PROVERBS CHAPTER 28
Warning against Unscrupulous Dealing
THE CONSEQUENCES OF IMPIETY. — V. 17. A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person, literally, “burdened with the blood of a soul,” weighted down by the load of his guilt, shall flee to the pit, in an attempt to escape the terrors which possess him; let no man stay him, trying to recover him who is lost beyond all hope. Such a person has deliberately chosen his lot and has no one but himself to blame if destruction descends upon him.
THE ADVANTAGES OF INTEGRITY. — V. 18. Whoso walketh uprightly, in the integrity of pious conduct, shall be saved, delivered or helped by the Lord; but he that is perverse in his ways, trying to hide his wickedness under the mantle of hypocrisy, shall fall at once, be brought to sudden ruin.
V. 19. He that tilleth his land, working in the sweat of his face, shall have plenty of bread, as the reward of his labor; but he that followeth after vain persons, being engaged in all kinds of vain and foolish pursuits, leading the life of an idle drone, shall have poverty enough, be stuffed with it. Compare chapter 12, 11.
V. 20. A faithful man, one using the strictest fidelity and uprightness in all his dealings, shall abound with blessings, given to him by the Lord in recognition of his faithful conduct; but he that maketh haste to be rich, thereby becoming guilty of dishonorable dealings, shall not be innocent, his guilt, rather, being charged to his account with a full reckoning.