Proverbs 28:17 kjv
A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.
Proverbs 28:17 nkjv
A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit; Let no one help him.
Proverbs 28:17 niv
Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder will seek refuge in the grave; let no one hold them back.
Proverbs 28:17 esv
If one is burdened with the blood of another, he will be a fugitive until death; let no one help him.
Proverbs 28:17 nlt
A murderer's tormented conscience will drive him into the grave.
Don't protect him!
Proverbs 28 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 4:10-11 | "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me..." | Cain's guilt and divine curse for bloodshed. |
| Gen 9:6 | "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed..." | Divine decree on capital punishment for murder. |
| Num 35:33-34 | "You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes..." | Land defiled by bloodshed, requires expiation. |
| Deut 19:10 | "So innocent blood will not be shed in your land..." | Laws preventing and judging murder. |
| 1 Sam 25:39 | "...Blessed be the Lord, who has avenged the insult..." | Justice for innocent blood, sometimes delayed. |
| 2 Sam 3:27 | "When Abner came back to Hebron, Joab took him aside... and there..." | Consequences of shedding innocent blood. |
| 1 Kgs 2:5 | "...You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to two..." | David's command for justice against murderers. |
| Ps 32:3-4 | "For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning..." | Guilt's physical and emotional toll, torment. |
| Ps 51:1-4 | "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; ... against..." | David's confession and burden of guilt. |
| Ps 94:21 | "They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn innocent..." | God judges those who shed innocent blood. |
| Isa 3:11 | "Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have..." | Inevitable negative consequences for the wicked. |
| Jer 2:34 | "Also on your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor..." | Condemnation for shedding innocent blood. |
| Matt 27:3-5 | "When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned...he went..." | Judas's despair and self-destruction from guilt. |
| Rom 1:18 | "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness..." | God's judgment against unrighteousness and sin. |
| Rom 2:8-9 | "But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow..." | Wrath and indignation for unrighteousness. |
| Rom 6:23 | "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life..." | The ultimate consequence of unrepentant sin. |
| Heb 9:27 | "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes..." | Divine judgment follows life and sin. |
| Job 24:12 | "From the city the dying groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out..." | God is aware of the suffering caused by sin. |
| Prov 14:12 | "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." | The deceptive path of sin leading to destruction. |
| Prov 16:25 | (Repeats Prov 14:12) | Reiterates destructive end of self-deception. |
| Acts 23:3 | "...God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall!" | God’s justice eventually catches up to the guilty. |
| Rev 6:9-10 | "...the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for..." | Cries for justice for martyred innocent blood. |
Proverbs 28 verses
Proverbs 28 17 Meaning
Proverbs 28:17 conveys the inescapable internal torment and eventual ruin of an individual burdened by the guilt of having shed innocent blood. This severe moral burden drives them towards a metaphorical "pit" of destruction, despair, or even a self-inflicted end. The verse also declares that no human intervention can or should effectively mitigate or remove such a profound guilt and its divinely ordained consequences, implying both futility and a decree against enabling the unrepentant murderer.
Proverbs 28 17 Context
Proverbs 28 is part of the "proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out" (Prov 25:1). This chapter focuses largely on contrasting the righteous and the wicked, exploring themes of justice, honesty, integrity, and the consequences of sin and lawlessness within the community. It addresses topics like effective leadership (Prov 28:2), trust in the Lord (Prov 28:25), diligence versus sloth, and the dangers of greed and bribes. Verse 17 specifically stands out as a stark declaration about the extreme consequence of shedding innocent blood, reinforcing the chapter's overarching emphasis on divine justice and the dire internal and external outcomes of grave moral transgressions. The historical context reflects a society under the Mosaic Law, where intentional murder was a capital offense and blood-guilt was a serious concept with national and personal implications.
Proverbs 28 17 Word analysis
- A man (אִישׁ - ish): Refers to any male human being; emphasizes the personal responsibility and individual nature of this severe consequence.
- who is tormented (עָמוּס - ʿamus from ʿamas): Implies being "laden," "burdened," "oppressed," or "heavily weighed down." It denotes a continuous, heavy burden, especially one on the conscience. Some translations use "burdened" or "loaded with guilt," capturing the deep internal affliction.
