Proverbs 28:27

Pro 28:27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

Ver. 27. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack.] Eleemosyna ars omnium questuosissima, saith Chrysostom: Not getting but giving is the way to wealth. God will bless the bountiful man’s stock and store, his barn and his basket; {Deu 15:10} his righteousness and his riches together shall endure for ever. {Psa 112:3}

But he that hideth his eyes,] i.e., That when he hath a fit object and opportunity of showing mercy offered him, frameth excuse, and pretendeth this thing and that, to his worldly and wicked retentions; that useth his wits to save his half penny, but will not use his eyes to affect his heart with pity. {Isa 58:7}

Shall have many a curse.] Men shall curse him, and call him a Pamphagus, a churl, a hog in a trough, a fellow of no fashion, &c. God shall also curse him, and set off all hearts from him, as he did from Haman; in his necessity he will shut his ears to such a man’s moans in misery, and hide his eyes from his supplication. {Psa 55:1 Isa 1:15} Finally, "he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy"; {Jas 2:13} "an evil, an only evil shall befall him"; {Eze 7:5} his punishments shall come close together, and God shall so set them on as no creature shall be able to take them off.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro 28:27. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack — Shall not empoverish himself by it, as covetous men imagine or pretend, but shall be enriched, which is implied; but he that hideth his eyes — Lest he should see poor and miserable persons, and thereby be moved to pity, or obliged to relieve them; shall have many a curse — Partly from the poor, whose curses, being not causeless, shall come upon him, and partly from God, who will curse his very blessings, and bring him to extreme want and misery.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here is, 1. A promise to the charitable: He that gives to the poor shall himself be never the poorer for so doing; he shall not lack. If he have but little, and so be in danger of lacking, let him give out of his little, and that will prevent it from coming to nothing; as the bounty of the widow of Sarepta to Elijah (for whom she made a little cake first) saved what she had, when it was reduced to a handful of meal. If he have much, let him give much out of it, and that will prevent its growing less; he and his shall not want what is given in pious charity. What we gave we have. 2. A threatening to the uncharitable: He that hides his eyes, that he may not see the miseries of the poor nor read their petitions, lest his eye should affect his heart and extort some relief from him, he shall have many a curse, both from God and man, and neither causeless, and therefore they shall come. Woeful is the condition of that man who has the word of God and the prayers of the poor against him.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(Compare Pro 11:24-26).

hideth his eyes--as the face (Psa 27:9; Psa 69:17), denotes inattention.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 27. He that giveth unto the poor] See the notes on the passages referred to in the margin (De 15:7; De 19:17; De 22:9).

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(27) He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack.—See above on Pro_11:24.

Shall have many a curse.—With this comp. Sir_4:5-6.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. hideth his eyes] in neglect or disgust. Comp. Isa_1:15; and see Sir_4:5-6.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack,.... That gives alms unto them, relieves them in their distress, supplies them with money, food, or clothes, and does it cheerfully, largely, and liberally, as the case requires; such an one shall not want any good thing; he shall not be the poorer for what he gives; he shall not miss it, nor his substance be diminished; he shall not come to poverty and want, yea, he shall be enriched, and his substance increased, for more is intended than is expressed. Jarchi interprets this of a wise man not restraining doctrine from a disciple, but giving it to him liberally;

but he that hideth his eyes; that is, from the poor, as the Targum and Syriac version add; that does not care to see his person, to behold his miseries, or know his case, lest his heart should be moved with compassion, and should draw out anything from him; see Isa 58:7. Such an one

shall have many a curse; not only from the poor he hardens himself against, but from other persons, who observe his miserable and covetous disposition; and from the Lord himself, who abhors such persons, and curses their very blessings now, and will bid them depart from him as accursed persons hereafter.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hideth his eyes - i. e., Turns away from, disregards, the poor. Compare Isa 1:15.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Shall not lack; shall not impoverish himself by it, as covetous men imagine or pretend; but shall be enriched, which is implied.

That hideth his eyes, lest he should see poor and miserable men, and thereby be moved to pity or obliged to relieve them. So he cunningly avoids the beginnings, and occasions, and provocations to charity; teaching us to use the same caution against sin.

