◄ Proverbs 15:9 ►
The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness.
Study Bible
The LORD detests
The Hebrew word for "detests" is "תּוֹעֲבַת" (to'evah), which conveys a strong sense of abomination or loathing. This word is often used in the Old Testament to describe God's reaction to idolatry and moral corruption. The use of "detests" here emphasizes the intensity of God's moral standards and His absolute holiness. It is a reminder that God is not indifferent to sin; rather, He has a profound aversion to it. This serves as a call for believers to align their lives with God's standards, understanding that His detestation is not arbitrary but rooted in His perfect nature.

the way of the wicked
The "way" refers to the path or lifestyle that one chooses. In Hebrew, "דֶּרֶךְ" (derekh) implies a journey or manner of living. The "wicked" are those who live in opposition to God's commandments, often characterized by selfishness, injustice, and rebellion. Historically, the wicked were those who turned away from the covenant relationship with God, choosing instead to follow their own desires. This phrase serves as a warning that a life lived apart from God's guidance leads to His disfavor and ultimately to destruction.

but He loves
The contrast introduced by "but" highlights the difference in God's response to the wicked versus the righteous. The Hebrew word for "loves" is "אָהֵב" (ahev), which denotes a deep, covenantal affection. God's love is not merely an emotional response but a committed, active choice to bless and favor those who align with His will. This love is a reflection of His character, which is inherently good and just. It reassures believers that their efforts to live righteously are not in vain but are met with divine approval and affection.

those who pursue righteousness
"Pursue" in Hebrew is "רָדַף" (radaf), meaning to chase or follow eagerly. This implies an active, intentional effort to live according to God's standards. "Righteousness" is "צְדָקָה" (tsedaqah), which encompasses justice, ethical conduct, and faithfulness to God's law. In the biblical context, righteousness is not merely about personal morality but involves social justice and right relationships with others. This phrase encourages believers to actively seek God's ways, promising that such a pursuit aligns them with His love and favor. It is a call to a life of integrity, reflecting God's character in every aspect of one's life.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal existence and His relationship with His people. In this verse, He is portrayed as the ultimate judge of human actions.

2. The Wicked
Individuals who live in opposition to God's commands and moral order. Their way of life is characterized by sin and rebellion against God.

3. The Righteous
Those who actively seek to live according to God's standards and pursue a life that is pleasing to Him.
Teaching Points
God's Displeasure with Wickedness
The Hebrew word for "detests" (to'evah) indicates a strong aversion. God’s holiness cannot tolerate sin, and He actively opposes the ways of the wicked.

The Pursuit of Righteousness
Righteousness is not merely a state but a pursuit. It involves a continuous effort to align one's life with God's will and commands.

God's Love for the Righteous
The love God has for those who pursue righteousness is not just emotional but involves His favor, guidance, and blessing.

Practical Righteousness
Pursuing righteousness involves practical steps such as studying Scripture, prayer, and living out one's faith in daily actions.

Contrast and Choice
This verse presents a clear choice between two paths: the way of the wicked and the pursuit of righteousness. Believers are called to choose the latter.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does it mean to pursue righteousness in your daily life, and how can you actively seek it?

2. How does understanding God's detestation of wickedness influence your view of sin and repentance?

3. In what ways can you ensure that your actions align with the path of righteousness described in Proverbs 15:9?

4. How do other scriptures, such as Psalm 1 and Matthew 5:6, deepen your understanding of the contrast between the wicked and the righteous?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's love and favor as a result of pursuing righteousness. How did it impact your faith journey?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 1
This psalm contrasts the way of the righteous and the wicked, similar to Proverbs 15:9, highlighting the blessings of following God's law and the consequences of wickedness.

Matthew 5:6
In the Beatitudes, Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, promising that they will be filled, which aligns with the idea of pursuing righteousness in Proverbs 15:9.

1 Peter 3:12
This verse speaks of the Lord's eyes being on the righteous and His ears attentive to their prayer, reinforcing the idea that God loves those who pursue righteousness.
Sermons
God's Hatreds and God's DelightsE. Johnson Proverbs 15:8, 9
With Whom God is PleasedW. Clarkson Proverbs 15:8, 9
People
Abaddon, Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Abomination, Dear, Disgusting, Evil-doer, Followeth, Follows, Goes, Loves, Loveth, Pursue, Pursues, Pursueth, Pursuing, Righteousness, Wicked
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 15:9

     8158   righteousness, of believers

Library
God, the All-Seeing One
A sermon (No. 177) delivered on Sabbath morning, February 14, 1858 At The Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens by C. H. Spurgeon. "Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?" -- Proverbs 15:11. You have often smiled at the ignorance of heathens who bow themselves before gods of wood and stone. You have quoted the words of Scripture and you have said, "Eyes have they, but they see not; ears have they, but they hear not." You have therefore argued that …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Hedge of Thorns and the Plain Way
A sermon (No. 1948) delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain."--Proverbs 15:19. You must have noticed how frequently godly people almost wear out their Bibles in certain places. The Psalms, the Gospel of John, and parts of the Epistles are favourite portions, and are thumbed in many an old believer's Bible till the fact is very noticeable. There are certain sheep-tracks …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

