God’s Word Translation
Proverbs 28:15
15⌞Like⌟ a roaring lion and a charging bear, ⌞so⌟ a wicked ruler is a threat to poor people.
Proverbs 28:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
- New International Version (NIV)Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Like a roaring lion and a charging bear Is a wicked ruler over poor people.
Context of Proverbs 28:15
13Whoever covers over his sins does not prosper. Whoever confesses and abandons them receives compassion. 14Blessed is the one who is always fearful ⌞of sin⌟, but whoever is hard-hearted falls into disaster. ⌞Like⌟ a roaring lion and a charging bear, ⌞so⌟ a wicked ruler is a threat to poor people. 16A leader without understanding taxes ⌞his people⌟ heavily, but those who hate unjust gain will live longer. 17A person burdened with the guilt of murder will be a fugitive down to his grave. No one will help him.
Read all of Proverbs 28Proverbs 28:15 word by word
אֲרִי־נֹ֭הֵם וְדֹ֣ב שׁוֹקֵ֑ק מֹשֵׁ֥ל רָ֝שָׁ֗ע עַ֣ל עַם־דָּֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 28:15
- Proverbs 20:2The rage of a king is like the roar of a lion. Whoever makes him angry forfeits his life.
- Hosea 5:11Ephraim is oppressed—crushed by punishment, because its people are determined to chase idols.
- 1 Peter 5:8Keep your mind clear, and be alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion as he looks for someone to devour.
- Proverbs 17:12Better to meet a bear robbed of its cubs than a fool ⌞carried away⌟ with his stupidity.
- 2 Kings 2:24Looking back, he saw them and cursed them in the Lord’s name. Two bears came out of the woods and tore 42 of these youths apart.
- Hosea 13:8Like a bear that has lost her cubs, I will attack you. I will rip you open. Like a lion I will devour you. Like a wild animal I will tear you apart.
- Exodus 1:14They made their lives bitter with back-breaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard.
- 1 Samuel 22:17“Turn and kill the Lord’s priests because they support David,” the king said to the runners standing around him. “When they knew David was fleeing, they didn’t inform me.” But the king’s men refused to attack the Lord’s priests.
- 2 Kings 15:16Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah, everyone there, and its territory. Because the city didn’t open its gates for him, he attacked it and ripped open all its pregnant women.
- 2 Kings 21:16In addition to his sin that he led Judah to commit in front of the Lord, Manasseh also killed a lot of innocent people from one end of Jerusalem to the other.
- Esther 3:6Because the king’s advisers had informed him about Mordecai’s nationality, he thought it beneath himself to kill only Mordecai. So Haman planned to wipe out Mordecai’s people—all the Jews in the entire kingdom of Xerxes.
- Matthew 2:16When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he became furious. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys two years old and younger in or near Bethlehem. This matched the exact time he had learned from the wise men.
Commentaries on Proverbs 28:15
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15The form of political wretchedness, when the poverty of the oppressed subjects not only embitters their sufferings, but exasperates the brutal ferocity of the ruler.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15Verse 15 A wicked ruler, whatever we may call him, this scripture calls a roaring lion, and a ranging bear.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15An unjust ruler will not help the poor. Like a roaring lion or an attacking bear, he ruins their lives.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. The rapacity and cruelty of such beasts well represent some wicked men (compare Psa 7:2; 17:12).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 28:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries