Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 19:17
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
17. that which he hath given ] Better, his deed, A.V. marg.; or his good deed, R.V. Comp. Mat 25:34-40.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Note the original greatness of the thought. We give to the poor. Have we lost our gift? No, what we gave, we have lent to One who will repay with usury. Compare the yet nobler truth of our Lords teaching Mat 25:40.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 19:17
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord.
Christian pity for the Christian poor
I. The great stress which the Scriptures lay upon pity for the poor. That man must be a cursory reader of the Bible who does not see that it pervades the Bible. The old dispensation is full of it. In the new dispensation it is brought out still more prominently.
II. Why is so great a mass of the Lords people found among the poor? If wealth would have been their blessing, wealth they would have had. God would have this manifested by them–that He considers these things in themselves as nothing. Some part of the mystery is to answer Satans accusations. And it is for the trial of the grace that is in His people.
III. The motives urging a good man to show pity to the poor. He lendeth to the Lord. Here is a payment spoken of. The Lord is a bounteous giver. (J. H. Evans.)
The deserving poor
We are told that the poor shall never cease out of the land. Paley defines a poor man as he, of whatever rank, whose expenses exceed his resources. It is very clear from this that there may be poverty which has no claim to our commiseration and charity.
I. Mans duty towards the deserving poor. He that hath pity on the poor. Two things are implied concerning this pity.
1. It must be practical. The text speaks of it as lending to the Lord. It is pity, therefore, that gives, that does something to relieve distress. The pity that goes off in sentimental sighs, or goes no farther than words, saying, Depart in peace, be warmed, be filled, is not true pity–the pity that God demands for the poor.
2. It must be genuine. The words imply that the pity is accepted of the Lord. He takes it as a loan; therefore it must be genuine. The service rendered is from right principles. There is a large amount of charity shown to the poor which is inspired by motives abhorrent to Omniscient Purity.
II. Gods interest in the deserving poor. Gods interest in the poor is shown in three ways.
1. In the obligation that is imposed on the rich to help them. He denounces all neglect and cruelty of the poor. Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness and his chamber by wrong, that useth his neighbours service without wages. Again, Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker. He inculcates practical sympathy for the poor (Exo 22:21-22; Exo 23:9; Lev 19:33; Lev 25:35; Deu 10:19; Deu 24:19; Pro 22:22; Isa 1:17-23).
2. In the earthly condition into which He sent His Son.
3. In the class from which He selected His servants.
III. The Divine acknowledgment of service to the poor. And that which he hath given will He pay him again. Every gift of genuine piety to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and a loan that shall be paid.
1. It is often amply repaid in this world (Deu 16:17-20; 2Co 9:6-8).
2. It will be acknowledged in the day of judgment. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Lending to the Lord
We are to give to the poor out of pity. Not to be seen and applauded, much less to get influence over them; but out of pure sympathy and compassion we must give them help. We must not expect to get anything back from the poor, not even gratitude; but we should regard what we have done as a loan to the Lord. He undertakes the obligation, and if we look to Him in the matter we must not look to the second party. What an honour the Lord bestows upon us when He condescends to borrow of us! That merchant is greatly favoured who has the Lord on his books. It would seem a pity to have such a name down for a paltry pittance; let us make it a heavy amount. The next needy man that comes this way, let us help him. As for repayment, we can hardly think of it, and yet here is the Lords note of hand. Blessed be His name, His promise to pay is better than gold and silver. Are we running a little short through the depression of the times? We may venture humbly to present this bill at the Bank of Faith. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
For long credit
A wealthy but niggardly gentleman was waited on by the advocates of a charitable institution, for which they solicited his aid, reminding him of the Divine declaration, He that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again. To this he replied, The security, no doubt, is good, and the interest liberal; but I cannot give such long credit. Poor rich man! the day of payment was much nearer than he anticipated. Not a fortnight had elapsed from his refusing to honour this claim of God upon his substance before he received a summons with which he could not refuse to comply. He was dead.
The best loan
(to the young):–Pity is the feeling of sorrow we find in our hearts when we see a person in trouble or distress. There are two kinds of pity, a wrong and a right. The wrong kind of pity makes people feel without making them do or give. The right kind makes people do or give, as well as feel. What we do for, or give to the poor, God regards as done or given to Himself. What we lend to another we call a loan. There are many different kinds of loans, but that which is lent to the Lord is the best loan.
