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22 Do not exploit[a] a poor person because he is poor
and do not crush the needy in court,[b]
23 for the Lord will plead their case[c]
and will rob the life[d] of those who are robbing[e] them.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:22 tn Two negated jussives form the instruction here: אַל־תִּגְזָל (ʾal tigzal, “do not exploit”) and וְאַל־תְּדַכֵּא (veʾal tedakkeʾ, “do not crush”). sn Robbing or oppressing the poor is easy because they are defenseless. But this makes the crime tempting as well as contemptible. What is envisioned may be in bounds legally (just) but out of bounds morally.
  2. Proverbs 22:22 tn Heb “in the gate” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “at the gate.” The “gate” of the city was the center of activity, the place of business as well as the place for settling legal disputes. The language of the next verse suggests a legal setting, so “court” is an appropriate translation here.
  3. Proverbs 22:23 tn The construction uses the verb יָרִיב (yariv) with its cognate accusative. It can mean “to strive,” but here it probably means “to argue a case, plead a case” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). How the Lord will do this is not specified—either through righteous people or by direct intervention.
  4. Proverbs 22:23 tn The expression “rob the life” occurs only here. Possibly it means to kill (similar to “seek the life [of someone]”) or perhaps “to take away vitality” by some means.
  5. Proverbs 22:23 tn The verb קָבַע (qavaʿ, “to rob; to spoil; to plunder”) is used here in both places to reflect the principle of talionic justice. What the oppressors did to the poor will be turned back on them by the Lord.

22 Don’t rob the poor person because he is poor,
    and don’t crush the helpless in court,[a]
23 for the Lord will plead their case
    and ruin the lives of those who ruin them.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:22 Lit. gate

A poor person[a] who oppresses the weak
is like[b] a driving rain without food.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 28:3 tc The MT reads “a poor man,” גֶּבֶר רָשׁ (gever rash); cf. KJV, NASB, NLT. The problem is that the poor in the book of Proverbs is not an oppressor and does not have the power to be such. So commentators assume the word is incorrect. By a slight change to רָשָׁע (rashaʿ) the reading becomes “a wicked ruler” [Heb “a wicked mighty man”]. There is no textual support for this change. The LXX, however, reads, “A courageous man oppresses the poor with impieties.” If “a poor man” is retained, then the oppression would include betrayal—one would expect a poor man to have sympathy for others who are impoverished, but in fact that is not the case. It is a sad commentary on human nature that the truly oppressed people can also be oppressed by other poor people.
  2. Proverbs 28:3 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.
  3. Proverbs 28:3 sn “Food” is a metonymy of effect here. The picture is of the driving rain that should cause crops to grow so that food can be produced—but does not (some English versions assume the crops are destroyed instead, e.g., NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). The point the proverb is making is that a show of strength may not produce anything except ruin.

A poor man who oppresses the weak
    is like a rainstorm that destroys all[a] the crops.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 28:3 Lit. that leaves no

A poor person[a] who walks in his integrity is better
than one who is perverse in his ways[b] even though[c] he is rich.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 28:6 sn This chapter gives a lot of attention to the contrast between the poor and the rich, assuming an integrity for the poor that is not present with the rich; the subject is addressed in vv. 6, 8, 11, 20, 22, 25, and 27 (G. A. Chutter, “Riches and Poverty in the Book of Proverbs,” Crux 18 [1982]: 23-28).
  2. Proverbs 28:6 tn The Hebrew term translated “ways” is in the dual, suggesting that the person has double ways, i.e., he is hypocritical. C. H. Toy does not like this idea and changes the form to the plural (Proverbs [ICC], 497), but his emendation is gratuitous and should be rejected.
  3. Proverbs 28:6 tn Heb “and he is rich.” Many English versions treat this as a concessive clause (cf. KJV “though he be rich”).
  4. Proverbs 28:6 sn This is another “better” saying, contrasting a poor person who has integrity with a rich person who is perverse. Of course there are rich people with integrity and perverse poor people, but that is not of interest here. If it came to the choices described here, honest poverty is better than corrupt wealth.

