The Oppressor not to be Envied
Proverbs 3:31
Envy you not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.


Whether public or private, the man who "grinds the faces of the poor" by severity and extortion, may succeed, may prosper; may, by this means, amass a fortune, and rise to still higher honour. He is not to be envied; not only because envy is in itself wrong, but also because there is really nothing in his character and career to produce it. His prosperity is not to be envied even by the poorest and most suffering victim of his oppression. And while he is not to be envied, far less are his ways to be imitated for the sake of obtaining the envied results — the same wealth, the same greatness, the same power.

(R. Wardlaw, D.D.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

WEB: Don't envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways.




The Oppressor
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