Proverbs 12:12 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The wicked desireth the net of evil men He approves and uses those cunning and deceitful arts which evil men employ, like nets, to insnare others, and to take their goods to themselves. The word מצוד, however, here rendered net, may be translated fortress, as it is in the margin, and then the clause will be, he desires the fortress of wicked men, or of wickedness, that is, he seeks to fortify and establish himself by wicked practices. But the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit That justice and piety in which he is rooted, and which is the root of his actions, doth of itself, without the aid of any indirect and sinful courses, yield him sufficient fruit, both for his own need, and for doing good to others.