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Proverbs 24:11-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 24:11-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 if you hold back from rescuing those taken away to death,
those who go staggering to the slaughter;(A)
12 if you say, “Look, we did not know this”—
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it?
And will he not repay all according to their deeds?(B)
Proverbs 24:11-12
New English Translation
Proverbs 24:11-12
New English Translation
11 Deliver those being taken away to death,
and hold back those slipping to the slaughter.[a]
12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,”
won’t[b] the one who evaluates[c] hearts discern it?
Won’t the one who guards your life realize[d]
and repay each person according to his deeds?[e]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 24:11 tn The idea of “slipping” (participle from מוֹט, mot) has troubled some commentators. G. R. Driver emends it to read “at the point of” (“Problems in Proverbs,” ZAW 50 [1932]: 146). But the MT as it stands makes good sense. The reference would be general, viz., to help any who are in mortal danger or who might be tottering on the edge of such disaster—whether through sin, or through disease, war, or danger. Several English versions (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV) render this term as “staggering.”sn God holds people responsible for rescuing those who are in mortal danger. The use of “death” and “slaughter” seems rather strong in the passage, but they have been used before in the book for the destruction that comes through evil.
- Proverbs 24:12 tn Heb “Will he not?” The verb is an imperfect stative and so should be understood as future or modal. Likewise the verb in the next line.
- Proverbs 24:12 tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV) meaning “tests” or “evaluates.”
- Proverbs 24:12 tn The imperfect of the stative verb יָדַע (yadaʿ, “to know”) means “will know/come to know,” thus “will learn, find out, realize.”
- Proverbs 24:12 sn The verse completes the saying by affirming that people will be judged responsible for helping those in mortal danger. The verse uses a series of rhetorical questions to affirm that God knows our hearts and we cannot plead ignorance.
Proverbs 28:3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 28:3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
3 A poor person who oppresses the poor
is a beating rain that leaves no food.(A)
Proverbs 28:3
New English Translation
Proverbs 28:3
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Proverbs 28:27
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 28:27
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
27 Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing,
but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse.(A)
Proverbs 28:27
New English Translation
Proverbs 28:27
New English Translation
27 The one who gives to the poor will not lack,[a]
but whoever shuts his eyes to them[b] will receive[c] many curses.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 28:27 sn The generous individual will be rewarded. He will not lack nor miss what he has given away to the poor.
- Proverbs 28:27 tn Heb “hides his eyes”; “to them” is supplied in the translation to indicate the link with the poor in the preceding line. Hiding or closing the eyes is a metonymy of cause or of adjunct, indicating a decision not to look on and thereby help the poor. It could also be taken as an implied comparison, i.e., not helping the poor is like closing the eyes to them.
- Proverbs 28:27 tn The term “receives” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied, and is supplied in the translation.
- Proverbs 28:27 sn The text does not specify the nature or the source of the curses. It is natural to think that they would be given by the poor who are being mistreated and ignored. Far from being praised for their contributions to society, selfish, stingy people will be reviled for their heartless indifference.
Proverbs 31:8-9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 31:8-9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
8 Speak out for those who cannot speak,
for the rights of all the destitute.[a](A)
9 Speak out; judge righteously;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.(B)
Footnotes
- 31.8 Heb all children of passing away
Proverbs 31:8-9
New English Translation
Proverbs 31:8-9
New English Translation
8 Open your mouth[a] on behalf of those unable to speak,[b]
for the legal rights of all the dying.[c]
9 Open your mouth, judge in righteousness,[d]
and plead the cause[e] of the poor and needy.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:8 sn The instruction to “open your mouth” is a metonymy of cause; it means “speak up for” (so NIV, TEV, NLT) or in this context “serve as an advocate in judgment” (cf. CEV “you must defend”).
- Proverbs 31:8 sn The instruction compares people who cannot defend themselves in court with those who are physically unable to speak (this is a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis, an implied comparison). The former can physically speak, but because they are the poor, the uneducated, the oppressed, they are unable to conduct a legal defense. They may as well be speechless.
- Proverbs 31:8 tn Or “of all the defenseless.” The noun חֲלוֹף (khalof) means “passing away; vanishing” (properly an infinitive); in this construction “the sons of the passing away” means people who by nature are transitory, people who are dying—mortals. But in this context it would indicate people who are “defenseless” as opposed to those who are healthy and powerful.
- Proverbs 31:9 tn The noun צֶדֶק (tsedeq) serves here as an adverbial accusative of manner. The decisions reached (שְׁפָט, shefat) in this advocacy must conform to the standard of the law. So it is a little stronger than “judging fairly” (cf. NIV, NCV), although it will be fair if it is done righteously for all.
- Proverbs 31:9 sn Previously the noun דִּין (din, judgment”) was used, signifying the legal rights or the pleas of the people. Now the imperative דִּין is used. It could be translated “judge,” but in this context “judge the poor” could be misunderstood to mean “condemn.” Here advocacy is in view, and so “plead the cause” is a better translation (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV “defend the rights”). It was—and is—the responsibility of the king (ruler) to champion the rights of the poor and needy, who otherwise would be ignored and oppressed. They are the ones left destitute by the cruelties and inequalities of life (e.g., 2 Sam 14:4-11; 1 Kgs 3:16-28; Pss 45:3-5; 72:4; Isa 9:6-7).
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New English Translation (NET)
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