PROV 19:17 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Someone who’s kind to a poor person is lending to Yahweh,
⇔ → and he will repay for the good deed.

Key: khaki:verbs, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Δανείζει Θεῷ ὁ ἐλεῶν πτωχὸν, κατὰ δὲ τὸ δόμα αὐτοῦ ἀνταποδώσει αὐτῷ.
(Daneizei Theōi ho eleōn ptōⱪon, kata de to doma autou antapodōsei autōi. )

BrTr He that has pity on the poor lends to the Lord; and he will recompense to him according to his gift.

ULT One who is gracious to a lowly one lends to Yahweh,
⇔ and his dealing he will repay to him.

UST Giving things to poor people is like loaning them to Yahweh;
⇔ he will reward anyone who does this.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD;
⇔ he will reward him.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The one who is gracious to the poor lends to the Lord,
⇔ and the Lord will repay him for his good deed.

LSV Whoever is lending [to] YHWH is favoring the poor,
And He repays his deed to him.

FBV If you're kind to the poor, you're lending to the Lord, and he will repay you well for what you've done.

T4T ⇔ When we give things to poor people, it is as though we are lending to Yahweh,
⇔ and he will ◄pay us back/reward us for what we did►.

LEB • He who lends to Yahweh is he who is kind to the poor, and his benefits he will repay to him.

BBE He who has pity on the poor gives to the Lord, and the Lord will give him his reward.

Moff He who cares for the poor is lending to the Eternal,
⇔ and for his kindness he shall be repaid.

JPS He that is gracious unto the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and his good deed will He repay unto him.

ASV He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah,
⇔ And his good deed will he pay him again.

DRA He that hath mercy on the poor, lendeth to the Lord: and he will repay him.

YLT Whoso is lending [to] Jehovah is favouring the poor, And his deed He repayeth to him.

Drby He that is gracious to the poor lendeth unto Jehovah; and what he hath bestowed will he repay unto him.

RV He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD, and his good deed will he pay him again.
(He that hath/has pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD, and his good deed will he pay him again. )

SLT He pitying the poor lends to Jehovah, and he will recompense to him his act.

Wbstr He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth to the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

KJB-1769 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.[fn]
(He that hath/has pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath/has given will he pay him again. )

19.17 that which…: or, his deed

KJB-1611 [fn]Hee that hath pity vpon the poore, lendeth vnto the LORD; and that which he hath giuen, will he pay him againe.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

19:17 Or, his deed.

Bshps He that hath pitie vpon the poore, lendeth vnto the Lord: and looke what he layeth out, it shalbe payde hym agayne.
(He that hath/has pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord: and look what he layeth/lays out, it shall be paid him again.)

Gnva He that hath mercy vpon the poore, lendeth vnto the Lord: and the Lord will recompense him that which he hath giuen.
(He that hath/has mercy upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord: and the Lord will recompense him that which he hath/has given. )

Cvdl He yt hath pitie vpon the poore, ledeth vnto ye LORDE: & loke what he layeth out, it shalbe payed him agayne.
(He it hath/has pity upon the poor, leadeth/leads unto ye/you_all LORD: and look what he layeth/lays out, it shall be paid him again.)

Wycl He that hath mercy on a pore man, leeneth to the Lord; and he schal yelde his while to hym.
(He that hath/has mercy on a poor man, leaneth/leans to the Lord; and he shall yield his while to him.)

Luth Wer sich des Armen erbarmet, der leihet dem HErr’s; der wird ihm wieder Gutes vergelten.
(Who itself/yourself/themselves the poor_(one) mercy, the/of_the lends to_him LORD’s; the/of_the becomes him again goodness/good_(person) retaliate.)

ClVg Fœneratur Domino qui miseretur pauperis, et vicissitudinem suam reddet ei.
(Fœneratur Master who/which to_be_pitied poor, and change his_own will_return to_him. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.

In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.

In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.

Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.

Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you^(sing), you^(plur), we^(dual), or we^(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.

Some other headings for this section are:

Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)

Here are many wise things that Solomon said

19:17

Notice the parallelism. The second line gives the result of the first line.

^17aKindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD,

^17band He will repay the lender.

19:17a

Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD,

When a person helps the poor, it is like lending to Yahweh.
If you^(sing) are generous to people of low status who need help, it is like you are making a loan to Yahweh.

Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD: This clause is a metaphor. It compares a gift to the poor with a loan to the LORD. The similarity is that the LORD will repay Kindness to the poor as if it were money that he borrowed. Some ways to translate this metaphor are:

Keep the metaphor. For example:
He who is generous to the poor lends to the Lord (REB)
If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— (NLT)
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
Being kind to the poor is like lending to the Lord (NCV)
When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord (GNT)

Kindness: This word refers here to a person who is generous, gracious, or kind.

to the poor: The word that the BSB translates here as the poor refers to people who have low status in society. The word emphasizes their insignificance and helplessness as well as their material needs. This word does not refer primarily to people who are utterly poverty-stricken.NIDOTTE (H1924), TWOT (#433a), and Cohen (page 127) all agree that this Hebrew word (dal) refers to those who have material needs but are not completely “destitute.” HALOT (#2078) and BDB (#1800) both classify this verse under the sense of “helpless.” See TWOT (#433a) for a brief comparison of this word with other Hebrew words that describe people who are “poor.” See 10:4a for information on the four Hebrew words for poor that are used in Proverbs.

All the English versions used in preparing these Notes use the word “poor” here. In some languages, there may be a word or idiom that emphasizes the specific meaning of this Hebrew word. For example:

those who are low in status

people who have many needs

people who are helpless

See 14:31a for a list of verses where this word for poor occurs.

19:17b

and He will repay the lender.

Yahweh will repay/reward him for the kindness he has shown.
Yahweh will fully repay you^(sing) for the help you have given to others.

and He will repay the lender: This clause indicates that the LORD will repay the person who was kind to the poor for the kind deed that he did.

repay: The word that the BSB translates here as repay can refer to something desirable (a reward) or undesirable (revenge or punishment). In this context, it clearly refers to a reward. What the LORD gives to repay the figurative “loan” can include spiritual blessings as well as material benefits.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

and the Lord will repay him for his good deed (NET)

and the Lord will pay you back (GNT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

ח֣וֹנֵֽן דָּ֑ל וּ֝⁠גְמֻל֗⁠וֹ יְשַׁלֶּם־לֽ⁠וֹ

kind poor and,his_of,recompense repay to=him/it

One who is gracious, a lowly one, him, and his here refer to types of people in general, not to specific people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any person who is gracious to any lowly person … and that gracious person’s dealing he will repay to that person”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

דָּ֑ל

poor

See how you translated the same use of lowly in [10:15](../10/15.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מַלְוֵ֣ה יְ֭הוָה

lends_of YHWH

Here Solomon speaks of someone doing something for which Yahweh will reward that person as if that person lends money to Yahweh that he will repay. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “does something that Yahweh will reward” or “is like one who lends to Yahweh”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וּ֝⁠גְמֻל֗⁠וֹ

and,his_of,recompense

Here, dealing refers to what the person did to be gracious to a lowly one. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “and his gracious deed”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

יְשַׁלֶּם־לֽ⁠וֹ

repay to=him/it

Here Solomon speaks of Yahweh rewarding someone for being gracious to a lowly one as if Yahweh were repaying a debt to him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he will reward him for”

Parallel PROV 19:17

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

19:17

19:17a

19:17b