Proverbs 11:26-27

11:26 People will curse ¹  the one who withholds grain, ² 

but they will praise ³  the one who sells it. ⁴ 

11:27 The one who diligently seeks ⁵  good seeks favor,

but the one who searches ⁶  for evil – it will come to him. ⁷ 

[11:26]  ¹ tn The direct object suffix on the verb picks up on the emphatic absolute phrase: “they will curse him – the one who withholds grain.”

[11:26]  ² sn The proverb refers to a merchant who holds back his grain from the free market to raise prices when there is a great need for the produce. It is assumed that merchants are supposed to have a social conscience.

[11:26]  ³ tn Heb “but a blessing is for the head of the one who sells.” The parallelism with “curse” suggests that בְּרָכָה (berakhah) “blessing” means “praise.”

[11:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the head of the one who sells.” The term “head” functions as a synecdoche of part (= head) for the whole (= person). The head is here emphasized because it is the “crowning” point of praise. The direct object (“it”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.

[11:27]  ⁵ tn Two separate words are used here for “seek.” The first is שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to seek diligently”) and the second is בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek after; to look for”). Whoever is seeking good is in effect seeking favor – from either God or man (e.g., Ps 5:12; Isa 49:8).

[11:27]  ⁶ tn The participle דֹּרֵשׁ (doresh) means “to seek; to inquire; to investigate.” A person generally receives the consequences of the kind of life he seeks.

[11:27]  ⁷ tn The verb is the imperfect tense, third feminine singular, referring to “evil,” the object of the participle.