Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 15:27
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
27. gifts ] The proverb, though universal in its moral, is Oriental in its form. Gifts “play a very important part in the social life of the East” (see Smith’s Dict. of Bible, Gift). Hence they form at once the bait by which “he that is greedy of gain” is lured, as Gehazi was, to the “troubling of his own house,” and the test, in the lofty disregard of them, of incorruptible honour and integrity.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gifts – There is a special application to the office of the judge. The Aramaic Targum paraphrases the first words of this passage as: he who gathers the mammon of unrighteousness, using the words with special reference to wealth obtained by unjust judgments. May we infer that Christs adoption of that phrase Luk 16:9 had a point of contact with this proverb, through the version then popularly used in the synagogues of Palestine?
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. He that is greedy of gain] He who will be rich; troubleth his own house-he is a torment to himself and his family by his avariciousness and penury, and a curse to those with whom he deals.
But he that hateth gifts] Whatever is given to pervert judgment.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He that is greedy of gain, that seeketh wealth by unjust courses, as appears from the opposite clause,
troubleth his own house; bringeth Gods curse and destruction upon himself and his family, whom he designed to enrich and establish.
That hateth; who refuseth them not with dissimulation, nor only from prudential reasons, but from a hearty abhorrency of all unrighteousness. Gifts, i.e. bribes given to corrupt judgment. See Exo 18:21; 23:8; Deu 16:19.
Shall live; shall preserve himself and (which is understood out of the former clause) his family from ruin.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. (Compare Pr11:17). Avarice brings trouble to him and his.
hateth giftsor,”bribes” (Exo 23:8;Psa 15:5), and is not avaricious.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house,…. Or “that covets a covetousness” t, an evil one, as in Hab 2:9; that seeks riches by unlawful means, that gathers the mammon of falsehood, or unrighteousness, as the Targum; he entails a curse and brings ruin and destruction upon his family; the Septuagint and Arabic versions are, he “destroys himself”; or “his own soul”, as the Syriac version; it may be understood of a man that is over anxious and eager to be rich, and hurries on business, and gives his servants no proper time for food and rest; [See comments on Pr 11:29];
but he that hateth gifts shall live; that rejects them with abhorrence, when offered to bribe him to pervert judgment, or to do an unjust thing; otherwise gifts may be lawfully received from one friend by another; the sin is when they are given and taken for the sake of doing what is base and sinful; and a man that shakes his hand from receiving gifts on such a basis, he and his family shall prosper and increase in worldly things; and, doing this from a right principle of grace, shall live comfortably in a spiritual sense, and thrive and flourish in his soul, and live an eternal life hereafter; see Ps 16:5.
t “appetens concupiscentiam”, Montanus; “qui avaritiam inhiat” Tigurine version; “concupiscens concupiscentiam”, Vatablus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
27 Whoever does service to [ servit ] avarice troubleth his own house;
But he that hateth gifts shall live.
