Proverbs 13:19 Commentary and Bible Study

Various suggestions have been given about the meaning of this proverb. Some make it a contrast between good desires and evil desires: the righteous have the joy of knowing that all the good things they desire will be given to them, but the wicked have the misery of knowing that the sinful things they crave will all be taken away. Others see the proverb as explaining why the wicked will not depart from evil: they derive so much pleasure from gratification of sin and so much pain from losing it that they will never voluntarily give it up. It seems more natural to take what is sweet to the soul as applying to the righteous. The proverb then compares good desire fulfilled with evil desire frustrated, the pleasure of achieving our desires with the pain of being required to give them up. It is abomination to the fool to depart from evil, because to the fool evil is good and is what he lives for. Without it his life seems worthless, so when the fool is urged by the righteous to depart from evil, it is the most unwelcome message he can hear. Life will be over soon enough, he thinks, without voluntarily giving up the only things that make it bearable. It is hardly surprising that he reacts so strongly towards those who stand between him and his lusts. He naturally regards them as his greatest enemies. So great therefore is the need for the Spirit of God to show the wicked the emptiness of the things they live for, the consequences of their evil choices on their eternal future, and the blindness which they exhibit towards the only things that have real value.