HarperCollins Study Bible
Page 243
but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse.
28When the wicked prevail, people go into hiding;
but when they perish, the righteous increase.
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a Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Cn: Heb A poor person
c Syr: Heb fall all at once
28.1–29.27 The literary style returns to the independent antithetical proverbs favored in chs. 10–15.
28.2–3 Textual difficulties prevent certain translation, but observations about just rule and care for the poor are frequent in chs. 28–29 (28.8, 12, 15, 16, 27, 28; 29.2, 4, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16, 26; see also note on 1.1). Rulers translates a variety of Hebrew words for authority figures; here it probably refers to later foreign rulers, not the Davidic monarchs.
28.2 Intelligent ruler. Just rule requires wisdom (see note on 1.1).
28.4, 7, 9 See also 29.18. The law (Hebrew torah). The lack of the definite article in the Hebrew may suggest that this is still a teacher’s instruction, not covenantal law; on the other hand, unlike elsewhere in Proverbs no specific instruction is indicated by the term (cf., e.g., 1.8), which seems to have a self-standing weight. The book of Sirach will later equate wisdom and law, and these sayings seem to mark the path to that conclusion.
28.6 Poverty is not always a consequence of evil or laziness (see 15.15–16; 28.2–3, 11; cf. 6.6–10; 28.19). Walk, ways.
28.7–8 Both verses seem to reference pentateuchal laws. On children (sons) who are gluttons, see Deut 21.20. On not taking interest on loans, see Ex 22.25.
28.10 See 1.10–19; 26.27.
28.11–13 These verses are linked by “searching”/“hiding” (see notes on 1.13; 28.11).
28.11 See 28.6. Wise in self-esteem. See 3.5; 26.5. Sees through the pose, lit. “searches him out.”
28.12b Same as 28.28a. People go into hiding, lit. “a man is searched for.” Do the people hide or do they search for a just ruler?
28.14 Happy. Hard-hearted, stubborn (see 29.1; Ex 7.3); the allusion to Pharaoh suggests that fear refers to fear of the Lord (see note on 1.7).
28.15–16 See 28.2–3.
28.17 Burdened, lit. “oppressed,” a catchword tying this verse to preceding. Let that killer…assistance, lit. “let him flee to the pit; do not seize him” bloodguilt brings its own punishment (the pit is the grave); see 1.11–12; 5.22; 26.27; cf. Ex 21.13; Num 35.6–15; Deut 4.41–43; 19.1–10.
28.18 Perhaps explanatory of v. 17. Walks, ways.
28.19–22 On wealth and poverty. A clear statement of the work ethic (v. 19; see 6.6–10) gets clouded: the poor thief may deserve mercy (vv. 21; see vv. 2–3; Ex 23.3), and the greedy may (temporarily) achieve their aims (vv. 20b, 22).
28.23 Rebuke, flatter. See 25.12.
28.24–25 Cf. 29.24–25.
28.24 See Ex 20.12; 21.15–17; Deut 5.16; 27.16.
28.25–26 Trusts in the LORD and walk in wisdom are identified via parallelism (see 1.7).
28.26 Trust in their own wits, lit. “heart,” or mind. See 3.5.
28.27 Almsgiving was a matter of honor.
28.28a Same as 28.12b.
PROVERBS 29
1One who is often reproved, yet remains stubborn,
will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
2When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
3A child who loves wisdom makes a parent glad,
but to keep company with prostitutes is to squander one’s substance.
4By justice a king gives stability to the land,
but one who makes heavy exactions ruins it.
5Whoever flatters a neighbor
is spreading a net for the neighbor’s feet.
6In the transgression of the evil there is a snare,
but the righteous sing and rejoice.
7The righteous know the rights of the poor;
the wicked have no such understanding.
8Scoffers set a city aflame,
but the wise turn away wrath.
9If the wise go to law with fools,
there is ranting and ridicule without relief.
10The bloodthirsty hate the blameless,
and they seek the life of the upright.
11A fool gives full vent to anger,
but the wise quietly holds it back.
12If a ruler listens to falsehood,
all his officials will be wicked.
13The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
the LORD gives light to the eyes of both.
14If a king judges the poor with equity,
his throne will be established forever.
15The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a mother is disgraced by a neglected child.
16When the wicked are in authority, transgression increases,
but the righteous will look upon their downfall.
17Discipline your children, and they will give you rest;
they will give delight to your heart.
18Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint,
but happy are those who keep the law.
19By mere words servants are not disciplined,
for though they understand, they will not give heed.
20Do you see someone who is hasty in speech?
There is more hope for a fool than for anyone like that.
21A slave pampered from childhood
will come to a bad end.a
22One given to anger stirs up strife,
and the hothead causes much transgression.
but one who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.
24To be a partner of a thief is to hate one’s own life;
one hears the victim’s curse, but discloses nothing.b
25The fear of othersc lays a snare,
but one who trusts in the LORD is secure.
26Many seek the favor of a ruler,
but it is from the LORD that one gets justice.
27The unjust are an abomination to the righteous,
but the upright are an abomination to the wicked.
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a Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Or human fear
29.1a See note on 1.4. Stubborn, lit. “hard-necked” cf. 28.14.
29.1b Suddenly. See note on 6.15b.
29.3 Prostitutes appear more dangerous here than in 6.26.
29.5–6 The images of net and snare link these two sayings (see also 1.17).
29.6 Rejoice. See 29.2.
29.8 This translation misses the wordplay on words involving breath. Read either lit. “Scoffers set a city panting / but the wise turn aside the nose” or, completing the metaphor, “Scoffers set a city aflame / but the wise turn aside burning anger.” A “(burning) nose” is a typical Hebrew euphemism for anger (cf. 25.28; 26.20–21; 30.33).
29.9 See 25.7c–10.
29.10 See 1.10–19.
29.11 See, e.g., 12.16.
29.13 Bitter realism or hope for the poor (see 22.2)?
29.14 This verse perhaps qualifies the preceding saying; the reverse situation appears in 28.3.
29.14b See note on 25.4–5.
29.15 Rod, reproof. See 13.24; cf. 29.19, 21, where similar harsh discipline is applied to slaves. Mother is disgraced. See notes on 1.8; 3.4.
29.17 See 13.24; 29.3.
29.18 See note on 28.4, 7, 9. Law (without the definite article) may refer to written Torah, especially here in parallel with prophecy; the latter word refers to the prophetic vision and is not the term used for either the prophets or their books.
29.20b Same as 26.12b.
29.22 See, e.g., 14.17.
29.23 Pride, humiliation. See 25.6–7.
29.24–25 Imagery and message similar to those in 1.10–33 (esp. 1.17–18, 26–27, 33); 28.24–25.
29.25 Snare. See 1.17.
29.2
6 Justice may establish a throne (see 25.5), but not all thrones are just (see 28.3, 5).
PROVERBS 30
Sayings of Agur
1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle.
Thus says the man: I am weary, O God,
I am weary, O God. How can I prevail?a
2Surely I am too stupid to be human;
I do not have human understanding.
3I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the holy ones.b
4Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is the person’s name?
And what is the name of the person’s child?
Surely you know!
5Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6Do not add to his words,
or else he will rebuke you, and you will be found a liar.
7Two things I ask of you;
do not deny them to me before I die:
8Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that I need,
9or I shall be full, and deny you,
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
or I shall be poor, and steal,
and profane the name of my God.
10Do not slander a servant to a master,
or the servant will curse you, and you will be held guilty.
11There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12There are those who are pure in their own eyes
yet are not cleansed of their filthiness.
13There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!—
14there are those whose teeth are swords,
whose teeth are knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mortals.
15The leechc has two daughters;
“Give, give,” they cry.
Three things are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough”:
16Sheol, the barren womb,
the earth ever thirsty for water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”d
17The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
18Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
19the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a girl.
20This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats, and wipes her mouth,
and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
22a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when glutted with food;
23an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
and a maid when she succeeds her mistress.
24Four things on earth are small,
yet they are exceedingly wise:
25the ants are a people without strength,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26the badgers are a people without power,
yet they make their homes in the rocks;
27the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
28the lizarde can be grasped in the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29Three things are stately in their stride;
four are stately in their gait:
30the lion, which is mightiest among wild animals
and does not turn back before any;
31the strutting rooster,f the he-goat,
and a king striding beforeg his people.
32If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth.
33For as pressing milk produces curds,
and pressing the nose produces blood,
so pressing anger produces strife.
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a Or I am spent. Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Or Holy One
c Meaning of Heb uncertain
d Meaning of Heb uncertain
e Or spider
f Gk Syr Tg Compare Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
g Meaning of Heb uncertain
30.1–33 A series of short, independent epigrams (short poems that make a point).
