Proverbs 24:15

15 Ambush thou not, and seek not (to bring) wickedness in the house of a just man, neither waste thou, his rest(ing) (place). (Do not thou ambush, and do not seek to bring wickedness into the house of a righteous person, nor destroy thou his resting place.)

Proverbs 24:15 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 24:15

Lay not wait, O wicked [man], against the dwelling of the
righteous
The church of God, which is the righteous man's dwelling place, and where he desires and delights to dwell; or his own dwelling house; it may be rendered, "at the dwelling of the righteous" {p}; lay not wait at his door to observe who goes in and out, and what is done there; and to watch for his halting, and take notice of his infirmities, slips, and falls, and improve them to his disadvantage; and so the Vulgate Latin version, "and lay not wait and seek ungodliness in the house of the righteous"; or lay not wait there for him, as Saul set men to watch the house of David to kill him, ( 1 Samuel 19:11 ) ; or to take an opportunity and get into it and plunder it, as follows; spoil not his resting place:
by pulling it down, or stripping it of its furniture; by robbing him of the substance in it, and thus disturbing his rest, and destroying the place of it; or the place where he lies down as a sheep in its fold, or as the shepherd in his cottage, of which the words in the text are used; and so denote that as the righteous man is like a sheep, harmless and innocent, those that lay in wait for him and spoil him are no other than wolves.


FOOTNOTES:

F16 (hwnl) "habitaculo", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus; "habitationi", Michaelis; "mansioni", Cocceius, Schultens.

Proverbs 24:15 In-Context

13 My son, eat thou honey, for it is good; and the honeycomb for it is full sweet to thy throat.
14 So and the teaching of wisdom is good to thy soul; and when thou hast found it, thou shalt have hope in the last things, and thine hope shall not perish. (And so the teaching of wisdom is good for thy soul; and when thou hast found it, thou shalt have hope unto the end, and thy hope shall never perish.)
15 Ambush thou not, and seek not (to bring) wickedness in the house of a just man, neither waste thou, his rest(ing) (place). (Do not thou ambush, and do not seek to bring wickedness into the house of a righteous person, nor destroy thou his resting place.)
16 For a just man shall fall seven times in the day, and shall rise again; but wicked men shall fall into evil. (For a righteous person shall fall seven times in a day, and shall rise up again each time; but the wicked shall fall into evil, and shall never get out of it.)
17 When thine enemy falleth, have thou not joy; and thine heart have not full out joying in his falling;
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.