Proverbs 1:13

1:13 We will seize ¹  all kinds ²  of precious wealth;

we will fill our houses with plunder. ³ 

Proverbs 3:9

3:9 Honor ⁴  the Lord from your wealth

and from the first fruits of all your crops; ⁵ 

Proverbs 6:31

6:31 Yet ⁶  if he is caught ⁷  he must repay ⁸  seven times over,

he might even have to give ⁹  all the wealth of his house.

Proverbs 10:15

10:15 The wealth of a rich person is like ¹⁰  a fortified city, ¹¹ 

but the poor are brought to ruin ¹²  by ¹³  their poverty.

Proverbs 11:4

11:4 Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath, ¹⁴ 

but righteousness delivers from mortal danger. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 12:27

12:27 The lazy person does not roast ¹⁶  his prey,

but personal possessions ¹⁷  are precious to the diligent.

Proverbs 13:7

13:7 There is one who pretends to be rich ¹⁸  and yet has nothing;

another pretends to be poor ¹⁹  and yet possesses great wealth. ²⁰ 

Proverbs 13:11

13:11 Wealth gained quickly ²¹  will dwindle away, ²² 

but the one who gathers it little by little ²³  will become rich. ²⁴ 

Proverbs 18:11

18:11 The wealth ²⁵  of a rich person is like ²⁶  a strong city, ²⁷ 

and it is like a high wall in his imagination. ²⁸ 

Proverbs 19:4

19:4 Wealth adds many friends,

but a poor person is separated ²⁹  from his friend. ³⁰ 

Proverbs 19:14

19:14 A house and wealth are inherited from parents, ³¹ 

but a prudent wife ³²  is from the Lord.

Proverbs 24:4

24:4 by knowledge its rooms are filled

with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.

Proverbs 28:8

28:8 The one who increases his wealth by increasing interest ³³ 

gathers it for someone who is gracious ³⁴  to the needy.

Proverbs 28:22

28:22 The stingy person ³⁵  hastens after riches

and does not know that poverty will overtake him. ³⁶ 

Proverbs 29:3

29:3 The man ³⁷  who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, ³⁸ 

but whoever associates ³⁹  with prostitutes wastes ⁴⁰  his wealth. ⁴¹ 

Proverbs 30:16

30:16 the grave, ⁴²  the barren womb, ⁴³ 

land that is not satisfied with water,

and fire that never says, “Enough!” ⁴⁴ 

[1:13]  ¹ tn Heb “find.” The use of the verb מָצָא (matsa’, “to find”) is deliberate understatement to rhetorically down-play the heinous act of thievery.

[1:13]  ² tn Heb “all wealth of preciousness.”

[1:13]  ³ tn The noun שָׁלָל (shalal, “plunder”) functions as an adverbial accusative of material: “with plunder.” This term is normally used for the spoils of war (e.g., Deut 20:14; Josh 7:21; Judg 8:24, 25; 1 Sam 30:20) but here refers to “stolen goods” (so NCV, CEV; e.g., Isa 10:2; Prov 16:19; BDB 1022 s.v. 3). The enticement was to join a criminal gang and adopt a life of crime to enjoy ill-gotten gain (A. Cohen, Proverbs, 4). Cf. NAB, NRSV “booty”; TEV “loot.”

[3:9]  ⁴ tn The imperative כַּבֵּד (kabbed, “honor”) functions as a command, instruction, counsel or exhortation. To honor God means to give him the rightful place of authority by rendering to him gifts of tribute. One way to acknowledge God in one’s ways (v. 6) is to honor him with one’s wealth (v. 9).

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “produce.” The noun תְּבוּאָה (tÿvu’ah) has a two-fold range of meaning: (1) “product; yield” of the earth (= crops; harvest) and (2) “income; revenue” in general (BDB 100 s.v.). The imagery in vv. 9-10 is agricultural; however, all Israelites – not just farmers – were expected to give the best portion (= first fruits) of their income to Lord.

[6:31]  ⁷ tn The term “yet” is supplied in the translation.

[6:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “is found out.” The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to the imperfect nuances. Here it introduces either a conditional or a temporal clause before the imperfect.

[6:31]  ⁹ tn The imperfect tense has an obligatory nuance. The verb in the Piel means “to repay; to make restitution; to recompense”; cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “must pay back.”

[6:31]  ¹⁰ tn This final clause in the section is somewhat cryptic. The guilty thief must pay back sevenfold what he stole, even if it means he must use the substance of his whole house. The verb functions as an imperfect of possibility: “he might even give.”

[10:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “is.” This expression, “a rich man’s wealth is his strong city,” is a metaphor. The comparative particle “like” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[10:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a city of his strength.” The genitive עֹז (’oz, “strength”) functions as an attributive genitive: “strong city” = “fortified city.” This phrase is a metaphor; wealth protects its possessions against adversity like a fortified city. Such wealth must be attained by diligence and righteous means (e.g., 13:8; 18:23; 22:7).

[10:15]  ¹² tn Heb “the ruin of the poor.” The term דַּלִּים (dalim, “of the poor”) functions as an objective genitive. Poverty leads to the ruin of the poor. The term “ruin” includes the shambles in which the person lives. This provides no security but only the fear of ruin. This proverb is an observation on life.

[10:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “is their poverty.”

[11:4]  ¹³ sn The “day of wrath” refers to divine punishment in this life (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 67; e.g., also Job 21:30; Ezek 7:19; Zeph 1:18). Righteousness and not wealth is more valuable in anticipating judgment.

[11:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from death.”

