◄ Proverbs 29:16 ►
When the wicked thrive, rebellion increases; but the righteous will see their downfall.
Study Bible
When the wicked thrive
The Hebrew word for "wicked" is "רְשָׁעִים" (resha'im), which refers to those who are morally wrong, guilty, or hostile to God. The term "thrive" suggests prosperity or flourishing, indicating a period when those who oppose God's ways seem to succeed. Historically, this has been a recurring theme in the Bible, where the prosperity of the wicked often perplexes the righteous. This phrase sets the stage for a contrast between temporary success and ultimate justice, reminding believers that earthly prosperity is not always a sign of divine favor.

rebellion increases
The Hebrew word for "rebellion" is "פֶּשַׁע" (pesha), which implies transgression or revolt against divine law. The increase of rebellion is a natural consequence when wickedness is unchecked, leading to societal decay and moral chaos. This phrase highlights the danger of allowing evil to flourish, as it emboldens others to defy God's commandments. Historically, periods of moral decline in Israel often followed when leaders and people turned away from God, leading to national calamity.

but the righteous
The term "righteous" in Hebrew is "צַדִּיקִים" (tzaddikim), referring to those who are just, lawful, and in right standing with God. The righteous are those who live according to God's laws and seek to uphold His standards. This phrase introduces a hopeful contrast, emphasizing that despite the temporary success of the wicked, those who remain faithful to God will ultimately be vindicated. The righteous are often portrayed in Scripture as the remnant who uphold God's covenant and are blessed for their faithfulness.

will see their downfall
The Hebrew word for "downfall" is "מַפָּלָה" (mapalah), which means a fall or ruin. This phrase assures believers that the apparent success of the wicked is temporary and that divine justice will prevail. The righteous witnessing the downfall of the wicked serves as a testament to God's sovereignty and justice. Throughout biblical history, God has consistently demonstrated His ability to bring about the downfall of those who oppose Him, reinforcing the message that righteousness ultimately triumphs over wickedness.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Wicked
Refers to those who live in opposition to God's laws and principles. In the context of Proverbs, the wicked are often contrasted with the righteous, highlighting their moral and spiritual corruption.

2. The Righteous
Those who live according to God's commandments and seek to uphold justice and truth. They are often depicted as being in contrast to the wicked and are promised eventual vindication.

3. Rebellion
This term signifies a state of moral and social disorder that arises when wickedness is prevalent. It implies a turning away from God's order and authority.

4. Downfall
The eventual collapse or defeat of the wicked, which is witnessed by the righteous. This term underscores the ultimate justice and sovereignty of God.
Teaching Points
The Temporary Prosperity of the Wicked
The apparent success of the wicked is temporary and often leads to increased rebellion and chaos. Believers should not be discouraged by the temporary triumphs of evil.

The Certainty of Divine Justice
God's justice is certain, and the righteous will witness the downfall of the wicked. This assurance should encourage believers to remain steadfast in their faith and righteousness.

The Call to Righteous Living
In a world where wickedness may seem to thrive, Christians are called to live righteously, trusting in God's ultimate plan and justice.

The Importance of Patience and Trust
Believers are encouraged to be patient and trust in God's timing, knowing that He will bring about justice in His perfect time.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the temporary success of the wicked challenge your faith, and how can you find encouragement in Proverbs 29:16?

2. In what ways can you actively pursue righteousness in a world where rebellion seems to increase?

3. How does the promise of the downfall of the wicked influence your perspective on current events and societal issues?

4. Reflect on a time when you witnessed or experienced God's justice. How did it strengthen your faith?

5. How can the principles found in Proverbs 29:16 be applied to your personal life, especially in dealing with challenges and injustices?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 37
This Psalm echoes the theme of the eventual downfall of the wicked and the vindication of the righteous. It encourages believers to trust in the Lord and wait patiently for His justice.

Proverbs 11:21
This verse reinforces the idea that the wicked will not go unpunished, while the descendants of the righteous will be delivered, highlighting the certainty of divine justice.

Galatians 6:7-8
These verses in the New Testament emphasize the principle of sowing and reaping, where those who sow to please their sinful nature will reap destruction, while those who sow to please the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Sermons
Government in Truth and EquityE. Johnson Proverbs 29:12-17
People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Authority, Downfall, Evil, Fall, Gaze, Increase, Increased, Increases, Increaseth, Multiplied, Multiplieth, Multiplying, Pleasure, Power, Righteous, Sin, Thrive, Transgression, Upright, Wicked, Wrongdoing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 29:15

     5302   education
     5481   proverb
     5666   children, needs
     5668   children, responsibilities to parents
     5685   fathers, responsibilities
     5719   mothers, responsibilities
     5881   immaturity
     8232   discipline, family
     8757   folly, effects of

Library
An Obscured vision
(Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible Conference.) TEXT: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."--Proverbs 29:18. It is not altogether an easy matter to secure a text for such an occasion as this; not because the texts are so few in number but rather because they are so many, for one has only to turn over the pages of the Bible in the most casual way to find them facing him at every reading. Feeling the need of advice for such a time as this, I asked a number of my friends who …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

