Proverbs 3:31

Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. ENVY THOU NOT THE OPPRESSOR - when he is in prosperity () - literally, the man of violence. Even if one have 'done thee harm,' do not retaliate; nor, on the other hand, envy his wickedly gained prosperity. AND CHOOSE NONE OF HIS WAYS - because success seems to attend them. Envy of the prosperous easily leads to imitating his ways. Solomon showed the godly man how to behave toward God and his neighbour. Now it is shown how he is to act toward himself....

27-35 Our business is to observe the precepts of Christ, and to copy his example; to do justice, to love mercy, and to beware of covetousness; to be ready for every good work, avoiding needless strife, and bearing evils, if possible, rather than seeking redress by law. It will be found there is little got by striving. Let us not envy prosperous oppressors; far be it from the disciples of Christ to choose any of their ways. These truths may be despised by the covetous and luxurious, but everlasting contempt will be the portion of such scorners, while Divine favour is shown to the humble believer....

Verse Proverbs 3:31. _ENVY THOU NOT THE OPPRESSOR_] O how bewitching is _power_! Every man desires it; and yet all hate _tyrants_. But query, if all had _power_, would not the major part be _tyrants_?...

A marked change in style. The continuous exhortation is replaced by a series of maxims. FROM THEM TO WHOM IT IS DUE - literally, as in the margin. The precept expresses the great Scriptural thought that the so-called possession of wealth is but a stewardship; that the true owners of what we call our own are those to whom, with it, we may do good. Not to relieve them is a breach of trust. Proverbs 3:28 Procrastination is especially fatal to the giving impulse. The Septuagint adds the caution: “for thou knowest not what the morrow will bring forth.” Proverbs 3:29 SECURELY - i. e., “With full trust,” without care or suspicion. Compare...

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 3:1 4. _Fourth admonitory discourse. _The third chapter introduces us to a group of admonitions, and the first of these (Proverbs 3:1) forms the fourth admonitory discourse of the teacher. To all intents and purposes this is a continuation of the discourse in the preceding chapter, for inasmuch as that described the benefits, spiritual and moral, which follow from the pursuit of Wisdom, in promoting godliness and providing safety from evil companions, so this in like manner depicts the gain flowing from Wisdom, the happiness of the man who finds Wisdom, and the favour which he meets with both with God and man. The discourse embraces exhortations to obedience ...

ENVY THOU NOT THE OPPRESSOR,.... The man that gets wealth and riches by acts of injustice, by oppressing the poor, by rapine and violence; do not envy his prosperity, and the substance he is possessed of; do not wish to be in his place and circumstances, to enjoy his affluence and ease; do not look upon his happiness with an envious eye and a fretting heart; he is far from being a happy man; his end will be bad; see Psalms 37:1; AND CHOOSE NONE OF HIS WAYS; which he has used to get his riches in; do not follow him in them; for should you do as he has done, and get ever so much, since this would be with the loss of your souls, of what advantage would it be? He makes the best choice that chooses the "good part" that shall not be taken away, Luke 10:42; Christ, and the ways of Christ....

FOURTH Discourse. The sage exhorts the young man to heed his oral instruction (_torah),_ and to trust in Yahweh, fear Him, and honour Him in the prescribed manner of firstfruits. It is interesting to find _torah_ used in its earlier prophetic sense of oral instruction, without reference to its later sense of the whole body of legislation represented by the Pentateuch. The torah of the wise man represents not his own individual authority, but the accumulated wisdom of experience. The torah of the prophet, although delivered in the name of Yahweh, represents ultimately the accumulated moral consciousness of the nation; while the torah of the priest in its later form at least represents the traditional and inherited ritual, the prescribed method of the cultus. Hence the primary idea of torah is the same in all three forms. (See pp. 121, 620, Deuteronomy 1:5 *, and for a fuller disc

ENVY THOU NOT, &C.. Do not become excited against, &c. Illustrations: Moses (Hebrews 11:25; Hebrews 11:26); Jezebel (1 Kings 21:7. Compare 2 Kings 9:30). Psalms 34:21. THE OPPRESSOR. the man (Hebrew. _'ish)_ of violence. App-14....

_Envy thou not_ The temporal rewards of wisdom, health (Proverbs 3:8), long life (Proverbs 3:16), riches and honour (_ib_.), as they may be withheld from thee (Proverbs 3:11), so may they be surpassed by the prosperity of the wicked; but let not the comparison of thy lot with his move thee to envy, for the true reward of wisdom is higher and surer (Proverbs 3:32). Psalms 73. illustrates these verses. _oppressor_ Lit. MAN OF VIOLENCE, R.V....

TEXT Proverbs 3:27-35 27. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, When it is in the power of thy hand to do it. 28. Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, And to-morrow I will give; When thou hast it by thee. 29. Devise not evil against thy neighbor, Seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30. Strive not with a man without cause, If he have done thee no harm. 31. Envy thou not the man of violence, And choose none of his ways. 32. For the perverse is an abomination to Jehovah; But his friendship is with the upright. 33. The curse of Jehovah is in the house of the wicked; But he blesseth the habitation of the righteous. 34. Surely he scoffeth at the scoffers; But he giveth grace unto the lowly. 35. The wise shall in