Proverbs 28:5

Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Evil	רָ֭ע ra'	H7451	bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · adjective, masculine singular absolute
men	אַנְשֵׁי 'an.shei-	H582	a man in general (singly or collectively) · noun, common masculine plural construct
understand	יָבִ֣ינוּ ya.Vi.nu	H995	to separate mentally (or distinguish) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
judgment	מִשְׁפָּ֑ט mish.Pat	H4941	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
seek	וּמְבַקְשֵׁ֥י u.me.vak.Shei	H1245	to search out (by any method · conjunction + verb, piel active participle, masculine plural construct
LORD	יְ֝הוָ֗ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
understand	יָבִ֥ינוּ ya.Vi.nu	H995	to separate mentally (or distinguish) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Psalms 92:6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth y…
1 John 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
Jeremiah 4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but…
Mark 4:10-13 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
Psalms 25:14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 28:5

Note, I. As the prevalency of men's lusts is owing to the darkness of their understandings, so the darkness of their understandings is very much owing to the dominion of their lusts: Men understand not judgment, discern not between truth and falsehood, right and wrong; they understand not the law of God as the rule either of their duty or of their doom; and, 1. Therefore it is that they are evil men; their wickedness is the effect of their ignorance and error, Eph 4:18. 2. Therefore they understand not judgment, because they are evil men; their corruptions blind their eyes, and fill them with prejudices, and because they do evil they hate the light. It is just with God also to give them up t…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 28:5

(Compare Joh 7:17). Ignorance of moral truth is due to unwillingness to know it.

John Gill on Proverbs 28:5

Evil men understand not judgment,.... Or, "men of wickedness" (b); that are under the governing power of it; who are given up and give up themselves unto it; who, like Ahab, sell themselves to work wickedness: these know not what is just and right between man and man, at least not to do it; they know it not practically; they are wise to do evil, but to do good have no knowledge, Jeremiah 4:22; they know not the law of God, the rule of judgment, justice, and equity; at least not the extensiveness and spirituality of it, Jeremiah 8:7; and much less the Gospel of Christ, which is sometimes so called, Isaiah 42:1. Nor do they notice, as they should, to the judgments of God in the earth; they do…

Read the whole note in the console

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 28:5

A similar antithetic distich: Wicked men understand not what is right; But they who seek Jahve understand all. Regarding the gen. expression אנשׁי־רע, vid., under Pro 2:14. He who makes wickedness his element, falls into the confusion of the moral conception; but he whose end is the one living God, gains from that, in every situation of life, even amid the greatest difficulties, the knowledge of that which is morally right. Similarly the Apostle John (Jo1 2:20): "ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (οἴδατε πάντα): i.e., ye need to seek that knowledge which ye require, and which ye long after, not without yourselves, but in the new divine foundation of your person…

The Church Fathers

Evil men do not understand judgment, etc. The elect observe everything, that is, both the future distinction of universal judgment and by what deeds rest or eternal punishment will be repaid.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Blindness · 21:14;22:13,14; — 21:14;22:13,14;
Seekers · 5:8;8:5,6; — 5:8;8:5,6;
Seeking God · Ensures: Understanding all things — Ensures: Understanding all things
Wisdom · .UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — .UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 28:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 28:5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 28:5

John Gill on Proverbs 28:5

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 28:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 28:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 28:5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 28:5

John Gill on Proverbs 28:5

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 28:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 28:5

Rashi on Proverbs 28:5