Chapter
Verse

Proverbs 24:15

ESV Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home;
NIV Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous, do not plunder their dwelling place;
NASB Do not lie in ambush, you wicked person, against the home of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place;
CSB Don’t set an ambush, you wicked one, at the camp of the righteous man; don’t destroy his dwelling.
NLT Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly, and don’t raid the house where the godly live.
KJV Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
NKJV Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not plunder his resting place;

What does Proverbs 24:15 mean?

This verse sounds a warning about aggression against the righteous. To do so is a sign of depravity—imitating the life of "a wicked man"—and such things can bring eternal consequences (Proverbs 24:16). Solomon creates the image of an ambush prepared outside the home of a godly person. Enemies look for an opportunity to destroy; the context of this lesson suggests the good man is weakened by illness or distress.

The Devil schemes against the righteous today as he has in the past. He waits for an opportunity to take advantage of our weakness. Like a predator, he hunts for someone vulnerable to his attacks (1 Peter 5:8). He assaulted Jesus in the desert when Jesus was physically weak after forty days of fasting (Matthew 4:1–3). But Jesus withstood the Devil's temptations. The Devil tripped up Peter when Peter's confidence was in himself instead of in the Lord. Jesus said Satan would sift Peter like wheat, and that is what he did, when Peter denied Jesus three times in the presence of a servant girl and others (Luke 22:31, 54–62).
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