Proverbs 17:26
It is surely not good to punish the innocent or to flog a noble for his honesty.
Berean Standard Bible
In The King James Version
Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.
In Context
25A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
27A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.
Cross References
Genesis 18:25Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
2 Samuel 3:39And I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil!”
2 Samuel 19:7Now therefore get up! Go out and speak comfort to your servants, for I swear by the LORD that if you do not go out, not a man will remain with you tonight. This will be worse for you than all the adversity that has befallen you from your youth until now!”
Proverbs 17:15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous— both are detestable to the LORD.
Micah 5:1Now, O daughter of troops, mobilize your troops; for a siege is laid against us! With a rod they will strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 17:26
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him. Observe, 1. Wicked children are an affliction to both their parents. They are an occasion of anger to the father (so the word signifies), because they contemn his authority, but of sorrow and bitterness to the mother, because they abuse her tenderness. The parents, being joint-sufferers, should therefore bring mutual comfort to bear them up under it, and strive to make it as easy as they can, the mother to mollify the father's anger,… Read the whole commentary →