Two Ancient Proverbs
A Sermon (No. 3080) Published on Thursday, February 20th, 1908. Delivered by C.H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington on Lord's Day evening, March 29th, 1874. "The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso puteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." --Proverbs 29:25. We have two ancient proverbs here; each of them is true as a separate proverb, and they are equally true when linked together. The independent proposition, that the fear of man bringeth a snare, is a truth which experience …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Baptismal Covenant Can be Kept Unbroken. Aim and Responsibility of Parents.
We have gone "to the Law and to the Testimony" to find out what the nature and benefits of Baptism are. We have gathered out of the Word all the principal passages bearing on this subject. We have grouped them together, and studied them side by side. We have noticed that their sense is uniform, clear, and strong. Unless we are willing to throw aside all sound principles of interpretation, we can extract from the words of inspiration only one meaning, and that is that the baptized child is, by virtue …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

But Sometimes a Peril to Eternal Salvation Itself is Put Forth against Us...
40. But sometimes a peril to eternal salvation itself is put forth against us; [2466] which peril, they cry out, we by telling a lie, if otherwise it cannot be, must ward off. As, for instance, if a person who is to be baptized be in the power of impious and infidel men, and cannot be got at that he may be washed with the laver of regeneration, but by deceiving his keepers with a lie. From this most invidious cry, by which we are compelled, not for a man's wealth or honors in this world which are …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

Little Sarah Howley.
MISS SARAH HOWLEY, when she was between eight and nine years old, was carried by her friends to hear a sermon, where the minister preached upon Matt. xi, 30, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light;" in the applying of which scripture the child was mightily awakened, and made deeply sensible of the condition of her soul, and her need of Christ: she wept bitterly to think what a case she was in; went home, retired into a chamber, and upon her knees she wept and cried to the Lord as well as she could, …
John Wesley—Stories of Boys and Girls Who Loved the Saviour

For, Concerning False Witness, which is Set Down in the Ten Commands of The...
36. For, concerning false witness, which is set down in the ten commands of the Law, it can indeed in no wise be contended that love of truth may at heart be preserved, and false witness brought forth to him unto whom the witness is borne. For, when it is said to God only, then it is only in the heart that the truth is to be embraced: but when it is said to man, then must we with the mouth also of the body bring forth truth, because man is not an inspector of the heart. But then, touching the witness …
St. Augustine—On Lying

Palm Sunday
Text: Philippians 2, 5-11. 5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10 that …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

It Remains Then that we Understand as Concerning those Women...
33. It remains then that we understand as concerning those women, whether in Egypt or in Jericho, that for their humanity and mercy they received a reward, in any wise temporal, which indeed itself, while they wist not of it, should by prophetical signification prefigure somewhat eternal. But whether it be ever right, even for the saving of a man's life, to tell a lie, as it is a question in resolving which even the most learned do weary themselves, it did vastly surpass the capacity of those poor …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

What are Evidences of Backsliding in Heart.
1. Manifest formality in religious exercises. A stereotyped, formal way of saying and doing things, that is clearly the result of habit, rather than the outgushing of the religious life. This formality will be emotionless and cold as an iceberg, and will evince a total want of earnestness in the performance of religious duty. In prayer and in religious exercises the backslider in heart will pray or praise, or confess, or give thanks with his lips, so that all can hear him, perhaps, but in such a …
Charles G. Finney—The Backslider in Heart

God's Glory the Chief End of Man's Being
Rom. xi. 36.--"Of him and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever." And 1 Cor. x. 31--"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." All that men have to know, may be comprised under these two heads,--What their end is, and What is the right way to attain to that end? And all that we have to do, is by any means to seek to compass that end. These are the two cardinal points of a man's knowledge and exercise. Quo et qua eundum est,--Whither to go, and what way to go. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How the Impatient and the Patient are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 10.) Differently to be admonished are the impatient and the patient. For the impatient are to be told that, while they neglect to bridle their spirit, they are hurried through many steep places of iniquity which they seek not after, inasmuch as fury drives the mind whither desire draws it not, and, when perturbed, it does, not knowing, what it afterwards grieves for when it knows. The impatient are also to be told that, when carried headlong by the impulse of emotion, they act in some …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How to Make Use of Christ as the Truth, when Error Prevaileth, and the Spirit of Error Carrieth Many Away.
There is a time when the spirit of error is going abroad, and truth is questioned, and many are led away with delusions. For Satan can change himself into an angel of light, and make many great and fairlike pretensions to holiness, and under that pretext usher in untruths, and gain the consent of many unto them; so that in such a time of temptation many are stolen off their feet, and made to depart from the right ways of God, and to embrace error and delusions instead of truth. Now the question is, …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Characters and Names of Messiah
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. S uch was the triumphant exultation of the Old Testament Church! Their noblest hopes were founded upon the promise of MESSIAH; their most sublime songs were derived from the prospect of His Advent. By faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, they considered the gracious declarations …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

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

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