Proverbs 11:26

11:26 People will curse ¹  the one who withholds grain, ² 

but they will praise ³  the one who sells it. ⁴ 

Proverbs 24:24

24:24 The one who says to the guilty, ⁵  “You are innocent,” ⁶ 

peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce ⁷  him.

Proverbs 28:27

28:27 The one who gives to the poor will not lack, ⁸ 

but whoever shuts his eyes to them ⁹  will receive ¹⁰  many curses. ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 15:9

15:9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude ¹²  be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite ¹³  and you do not lend ¹⁴  him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. ¹⁵ 

Deuteronomy 15:2

15:2 This is the nature of the cancellation: Every creditor must remit what he has loaned to another person; ¹⁶  he must not force payment from his fellow Israelite, ¹⁷  for it is to be recognized as “the Lord’s cancellation of debts.”

Deuteronomy 24:22

24:22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt; therefore, I am commanding you to do all this.

¹ tn The direct object suffix on the verb picks up on the emphatic absolute phrase: “they will curse him – the one who withholds grain.”

² sn The proverb refers to a merchant who holds back his grain from the free market to raise prices when there is a great need for the produce. It is assumed that merchants are supposed to have a social conscience.

³ tn Heb “but a blessing is for the head of the one who sells.” The parallelism with “curse” suggests that בְּרָכָה (berakhah) “blessing” means “praise.”

⁴ tn Heb “for the head of the one who sells.” The term “head” functions as a synecdoche of part (= head) for the whole (= person). The head is here emphasized because it is the “crowning” point of praise. The direct object (“it”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.

⁵ tn The word means “wicked; guilty” or “criminal”; the contrast could be “wicked – righteous” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB) or “innocent – guilty” (cf. NIV, TEV, CEV). Since this line follows the statement about showing partiality in judgment, it involves a forensic setting. Thus the statement describes one who calls a guilty person innocent or acquitted.

⁶ tn Or “righteous”; the same Hebrew word may be translated either “innocent” or “righteous” depending on the context.

⁷ tn The verb means “to be indignant.” It can be used within the range of “have indignation,” meaning “loathe” or “abhor,” or express indignation, meaning “denounce” or “curse.” In this passage, in collocation with the previous term “curse,” the latter is intended (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

⁸ sn The generous individual will be rewarded. He will not lack nor miss what he has given away to the poor.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn The term “receives” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied, and is supplied in the translation.

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Heb “your eye.”

¹³ tn Heb “your needy brother.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).

¹⁵ tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “his neighbor,” used idiomatically to refer to another person.

¹⁷ tn Heb “his neighbor and his brother.” The words “his brother” may be a scribal gloss identifying “his neighbor” (on this idiom, see the preceding note) as a fellow Israelite (cf. v. 3). In this case the conjunction before “his brother” does not introduce a second category, but rather has the force of “that is.”