Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 20:28

A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.

Commentary on the Old Testament
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · 19th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.

28 Love and truth guard the king; And he supports his throne by love. We have not in the German \[nor in the Eng.\] language a couple of words that completely cover חסד ואמת; when they are used of God, we translate them by grace and truth \[Gnade u. Wahrheit\], Psa 40:12 (יצּרוּני); when of men, by love and truth \[Liebe u. Treue\], Pro 16:6; and when of the two-sided divine forces, by kindness and truth, Pro 3:3. Love and truth are the two good spirits that guard the king. If it is elsewhere said that the king's throne is supported "with judgment and with justice," Isa 9:6 \[7\]; here, on the other side, we see that the exercise of government must have love as its centre; he has not only to act on the line of right, שׁוּרת הדּין; but, as the later proverb says, in such a way, that within this circle his conduct is determined by the central motive of love. In this sense we give the king not only the title of Grossmchtigster \[most high and mighty\], but also that of "Allergndigster" most gracious, for the king can and ought to exercise grace before other men; the virtue of condescension establishes his throne more than the might of greatness. Proverbs 20:29

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