Proverbs 28
28
1The wicked run when no one is chasing them, but an honest person is as brave as a lion.
2When a nation sins, it will have one ruler after another. But a nation will be strong and endure when it has intelligent, sensible leaders.
3Someone in authority who oppresses poor people is like a driving rain that destroys the crops.
4If you have no regard for the law, you are on the side of the wicked; but if you obey it, you are against them.
5Evil people do not know what justice is, but those who worship the LORD understand it well.
6Better to be poor and honest than rich and dishonest.
7A young man who obeys the law is intelligent. One who makes friends with good-for-nothings is a disgrace to his father.
8If you get rich by charging interest and taking advantage of people, your wealth will go to someone who is kind to the poor.
9If you do not obey the law, God will find your prayers too hateful to hear.
10If you trick an honest person into doing evil, you will fall into your own trap.
The innocent will be well rewarded.
11Rich people always think they are wise, but a poor person who has insight into character knows better.
12When good people come to power, everybody celebrates, but when bad people rule, people stay in hiding.
13You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you.
14Always obey the LORD and you will be happy. If you are stubborn, you will be ruined.
15Poor people are helpless against a wicked ruler; he is as dangerous as a growling lion or a prowling bear.
16A ruler without good sense will be a cruel tyrant. One who hates dishonesty will rule a long time.
17Someone guilty of murder is digging his own grave as fast as he can. Don't try to stop him.
18Be honest and you will be safe. If you are dishonest, you will suddenly fall.
19A hard-working farmer has plenty to eat. People who waste time will always be poor.
20Honest people will lead a full, happy life. But if you are in a hurry to get rich, you are going to be punished.
21Prejudice is wrong. But some judges will do wrong to get even the smallest bribe.
22Selfish people are in such a hurry to get rich that they do not know when poverty is about to strike.
23Correct someone, and afterwards he will appreciate it more than flattery.
24Anyone who thinks it isn't wrong to steal from his parents is no better than a common thief.
25Selfishness only causes trouble. You are much better off to trust the LORD.
26It is foolish to follow your own opinions. Be safe, and follow the teachings of wiser people.
27Give to the poor and you will never be in need. If you close your eyes to the poor, many people will curse you.
28People stay in hiding when the wicked come to power. But when they fall from power, the righteous will rule again.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
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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