Proverbs 13:22

13:22 A benevolent ¹  person leaves an inheritance ²  for his grandchildren, ³ 

but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous. ⁴ 

Proverbs 25:7

25:7 for it is better for him ⁵  to say to you, “Come up here,” ⁶ 

than to put you lower ⁷  before a prince,

whom your eyes have seen. ⁸ 

Proverbs 28:10

28:10 The one who leads the upright astray in an evil way

will himself fall into his own pit, ⁹ 

but the blameless will inherit what is good. ¹⁰ 

[13:22]  ¹ tn Heb “good.”

[13:22]  ² sn In ancient Israel the idea of leaving an inheritance was a sign of God’s blessing; blessings extended to the righteous and not the sinners.

[13:22]  ³ tn Heb “the children of children.”

[13:22]  ⁴ sn In the ultimate justice of God, the wealth of the wicked goes to the righteous after death (e.g., Ps 49:10, 17).

[25:7]  ⁵ tn The phrase “for him” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[25:7]  ⁶ sn This proverb, covering the two verses, is teaching that it is wiser to be promoted than to risk demotion by self-promotion. The point is clear: Trying to promote oneself could bring on public humiliation; but it would be an honor to have everyone in court hear the promotion by the king.

[25:7]  ⁷ tn The two infinitives construct form the contrast in this “better” sayings; each serves as the subject of its respective clause.

[25:7]  ⁸ tc Most modern commentators either omit this last line or attach it to the next verse. But it is in the text of the MT as well as the LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and most modern English versions (although some of them do connect it to the following verse, e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[28:10]  ⁹ sn The image of falling into a pit (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis, involving implied comparison) is meant to say that the evil to which he guides people will ultimately destroy him.

[28:10]  ¹⁰ sn This proverb is teaching that those who corrupt others will be destroyed, usually by their own devices, but those who manage to avoid being corrupted will be rewarded. According to this proverb the righteous can be led astray (e.g., 26:27).