Proverbs 3:28

3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go! Return tomorrow

and I will give it,” when ¹  you have it with you at the time. ² 

Proverbs 5:8

5:8 Keep yourself ³  far ⁴  from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

Proverbs 17:5

17:5 The one who mocks the poor ⁵  insults ⁶  his Creator;

whoever rejoices over disaster will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 28:20

28:20 A faithful person ⁷  will have an abundance of blessings,

but the one who hastens ⁸  to gain riches will not go unpunished.

[3:28]  ¹ tn Heb “and it is with you.” The prefixed vav introduces a circumstantial clause: “when …”

[3:28]  ² tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “your way.”

[5:8]  ⁴ sn There is a contrast made between “keep far away” (הַרְחֵק, harkheq) and “do not draw near” (וְאַל־תִּקְרַב, vÿ’al-tiqrav).

[17:5]  ⁵ sn The parallelism helps define the subject matter: The one who “mocks the poor” (NAB, NASB, NIV) is probably one who “rejoices [NIV gloats] over disaster.” The poverty is hereby explained as a disaster that came to some. The topic of the parable is the person who mocks others by making fun of their misfortune.

[17:5]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew word translated “insults” (חֵרֵף, kheref) means “reproach; taunt” (as with a cutting taunt); it describes words that show contempt for or insult God. The idea of reproaching the Creator may be mistaking and blaming God’s providential control of the world (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 337). W. G. Plaut, however, suggests that mocking the poor means holding up their poverty as a personal failure and thus offending their dignity and their divine nature (Proverbs, 187).

[28:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “a man of faithfulness,” although the context does not indicate this should be limited only to males.

[28:20]  ⁸ sn The proverb is not rebuking diligent labor. One who is eager to get rich quickly is the opposite of the faithful person. The first person is faithful to God and to the covenant community; the second is trying to get rich as quickly as possible, at the least without doing an honest day’s work and at the worst dishonestly. In a hurry to gain wealth, he falls into various schemes and will pay for it. Tg. Prov 28:20 interprets this to say he hastens through deceit and wrongdoing.