I. Because He receives the smallest sums.
II. Because it is so safe.
III. Because He pays good interest. (R. Newton, D. D.)
Argument for charity
This is an argument for charity of wonderful force. No pagan moralist could ever produce a motive for any social duty equal to this. It is sufficient to open the closest fist, and to enlarge the most selfish heart. Can we lose anything by lending it to the Lord? God will be sure to repay what is given to the poor at His command with great increase. The greatest usurer on earth cannot make so much of his money as the man that gives to the poor. (George Lawson, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. Lendeth unto the Lord] O what a word is this! God makes himself debtor for every thing that is given to the poor! Who would not advance much upon such credit? God will pay it again. And in no case has he ever forfeited his word.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Lendeth unto the Lord; who takes what is done to them as done to himself, because it is done to them whom God, as to this particular, hath put in his own stead, to be his receivers, and whom God hath in a peculiar manner commended to the care and charity of all other men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. (Compare Pro 14:21;Psa 37:26).
hath pityshown by acts(compare Margin).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He that hath pity unto the poor lendeth unto the Lord,…. A man, whose heart is full of compassion to the poor, and whose hands distribute to their necessities, from a true principle of love and charity to men, and with a view to the glory of God, and not from any selfish principle and with a end; such a man’s gift to the poor is a loan to the Lord; it is not cast away upon the creature, but is a “depositum” in the hands of God, and shall be returned with advantage;
and that which he hath given will, he pay him again; either in this life, in things temporal and spiritual, increasing his worldly substance, blessing his posterity, granting him larger measures of grace, indulging him with his gracious presence, and giving him peace of mind, which passeth all understanding; or in the world to come; not as a reward of debt, but of grace; see Ec 11:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
These verses we take together. But we have no other reason for making a pause at Pro 19:21, than that Pro 19:22 is analogous to Pro 19:17, and thus presents itself to us as an initial verse.
Pro 19:17 17 He lendeth to Jahve who is compassionate to the lowly,
And his bounty He requites to him.
As at Pro 14:31, is part. Kal. The Masoretically exact form of the word is (as , Pro 20:14) with Mercha on the first syllable, on which the tone is thrown back, and the on the second. The Roman legal phrase, mutui datione contrahitur obligatio , serves to explain the fundamental conception of , mutuo accipere , and , mutuum dare ( vid., Pro 22:7). The construction, Exo 22:24, “to make any one bound as a debtor, obligare ,” lies at the foundation of the genitive connection ‘ (not ). With 17b cf. Pro 12:14, where the subject of ( Ker ) remains in the background. (not ) is here his work done in the sense of good exhibited. “Love,” Hedinger once said, “is an imperishable capital, which always bears interest.” And the Archbishop Walther: nam Deo dat qui dat inopibus, ipse Deus est in pauperibus . Dr. Jonas, as Dchsel relates, once gave to a poor man, and said, “Who knows when God restores it!” There Luther interposed: “As if God had not long ago given it beforehand!” This answer of Luther meets the abuse of this beautiful proverb by the covetous.
Pro 19:18 This proverb brings to view once more the pedagogic character of this Older Book of Proverbs:
Correct thy son, for yet there is hope;
But go not too far to kill him.
That tahT is meant relatively, as at Pro 11:15, is seen from Job 11:18; Job 14:7; Jer 31:16.; is the usual expression for etemin spes est . Though a son show obstinacy, and manifest a bad disposition, yet there is hope in the training of the youth of being able to break his self-will, and to wean him from his bad disposition; therefore his education should be carried forward with rigorous exactness, but in such a way that wisdom and love regulate the measure and limits of correction: ad eum interficiendum animam ne tollas ( animum ne inducas ). is not the subject, for in that case the word would have been (2Ki 14:10). It is the object: To raise the soul to something is equivalent to, to direct his desire to it, to take delight in it. The teacher should not seek correction as the object, but only as the means; he who has a desire after it, to put the child to death in the case of his guilt, changes correction into revenge, permits himself to be driven by passion from the proper end of correction, and to be pushed beyond its limits. The lxx translates freely , for is unrestrained abuse, as Immanuel glosses. Besides, all the ancients and also the Venet. translate as the inf. of . But Oetinger (for he translates: lift not thy soul to his cry, for which Euchel: let not his complaining move thy compassion) follows the derivation from suggested by Kimchi, Meri, and Immanuel, and preferred by Ralbag, so that after the from is equivalent to . But leaving out of view that means strepere , not lamentari , and that means attention, not desire, Pro 23:13 points out to us a better interpretation.
Pro 19:19 Another proverb with :
A man of excessive wrath must suffer punishment;
For if thou layest hold of it, hindering it, thou makest it only worse.
