Proverbs 12:12
Read Proverbs 12:12 Using Other Translations
What does Proverbs 12:12 mean?
The wicked desireth the net of evil [men]
To be master of all the wicked arts and methods evil men use to
ensnare and oppress others; to get them and their substance into
their hands; or "desireth the evil net", as the Targum; the evil
net of antichrist, which he lays for the poor, whom he draws into
it and catches them; see ( Psalms 10:9 ) . Jarchi
understands it of "hunting" F20 and of wicked men desiring
to be fed and nourished with what evil men get by hunting;
compare with this ( Ezekiel
13:18-21 ) . Some render it the "fortress" or "strong hold"
F21 of evil men, in which they fortify
and secure themselves to do mischief to others, and to prevent
any besieging them, so Gersom; and this is what all wicked men
are desirous of; but the root of the righteous yieldeth
[fruit];
or "shall give" F23 that; that security and protection
from real evil and mischief which the wicked cannot obtain; or
he, that is, God, "shall give the righteous root" F24,
firmly fix them that they shall not be moved; or as we supply it,
and so Aben Ezra, "yieldeth fruit", much more desirable than the
net of evil men the wicked covet: righteous men are compared to
trees, they are called "trees of righteousness", ( Isaiah 61:3 ) ; these
have a root in the love of God, in the person of Christ, and in
the grace of the Spirit, and this root yieldeth fruit; the love
of God is the root and source of all good things, of all the
blessings of grace, of the fruit of grace, faith, hope, and love,
and of evangelical obedience; the person of Christ is the source
of all spiritual blessings, of salvation and eternal life; the
righteous have their being in him as a root; they are bore by
him, have all their life, grace, holiness, fruitfulness, and
perseverance therein, from him; and the grace of the Spirit in
the heart, which is the root of the matter, the hidden man of the
heart, from hence are fruits meet for faith and repentance, and
good works, which are both pleasant and profitable. The Targum
is,
``the root of the righteous shall remain, or be established;''see ( Proverbs 12:3 ) .
F20 (dwum) "venationem", Munster, Schultens; "venatum", Tigurine version.
F21 "Praesidium", Mercerus, Junius & Tremelllus, Piscator.
F23 (Nty) "dabit", Pagninus, Montanus, Baynus, Mercerus.
F24 "Radicem justorum dabit Deus", Gejerus, Michaelis.