Regarding , vid., at Pro 1:19, and regarding , Pro 11:29, where it is subject, but here object.; Pro 28:16 is a variation of 27b. are here gifts in the sense of Ecc 7:7, which pervert judgment, and cause respect of persons. The lxx from this point mingles together a series of proverbs with those of the following chapter.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
Note, 1. Those that are covetous entail trouble upon their families: He that is greedy of gain, and therefore makes himself a slave to the world, rises up early, sits up late, and eats the bread of carefulness, in pursuit of it–he that hurries, and puts himself and all about him upon the stretch, in business, frets and vexes at every loss and disappointment, and quarrels with every body that stands in the way of his profit–he troubles his own house, is a burden and vexation to his children and servants. He that, in his greediness of gain, takes bribes, and uses unlawful ways of getting money, leaves a curse with what he gets to those that come after him, which sooner or later will bring trouble into the house, Hab 2:9; Hab 2:10. 2. Those that are generous as well as righteous entail a blessing upon their families: He that hates gifts, that shakes his hands from holding the bribes that are thrust into his hand to pervert justice and abhors all sinful indirect ways of getting money–that hates to be paltry and mercenary, and is willing, if there be occasion, to do good gratis–he shall live; he shall have the comfort of life, shall live in prosperity and reputation; his name and family shall live and continue.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Greed For Gain
Verse 27 emphasizes the principle that greed is destructive to one’s home, and even his life, but he that detests and refuses gifts or bribes as inducement to dishonest gain shall live securely, Pro 1:17-19; Jos 6:18; Jos 7:20-24; 1Sa 8:3; Deu 16:19-20; Isa 33:15-16.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 15:27. Gifts, i.e., bribes.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 15:27
THE CURSE OF COVETOUSNESS
I. A definition of a covetous man. He that is greedy of gain. He desires more than enough, and he desires it to the exclusion of the rights of others. It is lawful and right to desire to possess some amount of substance in the world; he who was without such a desire would be hardly a man. It is good to ask for neither poverty nor riches, but for such an amount of the worlds wealth as will prevent us from being harassed with care, and at the same time keep us free from the temptations and anxieties which accompany great riches. But when a man is consumed with a desire for more than sufficient for his necessities, he is greedy of gain, and is in moral danger. If a vessel finds enough water in the river to carry her on her voyage, all bids fair to be safe and prosperous; but if the water is so high that it pours over her deck and gets into the hold, she is in great danger of sinking. So a moderate desire after worldly gain is an impetus to a mans activity, and is a blessing both to himself and to the community; but an inordinate desire after riches is a dead weight upon his spiritual progress, and is often the cause of his going down in the moral scale. Desiring more than enough often leads to using unlawful means of satisfying the desire. The second clause of the verse seems to refer to the temptation of a judge to accept bribes. Men holding such an office, and possessed by this greed of gain, have been known, under its influence, to commit the enormous crime of knowingly acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent; and in all positions and stations of life the sin of covetousness is a fruitful source of other crimes. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil (1Ti. 6:9-10).
II. The evil effect of covetousness is not confined to the covetous man himself. He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house. Many men try to excuse their covetousness by the plea that they only desire to make ample provision for their family, but it is upon the family that the curse of greediness falls most heavily. If the head is diseased the members must suffer. A covetous man is a selfish man, and those who are most nearly related to a man who is eaten up with a desire to grow rich feel most keenly the blighting influence of the passion upon all the joys of family life. And a man who is thus greedy of gain brings trouble upon his house by involving them in the curse of his sin. Those whom he has wronged by his injustice hate his children for the fathers sin, and as we have before seenthe wealth of the sinnerof him who has grown rich by unfair dealingis laid up for the just and his own children inherit only the misery of having had such a father. (See Homiletics on chap. Pro. 13:11-22, pages 307332.)
III. The man of opposite character, the hater of gifts, shall live.
1. He does live now. Life and death are in a mans character. A leaf that has lost all its beauty and greenness is dead although it still exists. The leaf is therethe shape and outline existbut all that made it lovely is gone, because all vitality is gone. A flower may still have all its petals upon the stalk, but if all fragrance and colour are gone we know that life is gone. The life or the death of the leaf or flower are states or conditions of its existence, and not the simple adherence or separation of its particles. So is it with a man. His life or his death is not existence or non-existence, but the condition of his spiritual nature. If he is destitute of righteousness he is deadif he is a man of true integritysuch a man as is described in chap. Pro. 11:3 (see on that verse) he is alive. God is the living God not simply because He has an eternal existence, but because He possesses moral lifein other words, because He is perfectly holy, just, and true. Now the man who hates giftswho abhors every kind of unfair dealinggives proof by his hatred that he is morally alive.
2. He shall live in the esteem of posterity. Nothing lasts like a good character. The memory of the just man is embalmed in the hearts of men long after his body is gone to dust. (See chap. Pro. 10:7.)