The lxx, Syr., and Targ. translate as if the words were (as , Pro 29:22). Theodotion, the Venet., and Luther render the Ker ; Jerome’s impatiens is colourless. The Chethb gives no appropriate meaning. The Arab. jaril means lapidosus (whence , cf. Aram. = ), and Schultens translates accordingly aspere scruposus iracundiae , which is altogether after the manner of his own heavy style. Ewald translates as derived from the Arab jazyl , largus, grandis ; but the possibility of the passing over of into , as maintained by Ewald and also by Hitzig, or the reverse, is physiologically undemonstrable, and is confirmed by no example worthy of mention. Rather it may be possible that the Heb. had an adj. or in the sense of stony, gravel-like, hard as gravel, but tow rather than gravel would be appropriate to . Hitzig corrects , “who acts in anger;” but he says , to recompense anger, Isa 59:18; is without support. This correction, however, is incomparably more feasible than Bttcher’s, “moderate inheritance bears expiation;” = must mean not only thick [curdled] milk, but also moderation, and Bttcher finds this “sound.” From all these instances one sees that is an error in transcription; the Ker rightly improves it, a man is thus designated whose peculiarity it is to fall into a high degree of passionate anger ( , Dan 11:44): such an one has to bear , a fine, i.e., to compensate, for he has to pay compensation or smart-money for the injury suffered, as e.g., he who in strife with another pushes against a woman with child, so that injury befalls her, Exo 21:22. If we compare this passage with 2Sa 14:6, there appears for the meaning of taking away of the object (whether a person or a thing) against which the passionate hothead directs himself. Therewith the meaning of accords. The meaning is not that, , once is not enough, but much rather must be repeated, and yet is without effect; but that one only increases and heightens the thereby. It is in vain to seek to spare such a violent person the punishment into which he obstinately runs; much more advisable is it to let him rage till he ceases; violent opposition only makes the evil the greater. With , “ denn wenn ” [for then], cf. Pro 2:3, “ ja wenn ” [yea if], and with in the conclusion, Job 14:7 (a parallelism syntactically more appropriate than Psa 139:18).
Pro 19:20 20 Hearken to counsel, and receive instruction,
That thou mayest become wise afterwards.
The rule of morals, Pro 12:15, receives here the paraenetic tone which is the keynote of the introduction chap. 1-9. Lwenstein translates: that thou mayest finally become wise. But corresponds rather to our “ hinfort ” [ posthac ] than to “ endlich ” [finally]. He to whom the warning is directed must break with the self-willed, undisciplined beginning of his life, and for the future ( , 1Pe 4:2) become wise. The relative contrast between the two periods of life is the same as at Job 8:7.
Pro 19:21 21 Many are the thoughts in a man’s heart;
But Jahve’s counsel, that stands.
In lies, as at Isa 40:8, both: that the counsel of God (His plan of the world and of salvation) is accomplished and comes into actual fact, and that it continues. This counsel is the true reality elevated above the checkered manifoldness of human purposes, aims, and subjectivities, which penetrates and works itself out in history. The thoughts of a man thus gain unity, substance, endurance, only in so far as he subjects himself to this counsel, and makes his thoughts and actions conformable and subordinate to this counsel.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Here is, I. The duty of charity described. It includes two things:– 1. Compassion, which is the inward principle of charity in the heart; it is to have pity on the poor. Those that have not a penny for the poor, yet may have pity for them, a charitable concern and sympathy; and, if a man give all his goods to feed the poor and have not this charity in his heart, it is nothing, 1 Cor. xiii. 3. We must draw out our souls to the hungry, Isa. lviii. 10. 2. Bounty and liberality. We must not only pity the poor, but give, according to their necessity and our ability, Jas 2:15; Jas 2:16. That which he has given. Margin, His deed. It is charity to do for the poor, as well as to give; and thus, if they have their limbs and senses, they may be charitable to one another.
II. The encouragement of charity. 1. A very kind construction shall be put upon it. What is given to the poor, or done for them, God will place it to account as lent to him, lent upon interest (so the word signifies); he takes it kindly, as if it were done to himself, and he would have us take the comfort of it and to be as well pleased as ever any usurer was when he had let out a sum of money into good hands. 2. A very rich recompence shall be made for it: He will pay him again, in temporal, spiritual, and eternal blessings. Almsgiving is the surest and safest way of thriving.
