Proverbs 4:16-20 - Blindsided

The book of Proverbs describes people who are possessed by evil. It states, “They cannot sleep unless they have done evil; and they are robbed of sleep if they have not caused someone to fall”, (Proverbs 4:16). “For they eat the bread of evil and the wine of injustice they drink”, (ibib. 17). “The way of the evil is like darkness, they do not know on what they stumble”, (ibib. 19).

Common reasons for a loss of sleep are because of worry or violation of a strong routine. Therefore a rasha who is constantly doing bad things and doing them intentionally, may actually lose sleep because of breaking the habit of being bad and may actually suffer guilt feelings because he failed to do something rotten.

Conceptually bread is what keeps a person alive. One is obligated to eat it. In addition if consumed with another it creates a feeling of comradery. If eaten as part of a festive meal, one becomes more greatly attached to the reasons for the celebration and these reasons become a stronger aspect of their personality. When used as a metaphor bread refers to the essence of a person and the cause that keeps them going. In the case brought by Proverbs, the bread of evil, means that this person's life is about evil and it is what personifies him, and keeps him going. It is his cause and his circle of friends.

The idea of wine is its intoxicating quality. Components of this would include joy, depth, and serenity. Like bread it also creates bonds. Proverbs uses the word "חֲמָס". Here one can look at it as getting away with something bad. An example would be somebody who got caught stealing or cheating but was able to weasel their way out of it. Another is success in a court case specifically when they were in the wrong. Thieves will brag about and show off things they robbed. Vandals will laugh about their cruelty and mischief. The aspect of wine is that they get intoxicated and enthusiastic about the crooked things they did.

The final line compares evil to darkness and notes that rashaim fall but do not know why. A rasha often closes his eyes to things he does not want to see. There are problems with this. The thing being ignored may be the instrument of destruction. Also a person’s perception can become generally impaired. On top of that the source of retribution may be very subtle. The rasha will look at it very superficially and draw the wrong conclusion.

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