Proverbs 21:13

21:13 The one who shuts his ears ¹  to the cry ²  of the poor,

he too will cry out and will not be answered. ³ 

Luke 18:38-40

18:38 So ⁴  he called out, ⁵  “Jesus, Son of David, ⁶  have mercy ⁷  on me!” 18:39 And those who were in front ⁸  scolded ⁹  him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted ¹⁰  even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 18:40 So ¹¹  Jesus stopped and ordered the beggar ¹²  to be brought to him. When the man ¹³  came near, Jesus ¹⁴  asked him,

[21:13]  ¹ 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]  ² sn “Cry” here would be a metonymy of effect for the cause, the cause being the great needs of the poor.

[21:13]  ³ 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).

[18:38]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the blind man learning that Jesus was nearby.

[18:38]  ⁵ tn Grk “called out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[18:38]  ⁶ sn Jesus was more than a Nazarene to this blind person, who saw quite well that Jesus was Son of David. He understood what Luke 7:22-23 affirms. There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, Ant. 8.2.5 [8.42-49]).

[18:38]  ⁷ sn Have mercy on me is a request for healing (cf. 17:13). It is not owed the man. He simply asks for God’s kind grace.

[18:39]  ⁸ sn That is, those who were at the front of the procession.

[18:39]  ⁹ tn Or “rebuked.” The crowd’s view was that surely Jesus would not be bothered with someone as unimportant as a blind beggar.

[18:39]  ¹⁰ sn Public opinion would not sway the blind man from getting Jesus’ attention. The term shouted is strong as it can be used of animal cries.

[18:40]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the beggar’s cries.

[18:40]  ¹² tn Grk “ordered him”; the referent (the blind beggar, v. 35) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:40]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the beggar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:40]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.