24:11 Deliver those being taken away to death,
and hold back those slipping to the slaughter. 9
28:27 The one who gives to the poor will not lack, 10
but whoever shuts his eyes to them 11 will receive 12 many curses. 13
8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord,
who has rejected the family of Jacob; 14
I will wait for him.
58:7 I want you 15 to share your food with the hungry
and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. 16
When you see someone naked, clothe him!
Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! 17
1 tn Heb “your brother” (also in v. 4).
2 tn Heb “you must not hide yourself.”
3 tn Heb “you must not see.” See note at 22:1.
4 tn Heb “and (must not) hide yourself from them.”
5 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “be sure.”
6 tn Heb “help him to lift them up.” In keeping with English style the singular is used in the translation, and the referent (“the animal”) has been specified for clarity.
7 tn Heb “And if shutting [infinitive absolute] they shut [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.
8 tn Heb “from that man” (so ASV); NASB “disregard that man.”
9 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.”
10 sn The generous individual will be rewarded. He will not lack nor miss what he has given away to the poor.
11 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.
12 tn The term “receives” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied, and is supplied in the translation.
13 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.
14 tn Heb “who hides his face from the house of Jacob.”
15 tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”
16 tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.
17 tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”
18 sn The phrase by chance adds an initial note of hope and fortune to the expectation in the story.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the priest’s expected action (helping the victim) and what he really did.
20 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 sn It is not said why the priest passed by and refused to help. It is not relevant to the point of the parable that no help was given in the emergency situation.
22 sn The text suggests that the priest went out of his way (on the other side) not to get too close to the scene.
23 tn Here κατά (kata) has been translated “up to”; it could also be translated “upon.”
24 tn The clause containing the aorist active participle ἐλθών (elqwn) suggests that the Levite came up to the place, took a look, and then moved on.