Shall have many a curse; partly from the poor, whose curses, being not causeless, shall come upon him, and partly from God, who will curse his very blessings, and bring him to extreme want and misery.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Hideth his eyes — Covers them up, so that he may not see the wants of the poor; pretends not to know the necessities of those in distress, and so does not relieve them. Comp. Pro_11:25; Pro_13:4; Isa_1:15.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack. (see Pro_11:24, etc.; Pro_19:17) God in some way compensates what is spent in almsdeeds by shedding his blessing on the benevolent. "Der Geiz," runs the German maxim, "sammlet sich arm, die Milde giebt sich reich," "Charity gives itself rich; covetousness hoards itself poor" (Trench). "Alms," said the rabbis, "are the salt of riches." But he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. (Pro_11:26) The uncharitable man either turns away his eyes that he may not see the misery around him, or pretends not to notice it, lest his compassion should be claimed. The expression, "hiding the eyes," occurs in Isa_1:15, "When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you." The unmerciful man meets with the curses of those whom he has neglected to relieve when he had the power, and such curses are ratified and fulfilled because they are deserved, and Divine retribution attends them (see the opposite view, Ver. 20). "Turn not away thine eye from the needy," says the Son of Sirach, "and give him none occasion to curse thee; for if be curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of him that made him". (Ecc_4:4, etc.; comp. RAPC Tob 4:7) So in the "Didache," ch. 4., we have, Ouk apostrafhsh tomenon , "Thou shalt not turn thyself from one in need." Septuagint, "lie that turneth away his eye shall be in great distress;" Vulgate, Qui despicit deprecantem sustinebit penuriam.

Vers. 27, 28. The life that "breeds perpetual benediction.

I THE KINDLY AND GENEROUS HEART". (Ver. 27) This prompts the generous hand; gathers more than it sows; is not suffered to want any good thing. It stands out in bright colours and winning aspect against the dark background of the selfish, self-concentrated, hard hearted life Let us cultivate the open eye which drinks in the knowledge of all that concerns our fellows, and the open hand in harmony with it.

II ITS WORTH IS HEIGHTENED BY CONTRAST. (Ver. 28) Men cower, their brows contract, their mien becomes depressed, their soul enslaved, their manhood unmanned, beneath the proud man"s oppression and the wicked"s scorn. Persecution drives the moral sunshine out of the world, and tends to depopulate its moral life. As the increase of goodness depends largely on sound social and political conditions, it must be an object of prayer and of endeavour with all good men to overthrow tyranny and abolish fraud, that "the fruits of righteousness may abound and increase on every hand. J.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27 He that giveth to the poor suffereth no want;

But he that covereth his eyes meeteth many curses.

In the first line the pronoun לּו, referring back to the subject noun, is to be supplied, as at Pro 27:7 להּ. He who gives to the poor has no want (מחסּור), for God's blessing reimburses him richly for what he bestows. He, on the other hand, who veils (מעלּים( sl, cf. the Hithpa., Isa 58:7) his eyes so as not to see the misery which calls forth compassion, or as if he did not see the misery which has a claim on his compassion; he is (becomes) rich in curses, i.e., is laden with the curses of those whose wants he cared not for; curses which, because they are deserved, change by virtue of a divine requital (vid., Sir. 4:5f.; Tob. 4:7) into all kinds of misfortunes (opp. רב־בּרכות, 20a). מארה is constructed after the form מגרה, מקרה from ארר.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

’There is none that desireth want, nor that wisheth to be poor. And therefore the carnally-minded, to save themselves from it, carefully gather together, and enclose so much wealth as they can by any means possible; and they think that by such means they shall avoid lack. And indeed after man’s judgment, it is the best way that a man can take. But the Holy Ghost doth teach us another means, clean contrary to natural reason. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack. This is against reason, which saith, that we must gather and hold fast, to avoid poverty. She looketh not to what God can and will do. She is blind in the works of the Lord, and chiefly in those that he worketh according to his free promise.’†1

