New International Version
Proverbs 28:15
15Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless 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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor as a roaring lion or an attacking bear.
Context of Proverbs 28:15
13Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. 14Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. 16A tyrannical ruler practices extortion, but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign. 17Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder will seek refuge in the grave; let no one hold them back.
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 20:2A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion; those who anger him forfeit their lives.
- Hosea 5:11Ephraim is oppressed, trampled in judgment, intent on pursuing idols.
- 1 Peter 5:8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
- Proverbs 17:12Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.
- 2 Kings 2:24He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
- Hosea 13:8Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion I will devour them— a wild animal will tear them apart.
- Exodus 1:14They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
- 1 Samuel 22:17Then the king ordered the guards at his side: “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.” But the king’s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the Lord.
- 2 Kings 15:16At that time Menahem, starting out from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to open their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.
- 2 Kings 21:16Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
- Esther 3:6Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
- Matthew 2:16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
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
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Commentaries