Proverbs 29:24
An Accomplice to a Crime
1. This Proverb speaks of a “partner in crime.”
2. It must be understood in light of the Law of Moses, and Lev. 5:1 in particular.
3. It serves as a warning about the dangers of being an accomplice to a thief.
1. Partner
a. The term partner means: To divide; to share a portion.
b. Prov. 17:2 – it is used of sharing an inheritance.
c. I Sam. 30:24 – It is used of sharing the spoils of battle.
d. Num. 26:53 – It is used of dividing up the land of Israel among the tribes.
e. II Sam. 6:19 – It was used of dividing up the food for distribution at feasts and festivals.
2. Partner with a thief
a. One who is a partner with a thief is an accomplice to the crime.
b. He and the thief divide the goods that were stolen.
c. The partner with the thief was not the one who actually took the stolen goods, but he shared in some way in the crime.
d. When the crime was finished and successful, the thief would divide up the goods and the accomplice would get his portion.
e. Perhaps he was the one who distracted others while the pickpocket takes the wallets. They often work in pairs. One partner bumps into a person (accidently on purpose) and distracts him which provides cover for the crime.
f. Or the accomplice could be an extra set of eyes for the thief.
g. There are lots of ways a person could be a partner to a thief.
• The term used for thief simply means a thief… one who commits the acts of stealing. It was used of stealing goods or kidnapping (stealing people).
• Solomon uses the particular example of a thief, but the point he is driving at in this proverb would certainly apply to many other kinds of crimes as well.
• You could be an accomplice to a drug deal, to a murder, to extortion, or even to some sort of deception or a lie.
3. Hateth his own soul
a. The term “hateth” means to hate; detest; to be hostile towards; to be an enemy.
b. In other words, the accomplice to this crime hates his own soul.
• Soul – the inner man; the inner life.
• The term is often used of the overall life of the person.
• That seems to be the usage here: his life.
• Thus, Solomon is saying that the accomplice to a crime becomes his own enemy.
• It is true: we can be our own worst enemy. That is the case for the accomplice to the thief.
c. By aiding a thief, the accomplice is working against his own good… against his own well-being.
d. Solomon used this kind of language for several kinds of sins. Some sins we commit (while there may be an immediate gratification), in the long run work AGAINST us… they work against our own soul… our own life. WE become our worst enemy when we engage in certain activities.
• Prov.6:32 – Adultery
• Prov. 8:36 – Rejecting words of wisdom (vs. 33-36)
• Prov. 15:32 – Despising instruction
• Prov. 20:2 – Provoking a king
e. We could add many more crimes and sins that work against us… that turn us into our own enemy… working against our soul. (like lying; pornography; drugs; cheating; etc.)
f. It is also dangerous because being an accomplice to a crime is often the first step in becoming a criminal. It is a learning process and next time around the accomplice actually commits the crime.
4. The lesson here is that you don’t have to be the one who actually commits the crime. Aiding and abetting or being an accomplice in any way also brings guilt. This is elaborated on in the second part of the proverb.
1. I take this to be a synthetic parallelism, a poetic form in which the second part of the proverb adds to or builds upon the thought in the first part. (as opposed to synonymous or antithetical)
a. In the first part of the proverb Solomon spoke about an accomplice to a thief and how that works against his own soul… against his own life.
b. Now Solomon builds upon that thought and elaborates upon a concept that might not be apparent to us in the 21st century, but was probably very obvious to Solomon’s original, Jewish readers.
2. To understand the second part of this proverb it might be helpful to consider the words of Moses, which the Jews living under the Mosaic Law would be familiar.
a. Lev. 5:1 – What Moses describes here is called a “sin.”
b. The setting is a courtroom scene. A crime has been committed and the people involved are standing before the judge.
c. The judge speaks – it is the voice of “swearing.”
• This does not mean cursing or profanity.
• It is a swearing of witnesses… an oath.
• The judge orders all present to tell him what they know about the crime.
• In our courts, we say, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
• Something similar to that occurred in the Jewish courts as well.
d. The law of Lev. 5:1 states that if a person hears the voice of “swearing in” in the courtroom, and is a witness (he either saw the crime committed or knows something about it), if he “does not utter it” (if he refuses to speak up and tell the court what he knows), then he shall bear his iniquity.
• In other words, the one who saw or heard something about the crime and refuses to speak up, he becomes an accomplice to the crime.
• He shall be considered guilty. He bears his own iniquity for being a partner or accomplice to the crime.
e. Of course, the law in Leviticus 5:1 is much broader than only the crime of stealing. It would be applied to any crime.
f. Solomon (who himself functioned as a judge in Israel) would have been very familiar with this requirement of the law.
g. This serves as a backdrop to Proverbs 29:24.
3. “He that heareth cursing and bewrayeth it not…”
a. The cursing in our proverb refers not to profanity, but to the “swearing in” process in the Jewish court system.
b. They were put under oath to tell what they know. The law demanded that they tell what they know.
c. And “bewrayeth” it not.
• Bewray means to inform; to speak information; to speak up; to give a report; to make known.
• The one who knows anything about a crime is required to speak up… to make known what he knows so that justice might be meted out.
• There was no Miranda Law in Israel. They did not have the right to remain silent if they knew something pertinent to a crime. They HAD to speak up and report what they knew.
• Thus, the law recognized no difference between the criminal and his accomplice. Thus, all were required to say whatever they knew when placed under oath before the judge.
• This is why the Lord Jesus, who was silent before the judges, but when the High Priest “adjured” Him to speak, (put under the oath – sworn in) He did.
• And He said, “Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
4. In our proverb, Solomon is picturing a scene where the man who knows something about a theft does not speak up.
a. He knows “who dun it” but he keeps quiet.
b. Moses said that such a person shall “bear his iniquity.” It is SIN and he will pay for his sin if he is discovered.
c. Solomon implies that such a person is actually an accomplice to the crime.
d. He is an accomplice either before the fact (he helped the thief carry out his crime) or after the fact (he helped the thief get away with his crime.
e. Either way, the Scriptures said that such a person – even if he did not carry out the crime himself, is guilty. He is a “partner” in the crime… a guilty accomplice.
f. This was a serious crime too—it could mean that the wrong person is convicted and the guilty party goes free. Justice is trampled over.
g. The one who knows the truth and doesn’t speak up is guilty of promoting injustice.
5. The application to us
a. We don’t live under Mosaic Law, but there are principles that do apply.
b. There may times when it is wrong—sinful—for us NOT to speak up.
c. This would be a sin of omission.
d. For example, right now, the FBI and local police are looking for accomplices to the Boston marathon bombing.
• There are probably people out there who aided these two terrorists. Perhaps they watched out for them. Perhaps they helped them build the bombs or get the materials for the bombs. Perhaps someone else put them up to it—encouraged it.
• There may be others who may not have actually helped them, but knew about it.
• Those accomplices (either active or passive) have a responsibility to speak up and say what they know!
e. Hopefully, none of us will ever be an active accomplice in a crime, but we could inadvertently become a passive accomplice—if we just happen to hear something or see something.
f. As a believer, we ought to LOVE justice and be on the side of justice.
• Keeping quiet hinders the execution of justice. Why would a believer ever want to hinder justice from being carried out?
• Keeping quiet could mean that someone else is blamed and convicted.
• Sometimes it is SIN for us not to speak up when we should.
• We have a God given responsibility NOT to be “partaker of other men’s sins.”
» I Tim. 5:22 – “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.”
» II John 10-11 – “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
g. Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
• Another good application for us is to avoid fellowship and friendship with criminals in the first place!
• I Cor. 15:33 – “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”