It’s better to be poor and live a blameless life
    than to be rich but crooked in one’s lifestyle.

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The righteous person cares for[a] the legal rights[b] of the poor;
the wicked person does not understand such[c] knowledge.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 29:7 tn The form is an active participle, יֹדֵעַ (yodeaʿ); it describes the righteous as “knowing, caring for, having sympathetic knowledge for, or considering favorably” the legal needs of the poor. Cf. NAB “has a care for”; NASB “is concerned for.”
  2. Proverbs 29:7 tn The Hebrew word used here is דִּין (din), which typically means “judgment,” but can also mean “strife” and “cause.” Here it refers to the “cause” of the poor (so KJV, ASV), their plea, their case, their legal rights. A righteous person is sympathetic to this.
  3. Proverbs 29:7 tn The term “such” is supplied in the translation for clarification. It is not simply any knowledge that the wicked do not understand, but the knowledge mentioned in the first colon. They do not understand the “sympathetic knowledge” or “concern” for the cause of the poor.

The righteous person is concerned about the poor;
    but the wicked don’t understand what they need to know.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 29:7 Lit. understand knowledge

13 The poor person and the oppressor[a] have this in common:[b]
the Lord gives light[c] to the eyes of them both.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 29:13 tn Heb “a man of oppressions”; KJV “the deceitful man.” The noun תֹּךְ (tokh) means “injury; oppression” (BDB 1067 s.v.). Such men were usually the rich and powerful. The Greek and the Latin versions have “the debtor and creditor.”
  2. Proverbs 29:13 tn The verb פָּגַשׁ (pagash) means “to meet; to encounter.” In the Niphal it means “to meet each other; to meet together” (cf. KJV, ASV). The focus in this passage is on what they share in common.
  3. Proverbs 29:13 sn The expression gives light to the eyes means “gives them sight” (cf. NIV). The expression means that by giving them sight the Lord gives them the light of life (e.g., Job 33:30; Ps 13:3). God creates and controls them all. So in spite of their circumstances in life, all people receive their life from God.

13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common:[a]
    the Lord gave them both eyes with which to see.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 29:13 Lit. oppressor meet together
  2. Proverbs 29:13 Lit. Lord lights the eyes of both

14 If a king judges the poor in truth,[a]
his throne[b] will be established forever.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 29:14 tn The king must judge “in truth” (בֶּאֱמֶת, beʾemet). Some have interpreted this to mean “faithfully” (KJV, ASV) but that is somewhat unclear. The idea is that the poor must be treated fairly and justly (cf. NIV “with fairness”; NRSV “with equity”); “truth” is that which corresponds to the standard of the law revealed by God. There must be no miscarriage of justice for these people simply because they are poor.
  2. Proverbs 29:14 sn The term “throne” is a metonymy of subject; it represents the dynasty, the reign of this particular king and his descendants. The qualification of the enduring administration is its moral character. The language of this proverb reflects the promise of the Davidic Covenant (e.g., Prov 16:12; 20:28; 25:5; 31:5).

14 When a king faithfully administers justice to the poor,
    his throne will be established forever.

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20 She opened[a] her hand[b] to the poor,
and extended[c] her hands to the needy.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 31:20 tn The verb (פָּרְשָׁה, pareshah) is a perfect form of a dynamic verb. As such, it should be understood as past tense or perfective.sn The parallel expressions here underscore her care for the needy. The first part uses “she spread her palm” and the second “she extended her hands,” repeating some of the vocabulary introduced in the last verse.
  2. Proverbs 31:20 tn The first word of the eleventh line begins with כ (kaf), the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
  3. Proverbs 31:20 tn This is the same verb form that began verse 19, the Piel perfect of שָׁלַח (shalakh). It may have the same plurative notion emphasizing that she often ministered to the poor. As the perfect form of a dynamic verb it should be understood as past tense or perfective.

20 She reaches out to the poor,
    opening her hands to those in need.

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