3. He shall live in the esteem of God. We are naturally disposed to regard with favour those who show us honour and endeavour to further our purposes and desires. The just God is a lover of those who strive to do justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with him (Mic. 6:8.), and such men shall live in the sunshine of His eternal favour. (Psa. 30:5.)
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
A man may be said to be covetous when he takes more pains for the getting of earth than for the getting of heaven. He will turn every stone, break his sleep, take many a weary step for the world; but will take no pains for Christ or heaven. The Gauls, after they had tasted the sweet wine of the Italian grape, inquired after the country, and never rested till they had arrived at it; so a covetous man, having had a relish of the world, pursues after it, and never leaves it till he hath got it; but he neglects the things of eternity. He could be content if salvation would drop into his mouth, as a ripe fig drops into the mouth of the eater (Nah. 3:12). But he is loth to put himself to too much sweat or trouble to obtain Christ or salvation. He hunts for the world, he wisheth only for heaven. Covetousness is
(1) a subtle sin, a sin that men do not so well discern in themselves. This sin can dress itself in the attire of virtue. It is called the cloke of covetousness (1Th. 2:5). It is a sin that wears a cloke; it clokes itself under the name of frugality and good husbandry. It hath more pleas and excuses for itself than any other sin.
(2) It is a dangerous sin. It damps good affections, as the earth puts out the fire. The hedgehog in the fable came to the coney-burrows in stormy weather, and desired harbour, but when once he had gotten entertainment he set up his prickles, and did never cease till he had thrust the poor coneys out of their burrows; so covetousnes, by fair pretences, wins itself into the heart; but as soon as you have let it in it will never leave till it hath thrust all religion out of your hearts. Covetousness chains men to the earth, and makes them like the woman which Satan had bound together that she could not lift up herself (Luk. 13:11). You may as well bid an elephant fly in the air as a covetous man live by faith. We preach to men to give freely to Christs poor; but covetousness makes them to be like him in the Gospel who had a withered hand (Mar. 3:1). Covetousness shuts men out of heaven (Eph. 5:5). What should a covetousness man do in heaven?. Like a bee that gets into a barrel of honey, and there drowns himself, like a ferryman that takes in so many passengers to increase his fare that he sinks his boat, so a covetous man takes in more gold to the increasing of his estate that he damns himself in perdition.Watson.
It is not enough to abstain from evil, we must also hate it.Fausset.
Who is ignorant of the woeful success which Achan found in coveting unlawfully the gold and silver in Jericho? He hoped to get more there than any man in Israel; but no man in Israel lost so much as he.Dod.
He that maketh gain to be the gain that he looketh for in all things, he may hope to fill his house with wealth, but he shall be sure to fill it with trouble. He that is given to gain, and hath made himself the prey as it were and gain of gain, he may have his hand open to take gifts, but with the same hand taketh in disquietness into his heart. Now, because such are often cryingHow shall I live? therefore the wise man telleth them he that hateth such things shall live.Jermin.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(27) He that is greedy of gain.Ill-gotten gain, especially bribes, as is seen in the next line.
Troubleth his own house.The word used of Achan (Jos. 7:25).
Gifts.Bribes taken by a judge. (Ecc. 7:7.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. Greedy of gain , ( botsea’h batsa’h.) We have no English phrase exactly equivalent. See note on Pro 1:19. It is applied to the extortion of kings and nobles who. despoil a people, (Jer 22:17; Eze 22:13😉 to robbery by freebooters, (Pro 1:19😉 and also and especially to the gain from bribes and other unlawful means. Bribery, direct and indirect, is the bane of public men and the curse of a country. But let those who thus make the most of their position for their own pockets who make laws and administer them for their own selfish ends remember the words of Jehovah, that they are laying up trouble for their own families. It is the hater of iniquitous gain that shall live in fame, and his family after him. The proverb has had some remarkable illustrations in our own time and land. Compare Pro 1:19; Pro 11:29; Pro 20:21; Pro 28:16.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 27. He that is greedy of gain,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 15:27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
Ver. 27. He that is greedy of gain, troubleth his own house. ] Fires his own nest while he thinks to feather it; fingers that which will burn in his purse, will prove lucrum in arca, damnum in conscientia, a gain to his purse, but loss to his conscience. Add hereunto, that the covetous man’s house is continually on a tumult of haste and hurry, “up, up, up,” saith he; “to bed, to bed”; “quick at meat, quick at work,” &c.; what with labour, and what with passion and contention, he and his household never live at heart’s ease and rest. Thus it was in the houses of Laban and Nabal.
