Proverbs 28
28
1The wicked are afraid of everything, but those who live right are as brave as lions.
2A lawless nation will have many bad leaders. But a smart leader will rule for a long time in a land where people obey the law.
3A leader who takes advantage of the poor is like a hard rain that destroys the crops.#28:3 Or “A poor person who takes advantage of beggars is like a hard rain and no food.”
4Those who refuse to obey the law promote evil. Those who obey the law oppose evil.
5The wicked don’t understand justice, but those who love the Lord understand it completely.
6It is better to be poor and honest than rich and evil.
7A smart son obeys the laws, but a son who spends time with worthless people brings shame to his father.
8If you get rich by charging high interest rates, your wealth will go to someone who is kind to the poor.
9When people do not listen to God’s teachings, he does not listen to their prayers.
10Those who plan to hurt good people will fall into their own traps, but good things will happen to those who are good.
11The rich always think they are wise, but a poor person who is wise can see the truth.
12When good people become leaders, everything is great, but when the wicked rise to power, everyone hides.
13Whoever hides their sins will not be successful, but whoever confesses their sins and stops doing wrong will receive mercy.
14People who respect others will be blessed, but stubborn people will have plenty of troubles.
15An evil ruler over those who are helpless is like an angry lion or a charging bear.
16A foolish ruler hurts the people under him, but a ruler who hates wrong will rule for a long time.
17A murderer will never have peace. Don’t support such a person.
18Honest people will be safe, but dishonest people will be ruined.
19Whoever works hard will have plenty to eat, but whoever wastes their time with dreams will always be poor.
20People who can be trusted will have many blessings, but those who are just trying to get rich in a hurry will be punished.
21It is wrong for a judge to support someone simply because he knows them. But some judges will change their decisions for the price of a loaf of bread.
22Selfish people only want to get rich. They do not realize that they are very close to being poor.
23Correct someone, and later they will thank you. That is much better than just saying something to be nice.
24Someone might steal from their parents and say, “I did nothing wrong.” But that person is as bad as an enemy who smashes everything in the house.
25Greedy people might sue you in court, but those who trust the Lord are rewarded.
26It is foolish to be too confident. Those who ask for advice are wise and will escape disaster.
27Whoever gives to the poor will have plenty. Whoever refuses to help them will get nothing but curses.
28When the wicked rise to power, everyone hides. When they are defeated, good people multiply.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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