Proverbs 22:8

8 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail.

Proverbs 22:8 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 22:8

He that soweth iniquity F21 shall reap vanity
He that practises sin, and is frequent in the commission of it; indulges to it in a profuse way, as the sower plentifully scatters his seed; such shall reaper possess nothing but sin and wickedness; for, what a man sows, that shall he reap; he shall eat the fruit of his doings, and have the reward of his works; see ( Job 4:8 ) ( Galatians 6:7 Galatians 6:8 ) ; or "nothing" F23, mere emptiness; it shall not answer; he shall have in the end neither pleasure nor profit, but the contrary; "shall reap evil things", as the Septuagint, Arabic, and Vulgate Latin versions render it; and the rod of his anger shall fail;
with which he has ruled and smitten others in an angry and cruel manner; this shall be taken from him; his authority shall fail, and he shall become subject to others, and be used in like manner; see ( Isaiah 14:4-6 ) . R. Joseph Kimchi interprets it of "the rod of the increase" of the earth, or the rod or flail with which the fruits of the earth are threshed or beaten out, which should fail before they were reaped; and Schultens F24 has reference to the same, and gives the sense, that a wicked man that sows iniquity, when he thinks his harvest is ripe, shall be beaten with the flail, by which he shall be consumed; and he that threshed others shall be threshed himself.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 So, "serere fallaciam", in Plauti Poenulo, l. 1. v. 67.
F23 (Nwa) "inanitatem ac nihilum", Michaelis.
F24 "Et virga in eum desaevitura, erit decretoria".

Proverbs 22:8 In-Context

6 Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.
7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
8 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail.
9 Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.
10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife goes out; quarreling and abuse will cease.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.