But he that hateth gifts shall live.
So for those that are bribed out of their religion, Stratagema nunc est Pontificium, ditare multos, ut pii esse desinant. b The Papists propose rewards to such as shall relinquish the Protestant religion and turn to them, as in Ansburgh, where, they say, there is a known price for it of ten florins a year; and in France, where the clergy have made contributions for the maintenance of renegade ministers. Thus they tempted Luther, but he would not be hired to go to hell; and thus they tempted that noble Marquis of Vicum, nephew to Pope Paul V, who left all for Christ and fled to Geneva, but he cried out, Let their money perish with them that prefer all the world’s wealth before one day’s communion with Jesus Christ and his despised people. c
a Augustine.
b Joh. Egnat. Gelli dial. v.
c Specul. Europ. ” Germana illa bestia non curat aurum. “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
gifts = bribes. Compare Pro 18:1; Pro 20:21.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 15:27
Pro 15:27
“He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; But he that hateth bribes shall live.”
Under Pro 15:16, we commented upon the man who is greedy for gain. “Such a man is a torment to himself and to his family because of his avariciousness and penury. He is a curse to all those who deal with him. Bribery is a besetting sin of all mankind. The refusal of early Christians to procure Paul’s release from Felix, in spite of its being offered for a bribe, establishes the truth that it is wrong either to pay or to receive a bribe (Act 24:26).
Pro 15:27. One greedy of gain was violating the Tenth Commandment (Exo 20:17). But instead of building up ones own house at the expense of others, sometimes one brings ruination to himself and his house, such as did Achan (Jos 7:21; Jos 7:24-25), Naboth (1Ki 21:1-24), Ananias and Sapphira (Act 5:1-10), and Lot and others. Other Scriptures: Isa 5:8; Jer 17:11; 1Ti 6:9-10. One who hates bribes is one who refuses to accept them (to enrich himself) or one who offers them (In hopes of profiting himself). There is far more of this in government than we realize.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
He that is: Pro 1:19, Pro 11:19, Pro 11:29, Pro 20:21, Deu 7:26, Jos 6:18, Jos 7:11, Jos 7:12, Jos 7:24, Jos 7:25, 1Sa 8:3-5, 2Ki 5:27, Isa 5:8-10, Jer 17:11, Hab 2:9-11, Zec 5:3, Zec 5:4
but: Pro 28:16, Pro 29:4, Exo 18:21, Exo 23:8, Deu 16:19, Isa 33:15, Isa 33:16
Reciprocal: Gen 34:30 – Ye have 1Sa 15:19 – fly upon 1Ki 2:40 – arose Pro 11:17 – but 1Ti 3:3 – not greedy 1Ti 6:9 – they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 15:27. He that is greedy of gain That seeketh wealth by unjust practices, which the opposite clause shows to be the sense intended; troubleth his own house Bringeth Gods displeasure and destruction upon himself and his family, whom he designed to enrich, honour, and establish; but he that hateth gifts Bribes given to pervert judgment; he who refuses them, not with dissimulation, nor only from prudential considerations, but from a hearty abhorrence of all unrighteousness; shall live Shall preserve himself and (which may be understood out of the former clause) his family from ruin.