What Does Proverbs 28:15 Mean?
As a roaring lion and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the emptied people.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.THE KEY
The verse exposes a ruler’s authority as predatory when the people beneath it are already vulnerable.
THE MEANING
When rule bears down on people with little means or protection, power feels like a predator above them: loud, roaming, dangerous. The verse names the danger in the relationship itself, where authority consumes instead of sheltering.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a title or office guarantees protection: a ruler can become the danger facing the people.
THE ROOT
דָּל
dal
GROWS FROM
דלל
dalal
To be low, hang down, or become weak.
“emptied” in this verse is dal. English “poor” can sound like a matter of money alone. Dal also carries lowliness and weakness, so the ruler is measured by what power does to people who are already vulnerable.
ALSO GROWS
dal: A person in a low or vulnerable condition.
דַל
The verse places the ruler above people who have little power to defend themselves.
dalal: To be brought low or diminished.
דָּלַל
This branch sharpens the danger: predatory rule bears down on people already exposed to loss and weakness.
THE PATTERN
When authority bears down on exposed people without justice, it takes the form of predation.
He lies in wait in the hidden place, like a lion in his shelter. He lies in wait to snatch the poor; he snatches the poor, dragging him into his net.Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, to pour out blood, and to make living souls perish, to cut for gain.Watch for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are snatching wolves.THE THREAD
A king who judges the emptied in truth has a throne that stands firm for the ages.Both verses use דָּל (dal) for “the poor.” Here the ruler is a predator over the vulnerable; there, a king’s throne stands through faithful judgment of them.
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