Proverbs 12:12

12. Desireth the net Spoil or prey, the product of the “net.”

Of evil men Or, of the evil. He is fond of the wiles and arts which are characteristic of the bad man; he resorts to trickery and deception to make himself secure and firm.

But the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit The righteous only shall be prosperous and successful. So the clause is generally understood. But the “net” or snare of the evil may mean, as in Proverbs 1:17, the snare in which they are taken and destroyed. The wicked are allured to this snare as an animal is allured by its appetite to the net in which it is taken. Compare Proverbs 8:36; Proverbs 11:27. Yieldeth, יתן , ( yitten,) commonly supposed to be from נתן , ( nathan,) to give, yield, etc.; but others suggest, what is probable, that it comes from יתן , ( yathan,) to be strong, firm; and hence render the last clause, the root of the righteous shall be firm. For illustration of “net of evil men,” compare Psalms 10:8-10. Conant’s interpretation gives a good sense: “In striking contrast with the chance gains of the wicked is here shown the sure and natural increase of the righteous. The former is likened to a net stealthily spread for the prey, that may take little or much, or, perchance, nothing. The latter is the natural and certain growth from the root, planted in the earth, that will not fail to bear fruit.”