Proverbs 23:18 - Exposition

For surely there is an end. Some take the hemistich conditionally, rendering אִם "when," or "if the end comes;" but cue sees no object in the thought being expressed conditionally; and it is best. with the Authorized Version, Nowack, and others, to take כִּי אִם equivalent to "assuredly," as in 15:7 ; 2 Samuel 15:21 . "End" ( acharith ) is the glorious future that awaits the pious ( Proverbs 24:14 ; Jeremiah 29:11 ). The prosperity of simmers is not to be envied, for it is transitory and deceptive; but for the righteous, however depressed at times there is a happy end in prospect. And thine expectation ( hope ) shall not be cut off. The hope of comfort here and reward hereafter shall be abundantly realized. The writer has a firm belief in the moral government of God, and in a future life which shall rectify all anomalies (comp. Proverbs 14:32 ; Wis. 5:15, etc.; Ecclesiastes 1:13 ). Septuagint, "For if thou keep them, thou shalt haw posterity, and thy hope shall not be removed" ( Psalms 37:9 ; Job 42:12 ).