[a](A)Ill-gotten gains do not benefit,
But righteousness rescues from death.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:2 Lit Treasures of wickedness

Treasures gained by wickedness[a] do not profit,
but righteousness[b] delivers from death.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:2 tn Heb “treasures of wickedness” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “Ill-gotten gains”; TEV “Wealth that you get by dishonesty.”
  2. Proverbs 10:2 sn The term “righteousness” here means honesty (cf. TEV). Wealth has limited value even if gained honestly, but honesty delivers from mortal danger.
  3. Proverbs 10:2 tn Heb “death.” This could refer to literal death, but it is probably figurative here for mortal danger or ruin.

11 Wealth obtained from [a]nothing dwindles,
But one who gathers [b]by labor increases it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:11 Prob. referring to fraud
  2. Proverbs 13:11 Lit by hand

11 Wealth gained quickly[a] will dwindle away,[b]
but the one who gathers it little by little[c] will become rich.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:11 tc The MT reads מֵהֵבֶל (mehevel) “from vanity” and is followed by KJV and ASV. The word הֵבֶל (hevel) means “vapor” and figuratively refers to that which is unsubstantial, fleeting, or amounts to nothing (BDB 210 s.v.). The Greek and Latin versions, followed by RSV, reflect מְבֹהָל (mevohal, “in haste”) which exhibits metathesis. A different pointing of the MT has also been proposed: מְהֻבָּל (mehubbal) “obtained by fraud” (HALOT 236 s.v. הבל), cf. NASB, NIV, CEV. The proverb favors steady disciplined work and saving over get-rich-quick schemes, be they by fraud or by empty dreams (cf. Prov 20:21; 28:20, 22).
  2. Proverbs 13:11 tn Heb “will become small.” The verb מָעָט (maʿat) means “to become small; to become diminished; to become few.” Money gained without work will diminish quickly, because it was come by too easily. The verb forms a precise contrast with רָבָה (ravah), “to become much; to become many,” but in the Hiphil, “to multiply; to make much many; to cause increase.”
  3. Proverbs 13:11 tn Heb “by hand”; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB “by labor.”
  4. Proverbs 13:11 tn Heb “will increase.”

17 (A)Bread obtained by a lie is sweet to a person,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

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17 Bread gained by deceit[a] tastes sweet to a person,[b]
but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:17 tn Heb “bread of deceit” (so KJV, NAB). This refers to food gained through dishonest means. The term “bread” is a synecdoche of specific for general, referring to anything obtained by fraud, including food.
  2. Proverbs 20:17 tn Heb “a man.”
  3. Proverbs 20:17 sn The image of food and eating is carried throughout the proverb. Food taken by fraud seems sweet at first, but afterward it is not. To end up with a mouth full of gravel (a mass of small particles; e.g., Job 20:14-15; Lam 3:16) implies by comparison that what has been taken by fraud will be worthless and useless and certainly in the way (like food turning into sand and dirt).

21 An inheritance gained in a hurry at the beginning
Will not be blessed in the end.

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21 An inheritance gained easily[a] in the beginning
will not be blessed[b] in the end.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:21 tc The Kethib reads מְבֻחֶלֶת (mebukhelet), “gotten by greed” (based on a cognate Syriac verb, “to be greedy”), but the Qere is מְבֹהֶלֶת (mevohelet), “gotten hastily [or, quickly].” A large number of mss and the ancient versions read with the Qere (cf. KJV, ASV “gotten hastily”; NAB “gained hastily”; NIV “quickly gained”; NRSV “quickly acquired”).sn If the inheritance is obtained quickly, it could mean prematurely (e.g., Luke 15:12) or cruelly (Prov 19:26). The inheritance is gained without labor or without preparation.
  2. Proverbs 20:21 tn The form is the Pual imperfect, “will not be blessed,” suggesting that divine justice is at work. sn The Hebrew verb means “enriched, made fruitful, prospered.” Whatever the inheritance was, it will not reach its full potential or even remain permanent.
  3. Proverbs 20:21 tn Heb “in its end”; KJV, ASV “the end thereof.”