When Proverbs speaks of “sinners,” it refers to people (even within the church community) who reject God’s rule over their lives. They want to decide for themselves how to live and what to live for. Among them are those whose sins are clear for all to see, but also those who live respectable and even outwardly religious lives.
Proverbs is written especially for young people, who carry in themselves great hopes for the future. They can easily be impressed by the seemingly successful lives of sinners. But, says the wise men, the only basis for a hopeful future is found in the continuous fear of the Lord. Nothing else can bring healing to our broken lives, or can help us avoid the greater part of life’s miseries. To fear the Lord implies that we respect his revealed order for our lives. The book of Proverbs is an excellent guide to this, as it shows us what the fear of the Lord looks like in day-to-day living.
For more proverbs on the hopeless future of sinners, and the hopeful future of the righteous, see Proverbs 10:28, Proverbs 11:7, Proverbs 24:1–2, and Proverbs 24:19–20. Consider also the words of 1 John 2:15–17.
17 Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.