Bible Strands
Proverbs 24:11
Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author addresses a reader, using the hypothetical weakness of fainting in a day of distress (Proverbs 24:10) to pivot to an immediate command to act for others.
The words — The text commands הַצֵּל (ha-tzel, deliver) those לְקֻחִים (le-kûḥîm, taken) to death and תַּחְשֹׂךְ (taḥśōk, restrain) those מָטִים (māṭîm, staggering) to slaughter.
The thread — The directive parallels Psalms 82:4 to rescue the weak, aligns with Isaiah 58:6 to break the chains of wickedness, and establishes the pattern fulfilled in 1 John 3:16 where Jesus lays down His life for others.
Why it lands — The passage demands active intervention against imminent harm, explicitly rejecting the defense of ignorance by affirming that God weighs the heart and will repay a person according to their deeds (Proverbs 24:12).
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
If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
Cross-references
- Psalms 82:4 Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked.
- Isaiah 58:6 Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?
- 1 John 3:16 By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
- Job 29:17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
- 1 Samuel 26:8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now, therefore, please let me thrust the spear through him into the ground with one stroke. I will not need to strike him twice!”
- Luke 10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
- Luke 23:23 But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices for Jesus to be crucified. And their clamor prevailed.
- Acts 18:17 At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.
- Acts 21:31 While they were trying to kill him, the commander of the Roman regiment received a report that all Jerusalem was in turmoil.
- Acts 23:10 The dispute grew so violent that the commander was afraid they would tear Paul to pieces. He ordered the soldiers to go down and remove him by force and bring him into the barracks.