Proverbs 11:31

Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(31) Behold the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth.—That is, even he shall be punished for his misdeeds, as were Jacob, Moses, David; how much more shall “the wicked and the sinner.” The LXX. translates freely, “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” a rendering adopted in 1Peter 4:18.

Benson Commentary

Proverbs 11:31. Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed — That is, chastised, or punished for his sins; which the next clause shows to be Solomon’s meaning here; in the earth — Whereby he intimates, that all the righteous man’s sufferings are confined to this world, which is an unspeakable felicity; much more the wicked and the sinner — They shall be punished much more certainly and severely, either in this life, or in the life to come; or rather, in both. Compare this verse with 1 Peter 4:18, which is a good comment upon it.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:28. The true believer is a branch of the living Vine. When those that take root in the world wither, those who are grafted into Christ shall be fruitful. 29. He that brings trouble upon himself and his family, by carelessness, or by wickedness, shall be unable to keep and enjoy what he gets, as a man is unable to hold the wind, or to satisfy himself with it. 30. The righteous are as trees of life; and their influence upon earth, like the fruits of that tree, support and nourish the spiritual life in many. 31. Even the righteous, when they offend on earth, shall meet with sharp corrections; much more will the wicked meet the due reward of their sins. Let us then seek those blessings which our Surety purchased by his sufferings and death; let us seek to copy his example, and to keep his commandments.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The sense would appear to be, "The righteous is requited, i. e., is punished for his lesser sins, or as a discipline; much more the wicked, etc." Compare 1 Peter 4:18.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

31. Behold—Thus calling attention to the illustrations (compare Pr 11:23), the sentiment of which is confirmed even in time, not excluding future rewards and punishments.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The righteous shall be recompensed, i.e. punished for his sins, as appears from the next clause; the general word being here used of this one particular, by a synecdoche. In the earth; whereby he intimates that all his sufferings are confined to this world, which is an unspeakable felicity.

Much more, they shall be punished more certainly and more severely, either in this life or in the next,

the wicked and the sinner; those who make sin their great study, and daily and most delightful exercise. Compare this verse with 1 Peter 4:18, which is a good comment upon it.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth,.... Which Aben Ezra understands of the recompence of their good works. There is a reward for the righteous, and which they have now in keeping, though not "for" keeping, the commandments of God; they have the promise of this life, as well as of that which is to come, and which is made good to them; they have every good thing now which is proper and convenient for them; and they shall be recompensed in the new earth, in which only righteous persons will dwell. But it seems better, with Jarchi, to interpret it of the recompence of their sins and transgressions; that is, of their chastisements and afflictions, with which they are chastised by their heavenly Father, when they sin against him; which are all in love and for their good; and which they have only here on earth, while they are in this world; they will be all over in another, when there will be no more sin, and no more chastisement for it, much less condemnation; see 1 Corinthians 11:32;

much more the wicked and the sinner; who shall not only be punished on earth as they often are, but in hell to all eternity. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render the whole thus; "if the righteous be scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" Which words are used by the Apostle Peter, to show, that if judgment or chastisement begin at the house of God, or with the righteous, that the end of the wicked must be very bad; which entirely agrees with the sense of this passage; see 1 Peter 4:17; a "behold" is prefixed to the whole, as a note, either of admiration, or rather of attention to what is sure and certain, and worthy of regard and consideration. The Targum is,

"behold, the righteous are strengthened in the earth; but the wicked and the sinners shall be consumed out of the earth;''

which seems to agree with Aben Ezra's sense of the words; see Psalm 104:35.

Geneva Study Bible

Behold, the righteous shall be {t} recompensed upon the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

(t) Will be punished as he deserves, 1Pe 4:18.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

31. shall be recompensed] This might mean, shall receive, in each case, the return due to him; the righteous shall be rewarded (as the same Heb. word is rendered in Proverbs 13:13) and the wicked punished (comp. recompense evil, the Heb. word being again the same, Jeremiah 18:20). But then it is difficult to understand why the law of retribution should obtain “much more” in the second case than in the first. “Recompensed” has therefore been understood to mean “punished” in both cases: The righteous shall be punished for his sins (“for there is no man that sinneth not,” 1 Kings 8:46); how much more, &c. The LXX. paraphrase of this latter interpretation is adopted by St Peter: “If the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 1 Peter 4:18, R.V.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 31. - The righteous shall be recompensed in the earth. Them are two ways of understanding this verse. The word rendered "recompensed," שַׁלַַ(shalam), is a vox media, and can be taken either in a good or bad sense. So the meaning will be, "The righteous meets with his reward upon earth, much more the sinner," the "reward" of the latter being, of course, punishment. But the versions lead to another interpretation, by which "recompensed" is rendered "chastised;" and the meaning is - if even the righteous shall be punished for their trespasses, as Moses, David, etc., how much more the wicked! The Septuagint, quoted exactly by St. Peter (1 Peter 4:18) has, "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"



Proverbs 11:31

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

31 Lo, the righteous findeth on earth his reward;

     How much more the godless and the sinner!

The particles אף כּי signify properly, interrogatively: Shall it yet be said that...; it corresponds to the German "geschweige denn" [nedum] (Fl.). הן is already in bibl. Hebr. in the way of becoming a conditional particle; it opens, as here, the antecedent of a gradatio a minori ad majus introduced by אף כי, Job 15:15., Proverbs 25:5., cf. הן (הנה) with ואיך following, Genesis 44:8; 2 Samuel 12:18. 2 Samuel 13:13 presents itself as the nearest parallel to שׁלּם, where it means, to be rewarded. It is a vocabulum anceps, and denotes full requital, i.e., according to the reference, either righteous reward or righteous punishment. If 30a is understood of reward, and 30b of punishment, then the force of the argument in the conclusion consists in this, that the righteous can put forth no claim to a recompense, because his well-doing is never so perfect as not to be mingled with sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Psalm 143:2); while, on the contrary, the repression of the wicked, who, as רשׁע as to his intention, and חוטא as to his conduct, actually denies his dependence on God, is demanded by divine holiness. But the conclusion is not stringent, since in the relation of God to the righteous His dispensation of grace and faithfulness to promises also come into view, and thus in both cases ישׁלּם appears to require the same interpretation: if the righteous does not remain unrevenged, so much more shall not the godless and the sinner remain..., or how much less shall the godless and the sinner remain so. Thus the Graec. Venet., Θεῷ ὁ δίκαιος ἐν τῇ γῇ ἀποτιθήσεται; thus also Luther, and among the moderns Lwenstein and Elster. Of the proverb so understood the lxx version, εἰ ὁ μὲν δίκαιος μόλις (μόγις) σώζεται, ὁ ἀσεβὴς καὶ ἁμαρτωλὸς ποῦ φανεῖται (cf. 1 Peter 4:18) may be a free translation, for in the ישׁלם there certainty lies, according to the sense, a כּמעט יוּשׁע. Also ישׁלם has the principal tone, not בארץ. The thought: even on this side (on earth), lies beyond the sphere of the O.T. consciousness. The earth is here the world of man.