Proverbs 22:23

23 for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them.^[a]

Proverbs 22:23 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 22:23

For the Lord will plead their cause
If counsellors at the bar will not, he will; if judges on the bench will not do them justice, he will; he will judge the poor of the people; he will plead their cause, and plead it thoroughly, till he has brought forth judgment unto victory: woe to the man against whom Jehovah pleads; happy the poor on whose side he is; for their Redeemer is mighty, the Lord of hosts is his name, ( Psalms 72:4 ) ( Jeremiah 50:34 ) ; and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them;
they could only spoil the poor of their goods, but the Lord can and will spoil and destroy the souls of the spoilers in hell: or, "spoil them that spoiled their soul" or "life" ^F11; that is, who spoiled them of their goods, and took away that small pittance they had, which was their life or livelihood; they shall be spoiled themselves that spoil others; the same measure they have meted out shall be measured out to them again; God will destroy them that destroy the earth, even antichrist and his followers, the oppressors of Christ's poor on earth, ( Revelation 11:18 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 (vpn mhyebq ta ebqw) "et vim faciet illis, qui animae eorum vim intulerunt", Munster, Vatablus; "et spoliabit eos qui spotiant ipsos anima", Michaelis.

Proverbs 22:23 In-Context

21 in order to teach you true and reliable words, so that you may give a dependable report to those who sent you?

22 Don't rob a poor man because he is poor, and don't crush the oppressed at the gate,

23 for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them.

24 Don't make friends with an angry man, and don't be a companion of a hot-tempered man,

25 or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

Footnotes

• [a]. Pr 23:10-11; Isa 3:13-15