23:4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich;
be wise enough to restrain yourself. 1
28:20 A faithful person 2 will have an abundance of blessings,
but the one who hastens 3 to gain riches will not go unpunished.
28:22 The stingy person 4 hastens after riches
and does not know that poverty will overtake him. 5
28:1 The wicked person flees when there is no one pursuing, 6
but the righteous person is as confident 7 as a lion.
6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?
When will you rise from your sleep? 8
1 tn Heb “from your understanding cease.” In the context this means that the person should have enough understanding to stop wearing himself out trying to be rich (cf. NRSV “be wise enough to desist”).
2 tn Heb “a man of faithfulness,” although the context does not indicate this should be limited only to males.
3 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.
4 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.”
5 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.
6 sn The line portrays the insecurity of a guilty person – he flees because he has a guilty conscience, or because he is suspicious of others around him, or because he fears judgment.
7 tn The verb בָּטַח (batakh) means “to trust; to be secure; to be confident.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “bold.”
8 sn The use of the two rhetorical questions is designed to rebuke the lazy person in a forceful manner. The sluggard is spending too much time sleeping.