[12:27]  ¹⁶ tc The MT reads יַחֲרֹךְ (yakharokh) from II חָרַךְ (kharakh, “to roast”?). On the other hand, several versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) reflect a Hebrew Vorlage of יַדְרִיךְ (yadrikh) from דָרַךְ (darakh, “to gain”), meaning: “a lazy person cannot catch his prey” (suggested by Gemser; cf. NAB). The MT is the more difficult reading, being a hapax legomenon, and therefore should be retained; the versions are trying to make sense out of a rare expression.

[12:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the wealth of a man.”

[13:7]  ¹⁹ tn The Hitpael of עָשַׁר (’ashar, “to be rich”) means “to pretend to be rich” (BDB 799 s.v. עָשַׁר Hithp); this is the so-called “Hollywood Hitpael” function which involves “acting” or pretending to be something one is not.

[13:7]  ²⁰ tn The Hitpolel of רוּשׁ (rush, “to be poor”) means “to pretend to be poor” (BDB 930 s.v. Hithpolel); this is another example of the “Hollywood Hitpael” – the Hitpolel forms of hollow root verbs are the equivalent of Hitpael stem forms.

[13:7]  ²¹ sn The proverb seems to be a general observation on certain people in life, but it is saying more. Although there are times when such pretending may not be wrong, the proverb is instructing people to be honest. An empty pretentious display or a concealing of wealth can come to no good.

[13:11]  ²² tc The MT reads מֵהֵבֶל (mehevel, “from vanity”). The Greek and Latin versions (followed by RSV) reflect מְבֹהָל (mÿvohal, “in haste”) which exhibits metathesis. MT is the more difficult reading and therefore preferred. The alternate reading fits the parallelism better, but is therefore a less difficult reading.

[13:11]  ²³ tn Heb “will become small.” The verb מָעָט (ma’at) means “to become small; to become diminished; to become few.” Money gained without work will diminish quickly, because it was come by too easily. The verb forms a precise contrast with רָבָה (ravah), “to become much; to become many,” but in the Hiphil, “to multiply; to make much many; to cause increase.”

[13:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “by hand”; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB “by labor.”

[13:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “will increase.”

[18:11]  ²⁵ sn This proverb forms a contrast with the previous one. The rich, unlike the righteous, trust in wealth and not in God.

[18:11]  ²⁶ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[18:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “city of his strength”; NIV “fortified city.” This term refers to their place of refuge, what they look to for security and protection in time of trouble.

[18:11]  ²⁸ tc The MT reads בְּמַשְׂכִּיתוֹ (bÿmaskito, “in his imaginations”). The LXX, Tg. Prov 18:11, and the Latin reflect בִּמְשֻׂכָּתוֹ (bimsukato, “like a fence [or, high wall]”) that is, wealth provides protection. The MT reading, on the other hand, suggests that this security is only in the mind.

[19:4]  ²⁸ tn The Niphal imperfect probably should be taken in the passive sense (the poor person is deserted by his “friend,” cf. NAB, NIV) rather than as a direct middle (the poor person deserted his friend).

[19:4]  ²⁹ sn This proverb simply makes an observation on life: People pursue wealthy folk hoping that they can gain something from the rich, but the poor are deserted even by friends, who fear that the poor will try to gain something from them.

[19:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “inheritance of fathers” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[19:14]  ³² sn This statement describes a wife who has a skillful use of knowledge and discretion that proves to be successful. This contrasts with the preceding verse. The proverb is not concerned about unhappy marriages or bad wives (both of which exist); it simply affirms that when a marriage works out well one should credit it as a gift from God.

[28:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “by interest and increase” (so ASV; NASB “by interest and usury”; NAB “by interest and overcharge.” The two words seem to be synonyms; they probably form a nominal hendiadys, meaning “by increasing [exorbitant] interest.” The law prohibited making a commission or charging interest (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36-37; Deut 23:20; Ps 15:5). If the poor needed help, the rich were to help them – but not charge them interest.

[28:8]  ³⁵ tn The term חוֹנֵן (khonen, “someone who shows favor”) is the active participle.

[28:22]  ³⁷ 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.”

[28:22]  ³⁸ 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.

[29:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “a man.” Here “man” is retained in the translation because the second colon mentions prostitutes.

[29:3]  ⁴¹ tn Or “causes his father to rejoice”; NAB “makes his father glad.”

[29:3]  ⁴² tn The active participle רֹעֶה (ro’eh) is from the second root רָעָה (ra’ah), meaning “to associate with.” The verb occurs only a few times, and mostly in the book of Proverbs. It is related to רֵעֶה (re’eh, “friend; companion; fellow”). To describe someone as a “companion” or “friend” of prostitutes is somewhat euphemistic; it surely means someone who is frequently engaging the services of prostitutes.

[29:3]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew verb יְאַבֶּד (yÿ’abbed) means “destroys”; it is the Piel imperfect of the verb that means “to perish.”

[29:3]  ⁴⁴ sn Wealth was seen as a sign of success and of God’s blessings, pretty much as it always has been. To be seen as honorable in the community meant one had acquired some substance and kept his reputation. It would be a disgrace to the family to have a son who squandered his money on prostitutes (e.g., Prov 5:10; 6:31).

[30:16]  ⁴³ tn The term שְׁאוֹל (she’ol, “Sheol”) refers here to the realm of the dead: “the grave” (so KJV, NIV, NLT); cf. TEV, CEV “the world of the dead”; NAB “the nether world.”

[30:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the closing of the womb,” a situation especially troubling for one who is consumed with a desire for children (e.g., Gen 16:2; 30:1).

[30:16]  ⁴⁵ sn There is no clear lesson made from these observations. But one point that could be made is that greed, symbolized by the leech, is as insatiable as all these other things. If that is the case, the proverb would constitute a warning against the insatiable nature of greed.