| Barnes' Notes on the Bible The rod of his anger - That with which he smites others (compare Isaiah 14:6). The King James Version describes the final impotence of the wrath of the wicked.
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleHe that soweth iniquity - The crop must be according to the seed. If a man sow thistle seed, is it likely he shall reap wheat? If he sow to the flesh, shall he not of the flesh reap destruction?
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleHe that soweth iniquity (u) shall reap vanity,.... He that practises sin, and is frequent in the commission of it; indulges to it in a profuse way, as the sower plentifully scatters his seed; such shall reaper possess nothing but sin and wickedness; for, what a man sows, that shall he reap; he shall eat the fruit of his doings, and have the reward of his works; see Job 4:8; or "nothing" (w), mere emptiness; it shall not answer; he shall have in the end neither pleasure nor profit, but the contrary; "shall reap evil things", as the Septuagint, Arabic, and Vulgate Latin versions render it; and the rod of his anger shall fail; with which he has ruled and smitten others in an angry and cruel manner; this shall be taken from him; his authority shall fail, and he shall become subject to others, and be used in like manner; see Isaiah 14:4. R. Joseph Kimchi interprets it of "the rod of the increase" of the earth, or the rod or flail with which the fruits of the earth are threshed or beaten out, which should fail before they were reaped; and Schultens (x) has reference to the same, and gives the sense, that a wicked man that sows iniquity, when he thinks his harvest is ripe, shall be beaten with the flail, by which he shall be consumed; and he that threshed others shall be threshed himself. (u) So, "serere fallaciam", in Plauti Poenulo, l. 1. v. 67. (w) "inanitatem ac nihilum", Michaelis. (x) "Et virga in eum desaevitura, erit decretoria".
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old TestamentThe group now following extends to the end of this first collection of Solomon's proverbs; it closes also with a proverb of the poor and the rich. 8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap calamity; And the rod of his fury shall vanish away. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7); he that soweth good reapeth good, Proverbs 11:18; he that soweth evil reapeth evil, Job 4:8; cf. Hosea 10:12. עולה is the direct contrast of צדקה or ישׁר (e.g., Psalm 125:3; Psalm 107:42), proceeding from the idea that the good is right, i.e., straight, rectum; the evil, that which departs from the straight line, and is crooked. Regarding און, which means both perversity of mind and conduct, as well as destiny, calamity, vid., Proverbs 12:21. That which the poet particularly means by עולה is shown in 8b, viz., unsympathizing tyranny, cruel misconduct toward a neighbour. שׁבט עברתו is the rod which he who soweth iniquity makes another to feel in his anger. The saying, that an end will be to this rod of his fury, agrees with that which is said of the despot's sceptre, Isaiah 14:5.; Psalm 125:3. Rightly Fleischer: baculus insolentiae ejus consumetur h. e. facultas qua pollet alios insolenter tractandi evanescet. Hitzig's objection, that a rod does not vanish away, but is broken, is answered by this, that the rod is thought of as brandished; besides, one uses כּלה of anything which has an end, e.g., Isaiah 16:4. Other interpreters understand "the rod of his fury" of the rod of God's anger, which will strike the עוּל and יכלה, as at Ezekiel 5:13; Daniel 12:7 : "and the rod of His punishment will surely come" (Ewald, and similarly Schultens, Euchel, Umbreit). This though also hovers before the lxx: πληγὴν δὲ ἔργων αὐτοῦ (עבדתו) συντελέσει (יכלּה). But if the rod of punishment which is appointed for the unrighteous be meant, then we would have expected כּלהו. Taken in the future, the כּלות of the שׁבט is not its confectio in the sense of completion, but its termination or annihilation; and besides, it lies nearer after 8a to take the suffix of עברתו subjectively (Isaiah 14:6; Isaiah 16:6) than objectively. The lxx has, after Proverbs 22:8, a distich: - ἄνδρα ἱλαρὸν καὶ δότην εὐλογεῖ ὁ θεὸς ματαιότητα δὲ ἔργων αὐτοῦ συντελέσει. The first line (2 Corinthians 9:7) is a variant translation of 9a (cf. Proverbs 21:17), the second (ושׁוא עבדתו) is a similar rendering of 8b.
Geneva Study BibleHe that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the {e} rod of his anger shall fail. (e) His authority by which he oppressed others, will be taken from him.
Wesley's Notes 22:8 The rod - That power which he used with fury shall be taken from him.
King James Translators' Notesthe rod...: or, with the rod of his anger he shall be consumed
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary8. (Compare Pr 11:18; Ps 109:16-20; Ga 6:7, 8). the rod . fail-His power to do evil will be destroyed.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary22:1 We should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name, than to raise or add unto a great estate. 2. Divine Providence has so ordered it, that some are rich, and others poor, but all are guilty before God; and at the throne of God's grace the poor are as welcome as the rich. 3. Faith foresees the evil coming upon sinners, and looks to Jesus Christ as the sure refuge from the storm. 4. Where the fear of God is, there will be humility. And much is to be enjoyed by it; spiritual riches, and eternal life at last. 5. The way of sin is vexatious and dangerous. But the way of duty is safe and easy. 6. Train children, not in the way they would go, that of their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which, if you love them, you would have them go. As soon as possible every child should be led to the knowledge of the Saviour. 7. This shows how important it is for every man to keep out of debt. As to the things of this life, there is a difference between the rich and the poor; but let the poor remember, it is the Lord that made the difference. 8. The power which many abuse, will soon fail them. 9. He that seeks to relieve the wants and miseries of others shall be blessed. 10. Profane scoffers and revilers disturb the peace. 11. God will be the Friend of a man in whose spirit there is no guile; this honour have all the saints. 12. God turns the counsels and designs of treacherous men to their own confusion. 13. The slothful man talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion within, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him. 14. The vile sin of licentiousness commonly besots the mind beyond recovery. 15. Sin is foolishness, it is in the heart, there is an inward inclination to sin: children bring it into the world with them; and it cleaves close to the soul. We all need to be corrected by our heavenly Father. 16. We are but stewards, and must distribute what God intrusts to our care, according to his will.
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible CommentaryVerse 8 Note 1. Ill-gotten gains will not prosper: He that sows iniquity, that does an unjust thing in hopes to get by it, shall reap vanity; what he gets will never do him any good nor give him any satisfaction. He will meet nothing but disappointment. Those that create trouble to others do but prepare trouble for themselves. Men shall reap as they sow. 2. Abused power will not last. If the rod of authority turn into a rod of anger, if men rule by passion instead of prudence, and, instead of the public welfare, aim at nothing so much as the gratifying of their own resentments, it shall fail and be broken, and their power shall not bear them out in their exorbitances, Isa. 10:24, 25. | 
