Proverbs 28:6

28:6 A poor person ¹  who walks in his integrity is better

than one who is perverse in his ways ²  even though ³  he is rich. ⁴ 

Proverbs 28:8

28:8 The one who increases his wealth by increasing interest ⁵ 

gathers it for someone who is gracious ⁶  to the needy.

Proverbs 28:11

28:11 A rich person ⁷  is wise in his own eyes, ⁸ 

but a discerning poor person can evaluate him properly. ⁹ 

Proverbs 28:20

28:20 A faithful person ¹⁰  will have an abundance of blessings,

but the one who hastens ¹¹  to gain riches will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 28:22

28:22 The stingy person ¹²  hastens after riches

and does not know that poverty will overtake him. ¹³ 

Proverbs 28:25

28:25 The greedy person ¹⁴  stirs up dissension, ¹⁵ 

but the one who trusts ¹⁶  in the Lord will prosper. ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 28:27

28:27 The one who gives to the poor will not lack, ¹⁸ 

but whoever shuts his eyes to them ¹⁹  will receive ²⁰  many curses. ²¹ 

[28:6]  ¹ 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).

[28:6]  ² 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.

[28:6]  ³ tn Heb “and he is rich.” Many English versions treat this as a concessive clause (cf. KJV “though he be rich”).

[28:6]  ⁴ 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.

[28:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “by interest and increase” (so ASV; NASB “by interest and usury”; NAB “by interest and overcharge.” The two words seem to be synonyms; they probably form a nominal hendiadys, meaning “by increasing [exorbitant] interest.” The law prohibited making a commission or charging interest (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36-37; Deut 23:20; Ps 15:5). If the poor needed help, the rich were to help them – but not charge them interest.

[28:8]  ⁶ tn The term חוֹנֵן (khonen, “someone who shows favor”) is the active participle.

[28:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “a rich man,” although the context does not indicate that this is limited only to males.

[28:11]  ⁸ sn The idiom “in his own eyes” means “in his own opinion,” that is, his self conceit. The rich person thinks he is wise because he is rich, that he has made all the right choices.

[28:11]  ⁹ tn The form יַחְקְרֶנּוּ (yakhqÿrennu) means “he searches him” (cf. KJV, ASV) or “he examines him”; a potential imperfect nuance fits well here to indicate that a discerning person, even though poor, can search the flaws of the rich and see through the pretension and the false assumptions (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV “sees through him”). Several commentators have connected the word to the Arabic root hqr, which means “despise” (D. W. Thomas, “Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403), but that would be both predictable and flat.

[28:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a man of faithfulness,” although the context does not indicate this should be limited only to males.

[28:20]  ¹¹ sn The proverb is not rebuking diligent labor. One who is eager to get rich quickly is the opposite of the faithful person. The first person is faithful to God and to the covenant community; the second is trying to get rich as quickly as possible, at the least without doing an honest day’s work and at the worst dishonestly. In a hurry to gain wealth, he falls into various schemes and will pay for it. Tg. Prov 28:20 interprets this to say he hastens through deceit and wrongdoing.

[28:22]  ¹² tn Heb “a man with an evil eye” (as opposed to the generous man who has a “good” eye). This individual is selfish, unkind, unsympathetic to others. He looks only to his own gain. Cf. NAB “The avaricious man”; NLT “A greedy person.”

[28:22]  ¹³ sn The one who is hasty to gain wealth is involved in sin in some way, for which he will be punished by poverty. The idea of “hastening” after riches suggests a dishonest approach to acquiring wealth.

[28:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “wide of soul.” This is an idiom meaning “a greedy person.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, traditionally, “soul”) has here its more basic meaning of appetites (a person is a soul, a bundle of appetites; BDB 660 s.v. 5.a). It would mean “wide of appetite” (רְהַב־נֶפֶשׁ), thus “greedy.”

[28:25]  ¹⁵ sn Greed “stirs up” the strife. This individual’s attitude and actions stir up dissension because people do not long tolerate him.

[28:25]  ¹⁶ tn The construction uses the participle בּוֹטֵחַ (boteakh) followed by עַל־יְהוָה (’al-yÿhvah), which gives the sense of “relying confidently on the Lord.” This is the antithesis of the greedy person who pushes to get what he desires.

[28:25]  ¹⁷ tn The verb דָּשֵׁן (dashen) means “to be fat,” and in the Piel/Pual stems “to make fat/to be made fat” (cf. KJV, ASV). The idea of being “fat” was symbolic of health and prosperity – the one who trusts in the Lord will be abundantly prosperous and fully gratified (cf. NRSV “will be enriched”).

[28:27]  ¹⁸ sn The generous individual will be rewarded. He will not lack nor miss what he has given away to the poor.

[28:27]  ¹⁹ 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.

[28:27]  ²⁰ tn The term “receives” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied, and is supplied in the translation.

[28:27]  ²¹ 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.