Proverbs 13:18

13:18 The one who neglects discipline ends up in poverty and shame,

but the one who accepts reproof is honored.

Proverbs 28:19

28:19 The one who works his land will be satisfied with food,

but whoever chases daydreams will have his fill of poverty.


tn The verb III פָּרַע (para’) normally means “to let go; to let alone” and here “to neglect; to avoid; to reject” (BDB 828 s.v.).

tn The phrase “ends up in” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

sn Honor and success are contrasted with poverty and shame; the key to enjoying the one and escaping the other is discipline and correction. W. McKane, Proverbs (OTL), 456, notes that it is a difference between a man of weight (power and wealth, from the idea of “heavy” for “honor”) and the man of straw (lowly esteemed and poor).

tn Or “will have plenty of food” (Heb “bread”); so NAB, NASB, NCV.

tn Heb “empty things” or “vain things”; NRSV “follows worthless pursuits.”

tn The repetition of the verb strengthens the contrast. Both halves of the verse use the verb יִשְׂבַּע (yisba’, “will be satisfied; will be filled with; will have enough”). It is positive in the first colon, but negative in the second – with an ironic twist to say one is “satisfied” with poverty.