Proverbs 24:31

Proverbs 24:31 

And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.

a. ASV: And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, The face thereof was covered with nettles, And the stone wall thereof was broken down.

b. YLT: And lo, it hath gone up -- all of it -- thorns! Covered its face have nettles, And its stone wall hath been broken down.

c. Classic Amplified: And, behold, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles were covering its face, and its stone wall was broken down.

d. Septuagint: If thou let him alone, he will altogether remain barren and covered with weeds; and he becomes destitute, and his stone walls are broken down. 

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; nettles had covered its surface; and its stone wall was broken down.

1. “And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns…”

a. [And] lo [Strong: 2009 hinneh hin-nay' prolongation for 2005; lo!:--behold, lo, see.]

b. [it was] all [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

c. grown over [Strong: 5927 ʻâlâh, aw-law'; a primitive root; to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative:—arise (up), (cause to) ascend up, at once, break (the day) (up), bring (up), (cause to) burn, carry up, cast up, shew, climb (up), (cause to, make to) come (up), cut off, dawn, depart, exalt, excel, fall, fetch up, get up, (make to) go (away, up); grow (over) increase, lay, leap, levy, lift (self) up, light, (make) up, × mention, mount up, offer, make to pay, perfect, prefer, put (on), raise, recover, restore, (make to) rise (up), scale, set (up), shoot forth (up), (begin to) spring (up), stir up, take away (up), work.

d. [with] thorns [Strong: 7063 qimmâshôwn, kim-maw-shone'; from the same as H7057; a prickly plant:—thorn.]

1). Thorns and thistles are a result of the sin of Adam and Eve. 

a). Genesis 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

2). God told Moses that if Israel left any of the original inhabitants of the land in the land they would be thorns in their sides.

a). Numbers 33:50-56 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
33:51 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
33:52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:
33:53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.
33:54 And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.
33:55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
33:56 Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.

b). Joshua told Israel the same thing.

(1) Joshua 23:11-13 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.
23:12 Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:
23:13 Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.

(2) Notice that God told Israel that if they allowed the inhabitants to remain in the land and to marry into them, that God would not drive them out. These nations are a type of the sins and works of the flesh that God wants to get out of our lives, and just like Israel, if we fail to co-labor with God get these things out of our lives we will never get victory over them.

3). In the Parable of the sower Jesus likened thorns.

a). Matthew 13:3-7  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

b). Matthew 13:18-22 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

(1) Mark 4:18, 19 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

(2) Luke 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

4). Because of this passage, thorns are indicative of a life of laziness and slothfulness, in the natural life and our spiritual life. In the natural, laziness will cause a man to neglect his property and suffer because of it. He will experience things that the diligent person will not experience because they are diligent to fulfill their responsibilities. In our spiritual lives if we neglect our spiritual responsibilities our lives will be dominated the traps associated with money worldliness, and a carnal life. If we are diligent and use all the gifts and tools that Jesus through the New Covenant provide for us we will not succumb to a life of defeat.

a). Galatians 5:16-24   This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

b). 6:11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

2. “...and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.”

a. [and] nettles [Strong: 2738 chârûwl, khaw-rool'; or (shortened) חָרֻל chârul; apparently, a passive participle of an unused root probably meaning to be prickly; properly, pointed, i.e. a bramble or other thorny weed:—nettle.]

b. [had] covered [Strong: 3680 kâçâh, kaw-saw'; a primitive root; properly, to plump, i.e. fill up hollows; by implication, to cover (for clothing or secrecy):—clad self, close, clothe, conceal, cover (self), (flee to) hide, overwhelm.]

c. [the] face [thereof] [Strong: 6440 pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.]

d. [and the] stone [Strong: 68 ʼeben, eh'-ben; from the root of H1129 through the meaning to build; a stone:— carbuncle, mason, plummet, (chalk-, hail-, head-, sling-) stone(-ny), (divers) weight(-s).]

e. wall [thereof] [Strong: 1444 geder, gheh'-der; from H1443; a circumvallation:—wall.]

f. [was] broken down [Strong: 2040 hâraç, haw-ras'; a primitive root; to pull down or in pieces, break, destroy:—beat down, break (down, through), destroy, overthrow, pluck down, pull down, ruin, throw down, × utterly.]