Proverbs 28
28
1The wicked run away when no one is chasing them,
but the godly are as bold as lions.
2When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily.
But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.
3A poor person who oppresses the poor
is like a pounding rain that destroys the crops.
4To reject the law is to praise the wicked;
to obey the law is to fight them.
5Evil people don’t understand justice,
but those who follow the Lord understand completely.
6Better to be poor and honest
than to be dishonest and rich.
7Young people who obey the law are wise;
those with wild friends bring shame to their parents.#28:7 Hebrew their father.
8Income from charging high interest rates
will end up in the pocket of someone who is kind to the poor.
9God detests the prayers
of a person who ignores the law.
10Those who lead good people along an evil path
will fall into their own trap,
but the honest will inherit good things.
11Rich people may think they are wise,
but a poor person with discernment can see right through them.
12When the godly succeed, everyone is glad.
When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding.
13People who conceal their sins will not prosper,
but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
14Blessed are those who fear to do wrong,#28:14 Or those who fear the Lord; Hebrew reads those who fear.
but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.
15A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor
as a roaring lion or an attacking bear.
16A ruler with no understanding will oppress his people,
but one who hates corruption will have a long life.
17A murderer’s tormented conscience will drive him into the grave.
Don’t protect him!
18The blameless will be rescued from harm,
but the crooked will be suddenly destroyed.
19A hard worker has plenty of food,
but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.
20The trustworthy person will get a rich reward,
but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.
21Showing partiality is never good,
yet some will do wrong for a mere piece of bread.
22Greedy people try to get rich quick
but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty.
23In the end, people appreciate honest criticism
far more than flattery.
24Anyone who steals from his father and mother
and says, “What’s wrong with that?”
is no better than a murderer.
25Greed causes fighting;
trusting the Lord leads to prosperity.
26Those who trust their own insight are foolish,
but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.
27Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing,
but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.
28When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding.
When the wicked meet disaster, the godly flourish.
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Proverbs 28: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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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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