When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.

When it goeth well with the just the city shall rejoice: and when the wicked perish there shall be praise.

When the righteous prosper, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.

In the good of the righteous a city exulteth, And in the destruction of the wicked is singing.

When things go well for the upright man, all the town is glad; at the death of sinners, there are cries of joy.

When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth; And when the wicked perish, there is joy.

In the good of the just, the city shall exult. And in the perdition of the impious, there shall be praise.

When it goeth well - An upright, pious, sensible man is a great blessing to the neighborhood where he resides, by his example, his advice, and his prayers. The considerate prize him on these accounts, and rejoice in his prosperity. But when the wicked perish, who has been a general curse by the contagion of his example and conversation, there is not only no regret expressed for his decease, but a general joy because God has removed him.

When the righteous prosper, the city (e) rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, [there is] shouting.
(e) The country is blessed, where there are godly men, and they ought to rejoice when the wicked are taken away.

When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth,.... As it always does, even in the worst of times; in times of public calamity and distress, and when enemies rise up on all hands; it is well with them in life, in death, and to all eternity; see Isaiah 3:10; but there are particular times when it goes well with them, which is matter of joy to others; when they prosper in the worm, increase in riches and honour, and are advanced to places of authority and trust; just magistrates in a city or commonwealth are a blessing, and so cause joy; see Proverbs 29:2; and when it goes well with them in spiritual things, they increase in gifts and grace, the humble hear of it and are glad; the city or church of God, the community of the saints, rejoice: and as it went well with them in Constantine's time, when Paganism was destroyed and persecution ceased; and at the time of the reformation, when the pure doctrines of the Gospel were revived, which were both times of joy to the city of God; so in the latter day, when the Lord's people will be righteous, the church will be the joy of many generations; and when the kingdom shall be given to the saints of the most High, and the kingdoms of the world become the Lord's and his Christ's, there will be great voices in heaven, rejoicings in the church, and a new song sung, Isaiah 60:21;
and when the wicked perish, there is shouting; as there will be great rejoicings, shoutings, and hallelujahs, when Babylon is fallen, Revelation 18:20.

Nations prosper when wicked men are cast down.

The last may be a reason for the first. Together, they set forth the relative moral worth of good and bad men.

Three proverbs follow relating to the nature of city and national life, and between them two against mockery and backbiting:
10 In the prosperity of the righteous the city rejoiceth;
And if the wicked come to ruin, there is jubilation.
The בּ of בּטוּב denotes the ground but not the object, as elsewhere, but the cause of the rejoicing, like the ב 10b, and in the similar proverb, Proverbs 29:2, cf. Proverbs 28:12. If it goes well with the righteous, the city has cause for joy, because it is for the advantage of the community; and if the wicked (godless) come to an end, then there is jubilation (substantival clause for תּרן), for although they are honoured in their lifetime, yet men breathe freer when the city is delivered from the tyranny and oppression which they exercised, and from the evil example which they gave. Such proverbs, in which the city (civitas) represents the state, the πόλις the πολιτεία, may, as Ewald thinks, be of earlier date than the days of an Asa or Jehoshaphat; for "from the days of Moses and Joshua to the days of David and Solomon, Israel was a great nation, divided indeed into many branches and sections, but bound together by covenant, whose life did not at all revolve around one great city alone." We value such critical judgments according to great historical points of view, but confess not to understand why קריה must just be the chief city and may not be any city, and how on the whole a language which had not as yet framed the conception of the state (post-bibl. מדינה), when it would described the community individually and as a whole, could speak otherwise than of city and people.