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Otherwise, the Lord will see and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.
Proverbs 24:18 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB lest Yahweh see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
  • KJV Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
  • BSB or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.
  • NKJV Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him.
  • NLT For the Lord will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Gloating over an enemy's ruin displeases the LORD and may turn His judgment from them.

Overview

The reason not to rejoice over a fallen enemy is that such gloating is displeasing to God. Judgment belongs to the Lord, not to our vindictive pleasure, and He may even relent toward the enemy. This teaches that vengeance is God's alone (Rom. 12:19), freeing us to leave justice in His righteous hands.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Zech 1:15–16I am very angry with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, but they added to the calamity.”
  • Lam 4:21–22Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, that dwell in the land of Uz: The cup shall pass through to you also; you shall be drunken, and shall make yourself naked.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 24:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.

How Proverbs 24:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.