Proverbs 28:13

28:13 The one who covers ¹  his transgressions will not prosper, ² 

but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy. ³ 

Isaiah 28:20

28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,

and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. ⁴ 

Isaiah 59:6

59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;

they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are sinful;

they commit violent crimes. ⁵ 

Micah 7:2-3

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ⁶  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ⁷ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ⁸ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ⁹ 

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ¹⁰ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ¹¹ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ¹² 

[28:13]  ¹ tn The Hebrew participles provide the subject matter in this contrast. On the one hand is the person who covers over (מְכַסֶּה, mÿkhasseh) his sins. This means refusing to acknowledge them in confession, and perhaps rationalizing them away. On the other hand there is the one who both “confesses” (מוֹדֶה, modeh) and “forsakes” (עֹזֵב, ’ozev) the sin. To “confess” sins means to acknowledge them, to say the same thing about them that God does.

[28:13]  ² sn The verse contrasts the consequences of each. The person who refuses to confess will not prosper. This is an understatement (a figure of speech known as tapeinosis); the opposite is the truth, that eventually such a person will be undone and ruined. On the other hand, the penitent will find mercy. This expression is a metonymy of cause for the effect – although “mercy” is mentioned, what mercy provides is intended, i.e., forgiveness. In other passages the verb “conceal” is used of God’s forgiveness – he covers over the iniquity (Ps 32:1). Whoever acknowledges sin, God will cover it; whoever covers it, God will lay it open.

[28:13]  ³ sn This verse is unique in the book of Proverbs; it captures the theology of forgiveness (e.g., Pss 32 and 51). Every part of the passage is essential to the point: Confession of sins as opposed to concealing them, coupled with a turning away from them, results in mercy.

[28:20]  ⁴ sn The bed and blanket probably symbolize their false sense of security. A bed that is too short and a blanket that is too narrow may promise rest and protection from the cold, but in the end they are useless and disappointing. In the same way, their supposed treaty with death will prove useless and disappointing.

[59:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”

[7:2]  ⁶ tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

[7:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

[7:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

[7:2]  ⁹ sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.

[7:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ¹² tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.