Proverbs 28
28
1A wicked person flees when no one is chasing him,
but righteous people are as bold as lions.
2When a country is in revolt, it has many rulers,
but only with a person who has understanding and knowledge
will it last a long time.
3A poor person who oppresses poorer people
is like a driving rain that leaves no food.
4Those who abandon ⌞God’s⌟ teachings praise wicked people,
but those who follow ⌞God’s⌟ teachings oppose wicked people.
5Evil people do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord understand everything.
6Better to be a poor person who has integrity
than to be rich and double-dealing.
7Whoever follows ⌞God’s⌟ teachings is a wise son.
Whoever associates with gluttons disgraces his father.
8Whoever becomes wealthy through ⌞unfair⌟ loans and interest
collects them for the one who is kind to the poor.
9Surely the prayer of someone who refuses
to listen to ⌞God’s⌟ teachings is disgusting.
10Whoever leads decent people into evil will fall into his own pit,
but innocent people will inherit good things.
11A rich person is wise in his own eyes,
but a poor person with understanding sees right through him.
12When righteous people triumph, there is great glory,
but when wicked people rise, people hide themselves.
13Whoever covers over his sins does not prosper.
Whoever confesses and abandons them receives compassion.
14Blessed is the one who is always fearful ⌞of sin⌟,
but whoever is hard-hearted falls into disaster.
15 ⌞Like⌟ a roaring lion and a charging bear,
⌞so⌟ a wicked ruler is a threat to poor people.
16A leader without understanding taxes ⌞his people⌟ heavily,
but those who hate unjust gain will live longer.
17A person burdened with the guilt of murder
will be a fugitive down to his grave.
No one will help him.
18Whoever lives honestly will be safe.
Whoever lives dishonestly will fall all at once.
19Whoever works his land will have plenty to eat.
Whoever chases unrealistic dreams will have plenty of nothing.
20A trustworthy person has many blessings,
but anyone in a hurry to get rich will not escape punishment.
21Showing partiality is not good,
because some people will turn on you even for a piece of bread.
22A stingy person is in a hurry to get rich,
not realizing that poverty is about to overtake him.
23Whoever criticizes people will be more highly regarded in the future
than the one who flatters with his tongue.
24The one who robs his father or his mother
and says, “It isn’t wrong!” is a companion to a vandal.
25A greedy person stirs up a fight,
but whoever trusts the Lord prospers.
26Whoever trusts his own heart is a fool.
Whoever walks in wisdom will survive.
27Whoever gives to the poor lacks nothing.
Whoever ignores the poor receives many curses.
28When wicked people rise, people hide.
When they die, righteous people increase.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. 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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