| Miscellaneous Maxims. | |
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Giving To the Poor
Verse 17 declares that giving to the poor out of compassion for them is as lending to the LORD who will repay. Elsewhere such is said to honor the giver’s maker and assures that he will not lack, Pro 14:31; Pro 28:27.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 19:17
THE BEST INVESTMENT
I. A God-like disposition. To pity the poor and to show that we do so by ministering to their necessities (for this is implied in the proverb) is to be like God. We have before seen how He identifies Himself with them, and how severe is the condemnation which He passes upon those who wrong them. (See Homiletics and Comments upon chap. Pro. 14:31, page 390, and upon chap. Pro. 17:5, page 504). God is a Being of compassionthe gospel of salvation is a testimony to the pitifulness of His nature. He has remembered man in his low estate and in his condition of spiritual poverty, and out of the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7) He has supplied his need. But he has not only an eye for the spiritual necessities of His creatures, but for those also which belong exclusively to their bodily nature. God manifest in flesh had compassion upon the multitude because they had nothing to eat (Mat. 15:32), and the same pitiful heart is still moved with a like emotion when He looks into the haunts of poverty and sees men and women and little children without the necessaries of life, or toiling hard and long for a pittance that is only just enough to keep them from starvation. The man therefore who has pity on the poor manifests a disposition akin to that of his Father in heaven.
II. A most reliable debtor. God incarnate fed the hungry by miracle, but now that He has left the earth for a season He entrusts the duty to human hands. He does not now rain down bread from heaven to feed even his spiritual Israel, but He expects those of His children to whom He has given more than enough of this worlds good things to do it for Him, and looks upon the act as a loan to Himself.
1. That this investment will be a profitable one is certain, from the character of God. When men entrust others with their money, they have especial regard to the character of those whom they make their debtor. This forms the chief and most reliable security that a man can have that he will receive it again. Gods character is pre-eminently goodso good that His word is more than the bond of the most trustworthy human creature, and none in heaven or earth or hell will ever be able to say that He has not paid them what was their due.
2. The wealth of God is a guarantee that He will repay with interest. A man who is generous by nature, and possessed of abundant means, will not only faithfully repay a loan but, if his debtor is a needy man, will feel a pleasure in adding to it a large interest, or will press him to accept some extra token of his esteem. God is the great and bountiful proprietor of all the resources of the universe, whether spiritual or material, and He loves to give abundantly. He has been always giving out of His fulness since there has been a creature upon whom to lavish His gifts, and He delights to see His children give, like Himself, generously and ungrudgingly. And, seeing he takes upon Himself to repay what is given to the poor, His generosity and His wealth are sureties that the interest for the loan will be very ample. His children may have to wait long for it, but the longer they wait the greater the accumulation of interest. They may receive a partial repayment in material good, but the great recompense will be at the resurrection of the just (Luk. 14:14) on that day when the King shall say unto them, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was an hungered and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger and ye took me in; naked and ye clothed me (Mat. 25:34; Mat. 25:36).
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
When Alexander set forward upon his great exploits before he went from Macedonia, he divided among his captains and friends all that he had; for which, when one of his friends reproved him, saying that he was prodigal, for that he had reserved nothing for himself, the answer which Alexander gave was this: that he had reserved much unto himself, namely, hope of the monarchy of the world, which by the valour and help of those his captains and nobles he hoped to obtain. And thus, surely, he that giveth to the poor may seem to be prodigal, yet, in respect of the hope that he hath of profit, he is frugal-wise; neither is his hope such as Alexanders was, which depended on the uncertainty of war, but such as is grounded upon the certainty of Gods word.Spencer.
The Lord will not only pay for the poor man, but requite him that gave alms, with usury, returning great gifts for small. Give, then, thine house, and receive heaven; give transitory goods, and receive a durable substance; give a cup of cold water and receive Gods kingdom If our rich friend should say unto us, lay out so much money for me, I will repay it, we would willingly and readily do it. Seeing, then, our best friend, yea, our king, the King of kings, biddeth us give to the poor, promising that He will see us answered for that we give, shall we not bestow alms at His motion and for His sake?Muffet.
The off-hand sense is no doubt correct, and, as a worldly maxim, often the munificent are rewarded in this world. But we are not to suppose the generous to suffer, and the saint might lose by being paid in money. The saint might need the chastisement of pecuniary distress. We are not to suppose, therefore, this sense to be the grand one. But the meaning is that obedience, if it be spiritual, is a positive thing; that it involves large and generous sacrifices; that it is to visit the fatherless (Jas. 1:27); and to feed the hungry (Mat. 25:35); and that, in the grandest sense, he that does these things makes a borrower of Jehovah; and that the transaction, under the grand head of guarding his own soul (Pro. 19:16), will pay him better than any less positive and more mystic species of obedience. It may be fancy, but causing to borrow seems to be more expressive than (as an equivalent) to lend (E.V.). We can make God borrow of us at any time among the widows and the orphans (Mat. 25:40; Jer. 49:11).Miller.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(17) Lendeth unto the Lord.Who for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich (2Co. 8:9), and Who regards all done to one of his poor brethren as done unto Himself (Mat. 25:40).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Hath pity lendeth The creditor of Jehovah is he that is gracious to the poor, and he will make good to him his return; that is, profit from the transaction business language. Miller renders: “And his transaction repays him.” Jehovah charges to himself, and credits the benefactor of the poor, with what is done in the way of kindness. He keeps, too, a true account, and will repay it. All this is not expressed in so many words; some of it is, and the rest is implied. We can make God borrow of us at any time by relieving the necessities of the widows and orphans. “If you like the security,” (said Dean Swift, after reading this verse as a text for a charity sermon,) “down with the dust.” He said no more, and no more was needed.
Jer 49:11; Mat 25:40; Luk 6:30-35; 2Co 9:6-7; Pro 14:31.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 17. He that hath pity upon the poor,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Ver. 17. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth, &c. ] This is a second fruit of shaking off sloth, and working with the hands the thing that is good, that one may have to give to him that needeth. Eph 4:28 He doth not give it, but lend it; God accepts it both as , as a gift, and a loan, saith Basil. a Nay, he lends it upon usury, Faeneratur Domino; and that to the Lord, who both binds himself to repay, and gives us security for it under his own hand here. He will pay him again to be sure of it – in the Hebrew tense Piel – he will fully and abundantly repay him; mostly in this world, but infallibly in the world to come. Evagrius in Cedrenus bequeathed three hundred pounds to the poor in his will; but took a bond beforehand of Synesius the bishop for the repayment of it in another life; and the very next night after his departure, saith the history, appearing to him in his shape, delivered in the bond cancelled, and fully discharged.
a Orat. de Elcemos.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 19:17
Pro 19:17
“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah, And his good deed will he pay him again.”
Who should hesitate to lend unto God? Assistance and help that are provided for the poor are exactly that. The great distinction of Christianity is its love and concern for the poor; and no man is a genuine Christian who does not exhibit that quality of character.
Pro 19:17. The wording implies giving to the poor. To pity is to feel for, to make their burden your burden, to be touched enough about their situation to stop what you are doing and help them. This we are taught to do: Luk 11:41; Luk 12:33; Gal 6:10; 1Jn 3:17; Jas 1:27; Mat 25:35-36. Cornelius (Act 10:2; Act 10:4; and Dorcas (Act 9:36) were alms givers. Give to the poor, and God has promised to pick up the debt (Luk 14:12-14). Notice the message of Pro 28:27.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
that hath: Pro 14:21, Pro 28:8, Pro 28:27, 2Sa 12:6, Ecc 11:1
lendeth: Pro 11:24, Pro 11:25, Pro 28:27, Deu 15:7-14, Isa 58:7-11, Mat 10:41, Mat 10:42, Mat 25:40, 2Co 9:6-8, Phi 4:17, Heb 6:10
that which he hath given: or, his deed
Reciprocal: Exo 1:20 – God Lev 25:35 – thy brother Deu 14:29 – that the Lord Deu 23:20 – that the Deu 24:19 – may bless Rth 2:16 – General Job 22:7 – not given Job 30:25 – was Psa 41:1 – Blessed Psa 112:9 – dispersed Pro 3:10 – General Pro 14:31 – but Pro 22:9 – He that hath a bountiful eye Pro 31:20 – she reacheth Mat 5:7 – are Mat 5:42 – General Mat 6:2 – when Mat 25:35 – I was an Luk 6:30 – Give Luk 6:35 – love Luk 6:38 – and it Luk 10:35 – whatsoever Luk 11:41 – rather Luk 14:14 – for thou Luk 16:9 – Make Act 2:45 – parted Act 20:35 – It is Rom 12:16 – condescend to men of low estate 2Co 8:10 – expedient 1Jo 3:17 – whoso
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 19:17. He that hath pity on the poor And relieves their necessities; lendeth unto the Lord Doth not empoverish, but enrich himself: for the Lord takes what is done to them as done to himself, because it is done to those whom he has appointed in his own stead to be his receivers, and whom he hath, in a peculiar manner, commended to the care and charity of all other men. He therefore will not fail to make a full compensation; he will return the benefit done to others, with large interest and increase of blessings, upon the beneficent man and his posterity.