Add parallel Print Page Options

28 Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers
    set up by previous generations.

Read full chapter

28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone[a]
that was put in place by your ancestors.[b]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:28 sn Moving a boundary stone was (and still is) a major problem. The boundaries that were established by the forefathers were to be preserved, but no law would stop such violations if people lacked integrity (e.g., Deut 19:14; 27:17; 1 Kgs 21:16-19). Boundaries in Israel were sacred because God owned the land and he apportioned the property to the tribes. To extend one’s property illegally by moving a neighbor’s boundary marker was a violation of covenant and oath. Of course, disputes could arise when both sides claim their ancestors established a boundary.
  2. Proverbs 22:28 tn Heb “your fathers” (so NAB, NASB).sn The fourth saying deals with respect for property that belongs to other people (cf. Instruction of Amenemope, chap. 6, 7:12-13 [ANET 422]).