Proverbs Chapter 20 verse 26 Holy Bible
A wise king winnoweth the wicked, And bringeth the `threshing' -wheel over them.
read chapter 20 in ASV
A wise king puts evil-doers to flight, and makes their evil-doing come back on them.
read chapter 20 in BBE
A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
read chapter 20 in DARBY
A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
read chapter 20 in KJV
read chapter 20 in WBT
A wise king winnows out the wicked, And drives the threshing wheel over them.
read chapter 20 in WEB
A wise king is scattering the wicked, And turneth back on them the wheel.
read chapter 20 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 26. - A wise king scattereth the wicked (ver. 8). The verb is zarah, which means "to winnow, or sift." The king separates the wicked and the good, as the winnowing fan or shovel divides the chaff from the wheat. The same metaphor is used of Christ (Matthew 3:12), "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (comp. Jeremiah 15:7). Septuagint, "A winnower (λικμήτωρ) of the ungodly is a wise king." And bringeth the wheel over them. The threshing wheel is meant (see Isaiah 28:27; Amos 1:3). This was a wooden frame with three or four rollers under it armed with iron teeth. It was drawn by two oxen, and, aided by the weight of the driver, who had his seat upon it, it crushed out the grain, and cut up the straw into fodder. Another machine much used in Palestine was made of two thick planks fastened together side by side, and having sharp stones fixed in rows on the lower surface. It is not implied that the king employed the corn drag as an instrument of punishment, which was sometimes so used in war, as possibly may be inferred from 2 Samuel 12:31; 1 Chronicles 20:3; and Amos 1:3. The idea of threshing is carried on, and the notion is rather of separation than of punishment, though the latter is not wholly excluded. The wise ruler will not only distinguish between the godless and the good, but will show his discrimination by visiting the evil with condign puuishment. Septuagint, "He will bring the wheel upon them;" the Vulgate has curiously, Incurvat super eos fornicem, "He bends an arch over them," which Latin commentators explain as a triumphal arch, meaning that the king conquers and subdues the wicked, and celebrates his victory over them. A patent anachronism which needs no comment!
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(26) A wise king scattereth the wicked.--Rather, winnows them.And bringeth the wheel over them.--Comp. Isaiah 28:27. A sort of sledge or cart was driven over the stalks of corn spread upon the threshing-floor, by means of which the grain was separated from the husk. A wise king winnows out evil persons from among his people, thus putting an end to their corrupting influence. (Comp. Matthew 3:12.)
