Amsal 11:24

11:24 One person is generous ¹  and yet grows more wealthy, ² 

but another withholds more than he should ³  and comes to poverty. ⁴ 

Amsal 12:4

12:4 A noble wife ⁵  is the crown ⁶  of her husband,

but the wife ⁷  who acts shamefully is like rottenness in his bones. ⁸ 

Amsal 12:11

12:11 The one who works ⁹  his field will have plenty ¹⁰  of food,

but whoever chases daydreams ¹¹  lacks wisdom. ¹² 

Amsal 14:22

14:22 Do not those who devise ¹³  evil go astray?

But those who plan good exhibit ¹⁴  faithful covenant love. ¹⁵ 

Amsal 14:31

14:31 The one who oppresses ¹⁶  the poor insults ¹⁷  his Creator,

but whoever shows favor ¹⁸  to the needy honors him.

Amsal 19:17

19:17 The one who is gracious ¹⁹  to the poor lends ²⁰  to the Lord,

and the Lord ²¹  will repay him ²²  for his good deed. ²³ 

Amsal 21:13

21:13 The one who shuts his ears ²⁴  to the cry ²⁵  of the poor,

he too will cry out and will not be answered. ²⁶ 

Amsal 21:17

21:17 The one who loves ²⁷  pleasure ²⁸  will be ²⁹  a poor person; ³⁰ 

whoever loves wine and anointing oil ³¹  will not be rich.

Amsal 22:16

22:16 The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain

and the one who gives to the rich ³²  – both end up only in poverty.

Amsal 23:24

23:24 The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly; ³³ 

whoever fathers a wise child ³⁴  will have joy in him.

Amsal 23:31

23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

when it sparkles ³⁵  in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly. ³⁶ 

Amsal 27:12

27:12 A shrewd person sees danger and hides himself,

but the naive keep right on going ³⁷  and suffer for it.

Amsal 29:1

29:1 The one who stiffens his neck ³⁸  after numerous rebukes ³⁹ 

will suddenly be destroyed ⁴⁰  without remedy. ⁴¹ 

Amsal 30:5

30:5 Every word of God is purified; ⁴² 

he is like ⁴³  a shield for those who take refuge in him. ⁴⁴ 

[11:24]  ¹ tn Heb “There is one who scatters.” The participle מְפַזֵּר (mÿfazzer, “one who scatters”) refers to charity rather than farming or investments (and is thus a hypocatastasis). Cf. CEV “become rich by being generous”).

[11:24]  ² tn Heb “increases.” The verb means that he grows even more wealthy. This is a paradox: Generosity determines prosperity in God’s economy.

[11:24]  ³ tn Heb “more than what is right.” This one is not giving enough, but saving for himself.

[11:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “comes to lack.” The person who withholds will come to the diminishing of his wealth. The verse uses hyperbole to teach that giving to charity does not make anyone poor, and neither does refusal to give ensure prosperity.

[12:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “a wife of virtue”; NAB, NLT “a worthy wife.” This noble woman (אֵשֶׁת־חַיִל, ’shet-khayil) is the subject of Prov 31. She is a “virtuous woman” (cf. KJV), a capable woman of noble character. She is contrasted with the woman who is disgraceful (מְבִישָׁה, mÿvishah; “one who causes shame”) or who lowers his standing in the community.

[12:4]  ⁶ sn The metaphor of the “crown” emphasizes that such a wife is a symbol of honor and glory.

[12:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “she”; the referent (the wife) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ⁸ sn The simile means that the shameful acts of such a woman will eat away her husband’s strength and influence and destroy his happiness.

[12:11]  ⁹ sn In the biblical period agriculture was the most common occupation for the people; so “working a field” describes a substantial occupation, but also represents working in general. Diligent work, not get-rich-quick schemes, is the key to ensuring income.

[12:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will have his fill of” or “will be satisfied with.”

[12:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “empty things” or “vain things.” The term רֵיקִים (reqim) refers to worthless pursuits in an effort to make money. The fact that the participle used is “chase after” shows how elusive these are. Cf. NIV “fantasies”; NCV “empty dreams”; TEV “useless projects.”

[12:11]  ¹² tn Heb “heart.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for wisdom (BDB 524 s.v. 3).

[14:22]  ¹³ sn The verb חָרַשׁ (kharash) means (1) literally: “to cut in; to engrave; to plow,” describing the work of a craftsman; and (2) figuratively: “to devise,” describing the mental activity of planning evil (what will harm people) in the first colon, and planning good (what will benefit them) in the second colon.

[14:22]  ¹⁴ tn The term “exhibit” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[14:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “loyal-love and truth.” The two terms חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת (khesed ve’emet) often form a hendiadys: “faithful love” or better “faithful covenant love.”

[14:31]  ¹⁶ tn The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq) normally means “to oppress” (as in many English versions). However, here it might mean “to slander.” See J. A. Emerton, “Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 20 (1969): 202-22.

[14:31]  ¹⁷ sn In the Piel this verb has the meaning of “to reproach; to taunt; to say sharp things against” someone (cf. NIV “shows contempt for”). By oppressing the poor one taunts or mistreats God because that person is in the image of God – hence the reference to the “Creator.” To ridicule what God made is to ridicule God himself.

[14:31]  ¹⁸ sn The phrase “shows favor” is contrasted with the term “oppresses.” To “show favor” means to be gracious to (or treat kindly) those who do not deserve it or cannot repay it. It is treatment that is gratis. This honors God because he commanded it to be done (Prov 14:21; 17:5; 19:17).

