Proverbs 21:10
The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
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EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
(10) His neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.—The wicked must have whatever he has set his heart upon, however much trouble and sorrow he may cause to his neighbour thereby.

Proverbs 21:10. The soul of the wicked desireth evil — His heart is earnestly and fully set in him, as it is expressed Ecclesiastes 8:11, to do evil, to work wickedness, to do mischief to others, or to satisfy his own lusts, though it be with injury of others. His neighbour findeth no favour, &c. — If he either endeavour to dissuade him from his wickedness, or stand in the way of his gratifying his lusts. He spares neither friend nor foe.

21:9. It is best to shun bitter contention by pouring out the heart before God. For by prudence and patience, with constant prayer, the cross may be removed. 10. The evil desires of a wicked man's heart, lead to baseness in his conduct. 11. The simple may be made wise by punishments on the wicked, and by instructions to those who are willing to be taught. 12. Good men envy not the prosperity of evil-doers; they see there is a curse on them. 13. Such as oppress the poor by beating down wages, such as will not relieve according to their ability those in distress, and those in authority who neglect to do justice, stop their ears at the cry of the poor. But doubtless care is to be used in the exercise of charity. 14. If money can conquer the fury of the passions, shall reason, the fear of God, and the command of Christ, be too weak to bridle them? 15. There is true pleasure only in the practice of religion. 16. Of all wanderers in the ways of sin, those are in the most dangerous condition who turn aside into the ways of darkness. Yet there is hope even for them in the all-sufficient Saviour; but let them flee to him without delay. 17. A life of worldly pleasure brings ruin on men. 18. The righteous is often delivered out of trouble, and the wicked comes in his stead, and so seems as a ransom for him. 19. Unbridled passions spoil the comfort of all relations. 20. The plenty obtained by prudence, industry, and frugality, is desirable. But the foolish misspend what they have upon their lusts. 21. True repentance and faith will lead him that relies on the mercy of God in Christ, to follow after righteousness and mercy in his own conduct. 22. Those that have wisdom, often do great things, even against those confident of their strength. 23. It is our great concern to keep our souls from being entangled and disquieted. 24. Pride and haughtiness make men passionate; such continually deal in wrath, as if it were their trade to be angry. 25,26. Here is the misery of the slothful; their hands refuse to labour in an honest calling, by which they might get an honest livelihood; yet their hearts cease not to covet riches, pleasures, and honours, which cannot be obtained without labour. But the righteous and industrious have their desires satisfied. 27. When holiness is pretended, but wickedness intended, that especially is an abomination. 28. The doom of a false witness is certain. 29. A wicked man bids defiance to the terrors of the law and the rebukes of Providence. But a good man asks, What does God require of me? 30,31. Means are to be used, but, after all, our safety and salvation are only of the Lord. In our spiritual warfare we must arm ourselves with the whole armour of God; but our strength must be in the Lord, and in the power of his might.A wide house - literally, "a house of companionship," i. e., a house shared with her. The flat roof of an Eastern house was often used for retirement by day, or in summer for sleep by night. The corner of such a roof was exposed to all changes of weather, and the point of the proverb lies in the thought that all winds and storms which a man might meet with there are more endurable than the tempest within. 10. So strongly does he desire to do evil (Ps 10:3; Ec 8:11), that he will not even spare his friend if in his way. The soul of the wicked desireth evil; his heart is fully and earnestly set in him, as it is expressed, Ecclesiastes 8:11, to do evil, to work wickedness, to do mischief to others, to satisfy his own lusts, though it be with injury of others.

His neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes, if he either dissuade him from his wickedness, or stand in the way of his lusts. He spares neither friend nor foe.

The soul of the wicked desireth evil,.... The evil of sin, it being natural to him; he chooses it, delights in it, craves after it, under a notion of pleasure or profit: or the evil of mischief; it is a sport and pastime to him to do injury to others; see Proverbs 10:23; he desires both the one and the other with all his soul; his heart is in it, he is set upon it, which shows him to be a wicked man;

his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes; not only he delights to do mischief to an enemy or a stranger, but even to a neighbour and friend; he will do him no kindness, though he asks it of him; he will show him no mercy, though an object of it; he will spare him not, but do him an injury, if he attempts to hinder or dissuade him from doing mischief, or reproves him for it.

The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Verse 10. - The soul of the wicked desireth veil. A wicked man cannot rest without planning and wishing for some new evil thing. Nothing is safe from his malignant activity (comp. Proverbs 4:16; Proverbs 10:23). His neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes (Isaiah 13:18; Isaiah 26:10). He does not look with pity on friend or neighbour, if they stand in the way of the gratification of his desires; he will sacrifice any one, however closely connected, so that he may work his will. Nothing makes a man more atrociously selfish and hard-hearted than vice (see Proverbs 12:10, and the note there). The LXX. takes the sentence in a passive sense, "The soul of the ungodly shall not be pitied by any one." They who have no pity for others shall meet with no pity themselves; while, on the other hand, the Lord says, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). Proverbs 21:1010 The soul of the godless hath its desire after evil;

     His neighbour findeth no mercy in his eyes.

The interchange of perf. and fut. cannot be without intention. Lwenstein renders the former as perf. hypotheticum: if the soul of the wicked desires anything evil...; but the רשׁע wishes evil not merely now and then, but that is in general his nature and tendency. The perf. expresses that which is actually the case: the soul of the wicked has its desire directed (write אוּתה with Munach, after Codd. and old Ed., not with Makkeph) toward evil, and the fut. expresses that which proceeds from this: he who stands near him is not spared. יחן is, as at Isaiah 26:10, Hoph. of חנן, to incline, viz., oneself, compassionately toward any one, or to bend to him. But in what sense is בּעיניו added? It does not mean, as frequently, e.g., Proverbs 21:2, according to his judgment, nor, as at Proverbs 20:8; Proverbs 6:13 : with his eyes, but is to be understood after the phrase מצא חן בּעיני: his neighbour finds no mercy in his eyes, so that in these words the sympathy ruling within him expresses itself: "his eyes will not spare his friends," vid., Isaiah 13:18.

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