When It Goes Well With the Righteous
When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
The Proverbs are full of cause-and-effect relationships. Our actions affect those around us.
If we do the right things, we can be a blessing to our neighborhood and city, bringing joy. But if we do wicked things, we bring sorrow on those around us. This suffering and sorrow is only relieved when the wicked person goes away.
“Truly righteous people bring justice to all the inhabitants of a city, and the city experiences true peace—that is, shalom, meaning ‘things as they ought to be.’ Many psalm writers cried for vindication of the righteous and for a cessation of evil (see Ps. 69:22-28). For the fate of a city without any righteous persons in it, see the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen. 18:22-33” (NKJV Study Bible, note on Proverbs 11:10-11).
For more about cause and effect, see “Cause and Effect in Proverbs.”