[19:17]  ¹⁹ sn The participle חוֹנֵן (khonen, “shows favor to”) is related to the word for “grace.” The activity here is the kind favor shown poor people for no particular reason and with no hope of repayment. It is literally an act of grace.

[19:17]  ²⁰ tn The form מַלְוֵה (malveh) is the Hiphil participle from לָוָה (lavah) in construct; it means “to cause to borrow; to lend.” The expression here is “lender of the Lord.” The person who helps the poor becomes the creditor of God.

[19:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “he.” The referent of the 3rd person masculine singular pronoun is “the Lord” in the preceding line, which has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[19:17]  ²² sn The promise of reward does not necessarily mean that the person who gives to the poor will get money back; the rewards in the book of Proverbs involve life and prosperity in general.

[19:17]  ²³ tn Heb “and his good deed will repay him.” The word גְּמֻלוֹ (gÿmulo) could be (1) the subject or (2) part of a double accusative of the verb. Understanding it as part of the double accusative makes better sense, for then the subject of the verb is God. How “his deed” could repay him is not immediately obvious.

[21:13]  ²⁴ sn The imagery means “pay no attention to” the cry for help or “refuse to help,” so it is a metonymy of cause for the effect.

[21:13]  ²⁵ sn “Cry” here would be a metonymy of effect for the cause, the cause being the great needs of the poor.

[21:13]  ²⁶ sn The proverb is teaching that those who show mercy will receive mercy. It involves the principle of talionic justice – those who refuse the needs of others will themselves be refused when they need help (so Luke 16:19-31).

[21:17]  ²⁷ sn The participle “loves” (אֹהֵב, ’ohev) indicates in this context that more is involved than the enjoyment of pleasure, for which there is no problem. The proverb is looking at “love” in the sense of needing and choosing, an excessive or uncontrolled indulgence in pleasure.

[21:17]  ²⁸ sn “Pleasure” is actually the Hebrew word “joy” (שִׂמְחָה, simkhah). It is a metonymy of effect, the cause being the good life that brings the joy. In the second colon, “wine” and “oil” would be metonymies of cause, the particular things in life that bring joy. Therefore the figures in the lines work together to give the complete picture.

[21:17]  ²⁹ tn The phrase “will be” is supplied in the translation.

[21:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a man of poverty”; NRSV “will suffer want.”

[21:17]  ³¹ sn In elaborate feasts and celebrations the wine was for drinking but the oil was for anointing (cf. NAB, NCV “perfume”). Both of these characterize the luxurious life (e.g., Ps 23:5; 104:15; Amos 6:6).

[22:16]  ³² tn Heb “oppressing the poor, it is gain; giving to the rich, it is loss.” The Hebrew is cryptic, but two sins are mentioned here that will be punished by poverty: extortion and bribery. Perhaps the proverb is simply saying it is easy to oppress the poor for gain, but it is a waste of money to try to buy or bribe a patron (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 149).

[23:24]  ³³ tc The Qere reading has the imperfect יָגִיל (yagil) with the cognate accusative גִּיל (gil) which intensifies the meaning and the specific future of this verb.

[23:24]  ³⁴ tn The term “child” is supplied for the masculine singular adjective here.

[23:31]  ³⁵ tn Heb “its eye gives.” With CEV’s “bubbling up in the glass” one might think champagne was in view.

[23:31]  ³⁶ tn The expression is difficult, and is suspected of having been added from Song 7:10, although the parallel is not exact. The verb is the Hitpael imperfect of הָלַךְ (halakh); and the prepositional phrase uses the word “upright; equity; pleasing,” from יָשָׁר (yashar). KJV has “when it moveth itself aright”; much more helpful is ASV: “when it goeth down smoothly.” Most recent English versions are similar to ASV. The phrase obviously refers to the pleasing nature of wine.

[27:12]  ³⁷ tn Heb “go on”; the word “right” is supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning: The naive person, oblivious to impending danger, meets it head on.

[29:1]  ³⁸ tn The idiom “to harden the neck” (מַקְשֶׁה־עֹרֶף, maqsheh-’oref) is the idea of resisting the rebukes and persisting in obstinacy (e.g., Exod 32:9). The opposite of a “stiff neck” would be the bending back, i.e., submission.

[29:1]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew construction is אִישׁ תּוֹכָחוֹת (’ish tokhakhot, “a man of rebukes”), meaning “a man who has (or receives) many rebukes.” This describes a person who is deserving of punishment and who has been given many warnings. The text says, then, “a man of rebukes hardening himself.”

[29:1]  ⁴⁰ sn The stubborn person refuses to listen; he will suddenly be destroyed when the calamity strikes (e.g., Prov 6:15; 13:18; 15:10).

[29:1]  ⁴¹ tn Or “healing” (NRSV).

[30:5]  ⁴² sn The text here uses an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis): It compares the perfection of every word from God with some precious metal that has been refined and purified (e.g., Ps 12:6). The point is that God’s word is trustworthy; it has no defects and flaws, nothing false or misleading. The second half of the verse explains the significance of this point – it is safe to trust the Lord.

[30:5]  ⁴³ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[30:5]  ⁴⁴ sn The line uses two more figures of speech to declare that God can be trusted for security and salvation. “Shield” is a simple metaphor – God protects. “Take refuge” is another implied comparison (hypocatastasis) – God provides spiritual rest and security for those who put their trust in him.