Proverbs 3:9-10
New King James Version
9 (A)Honor the Lord with your possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
10 (B)So your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
Proverbs 3:9-10
New English Translation
9 Honor[a] the Lord from your wealth
and from the firstfruits of all your crops;[b]
10 then your barns will be filled completely,[c]
and your vats[d] will overflow[e] with new wine.[f]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 3:9 tn The imperative כַּבֵּד (kabbed, “honor”) functions as a command, instruction, counsel or exhortation. To honor God means to give him the rightful place of authority by rendering to him gifts of tribute. One way to acknowledge God in one’s ways (v. 6) is to honor him with one’s wealth (v. 9).
- Proverbs 3:9 tn Heb “produce.” The noun תְּבוּאָה (tevuʾah) has a two-fold range of meaning: (1) “product; yield” of the earth (= crops; harvest) and (2) “income; revenue” in general (BDB 100 s.v.). The imagery in vv. 9-10 is agricultural; however, all Israelites—not just farmers—were expected to give the best portion (= firstfruits) of their income to the Lord.
- Proverbs 3:10 tn Heb “with plenty” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “to overflowing.” The noun שָׂבָע (savaʿ, “plenty; satiety”) functions as an adverbial accusative of manner or contents: “completely.”tc The LXX reads “grain,” implying שֶׁבֶר (shever, “grain) instead of שָׂבָע (savaʿ, “plenty”), but the ideas are similar.
- Proverbs 3:10 sn This pictures the process of pressing grapes in which the upper receptacle is filled with grapes and the lower one catches the juice. The harvest of grapes will be so plentiful that the lower vat will overflow with grape juice. The pictures in v. 10 are metonymies of effect for cause (= the great harvest that God will provide when they honor him).
- Proverbs 3:10 tn Heb “burst open.” The verb פָּרַץ (parats, “to burst open”) functions as hyperbole here to emphasize the fullness of the wine vats (BDB 829 s.v. 9).
- Proverbs 3:10 tn The word תִּרוֹשׁ (tirosh) appears to be a loanword that refers to unfermented grape juice or sometimes to fresh wine (HALOT 1727-28).sn Most of the economy of ancient Israel was agricultural. The Lord commanded that Israel give the firstfruits of the land (e.g. Deut 26:1-3) and promised to bless Israel with the produce of the land when she would obey God (e.g. Deut 28:1-13).
Proverbs 3:9-10
New Living Translation
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the best part of everything you produce.
10 Then he will fill your barns with grain,
and your vats will overflow with good wine.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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