Proverbs 24 · Verse 17

Proverbs 24:17

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Proverbs 24:17, King James Version

Proverbs 24:17 in other translations

BSBDo not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
WEBDon’t rejoice when your enemy falls. Don’t let your heart be glad when he is overthrown,
ASVRejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he is overthrown;
YLTIn the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
DARBYRejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;
BBEDo not be glad at the fall of your hater, and let not your heart have joy at his downfall:
WebsterRejoice not when thy enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth:

What does Proverbs 24:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 24:17-18
17-18. Yet let none rejoice over the fate of evildoers, lest God punish their wrong spirit by relieving the sufferer (compare Pr 17:5; Job 31:29).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, (into this mischief), and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth - When he meets with any thing that injures him; for God will not have thee to avenge thyself, or feel any disposition contrary to love; for if thou do, the Lord will be angry, and may turn away his wrath from him, and pour it out on thee. This I believe to be the true sense of these verses: but we must return to the sixteenth, as that has been most sinfully misrepresented. For a just man falleth seven times - That is, say many, "the most righteous man in the world sins seven times a day on an average." Solomon does not say so: - 1. There is not a word about sin in the text. 2. The word day is not in the Hebrew text, nor in any of the versions. 3. The word יפול yippol, from נפל naphal, to fall, is never applied to sin. 4. When set in opposition to the words riseth up, it merely applies to affliction or calamity. See Mic 7:8; Amo 8:4; Jer 25:27; and Psa 34:19, Psa 34:20. "The righteous falls into trouble." See above. Mr. Holden has a very judicious note on this passage: "Injure not a righteous man; for, though he frequently falls into distress, yet, by the superintending care of Providence, 'he riseth up again,' is delivered from his distress, while the wicked are overwhelmed with their misfortunes. That this is the meaning is plain from the preceding and following verses: yet some expound it by the just man often relapsing into sin, and recovering from it; nay, it has even been adduced to prove the doctrine of the final perseverance of the elect. But נפל is never used for falling into sin, but into distress and affliction - as Pro 11:5, Pro 11:14; Pro 13:17; Pro 17:20; Pro 26:27; Pro 28:10, Pro 28:14, Pro 28:18."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Proverbs 24:17-18
The pleasure we are apt to take in the troubles of an enemy is forbidden.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 24:17 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

בִּנְפֹ֣לbin.Folwhen fallsH5307
אֽ֭וֹיִבְךָ'oy.vei.khaenemy yourH341
אַל\־'al-may notH408
תִּשְׂמָ֑חtis.Machyou rejoiceH8055
וּ֝בִכָּשְׁל֗וֹu.vi.ka.she.Loand when stumbles heH3782
אַל\־'al-may notH408
יָגֵ֥לya.Gelit rejoiceH1523
לִבֶּֽךָ\׃li.Be.khaheart yourH3820

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Proverbs 24:17

  • Obadiah 1:12

    But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

  • Job 31:29

    If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:

  • 1 Corinthians 13:6-7

    Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

  • Proverbs 17:5

    Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

  • 2 Samuel 16:5-14

    And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. …

  • Psalms 42:10

    As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

  • Psalms 35:19

    Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.

  • Psalms 35:15

    But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:

  • Judges 16:25

    And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
17:5; Jud 16:25; 2Sa 16:5-14; Job 31:29; Ps 35:15,19; 42:10; Ob 1:12
1Co 13:6,7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Proverbs 24:16

    For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

  • Proverbs 24:17

    Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:

  • Proverbs 24:18

    Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Read all of Proverbs 24

Proverbs 24:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Cuando cayere tu enemigo, no te huelgues; y cuando tropezare, no se alegre tu corazón:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Si ton ennemi tombe, ne te réjouis pas; et s’il trébuche, que ton cœur ne s’égaie pas;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Freue dich nicht über den Fall deines Feindes, und dein Herz frohlocke nicht über seinen Sturz:
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cum ceciderit inimicus tuus ne gaudeas, et in ruina ejus ne exsultet cor tuum: