משלי, פרק כ״ב, פסוק ח׳

A simple agricultural metaphor illustrates the principle of measure for measure, revealing how wicked deeds eventually return to harm their creators. When a wealthy or powerful person exploits their position to commit injustice and oppress the weak [אבן עזרא, רלב״ג, אלשיך], they are essentially planting seeds of trouble and hardship. Just as a farmer harvests the exact crop he placed in the ground, a person receives a punishment that precisely matches their actions [רש״י, מצודת דוד, עמנואל הרומי]. Rather than gaining true benefit from their cruelty, the harm they cause will ultimately fall back upon their own heads and destroy them [רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ, עמנואל הרומי]. At times, the temporary success of a wrongdoer might lead them to heresy, mistakenly believing that God does not watch over their actions [אלשיך]. Yet, the harvest of their deeds remains inevitable.

The oppressor's ultimate downfall involves the absolute loss of their fury and controlling power [אבן עזרא, מצודת ציון]. The primary approach among commentators is that the authority, wealth, or might the wicked used to cruelly strike others will eventually break and vanish from the world. However, other perspectives offer different ways to understand this destruction. One view maintains the agricultural imagery from the beginning, explaining that the oppressor's power is like a stalk of grain that will simply wither and die [רש״י]. Another perspective shifts the focus to divine justice, suggesting that it is actually the wrath of God that will be fully unleashed upon the sinner, bringing about their complete destruction [עמנואל הרומי].