14:29 The one who is slow to anger has great understanding,
but the one who has a quick temper 1 exalts 2 folly.
20:21 An inheritance gained easily 3 in the beginning
will not be blessed 4 in the end. 5
28:22 The stingy person 6 hastens after riches
and does not know that poverty will overtake him. 7
1 tn Heb “hasty of spirit” (so KJV, ASV); NRSV, NLT “a hasty temper.” One who has a quick temper or a short fuse will be evident to everyone, due to his rash actions.
2 sn The participle “exalts” (מֵרִים, merim) means that this person brings folly to a full measure, lifts it up, brings it to the full notice of everybody.
3 tc The Kethib reads מְבֻחֶלֶת (mÿbukhelet), “gotten by greed” (based on a cognate Syriac verb, “to be greedy”); but the Qere is מְבֹהֶלֶת (mÿvohelet), “gotten hastily [or, quickly].” A large number of
4 tn The form is the Pual imperfect, “will not be blessed,” suggesting that divine justice is at work.
5 tn Heb “in its end”; KJV, ASV “the end thereof.”
6 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.”
7 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.