Proverbs 6:35

6:35 He will not consider ¹  any compensation; ² 

he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation. ³ 

Proverbs 21:13

21:13 The one who shuts his ears ⁴  to the cry ⁵  of the poor,

he too will cry out and will not be answered. ⁶ 

Proverbs 28:22

28:22 The stingy person ⁷  hastens after riches

and does not know that poverty will overtake him. ⁸ 

Proverbs 29:24

29:24 Whoever shares with a thief ⁹  is his own enemy; ¹⁰ 

he hears the oath to testify, ¹¹  but does not talk.

[6:35]  ¹ tn Heb “lift up the face of,” meaning “regard.”

[6:35]  ² tn The word rendered “compensation” is כֹּפֶר (cofer); it is essentially a ransom price, a sum to be paid to deliver another from debt, bondage, or crime. The husband cannot accept payment as a ransom for a life, since what has happened cannot be undone so easily.

[6:35]  ³ tn BDB 1005 s.v. שֹׁחַד suggests that this term means “hush money” or “bribe” (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT). C. H. Toy takes it as legal compensation (Proverbs [ICC], 142).

[21:13]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn “Cry” here would be a metonymy of effect for the cause, the cause being the great needs of the poor.

[21:13]  ⁶ 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).

[28:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “a man with an evil eye” (as opposed to the generous man who has a “good” eye). This individual is selfish, unkind, unsympathetic to others. He looks only to his own gain. Cf. NAB “The avaricious man”; NLT “A greedy person.”

[28:22]  ⁸ sn The one who is hasty to gain wealth is involved in sin in some way, for which he will be punished by poverty. The idea of “hastening” after riches suggests a dishonest approach to acquiring wealth.

[29:24]  ¹⁰ sn The expression shares with a thief describes someone who is an “accomplice” (cf. NAB, NIV) because he is willing to share in the loot without taking part in the crime.

[29:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hates his soul.” The accomplice is working against himself, for he will be punished along with the thief if he is caught.

[29:24]  ¹² tn Heb “oath” or “imprecation”; ASV “adjuration.” This amounted to an “oath” or “curse” (cf. NAB “he hears himself put under a curse”; NRSV “one hears the victim’s curse”) either by or on behalf of the victim, that any witness to the crime must testify (cf. Lev 5:1). However, in this legal setting referring to “a victim’s curse” could be misleading (cf. also KJV “he heareth cursing”), since it could be understood to refer to profanity directed against those guilty of the crime rather than an imprecation called down on a witness who refused to testify (as in the present proverb). The present translation specifies this as an “oath to testify.”