Proverbs 24:17-19

24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, ¹ 

and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,

24:18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, ² 

and turn his wrath away from him. ³ 

24:19 Do not fret because of evil people

or be envious of wicked people,

Proverbs 24:29

24:29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me;

I will pay him back ⁴  according to what he has done.” ⁵ 

¹ sn The saying (vv. 17, 18) warns against gloating over the misfortune of one’s enemies. The prohibition is formed with two negated jussives “do not rejoice” and “let not be glad,” the second qualified by “your heart” as the subject, signifying the inner satisfaction of such a defeat.

² tn Heb “and [it is] evil in his eyes.”

³ sn The judgment of God should strike a note of fear in the heart of people (e.g., Lev 19:17-18). His judgment is not to be taken lightly, or personalized as a victory. If that were to happen, then the Lord might take pity on the enemies in their calamity, for he champions the downtrodden and defeated. These are probably personal enemies; the imprecatory psalms and the prophetic oracles present a different set of circumstances for the downfall of God’s enemies – even the book of Proverbs says that brings joy to the community.

⁴ tn Heb “repay to the man.” The verb is שׁוּב (shuv), which in the Hiphil stem means “to restore; to repay; to return” (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT “I’ll get even”). The idea is that of repaying someone for what he did.

⁵ sn Rather than give in to the spirit of vengeance, one should avoid retaliation (e.g., Prov 20:22; Matt 5:43-45; Rom 12:9). According to the Talmud, Hillel said, “Do not do to others what you would not have them do unto you” (b. Sanhedrin 31a).