However close we may hold our substance, who can give security against coming want? But this promise gives a security, that no earthly abundance can afford. Covetousness indeed combines with reason to contradict the word of God. Yet the promise is given by him, who hath full power to make it good; who has a thousand ways of repaying what is done or sacrificed at his command. (Psa 24:1 .) The fruit is absolutely certain, ’as the best preventive against poverty, putting money into the bank of heaven, which can never forfeit credit.’†2 The best securities on earth will not hinder "riches from making to themselves wings, and flying away." (Pro 23:5 .) But when have the promises of heaven ever been falsified?†3 Yet after all, with the carnal mind, covetousness prevails above faith, and a "trust in uncertain riches makes the living God a liar."†4

Do we, the professed followers of Christ, lay these truths really to heart, testing our own principles and practice by them, and honestly intending to take them, instead of selfish prudence and expediency, as our rule and measure of conduct? Most honorable is it to the Christian profession, and a sure seal of blessing upon our family, when we forbear to plead family claims, as an excuse for contracting our liberality. Again and again does God ratify this engagement.†5 Yet many, who are "earnest in contending for the faith" of the Gospel, and who would resist at any cost the invasion of heresy — we fear — would be ashamed to expose the scanty limits of their liberality.

Did we really believe the promise annexed to this duty, we should not so often hide our eyes from a case of distress. Yet not only do we neglect to look out for objects of compassion, but actually we turn away from them, as the servant of God would turn away from sin;†6 and then justify ourselves on the ground of frequent imposition, and the many worthy objects, which may or may not come before us. Many a curse is entailed upon this grudging spirit, both from God and man.†7 And is there no danger here of the everlasting curse?†8 Ponder it well — lest prudence and discrimination check the glow of charity, prove a cloak for selfishness, and obscure the light of Christian benevolence and love, which ought to shine before men in the profession of the true servants of God.

Footnotes:

†1 Cope in loco.

†2 Lawson in loco.

†3 Num 23:19. 2Co 1:20 .

†4 1Ti 6:17 . 1Jn 5:10 .

†5 Pro 3:9-10; Pro 11:24-25 ; Pro 13:7 ; Pro 14:22 ; Pro 19:17 ; Pro 22:9 . Deu 15:7-10 ; Psa 41:1-3 ; Psa 112:5-9, with 2Co 9:6-11 . Ecc 11:1 . Isa 32:8 ; Isa 58:7-11 . Mat 5:7 . Luk 6:38 . Observe the glowing exuberance of this last promise — Not only "shall it be given you" — but good measure — justly proportioned to the exercise of love — pressed down — to secure it as full measure — shaken together — as with corn, that it may lie closer in its place — and as if this were not enough — running over — without bounds — given into your bosom — so that you shall taste the large indulgence of the blessing.

†6 Job 31:1, with Gen 39:10 .

†7 Pro 11:26. 1Sa 25:17, 1Sa 25:25-26, 1Sa 25:38 .

†8 Mat 25:41-45. Jas 2:13 ; Jas 5:1-4 .

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The one

"The person"

the poor

This refers to poor people in general. AT: "poor people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

lack nothing

This double negative is used for emphasis. AT: "have everything they need" (See: Litotes)

whoever closes his eyes to them will receive many curses

This can be stated in active form. Possible meanings are 1) they will receive many curses from the poor. AT: "the poor will give many curses to whoever closes his eyes to them" or 2) they will receive many curses from people in general. AT: "people will give many curses to whoever closes his eyes to the poor" or 3) they will receive many curses from God. AT: "God will give many curses to whoever closes his eyes to the poor" (See: Active or Passive)

whoever closes

"anyone who closes"

closes his eyes to

Closing the eyes represents not responding to the needs of the poor. AT: "ignores" or "chooses not to help" (See: Metonymy)

When the wicked arise

This is an idiom that means when wicked people gain power or start to rule. AT: "When wicked people rise to power" (See: Idiom)

people hide themselves

This is an exaggeration for doing everything they can to avoid having wicked people harm them. AT: "people go into hiding" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization and Reflexive Pronouns)

perish

Possible meanings are 1) "go away" or 2) "fall from power" or 3) "are destroyed."

increase

Possible meanings are 1) "multiply" or 2) "rise to power."

translationWords

receive

curse

evil

raise

perish

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

He who gives to a poor man charity.

will suffer no want (to give him much charity.) And so it is with the teacher who does not withhold Torah from his pupil.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.