Proverbs 28
28
1Evil people run even though no one is chasing them,
but good people are as brave as a lion.
2When a country is lawless, it has one ruler after another;
but when it is led by a leader with understanding and knowledge, it continues strong.
3Rulers who mistreat the poor
are like a hard rain that destroys the crops.
4Those who disobey what they have been taught praise the wicked,
but those who obey what they have been taught are against them.
5Evil people do not understand justice,
but those who follow the Lord understand it completely.
6It is better to be poor and innocent
than to be rich and wicked.
7Children who obey what they have been taught are wise,
but friends of troublemakers disgrace their parents.
8Some people get rich by overcharging others,
but their wealth will be given to those who are kind to the poor.
9If you refuse to obey what you have been taught,
your prayers will not be heard.
10Those who lead good people to do wrong
will be ruined by their own evil,
but the innocent will be rewarded with good things.
11Rich people may think they are wise,
but the poor with understanding will prove them wrong.
12When good people triumph, there is great happiness,
but when the wicked get control, everybody hides.
13If you hide your sins, you will not succeed.
If you confess and reject them, you will receive mercy.
14Those who are always respectful will be happy,
but those who are stubborn will get into trouble.
15A wicked ruler is as dangerous to poor people
as a roaring lion or a charging bear.
16A ruler without wisdom will be cruel,
but the one who refuses to take dishonest money will rule a long time.
17Don’t help those who are guilty of murder;
let them run until they die.
18Innocent people will be kept safe,
but those who are dishonest will suddenly be ruined.
19Those who work their land will have plenty of food,
but the ones who chase empty dreams instead will end up poor.
20A truthful person will have many blessings,
but those eager to get rich will be punished.
21It is not good for a judge to take sides,
but some will sin for only a piece of bread.
22Selfish people are in a hurry to get rich
and do not realize they soon will be poor.
23Those who correct others will later be liked
more than those who give false praise.
24Whoever robs father or mother
and says, “It’s not wrong,”
is just like someone who destroys things.
25A greedy person causes trouble,
but the one who trusts the Lord will succeed.
26Those who trust in themselves are foolish,
but those who live wisely will be kept safe.
27Whoever gives to the poor will have everything he needs,
but the one who ignores the poor will receive many curses.
28When the wicked get control, everybody hides,
but when they die, good people do well.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 28
28
1The wicked flee though none pursue;
but the just, like a lion, are confident.
2If a land is rebellious, its princes will be many;
but with an intelligent and wise ruler there is stability.#The first line expresses the paradox that rebellion, far from doing away with rulers, actually multiplies them. The second line is corrupt.
3One who is poor and extorts from the lowly
is a devastating rain that leaves no food.#The reference may be to tax farmers who collected taxes and took a commission. The collectors’ lack of wealth was the cause of their oppression of poor farmers. They are like a rain too violent to allow crops to grow.
4Those who abandon instruction#Instruction: torah; the word is used both for the teaching of the wise and the law of Moses. praise the wicked,
but those who keep instruction oppose them.
5The evil understand nothing of justice,#Understanding nothing of justice plays on the twofold sense of justice as righteousness and as punishment that comes on the wicked. On the other hand, those who seek the Lord understand everything, i.e., that the Lord punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous (themselves).
but those who seek the Lord understand everything.
6Better to be poor and walk in integrity
than rich and crooked in one’s ways.#Prv 19:1.
7Whoever heeds instruction is a wise son,
but whoever joins with wastrels disgraces his father.
8Whoever amasses wealth by interest and overcharge#Interest and overcharge were strictly forbidden in the old law among Israelites because it was presumed that the borrower was in distress; cf. Ex 22:25; Lv 25:35–37; Dt 23:20; Ps 15:5; Ez 18:8. Divine providence will take the offender’s wealth; cf. Eccl 2:26.
gathers it for the one who is kind to the poor.
9Those who turn their ears from hearing instruction,#Prv 15:8; 21:27.
even their prayer is an abomination.
10Those who mislead the upright into an evil way
will themselves fall into their own pit,
but the blameless will attain prosperity.
11The rich are wise in their own eyes,
but the poor who are intelligent see through them.
12When the just triumph, there is great glory;
but when the wicked prevail, people hide.#People react in opposite ways to the triumph of good and evil. To the triumph of good, they react by public display, public celebration, and to the triumph of evil, by hiding.
13Those who conceal their sins do not prosper,
but those who confess and forsake them obtain mercy.#Concealing the faults of another is a good thing in Proverbs (17:9), but concealing one’s own sins is not. Ps 32:1–5 expresses the anguish caused by concealing one’s sins rather than bringing them to light so they can be healed by God.
14Happy those who always fear;#Fear is a different verb than in the phrase “to fear (or revere) the Lord.” In its only other biblical occurrence (Is 51:13), the verb means to dread an oppressor. The saying states a paradox: those who fear in the sense of being cautious are declared happy, whereas those who are fearless will fall into traps they did not “fear.” In short, there is good fear and bad fear.
but those who harden their hearts fall into evil.
15A roaring lion or a ravenous bear
is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
16The less prudent the rulers, the more oppressive their deeds.
Those who hate ill-gotten gain prolong their days.
17Though a person burdened with blood guilt is in flight even to the grave,
let no one offer support.
18Whoever walks blamelessly is safe,
but one whose ways are crooked falls into a pit.
19Those who cultivate their land will have plenty of food,
but those who engage in idle pursuits will have plenty of want.#Prv 12:11.
20The trustworthy will be richly blessed;
but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.#Prv 13:11.
21To show partiality is never good:#Prv 24:23.
for even a morsel of bread one may do wrong.#Cf. 24:23. Verse 21b warns that even in a light matter one must remain impartial.
22Misers hurry toward wealth,
not knowing that want is coming toward them.#“Bad of eye” is the Hebrew idiom for miserly. Misers fail to see that poverty is hurrying toward them because of their wrong attitude toward wealth. Because misers are “bad of eye,” they do not see the danger.
23Whoever rebukes another wins more favor
than one who flatters with the tongue.
24Whoever defrauds father or mother and says, “It is no sin,”#Mk 7:11–13.
is a partner to a brigand.
25The greedy person stirs up strife,
but the one who trusts in the Lord will prosper.
26Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are safe.
27Those who give to the poor have no lack,#Prv 19:17; Sir 4:3–8.
but those who avert their eyes, many curses.
28When the wicked prevail, people hide;
but at their fall the just abound.#Prv 28:12.
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