Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Proverbs 24:17
What does Proverbs 24:17 mean?
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Proverbs 24:17
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This verse isn't just about not acting on anger; it warns against even feeling glad when an enemy stumbles, because God sees our hearts and can redirect their misfortune onto us if we harbor such malice. It highlights that a truly righteous spirit, even in the face of conflict, reflects God's own desire for justice tempered with mercy, not our own vengeful satisfaction.
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse appears within a section of Proverbs (chapters 22-24) offering wisdom for the righteous living amidst a fallen world. Following warnings about the dangers of envy and the consequences of wicked actions, Solomon cautions against taking pleasure in an adversary's misfortune. The surrounding verses urge restraint and careful consideration, even when observing the downfall of those who oppose you, implying that such malicious joy can incur divine displeasure and potential reversal of fortune.
Does anyone really know when you're secretly happy your enemy is struggling? Proverbs says God notices, and He's not pleased.
This verse isn't just about what you do, but what you feel internally. Solomon warns against even letting your heart be glad when an enemy stumbles. Why? Because God sees.
The Hidden Judgment
Even if no one else knows you're pleased by someone's misfortune, God does. This inner rejoicing is seen as a 'wrong spirit' (JFB), an affection that is 'displeasing to him' (Benson).
Divine Intervention
This isn't just a mild disapproval. The text suggests that God might even turn His attention away from the enemy's trouble and focus it on you. Your sinful joy could provoke Him to 'translate the calamity from thy enemy unto thee' (Benson), filling you with sorrow instead of satisfaction.
We often think of 'enemies' as public figures or historical villains. But what if Solomon is talking about your neighbor, your colleague, or even someone in your own family?
The context here points towards private enemies—individuals who have wronged you or are in conflict with you. Solomon isn't forbidding celebration over the defeat of public enemies of God and justice (like Pharaoh's army), but he is strictly censoring personal vindictiveness.
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The Scope of 'Enemy'
Commentators suggest that 'enemy' here refers to those 'at enmity with the people of God' (Gill) or simply someone who has fallen 'into mischief or trouble' (Wesley, Poole).
Love as a Higher Law
This principle, while found in Proverbs, is a powerful foreshadowing of Jesus' command to love your enemies. It reveals that the call to compassion and restraint towards those who oppose us is not new to the New Testament, but has roots deep in Old Testament wisdom. It's a call to a heart that yearns for justice, but not personal vengeance.
Understand the original words
oyeb · Hebrew Noun
An adversary or opponent. Biblical teaching emphasizes loving one's enemy and avoiding vindictiveness, recognizing that ultimate justice belongs to God.
leb · Hebrew Noun
The seat of the intellect, will, and emotions in biblical anthropology; the center of a person's moral life and decision-making.
This passage directly commands showing kindness and offering help to an enemy's struggling animal, illustrating that the principle of loving one's enemy was present even in the Old Testament law.
Matthew 5:44Jesus expands on this Old Testament principle, calling His followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them, highlighting a deeper, more radical call to compassion.
Luke 6:35This verse echoes Jesus' teaching on loving enemies, urging believers to lend and give without expecting anything in return, reinforcing the idea that God's love is generous and unconditional.
Romans 12:14Paul instructs believers to bless those who persecute them, contrasting the natural human desire for vengeance with the supernatural call to bless, aligning perfectly with Proverbs' warning against rejoicing over an enemy's downfall.
Proverbs 25:21This verse offers a practical application of not rejoicing over an enemy's fall, advising the opposite: if your enemy is hungry, give him food; if he is thirsty, give him water.
pooleProverbs 24:17: "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:"
Falleth, to wit, into mischief, as in the former verse. Please not thyself in his destruction; which plainly shows that the love of our enemies is a precept of the old law as well as of the gospel. See Exodus 23:4,5 .
jfbProverbs 24:17: "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:"
17, 18. Yet let none rejoice over the fate of evildoers, lest God punish their wrong spirit by relieving the sufferer (compare Pr 17:5; Job 31:29).
This verse isn't just about not acting on anger; it warns against even feeling glad when an enemy stumbles, because God sees our hearts and can redirect their misfortune onto us if we harbor such malice. It highlights that a truly righteous spirit, even in the face of conflict, reflects God's own desire for justice tempered with mercy, not our own vengeful satisfaction.
This verse appears within a section of Proverbs (chapters 22-24) offering wisdom for the righteous living amidst a fallen world. Following warnings about the dangers of envy and the consequences of wicked actions, Solomon cautions against taking pleasure in an adversary's misfortune. The surrounding verses urge restraint and careful consideration, even when observing the downfall of those who oppose you, implying that such malicious joy can incur divine displeasure and potential reversal of fortune.
This verse appears within a section of Proverbs (chapters 22-24) offering wisdom for the righteous living amidst a fallen world. Following warnings about the dangers of envy and the consequences of wicked actions, Solomon cautions against taking pleasure in an adversary's misfortune. The surrounding verses urge restraint and careful consideration, even when observing the downfall of those who oppose you, implying that such malicious joy can incur divine displeasure and potential reversal of fortune.
"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles," — This verse isn't just about not acting on anger; it warns against even feeling glad when an enemy stumbles, because God sees our hearts and can redirect their misfortune onto us if we harbor such…
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Last reviewed October 2026