God, the All-Seeing One
We have in our text, first of all, a great fact declared,--"Hell and destruction are before the Lord ;" we have, secondly, a great fact inferred,--"How much more then the hearts of the children of men?" I. We will begin with THE GREAT FACT WHICH IS DECLARED--a fact which furnishes us with premises from which we deduce the practical conclusion of the second sentence--"How much more then the hearts of the children of men?" The best interpretation that you can give of those two words, "hell" and "destruction," …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

How the Humble and the Haughty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 18.) Differently to be admonished are the humble and the haughty. To the former it is to be insinuated how true is that excellence which they hold in hoping for it; to the latter it is to be intimated how that temporal glory is as nothing which even when embracing it they hold not. Let the humble hear how eternal are the things that they long for, how transitory the things which they despise; let the haughty hear how transitory are the things they court, how eternal the things they …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

And He had Also this Favour Granted Him. ...
66. And he had also this favour granted him. For as he was sitting alone on the mountain, if ever he was in perplexity in his meditations, this was revealed to him by Providence in prayer. And the happy man, as it is written, was taught of God [1112] . After this, when he once had a discussion with certain men who had come to him concerning the state of the soul and of what nature its place will be after this life, the following night one from above called him, saying, Antony, rise, go out and look.' …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Epistle cxxii. To Rechared, King of the visigoths .
To Rechared, King of the Visigoths [82] . Gregory to Rechared, &c. I cannot express in words, most excellent son, how much I am delighted with thy work and thy life. For on hearing of the power of a new miracle in our days, to wit that the whole nation of the Goths has through thy Excellency been brought over from the error of Arian heresy to the firmness of a right faith, one is disposed to exclaim with the prophet, This is the change wrought by the right hand of the Most High (Ps. lxxvi. 11 [83] …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Contention Over the Man Born Blind.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John IX. 1-41. [Some look upon the events in this and the next section as occurring at the Feast of Tabernacles in October, others think they occurred at the Feast of Dedication in December, deriving their point of time from John x. 22.] ^d 1 And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. [The man probably sought to waken compassion by repeatedly stating this fact to passers-by.] 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

"And the Life. " How Christ is the Life.
This, as the former, being spoken indefinitely, may be universally taken, as relating both to such as are yet in the state of nature, and to such as are in the state of grace, and so may be considered in reference to both, and ground three points of truth, both in reference to the one, and in reference to the other; to wit, 1. That our case is such as we stand in need of his help, as being the Life. 2. That no other way but by him, can we get that supply of life, which we stand in need of, for he …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

"Now the End of the Commandment," &C.
1 Tim. i. 5.--"Now the end of the commandment," &c. We come now, as was proposed, to observe, Thirdly,(474) That faith unfeigned is the only thing which gives the answer of a good conscience towards God. Conscience, in general, is nothing else but a practical knowledge of the rule a man should walk by, and of himself in reference to that rule. It is the laying down a man's state, and condition, and actions beside the rule of God's word, or the principles of nature's light. It is the chief piece …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"Thou Shall Keep Him in Perfect Peace, Whose Mind is Stayed on Thee, Because He Trusteth in Thee. "
Isaiah xxvi. 3.--"Thou shall keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." All men love to have privileges above others. Every one is upon the design and search after some well-being, since Adam lost that which was true happiness. We all agree upon the general notion of it, but presently men divide in the following of particulars. Here all men are united in seeking after some good; something to satisfy their souls, and satiate their desires. Nay, but they …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Authority and Utility of the Scriptures
2 Tim. iii. 16.--"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." We told you that there was nothing more necessary to know than what our end is, and what the way is that leads to that end. We see the most part of men walking at random,--running an uncertain race,--because they do not propose unto themselves a certain scope to aim at, and whither to direct their whole course. According to men's particular …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

An Exposition on the First Ten Chapters of Genesis, and Part of the Eleventh
An unfinished commentary on the Bible, found among the author's papers after his death, in his own handwriting; and published in 1691, by Charles Doe, in a folio volume of the works of John Bunyan. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR Being in company with an enlightened society of Protestant dissenters of the Baptist denomination, I observed to a doctor of divinity, who was advancing towards his seventieth year, that my time had been delightfully engaged with John Bunyan's commentary on Genesis. "What," …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also-
OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER; WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED, 1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO. WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:--the Spirit--helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26). ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. "It is …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Proverbs 15:9 NIV
Proverbs 15:9 NLT
Proverbs 15:9 ESV
Proverbs 15:9 NASB
Proverbs 15:9 KJV

Proverbs 15:9 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Proverbs 15:8
Top of Page
Top of Page