Bible Strands
Proverbs 21:7
The violence of the wicked will sweep them away because they refuse to do what is just.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The wisdom author addresses Israel’s youth and rulers with direct instruction on moral conduct and divine retribution. The text functions as a covenantal warning about the inevitable consequences of systemic injustice.
The words — מֵאֲנֻ (me.'a.Nu) translates literally as "they refuse," and מִשְׁפָּט (mish.Pat) means "justice." The verse states that the wicked will be dragged away by their own violence specifically because they refuse to practice justice.
The thread — This mechanism of self-inflicted judgment recurs in Proverbs 21:21, which links the pursuit of righteousness to found life, and in Proverbs 22:22, which forbids crushing the afflicted. The principle of violent recoil is explicitly stated in Psalms 7:16, where trouble returns to the perpetrator.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to abandon exploitative shortcuts and actively choose justice, noting that systemic refusal to do right guarantees self-destruction. It demands measurable alignment with fairness as a prerequisite for survival.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 21:21 He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion finds life, righteousness, and honor.
- Psalms 7:16 His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.
- Proverbs 22:22 Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
- Micah 3:9 Now hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and pervert all that is right,
- Zechariah 5:3 Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed.
- Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
- Proverbs 1:18 But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.
- Proverbs 10:6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
- Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.