- by the guilt (דָּם - dam): Literally "blood." Here it's a metonym for "bloodshed," "blood-guilt," or "the act of shedding blood." The "blood" is the direct object of the torment, implying the life unjustly taken.
- of bloodshed (אדם - ʾādām): Combined with "dam," it means "man's blood" or "human blood." The phrase "דַּם אָדָם" (dam ʾādām) unequivocally points to murder—the killing of a human being. The sin is not just spilling liquid, but extinguishing a life, which is profoundly serious in God's eyes.
- will flee (יָנוּס - yanus from nus): To run away, escape, take flight. This implies an active movement, but often a futile one in this context, driven by internal unrest.
- to the pit (אֶל־בּוֹר - ʾel-bor): "Pit" (bor) can literally mean a cistern, well, or dungeon, often associated with imprisonment, decay, and death. Metaphorically, it signifies ruin, destruction, despair, the grave, or even Sheol (the realm of the dead). It is a destination of certain doom.
- let no one help him (אַל־יִתְמְכוּ בּוֹ - ʾal yitmekhu vo): A strong prohibitory command. "Do not support him," "do not sustain him," "do not hold him up." It implies that assistance is either forbidden by divine justice, or utterly ineffective given the depth of his internal torment and predetermined ruin. It also implies society should not harbor or assist a murderer in escaping justice or consequences.
Words-Group Analysis:
- A man who is tormented by the guilt of bloodshed: This phrase powerfully illustrates the psychological and spiritual burden of taking a human life. It’s not just external legal repercussions, but an internal gnawing affliction of conscience that stems from such a profound sin against God and man, whose image man is.
- will flee to the pit: This depicts the murderer's desperate attempt to escape his inner turmoil or external justice, which ironically leads him further into self-destruction, ultimate ruin, or judgment. This "fleeing" is often portrayed as an irreversible descent into a state of despair or literal death. The destination is certain, reflecting the unescapable nature of divine justice.
- let no one help him: This final clause highlights the severity of the offense. It implies that society should not aid or condone such a person, allowing divine justice and natural consequences to take their course. Furthermore, it might convey that human aid is fundamentally insufficient to deliver one from the kind of profound guilt that bloodshed brings, apart from genuine repentance and God's sovereign forgiveness (which often comes with the necessity of facing justice, as per the Law). It can also suggest that interfering with the avenger of blood or justice for a murderer is prohibited.
Proverbs 28 17 Bonus section
The reference to "the pit" also echoes the concept of Sheol or the grave, emphasizing the finality of the fate that awaits the unrepentant murderer. It reflects the truth that some sins, especially those against the sacredness of human life, carry an intrinsic and self-perpetuating consequence of severe spiritual anguish and unavoidable ruin. The emphasis here is on the internal mechanism of divine justice (conscience) leading to an external reality ("flee to the pit"), which human intervention cannot thwart or remedy. It serves as a stern warning and a theological statement on the gravity of murder, implying divine abandonment of those unrepentantly burdened by such blood-guilt to their own self-destructive paths.
Proverbs 28 17 Commentary
Proverbs 28:17 graphically portrays the profound and unescapable consequence for one who sheds innocent blood. The "torment" described is primarily internal—a crushing burden of guilt on the conscience, consistent with psychological studies of perpetrators of heinous crimes and biblical accounts of guilt (e.g., Cain, David before repentance). This intense inner suffering drives the murderer into a spiral of despair, represented by "the pit," which signifies not just literal imprisonment or death, but a state of absolute ruin, moral decay, or ultimate spiritual separation.
The declaration, "let no one help him," carries multi-layered significance. Firstly, it could be a legal instruction, forbidding any person or authority from shielding a murderer from due justice, reinforcing the principle of capital punishment for bloodshed as mandated in earlier books of the Torah (Gen 9:6; Num 35). Secondly, it underscores the spiritual truth that human solace, intervention, or aid is utterly inadequate to cleanse such deep-seated blood-guilt. No amount of human effort or support can truly alleviate the divinely ordained consequence or the profound inner spiritual stain left by murder. Ultimately, only God can truly offer cleansing, through genuine repentance and the atoning sacrifice, but this verse focuses on the plight of the one who remains laden and "flees to the pit," suggesting one beyond human aid or perhaps unwilling to seek God's mercy in truth. The verse implicitly highlights the unique sacredness of human life.