Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 28:27

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

27. hideth his eyes ] in neglect or disgust. Comp. Isa 1:15; and see Sir 4:5-6 .

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

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

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

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).

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

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.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

27. (Compare Pr11:24-26).

hideth his eyesas theface (Psa 27:9; Psa 69:17),denotes inattention.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

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.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

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 , referring back to the subject noun, is to be supplied, as at Pro 27:7 . He who gives to the poor has no want ( ), for God’s blessing reimburses him richly for what he bestows. He, on the other hand, who veils ( ( 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. , 20a). is constructed after the form , from .

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

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

      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.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Helping Or Ignoring the Poor

Verse 27 affirms that he who gives to the poor shall not lack, Pro 11:25; Pro 19:17; Pro 22:9; Psa 41:1; Isa 58:10-11; Luk 6:38; but he who ignores a cry of the poor he is able to relieve shall himself cry to the LORD to no avail. See Pro 21:13; Deu 15:7-11; Zec 7:10-14; Mat 7:2.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

(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.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

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.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

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”; Jam 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.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Pro 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.”

The sentiment of the first line here is reiterated in the New Testament (2Co 9:6-11). God today blesses liberal and generous Christians. The reference to `curses’ in line 2 reflects the extreme bitterness of poor people who are suffering for lack of the bare necessities of life, which are denied to them by people wallowing in affluence and luxury.

Pro 28:27. Jesus said there will always be some poor among us (Mar 14:7), and He went on to say, Whensoever ye will ye can do them good (same verse). As we have opportunity, therefore, to give to the poor and needy, we are to do so (Gal 6:10; 1Jn 3:17). Deu 15:7 says, If there be with thee a poor man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates in thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, not shut thy hand from thy poor brother. Pro 22:9 also says a man shall be blessed who giveth of his bread to the poor. God will repay all that we give to the poor (Pro 19:17). Our verse talks about hiding ones eyes from the poor. This is what many do as they merrily go on their own way or busily pursue their business interests. Listen to Pro 29:7 : The righteous taketh knowledge of the cause of the poor; The wicked hath not understanding to know it. So Jesus made a helpful Samaritan the hero of His parable and the heartless Jewish priest and Levite the goats (Luk 10:30-37). The ultimate blessing and curse to come upon us for our dealings with the poor will be at the Judgment (Mat 25:34-46).

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

that giveth: Pro 19:17, Pro 22:9, Deu 15:7, Deu 15:10, Psa 41:1-3, Psa 112:5-9, 2Co 9:6-11, Heb 13:16

hideth: Isa 1:15

shall: Pro 11:26, Pro 24:24

Reciprocal: Deu 15:4 – greatly bless Deu 22:1 – hide thyself Pro 11:25 – liberal soul Pro 14:21 – he that hath Pro 21:13 – at Pro 30:10 – lest Isa 58:7 – to deal Isa 58:10 – thou draw Eze 18:7 – hath given 2Co 9:8 – God

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

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.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Those who give to the poor will not lack what they need, which is God’s blessing. They may also receive the blessing of other people and material benefits that God promised generous Israelites. We may supply the idea of blessing to the first statement legitimately, since the contrast is with curses in the second statement.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)