New International Version
Proverbs 23:11
11for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.
Proverbs 23:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
- English Standard Version (ESV)for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.
- New Living Translation (NLT)For their Redeemer is strong; he himself will bring their charges against you.
Context of Proverbs 23:11
9Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words. 10Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you. 12Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. 13Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
Read all of Proverbs 23Proverbs 23:11 word by word
כִּֽי־גֹאֲלָ֥ם חָזָ֑ק הֽוּא־יָרִ֖יב אֶת־רִיבָ֣ם אִתָּֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 23:11
- Proverbs 22:23for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life.
- Exodus 22:22“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.
- Deuteronomy 27:19“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
- Psalms 12:5“Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
- Jeremiah 50:33This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to let them go.
- Jeremiah 51:36Therefore this is what the Lord says: “See, I will defend your cause and avenge you; I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry.
Commentaries on Proverbs 23:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11For their redeemer is mighty - גאלם goalam, their kinsman. The word means the person who has a right, being next in blood, to redeem a field or estate, alienated from the family, to avenge the blood of a murdered relative, by slaying the murderer; and to take to wife a brother's widow, who had died childless, in order to preserve the family. The strength here mentioned refers to the justness of his claim, the extent of his influence, and the powerful…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11The reason is given for the precept Proverbs 23:10. Their redeemer - See Job 19:25 note. It was the duty of the גאל gā'al the next of kin, to take on himself, in case of murder, the office of avenger of blood Numbers 35:19. By a slight extension the word was applied to one who took on himself a like office in cases short of this. Here, therefore, the thought is that, destitute as the fatherless may seem, there is One who claims them as His next of kin…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-11Verses 10-11 The fatherless are taken under God's special protection. He is their Redeemer, who will take their part; and he is mighty, almighty.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-11Saying 10: Wise people avoid unfair business practices and illegitimate gains (see Proverbs 22:28), knowing that the Lord will judge wrongdoing. Redeemer: The New Living Translation is likely correct in capitalizing the word Redeemer and identifying it with God, although it might refer to a human redeemer.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1110-11. (Compare Pr 22:22, 23).Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 23
- 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
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Commentaries