Era 6 · The First KingsProverbs
Proverbs 19: He That Hath Pity upon the Poor Lendeth unto the LORD
Integrity in poverty, false witnesses, the king's roar and the lazy hand in the dish
"Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool" (19:1).
"All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him?" (19:7). This verse has a third line, unusually, and its Hebrew is damaged; the Greek has a longer form.
"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again" (19:17).
"There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand" (19:21). "A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom (dish), and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again" (19:24).
Lending to the LORD
19:17 turns charity into a loan with God as debtor. Torah commanded generous lending to the poor without interest (Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 15:7–11). The proverb promises that God repays; it does not say how or when. Rabbinic tradition built on it to speak of tsedakah (charity) as one of the highest commandments; Jesus' "lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great" (Luke 6:35) has a similar logic. It is a theological metaphor, not a financial contract.
| Verse | The saying | Form | What to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19:1 | Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity | Comparative | Near-repeat of 28:6, where the rich man is the contrast |
| 19:2 | That the soul be without knowledge, it is not good | Synonymous | Zeal without knowledge; haste "misses the mark" (the verb for sin) |
| 19:3 | The foolishness of man perverteth his way | Synthetic | Then he rages against the LORD: blaming God for self-made trouble |
| 19:4 | Wealth maketh many friends | Antithetic | Observation, not approval |
| 19:5 | A false witness shall not be unpunished | Synonymous | Repeated in v. 9 with "shall perish" |
| 19:6 | Many will intreat the favour of the prince | Synonymous | Everyone befriends a giver |
| 19:7 | All the brethren of the poor do hate him | A fortiori + third line | The third line is obscure; a sign of textual disturbance |
| 19:8 | He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul | Synonymous | Wisdom as self-care |
| 19:9 | A false witness shall not be unpunished | Synonymous | Doublet of v. 5 |
| 19:10 | Delight is not seemly for a fool | A fortiori | Social reversal (a slave ruling princes) seen as disorder; compare 30:22 |
| 19:11 | The discretion of a man deferreth his anger | Synonymous | "His glory to pass over a transgression": forgiveness as honour |
| 19:12 | The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion | Antithetic | Favour like dew; compare 16:14–15; 20:2 |
| 19:13 | A foolish son is the calamity of his father | Synonymous | "Continual dropping" of a leaking roof; compare 27:15 |
| 19:14 | House and riches are the inheritance of fathers | Antithetic | A prudent wife is God's gift |
| 19:15 | Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep | Synonymous | Tardemah, the "deep sleep" of Genesis 2:21 |
| 19:16 | He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul | Antithetic | Keeping and despising |
| 19:17 | He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD | Synonymous | God as guarantor of the poor |
| 19:18 | Chasten thy son while there is hope | Synonymous | Second line: "do not set your heart on his death": do not let discipline become destruction; see 13:24 |
| 19:19 | A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment | Synthetic | Rescuing a hothead only means doing it again |
| 19:20 | Hear counsel, and receive instruction | Synthetic | Wise "in thy latter end": later in life |
| 19:21 | There are many devices in a man's heart | Antithetic | God's purpose stands; compare 16:9; Isaiah 46:10 |
| 19:22 | The desire of a man is his kindness | Synthetic | Uncertain: "what is desired in a man is loyalty"; a poor man is better than a liar |
| 19:23 | The fear of the LORD tendeth to life | Synthetic | Rest without fear of harm |
| 19:24 | A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom | Synthetic | Tsallachat is a dish: too lazy to eat; repeated in 26:15 |
| 19:25 | Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware | Antithetic | Public punishment as a lesson; the wise learn from words |
| 19:26 | He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother | Synthetic | Abuse of aged parents; compare Exodus 21:15, 17 |
| 19:27 | Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err | Single sentence | Ironic or direct warning; the Hebrew can mean "stop listening to instruction, and you will stray" |
| 19:28 | An ungodly witness scorneth judgment | Synonymous | A "witness of Belial" |
| 19:29 | Judgments are prepared for scorners | Synonymous | Stripes for fools, as 10:13 |
19:18: "let not thy soul spare for his crying"
The KJV's second line ("let not thy soul spare for his crying") reflects one reading; the Hebrew ve'el hamito al tissa nafshekha most likely means "and do not set your heart on putting him to death" or "do not be party to his death": discipline must not become destruction. Deuteronomy 21:18–21 describes a legal process for a rebellious son that took the matter out of the parents' hands. Read in context, 19:18 limits harsh punishment rather than encouraging it.
Text and versions
19:7's third line is a fragment; the Greek has a fuller couplet. The library's Greek has 27 verses against 29, and its numbering falls behind in the second half of the chapter (D check). The Greek also adds lines elsewhere in the chapter. Each is a C check against Rahlfs.
What the evidence shows
- Proverbs 19:17 promises a specific financial return to givers. A theological metaphor of God repaying.
- Proverbs 19:18 warns against discipline that leads to a child's death. The most likely sense of the Hebrew second line.
- Proverbs 19:5 and 19:9 are near-identical.Source: The site's library: Westminster Leningrad Codex, KJV, Clementine Vulgate, Giguet's French of the Greek
- The third line of 19:7 is textually damaged.Source: M. V. Fox, Proverbs 10–31 (Anchor Yale Bible 18B, 2009)
Continue the journey
Connected elsewhere in ScriptureThe Seventh Year: Debt and FreedomDeuteronomy 15:7–11: Open your hand to the poor.More from this lesson
Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- Open your hand to the poor.
- "Lend, hoping for nothing again."
- "Thou shalt not bear false witness."