Proverbs 24:27-34

24:27 Establish your work outside and get your fields ready;

afterward build ¹  your house. ² 

24:28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, ³ 

and do not deceive with your words. ⁴ 

24:29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me;

I will pay him back ⁵  according to what he has done.” ⁶ 

24:30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. ⁷ 

24:31 I saw ⁸  that thorns had grown up all over it,

the ground ⁹  was covered with weeds,

and its stone wall was broken down.

24:32 When I saw this, I gave careful consideration to it; ¹⁰ 

I received instruction from what I saw: ¹¹ 

24:33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to relax,

24:34 and your poverty will come like a bandit,

and your need like an armed robber.” ¹² 

[24:27]  ¹ tn The perfect tense with vav following the imperatives takes on the force of an imperative here.

[24:27]  ² sn If the term “house” is understood literally, the proverb would mean that one should be financially secure before building a house (cf. NLT). If “house” is figurative for household (metonymy of subject: children or family), the proverb would mean that one should have financial security and provision before starting a family. Some English versions suggest the latter meaning by using the word “home” for “house” (e.g., TEV, CEV).

[24:28]  ³ sn The legal setting of these sayings continues with this warning against being a false accuser. The “witness” in this line is one who has no basis for his testimony. “Without cause” is the adverb from חָנָן (khanan), which means “to be gracious.” The adverb means “without a cause; gratis; free.” It is also cognate to the word חֵן (“grace” or “unmerited [or, undeserved] favor.” The connotation is that the opposite is due. So the adverb would mean that there was no cause, no justification for the witness, but that the evidence seemed to lie on the other side.

[24:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause; it means “what is said.” Here it refers to what is said in court as a false witness.

[24:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “repay to the man.” The verb is שׁוּב (shuv), which in the Hiphil stem means “to restore; to repay; to return” (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT “I’ll get even”). The idea is that of repaying someone for what he did.

[24:29]  ⁶ sn Rather than give in to the spirit of vengeance, one should avoid retaliation (e.g., Prov 20:22; Matt 5:43-45; Rom 12:9). According to the Talmud, Hillel said, “Do not do to others what you would not have them do unto you” (b. Sanhedrin 31a).

[24:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “lacks heart”; KJV “understanding”; NAB, NASB, NLT “sense.”

[24:31]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, traditionally “and, lo” [KJV, ASV]) is a deictic particle that calls attention to what comes next. “And look” is too abrupt here; “I saw” calls attention to the field that was noticed.

[24:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “its face” (so KJV, ASV).

[24:32]  ¹⁰ sn Heb “I set my heart.” The “heart” represents the mind and the will combined; to “set” the mind and will means to give careful consideration to what was observed.

[24:32]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I looked, I received instruction.” There are four verbs in the two parts of this verse: “I saw…I set…I saw…I received.” It is clear that the first two verbs in each half verse are the foundation for the next two. At the beginning of the verse the form is the preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive; it can be subordinated as a temporal clause to the next verb, probably to be identified as a preterite with the vav – “when I saw, I put.” The next two verbs are both perfect tenses; their construction would parallel the first half of the verse, even though there are no conjunctions here – “[when] I saw, I received.”

[24:34]  ¹² tn Heb “a man of shield.” This could refer to an armed warrior (so NRSV) but in this context, in collocation with the other word for “robber” in the previous line, it must refer to an armed criminal.