Proverbs 20:26

Proverbs 20:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)A wise king sifts out the wicked, And brings the threshing wheel over them.
• New Living Translation (NLT)A wise king scatters the wicked like wheat, then runs his threshing wheel over them.

Context of Proverbs 20:26

24A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? 25It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows. A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them. 27The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being. 28Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure.

Proverbs 20:26 word by word

מְזָרֶ֣ה רְ֭שָׁעִים מֶ֣לֶךְ חָכָ֑ם וַיָּ֖שֶׁב עֲלֵיהֶ֣ם אוֹפָֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• scatterethזָרָהzârâh · to scatterH2219
• the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
• and bringethשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• the wheelאוֹפָן'ôphân 'ôphân · wheelH212

Cross-references for Proverbs 20:26

• Proverbs 20:8When a king sits on his throne to judge, he winnows out all evil with his eyes.
• 2 Samuel 4:9David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble,
• Psalms 101:5Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate.
• 2 Samuel 12:31and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.
• Isaiah 28:27Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a stick.

Commentaries on Proverbs 20:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26Bringeth the wheel over them - He threshes them in his anger, as the wheel does the grain on the threshing-floor. Every one knows that grain was separated from its husks, in Palestine, by the feet of the oxen trampling among the sheaves, or bringing a rough-shod wheel over them. Asiatic kings often threshed their people, to bring out their property; but this is not what is intended here.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26The wheel - The threshing wheel Isaiah 28:27-28, which passes over the grain and separates the grain from the chaff. The proverb involves therefore the idea of the division of the good from the evil, no less than that of the punishment of the latter.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 26Verse 26 Justice should crush the wicked, and separate them from the virtuous.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26A king represents God on earth, so he should help good people and punish wrongdoers.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. (Compare Pr 20:8). bringeth ... over them--The wheel was used for threshing grain. The figure denotes severity (compare Am 1:3).Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 20:26

• Rulers
• Wheel

In the dictionaries

• Advice
• Cease
• Naught
• Obscure
• Proclaim
• Pure
• Purpose
• Wait
• Proverb
• Proverbs, the Book of

Commentaries on Proverbs 20

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings