Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 29:13
The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.
13. deceitful man ] Rather, oppressor. The rendering usurer, A.V. marg., which follows the LXX. , and Vulg. creditor, restricts the reference to one form of oppression.
lighteneth both their eyes ] i.e. with the light of life, Psa 13:3 [Hebrews 4 ]. Comp. “He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good,” Mat 5:45; and see ch. Pro 22:2.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Better, The poor and the oppressor. Usurer, as in the margin expresses the special form of oppression from which the poor suffer most at the hands of the rich. God has made them both and bestows His light equally on both.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. The poor and the deceitful man] It is difficult to fix the meaning of techachim, which we here render the deceitful man. The TARGUM has, “The poor and the man of LITTLE WEALTH.” The SEPTUAGINT, “The usurer and the DEBTOR.” The VULGATE, “The poor and CREDITOR.” COVERDALE, “The poor and the LENDER.” OTHERS, “The poor and the RICH;” “The poor and the OPPRESSORS.” I suppose the meaning may be the same as in Pr 22:2: “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all.” Where see the note.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The deceitful man, Heb. the man of deceits, or of usuries, i.e. who hath enriched himself by such practices,
meet together; converse together, and one needeth the other, as Pro 22:2.
The Lord lighteneth both their eyes; either their bodily eyes with the light of the sun, which promiscuously shines upon both; or the eyes of their minds with the light of reason and grace, which he indifferently gives to them; and therefore the one should not envy nor despise the other, but be ready to do good one to another, as God doth good to both.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. (Compare Pr22:2).
deceitful manliterally,”man of vexations,” an exactor.
the Lord . . . theireyessustains their lives (1Sa 14:27;Psa 13:3); that is, both dependon Him, and He will do justice.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The poor and the deceitful man meet together,…. Or “the usurer” q; who by usury, by fraud and deception, is possessed of the mammon of unrighteousness, and is become rich; he and the poor man meet together; and so the sense is the same as in Pr 22:2;
[See comments on Pr 22:2];
the Lord lighteneth both their eyes; with the light of natural life, and with the light of natural reason, Joh 1:4; and so is the same as being “the Maker of them all”, in the above place; or he bestows his providential favours on both; causes his sun to shine upon the rich and poor, the wicked and the righteous, Mt 5:45. Or it may be understood of the light of grace; for though, for the most part, God chooses and calls the poor of the world, and lightens their eyes with the light of his grace, when not many wise and noble are called and enlightened; yet this is not restrained wholly to men of one and the same condition of life; yea, God sometimes calls and enlightens publicans, tax gatherers, and extortioners, as Matthew and Zacchaeus.
q “vir usurarum”, Mercerus; “foenerator”, Piscator, Tigurine version; “usurarius”, Munster.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
13 The poor man and the usurer meet together –
Jahve lighteneth the eyes of both.
A variation of Pro 22:2, according to which the proverb is to be understood in both of its parts. That is the contrast of , is rightly supposed in Temura 16b; but Rashi, who brings out here a man of moderate learning, and Saadia, a man of a moderate condition (thus also the Targ. , after Buxtorf, homo mediocris fortunae ), err by connecting the word with . The lxx ( ), which would be more correct inverted, for is a man who makes oppressive taxes, high previous payments of interest; the verbal stem , Arab. tak , is a secondary to R. wak , which has the meanings of pressing together, and pressing firm (whence also the middle is named; cf. Arab. samym alaklab , the solid = the middle point of the heart). , with the plur. , scarcely in itself denotes interest, ; the designation includes in it a sensible reproach (Syr. afflictor ), and a rentier cannot be so called (Hitzig). Luther: Reiche [rich men], with the marginal note: “who can practise usury as they then generally all do?” Therefore Lwenstein understands the second line after 1Sa 2:7: God enlighteneth their eyes by raising the lowly and humbling the proud. But this line, after Pro 22:2, only means that the poor as well as the rich owe the light of life (Psa 13:4) to God, the creator and ruler of all things – a fact which has also its moral side: both are conditioned by Him, stand under His control, and have to give to Him an account; or otherwise rendered: God maketh His sun to rise on the low and the high, the evil and the good (cf. Mat 5:45) – an all-embracing love full of typical moral motive.
(Note: has, by Lwenstein, Mehuppach Legarmeh, but incorrectly, since after Legarmeh two conjunctives cannot occur. Also Norzi with Mehuppach Mercha is irregular, since Ben-Asher recognises only two examples of this double accentuation to which this does not belong; vid., Thorath Emeth, p. 12. That the penultima toning in several editions is false scarcely needs to be remarked. Jablonski rightly points with Mehuppach on the ult., and Zinnorith on the preceding open syllable.)
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
13 The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.
This shows how wisely the great God serves the designs of his providence by persons of very different tempers, capacities, and conditions in the world, even, 1. By those that are contrary the one to the other. Some are poor and forced to borrow; others are rich, have a great deal of the mammon of unrighteousness (deceitful riches they are called), and they are creditors, or usurers, as it is in the margin. Some are poor, and honest, and laborious; others are rich, slothful, and deceitful. They meet together in the business of this world, and have dealings with one another, and the Lord enlightens both their eyes; he causes his sun to shine upon both and gives them both the comforts of this life. To some of both sorts he gives his grace. He enlightens the eyes of the poor by giving them patience, and of the deceitful by giving them repentance, as Zaccheus. 2. By those that we think could best be spared. The poor and the deceitful we are ready to look upon as blemishes of Providence, but God makes even them to display the beauty of Providence; he has wise ends not only in leaving the poor always with us, but in permitting the deceived and the deceiver, for both are his (Job xii. 16) and turn to his praise.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Rich and Poor Subject to Lord
Verse 13 emphasizes that both the poor and the more prosperous lender or usurer (deceitful man) owe their life to the LORD, are under His watchful eye, and shall in due time give account to Him. See comment on Pro 22:2; also Psa 37:1-10; Ecc 12:13-14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(13) The poor and the deceitful man (rather, oppressor) meet together.A variation of Pro. 22:2, on which see note.
The Lord lighteneth both their eyes.Enlightens the eyes of both with the light of life (Psa. 13:4). To Him each owes life, so the one may remember that life with its sorrows will have an end, and the other, that He will take stern vengeance for oppression.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Deceitful man , ( ish tekhakhim,) the man of oppression or exactions; the usurer, etc. These are all conjectural renderings of the word by different translators, showing that the word is obscure and its meaning uncertain. It occurs only in this place, though a form from the same root occurs in a few others, and is rendered “fraud, deceit.” Chap. Pro 14:31; Psa 10:7; Psa 55:11; Psa 72:14. Meet together Encounter each other. The teaching is the same as in chap.
Pro 22:2. Men at opposite ends of the scale stand before God on the same footing. He made them both, and bestows his light equally upon them. They must both stand before him in judgment rich and poor, oppressor and oppressed: a consolation to the lowly well-doer, and a warning to the unrighteous exacter they are brothers. In accordance with these ideas were the laws against usury. Compare Exo 22:25; Lev 25:36-37; Deu 23:19-20; Psa 15:5; Pro 28:8; Isa 24:2; Jer 15:10; Eze 18:8; Eze 18:13; Eze 18:17; Eze 22:12.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Pro 29:13. The poor and the deceitful man meet together See chap. Pro 22:2 where the sentence appears very similar. The LXX read, The usurer and debtor meet together; the Lord has the oversight of them both. The Vulgate, Houbigant, Schultens, &c. read, The poor and the rich, or, The poor and his creditor.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Pro 29:13 The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.
Ver. 13. The poor and the usurer meet together. ] That is, The poor and the rich, as Pro 22:2 ; because commonly usurers are rich men, and many rich men usurers. “The Lord lighteneth both their eyes”; that is, he gives them the light of life, Job 1:8 and the comforts of life, Mat 5:45 so that their eyes are lightened, as Jonathan’s were after he had tasted of the wild honey. 1Sa 14:25-30 Others read it thus: “The poor and the deceived,” or crushed by the usurer, “meet together” – that is, condole or comfort one another; because they are both in the dark, as it were, of poverty and misery; they can do one another but little help, more than by commending their cases to God, who thereupon “enlighteneth them both” – that is, either he supplies their wants, and so their eyes are opened, as Jonathan’s were; or else gives them patience, as he did those believing Hebrews. Pro 10:32 But “call to remembrance the former days in which after ye were illuminated” – viz., to see the glory that shall be revealed, whereof all the sufferings of this life are not worthy Rom 8:18 – ye endured a great fight of affliction. If we read it, “The poor and the usurer meet together: the Lord enlighteneth both their eyes,” understand it thus: The poor man he enlighteneth by patience, the usurer by repentance, and grace to “break off his sins by righteousness, and his iniquity by showing mercy to the poor,” as Zaccheus, Matthew, and those usurious Jews did. Neh 5:10-11
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The poor = a needy man. Hebrew. rush. See note on Pro 6:11.
the deceitful = a crafty, or an oppressive man, especially a creditor or usurer. Occurs in plural only here, for emphasis. Compare Psa 10:7 (“fraud”); Pro 55:11, and Pro 72:14 (“deceit”). Hebrew. tok. See note on Pro 11:18.
meet together: i.e. unexpectedly; first occurrence Gen 32:17. Compare Pro 33:8.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 29:13
Pro 29:13
“The poor man and the oppressor meet together; Jehovah lighteneth the eyes of them both.”
Cook rendered “oppressor” here as “usurer, and the last line as, “God bestows his light equally on both.” This, of course, is the equivalent of, “God maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust” (Mat 5:45).
Pro 29:13. Pro 22:2 is similar. Whether a man is poor or an oppressor, God has made him (Pro 22:2), he lives in Gods world, and he is a recipient of Gods good whether he makes good use or it or not: He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust (Mat 5:45). This does not say that God is pleased with both (or with either).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the deceitful man: or, the usurer, Mat 9:9, 1Co 6:10
meet: Pro 22:2, Exo 22:25, Exo 22:26, Lev 25:35-37, Neh 5:5-7
Lord: Psa 13:3, Mat 5:45, Eph 2:1
Reciprocal: Ecc 11:7 – the light
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 29:13. The poor and the deceitful man Hebrew, , the man of deceits, or of usuries; that is, who hath enriched himself by such practices; meet together Converse together, and one needeth the other; the Lord lighteneth both their eyes Either their bodily eyes, namely, with the light of the sun, which promiscuously shines upon both; or the eyes of their minds, with the light of reason, which he indifferently gives them; and therefore the one should not envy or despise the other, but they should be ready to do good to one another, as God does good to both. The LXX. read, The usurer and debtor meet together; the Lord has the oversight of them both. The world is made up, says Bishop Patrick, of several sorts of men; of poor, for instance, who are fain to borrow; and of rich, who lend them money, and, perhaps, oppress them; but these would all agree well enough when they meet together, if they would but consider that there is one Lord, who makes the sun to shine equally on all; and who intends all should live happily, though in an unequal condition.
Pro 22:2.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The poor man is the oppressed, and the oppressor is the rich. They are opposites in this regard. Both owe God their sight and really all the common blessings He bestows on everyone. Giving light to their eyes may mean giving them life (cf. Job 33:30; Psa 13:3). [Note: Ross, p. 1114.]