Proverbs 11:19

19 He that is stedfast in righteousness [shall attain] unto life; And he that pursueth evil [doeth it] to his own death.

Proverbs 11:19 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 11:19

As righteousness [tendeth] to life
Or, is unto life: not mere outward acts of moral righteousness; these may be done where there is no principle of spiritual life, and are no other than dead works, and will never bring to everlasting life; indeed the best righteousness of man's is no justification of life, nor can it entitle to it, nor is meritorious of it. Godliness, or true holiness, has the promise of this life and that to come, ( 1 Timothy 4:8 ) ; and so here in the Hebrew text it is, "unto lives" F24, in the plural number. Internal grace, or powerful godliness, which is the new man that is created in righteousness, gives a meetness for everlasting life, and issues in it; particularly the righteousness of Christ, as that is a perfectly justifying one; it makes a man alive in a law sense, and gives a title and claim to eternal life; so he that pursueth evil [pursueth it] to his own death;
or, it is "to his own death"; it issues in that: not he that is overtaken in a fault, or falls into sin through the infirmity of the flesh and the force of temptation, but such who eagerly follow after it and overtake it; who give up themselves unto it, weary themselves in committing it, draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope; these often by their sins bring diseases upon them, which end in a corporeal death; or by means of which they come into the hand of the civil magistrate, and are capitally punished; and, however, die the second death, or an eternal one, the just wages of sin, ( Romans 6:23 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F24 (Myyxl) "ad vitas", Montanus.

Proverbs 11:19 In-Context

17 The merciful man doeth good to his own soul; But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
18 The wicked earneth deceitful wages; But he that soweth righteousness [hath] a sure reward.
19 He that is stedfast in righteousness [shall attain] unto life; And he that pursueth evil [doeth it] to his own death.
20 They that are perverse in heart are an abomination to Jehovah; But such as are perfect in [their] way are his delight.
21 [Though] hand [join] in hand, the evil man shall not be unpunished; But the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.