18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.
This intimates, 1. What should be done by the justice of men: The wicked, that are the troublers of a land, ought to be punished, for the preventing and turning away of those national judgments which otherwise will be inflicted and in which even the righteous are many times involved. Thus when Achan was stoned he was a ransom for the camp of righteous Israel; and the seven sons of Saul, when they were hanged, were a ransom for the kingdom of righteous David. 2. What is often done by the providence of God: The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked comes in his stead, and so seems as if he were a ransom for him,Proverbs 11:8 Proverbs 11:8. God will rather leave many wicked people to be cut off than abandon his own people. I will give men for thee,Isaiah 43:3; Isaiah 43:4.