Proverbs 21:18

“The wicked [shall be] a ransom for the righteous, etc.] Not to make satisfaction for them, as Christ is a ransom for his people; but as a ransom is in the room of another, so the wicked cometh in the stead of the righteous, and into the trouble he is delivered from; as Haman for Mordecai, which instance Jarchi mentions; (see <201108>Proverbs 11:8); or when a body of people are threatened with divine vengeance; and this falls upon the wicked, whose sins caused it, and the righteous are delivered from it; as in the case of Achan, and the seven sons of Saul, (<060726>Joshua 7:26 <102101>2 Samuel 21:1-6). And sometimes God turns the wrath of the princes of the earth from his own people, and…”

“(Compare Pro 11:8). By suffering what they had devised for the righteous, or brought on them, the wicked became their ransom, in the usual sense of substitutes (compare Jos 7:26; Est 7:9).”

“Compare the marginal reference. Evil doers seem to draw down the wrath of God upon their heads, and so become, as it were, the scapegoats of the comparatively righteous. return to 'Top of Page'”

“A ransom - The wicked shall be brought into those troubles, which were designed by wicked men for the righteous: thus Haman was a ransom for Mordecai. Proverbs 21:20”

“21:18 The wicked will fall prey to the traps they set for others (26:27; see also 11:8).”

“wicked: Pro 11:8; Isa 43:3, Isa 43:4, Isa 53:4, Isa 53:5, Isa 55:8, Isa 55:9; Pe1 3:18 Proverbs 21:19”

“18 The godless becometh a ransom for the righteous; And the faithless cometh into the place of the upright. The thought is the same as at Pro 11:8. An example of this is, that the same world-commotion which brought the nations round Babylon for its destruction, put an end to Israel's exile: Cyrus, the instrument in God's hands for inflicting punishment on many heathen nations, was Israel's liberator, Isa 43:3. Another example is in the exchange of places by Haman and Mordecai, to which Rashi refers. כּפר is equivalent to λύτρον, ransom; but it properly signifies price of atonement, and generally, means of reconciliation, which covers or atones for the guilt of any one; the poll-tax and…”