He in whose eyes the evildoer is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord, who swears to his neighbor and does not change.
This verse shows how a righteous person evaluates people and how faithful he is to his word. He does not admire an evildoer and does not honor him, for example, merely because he is rich, influential, or successful. In his eyes, evil does not become honorable because of an outward position. Instead, he honors those who fear the Lord—those who acknowledge God’s authority and desire to live according to His will. In this way, his judgments are shaped not by worldly standards, but by God’s truth. The second part of the verse describes faithfulness to one’s word. “He swears and does not change” means that a person does not withdraw from his righteous promise simply because fulfilling it later becomes difficult or harmful to him. Matthew Henry and Spurgeon emphasize here the trustworthiness of one’s word and faithfulness that rises above personal advantage. This, of course, does not mean that a sinful or unlawful promise must be carried out. The point is a righteous commitment. The believer is called to be a person whose word can be trusted even when faithfulness requires sacrifice from him.