we understand the Word of God, not the cessation of his existence, but the loss of all that makes existence of worth to himself and others.

IV. The workers of iniquity cannot rejoice in the righteous dealings of others. The rectitude of the just man condemns them. It makes their ways look more crooked by the force of contrast, and it rebukes their consciences. It necessarily sometimes takes a more active form against them. The thief cannot joy in the law that condemns him to punishment, and is not likely to take pleasure in the character of the judge who passes sentence upon him. No godless man can rejoice in reflecting on the righteousness of God, for that righteousness fills him with terror in the present, and apprehensions concerning the future.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

Not the saints judgment; that is joy, of course: but all judgment, even the judgment of the lost. Sad doctrine that! and to mans feeling a very shameful one. But to mans reason there may be a glimpse of light. The highest joy is to be holiness; the highest holiness, the holiness of God. All judgment is built upon that. Gods holiness, therefore, being the basis upon which He condemns the lost, in that judgment which is part of the trait may be part of the joy which springs to the glorified believer.Miller.

It is joy to the just to do right; but vexation (distress, trouble) to the workers of iniquity. Such is Boothroyds rendering; and it agrees with the French. The righteous find their happiness in the ways of God,in doing the thing that is right. So far from true religionpractical godlinessbeing a source to them of irksome melancholy, it is their joy. But to the wicked it is irksome. The principle of goodness or of godliness being absent from the heart, all conformity to precept is against the grain with them. They may do what is right from compulsion, from considerations of interest, or from the constraint of conscience and fear; but pleasure in it they have noneno joy. And hence it is that amongst ungodly, worldly men, the impression and saying are so prevalent, that religion is melancholy. While the heart continues at enmity with God, all outward conformity to the will and worship of God can be nothing better than vexation,harassing and fretting to the spirit, and drawing forth the exclamation, What a weariness is it! The joy of religious and virtuous practice can only be felt where there is the inward power of religious and virtuous principle. It is a joy that can only be known by the experience of the new heart; and by the new heart it is felt to be the only joy worthy of the name. But the heart that is still a stranger to the love must be still a stranger to the joy; and the whole life of the good man must appear a life of bondage. The man who has no ear for music would regard the ecstasies of a Handel as ridiculous; but such ecstasies are not on that account the less real.Wardlaw.

Gravity is nowhere so seemly, as when it is the robe of the judgment seat; and though justice be done, yet if wantonly or lightly done, it is divested of the honour of it. Wherefore the joy which the wise man here commendeth is not the vanity, but the alacrity of the mind. That detracteth from the worth of it even in the sight of men, this addeth to it in the sight of God. Now, that which breedeth this joy is the habit of it. He that doth judgment now and then is not righteous, though he do that which is righteous. It is the constant doer of judgment that is made righteous by it, and findeth joy in the doing of it.Jermin.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(15) But destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.This may also mean, It is a terror to the workers of iniquity (to do right). They are afraid to trust such promises as Mat. 6:33. They think they will be ruined if they do not cheat their neighbours when they have an opportunity.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

15. Joy to do judgment The proper administration of justice is a “joy,” or satisfaction, to the upright.

Destruction The workers of iniquity shall be visited with terror.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments