Proverbs 18:23

18:23 A poor person makes supplications, ¹ 

but a rich man answers harshly. ² 

Proverbs 1:28

1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;

they will diligently seek ³  me, but they will not find me.

Proverbs 15:28

15:28 The heart of the righteous considers ⁴  how ⁵  to answer, ⁶ 

but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. ⁷ 

Proverbs 26:5

26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, ⁸ 

lest he be wise in his own estimation. ⁹ 

Proverbs 21:13

21:13 The one who shuts his ears ¹⁰  to the cry ¹¹  of the poor,

he too will cry out and will not be answered. ¹² 

Proverbs 25:18

25:18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow, ¹³ 

so is the one who testifies against ¹⁴  his neighbor as a false witness. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 26:4

26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, ¹⁶ 

lest you yourself also be like him. ¹⁷ 

[18:23]  ¹ tn Heb “speaks supplications”; NIV “pleads for mercy.” The poor man has to ask for help because he has no choice (cf. CEV). The Hebrew term תַּחֲנוּן (takhanun) is a “supplication for favor” (related to the verb חָנַן [khanan], “to be gracious; to show favor”). So the poor man speaks, but what he speaks is a request for favor.

[18:23]  ² sn The rich person responds harshly to the request. He has hardened himself against such appeals because of relentless demands. The proverb is an observation saying; it simply describes the way the world generally works, rather than setting this out as the ideal.

[1:28]  ³ tn Heb “look to.” The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to look”) is used figuratively of intensely looking (=seeking) for deliverance out of trouble (W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 366); cf. NLT “anxiously search for.” It is used elsewhere in parallelism with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek rescue”; Hos 5:15). It does not mean “to seek early” (cf. KJV) as is popularly taught due to etymological connections with the noun שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”; so BDB 1007 s.v. שָׁחַר).

[15:28]  ⁵ tn The verb יֶהְגֶּה (yehgeh) means “to muse; to meditate; to consider; to study.” It also involves planning, such as with the wicked “planning” a vain thing (Ps 2:1, which is contrasted with the righteous who “meditate” in the law [1:2]).

[15:28]  ⁶ tn The word “how” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:28]  ⁷ tc The LXX reads: “the hearts of the righteous meditate faithfulness.”

[15:28]  ⁸ sn The form is plural. What they say (the “mouth” is a metonymy of cause) is any range of harmful things.

[26:5]  ⁷ sn The apparent contradiction with the last verse has troubled commentators for some time. The Rabbis solved it by saying that v. 4 referred to secular things, but v. 5 referred to sacred or religious controversies. While this does not resolve the issue, it does give a sound application for the two verses together – in negligible issues one should just ignore the stupid person, but in issues that matter the fool must be dealt with, lest credence be given to what he says (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 266). The text presents two proverbs each of which presents an aspect of the whole truth. One should not lower himself to the level of the fool, but there are times when the lesser of two evils is to do so, other than let the fool gain confidence that he is a wise person or be considered wise by others. Paul, for example, talked like a “fool” to correct the foolish ideas of the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:16-17; 12:11).

[26:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “in his own eyes” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[21:13]  ⁹ sn The imagery means “pay no attention to” the cry for help or “refuse to help,” so it is a metonymy of cause for the effect.

[21:13]  ¹⁰ sn “Cry” here would be a metonymy of effect for the cause, the cause being the great needs of the poor.

[21:13]  ¹¹ sn The proverb is teaching that those who show mercy will receive mercy. It involves the principle of talionic justice – those who refuse the needs of others will themselves be refused when they need help (so Luke 16:19-31).

[25:18]  ¹¹ sn The first line identifies the emblem of the proverb: False witnesses are here compared to deadly weapons because they can cause the death of innocent people (e.g., Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20; and Prov 14:5).

[25:18]  ¹² tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) followed by the preposition בְּ (bet) with its object means “to testify against” (answer against someone). With the preposition לְ (lamed) it would mean “to testify for” someone. Here the false witness is an adversary, hence the comparison with deadly weapons.

[25:18]  ¹³ tn While עֵד (’ed) could be interpreted as “evidence” (a meaning that came from a metonymy – what the witness gives in court), its normal meaning is “witness.” Here it would function as an adverbial accusative, specifying how he would answer in court.

[26:4]  ¹³ sn One should not answer a fool’s foolish questions in line with the fool’s mode of reasoning (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 274).

[26:4]  ¹⁴ sn The person who descends to the level of a fool to argue with him only looks like a fool as well.