30.1–6 Questions of a skeptic and a pious response.
30.1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh, a title, but the extent of the original unit is uncertain, as is Agur’s identity, though he may be a foreigner. Oracle, prophetic terminology, though some translate as a place-name, Massa; see also 31.1. Thus says in the prophets is always followed by “the LORD,” but here by the man, lit. “strong man, warrior.” I am weary, O God. Some translate “There is no God” or “I am not God” others read proper names in the beginning clauses of the oracle, “to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal” (RSV). The context supplies a sense of distance from a transcendent God, not doctrinal atheism.
30.2–3 A tone more likely ironic than submissive (see Job 9.2). Holy ones, a plural form translated in the singular in 9.10, though the foreign Agur may refer to gods rather than God.
30.4 Perhaps a riddle whose answer is “God” (cf. Job 38.5–11); perhaps a challenge to proponents of a know-it-all piety. Person’s name…person’s child, lit. “his name…his sons’ [plural in Greek] name” thus the referent could be human (sage and pupil) or divine (God and other member[s] of the heavenly realm who are sometimes called “sons of God” [Job 1.6]; cf. v. 3). Surely you know. See Job 38.21.
30.5–6 A pious response to vv. 1–4 in the mode of those of Job’s friends or Eccl 12.9–14. Word of God may or may not refer to written scripture.
30.5 Cf. Ps 18.30.
30.6a Cf. Deut 4.2.
30.7–9 A model of pious prayer (cf. Job 13.20–21). The catchword lying connects the unit to v. 6. The request for neither too much nor too little assesses human nature realistically (cf. Mt 6.11; Mk 10.25).
30.10 An isolated admonition, but for the catchword curse (also in v. 11). Do not interfere in the affairs of other households.
30.11–14 Four reprehensible groups: the unfilial, the hypocritical, the proud, and the avaricious.
30.15–33 A collection of five numerical sayings (vv. 15b–16, 18–19, 21–23, 24–28, 29–31; see 6.16–19) interspersed with sayings (vv. 15a, 17, 20, 33) and an admonition (v. 32). On the natural world as a source of learning (vv. 15–16, 19, 24–31), see note on 6.6–11.
30.15a Originally an independent saying connected to the following numerical saying by its use of the number two and its image of things that demand (“Give, give”) a continuous supply of life substance.
30.15b–16 Barren womb. Recall Rachel’s cry to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” (Gen 30.1).
30.17–20 The numerical saying in v. 18–19 is framed by sayings representing two major themes of chs. 1–9: obedience to parents (v. 17; see 1.8) and avoidance of the adulteress (v. 20; see 6.20–35).
30.17–19 These verses are linked by imagery of carnivorous birds.
30.17 See Ex 21.17; horror of lack of proper burial reinforces the message.
30.18–19 Four items lacking visible means of operation and leaving no trace when gone.
30.19 Girl, a young woman of marriageable age.
30.20 This verse is linked to vv. 18–19 by the catchword way (see note on 1.15–16) and the allusion to sexual relations; to v
v. 15–16 by imagery of deadly appetite (see note on 1.31; also 9.17).
30.21–23 Four unbearable things: the first and last are inversions of appropriate order; the middle two do not know how to use their blessings wisely; all may be prone to taunt others.
30.22a See 29.19.
30.23a When she gets a husband, or “when she is married.” The problem is being married and unloved, not unloved and unmarried; see Gen 29.31–35; Deut 20.15–16; 1 Sam 1.2–6.
30.23b See Gen 16.1–6.
30.24–28 V. 24 breaks the “three things plus a fourth” pattern. There are several messages: wisdom does not depend on size or strength; joint effort succeeds where the individual might fail; neither power nor a king is
PROVERBS 31
The Teaching of King Lemuel’s Mother
The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
1No, my son! No, son of my womb!
No, son of my vows!
2Do not give your strength to women,
your ways to those who destroy kings.
3It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
or for rulers to desirea strong drink;
4or else they will drink and forget what has been decreed,
and will pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
5Give strong drink to one who is perishing,
and wine to those in bitter distress;
6let them drink and forget their poverty,
and remember their misery no more.
7Speak out for those who cannot speak,
for the rights of all the destitute.b
8Speak out, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Ode to a Capable Wife
9A capable wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
10The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
11She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
12She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
13She is like the ships of the merchant,