Rulers and Justice

Romans 13:3-5 relates back to Proverbs 21:15. I presume that Paul recalled this verse when he was thinking and writing about Rulers and justice. A literal translation of the verse is as follows.

Joy to the righteous is the doing of justice, but ruin to doers of evil (Prov 21:15).

The proverb explains that good people are glad when a ruler executes justice correctly, regardless of whether the ruler is good or evil. On the other hand, well executed justice brings down people who are prone to wickedness. The quality of justice is more important than the quality of character of the ruler.

More at Understanding Romans 13.