Yahweh will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.
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The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
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The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish; but He thrusteth away the desire of the wicked.
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Proverbs 10:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 37:3 Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
- Matthew 6:30-33 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith? “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
- Psalms 37:25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
- Psalms 34:9-10 Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.
- Psalms 33:19 to deliver their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine.
- Psalms 37:19 They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
- Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.
- Job 5:20 In famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword.
- Luke 12:31 But seek God’s Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.
- Hebrews 13:5-6 Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.” So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
- Isaiah 33:16 he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.
- Proverbs 14:32 The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.
- Job 20:5-8 that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment? Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds, yet he will perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ He will fly away as a dream, and will not be found. Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
- Job 20:20-22 “Because he knew no quietness within him, he will not save anything of that in which he delights. There was nothing left that he didn’t devour, therefore his prosperity will not endure. In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress will overtake him. The hand of everyone who is in misery will come on him.
- Job 20:28 The increase of his house will depart. They will rush away in the day of his wrath.
- Psalms 112:10 The wicked will see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish.
- Habakkuk 2:6-8 Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’ Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim? Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples will plunder you, because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it.
- Luke 12:22-24 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!
- Psalms 10:14 But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (18 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Though he suffer the just to want for a…
Though he suffer the just to want for a time, yet he will send him comfort in due season.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 10:3 The LORD will not suffer the soul…
Pro 10:3 The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
Ver. 3. The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous.] That refuseth to enrich himself by evil arts, and to rise by wicked principles. For it might be objected, If I strain not my conscience, I may starve for it. Fear not that, saith the wise man; faith fears not famine. Necessaries thou shall be sure of; {Psa 37:25-26; Psa 34:15} superfluities thou art not to stand upon {a} {1Ti 6:8} The Hebrews by "righteousness" in the former verse understand alms deeds, as Dan 4:24; Dan 4:27 {See Trapp on "Mat 7:1"} and so the sense here may be. The righteous, though he give much to the poor, shall be never the poorer, since not getting, but giving, is the way to thrive. See my "Common Place of Alms."
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But he casteth away the substance of the wicked.] For either they lose it, or live beside it, and are little the better for it. "He that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and in his end be a fool." {Jer 17:11} God will make a poor fool of him quickly. {b} And the like may be said of the illiberal and tenacious person. {See Trapp on "Pro 3:27"} Niggards fear to lose their wealth by giving, but fear not to lose their wealth, and souls, and all, by keeping it.
{a} τροφην ου τρυφην: σκηπασματα ου κοσμηματα.
{b} Quo mihi divitias queis non conceditur uti?
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Will not suffer the soul of the righteous to…
Will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish; will preserve them from famine, according to his promises, Psa 34:10, and elsewhere, which, as other temporal promises, is not to be understood simply and universally, but with this limitation, except this be necessary for God’s glory, which in all reason should overrule the creatures’ good, and for their own greater benefit. For, to say nothing of eternal felicities which follow every good man’s death, it is certainly in some times and eases a less evil for men to be killed with famine, than to survive to see and feel those miseries which are coming upon them, and upon the land where they live.
The substance, as this word is used, Psa 52:7, or the wickedness, i.e. the wealth gotten by wickedness; as righteousness, Pro 10:2, is by divers understood of an estate got with righteousness.
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Of the wicked; who by that means shall be exposed to want and famine.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The Lord will not suffer the soul of the…
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish,.... Or to perish by famine: not but that good men may be afflicted with it, as Jacob and his sons were, when the famine was in Egypt and in other lands; and as the apostles, particularly the Apostle Paul, were often in hunger and thirst, yet not so as to be destroyed by it; for in "famine" the Lord redeems such from death; though the young lions lack and suffer hunger, they that fear the Lord shall not want any good thing; at least whatever they may suffer this way does not arise from the wrath of God, nor does it nor can it separate from the love of God and Christ, Job 5:20. Moreover, the souls of such shall not be famished for want of spiritual food; shall not have a famine of the word and ordinances; their souls shall be fed, as with marrow and fatness, with the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock: the church, though in the wilderness, is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, Rev 12:14;
but he casteth away the substance of the wicked; that which is got in a wicked way; as sometimes he causes it to diminish by little and little; at other times he forcibly and suddenly drives it away, and causes it to take wings and fly away; though it has been swallowed down with great greediness and in great abundance, he makes them throw it up again, and casts it out of their belly, whether they will or not, so that it does not profit them, Job 20:15.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. But he casteth away the substance of…
Verse 3. But he casteth away the substance of the wicked.] But instead of רשעים reshaim, the wicked, בוגדים bogedim, hypocrites, or perfidious persons, is the reading of twelve or fourteen of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and some editions; but it is not acknowledged by any of the ancient versions.
The righteous have God for their feeder; and because of his infinite bounty, they can never famish for want of the bread of life. On the contrary, the wicked are often, in the course of his providence, deprived of the property of which they make a bad use.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 10:3. The Lord will not suffer the righteous…
Pro 10:3. The Lord will not suffer the righteous to famish — Will preserve them from famine, according to his promises, Psa 34:10, (on which see the note,) and elsewhere; but he casteth away the substance — So הות, the word here used, sometimes signifies; or, the wickedness, that is, the wealth gotten by wickedness, as it is rendered Psa 52:7; of the wicked — Who by that means shall be exposed to want and famine. The instructions in these last two verses about getting, keeping, and using riches aright, very properly follow what was observed, Pro 10:1, that a curse may not be entailed upon riches through a contrary conduct respecting them, and descend with them unto our children.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Casteth away ... - Better, “overturns, disappoints the strong…
Casteth away ... - Better, “overturns, disappoints the strong desire of the wicked.” Tantalus-like, they never get the enjoyment they thirst after.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain To spiritualize the temporal promises would be to lose…
To spiritualize the temporal promises would be to lose great enlargement of faith. They are not restricted to the Old Dispensation. If David was preserved from famishing, and that too by those most unlikely to help him,†1 Paul could also in similar trial "set to his seal" — "I have all, and abound, I am full." (Php 4:18 .) How does our gracious God double and redouble his engagements!†2 He sends us to the fowls of the air for the confirmation of our little faith. "Are not ye much better than they?" (Mat 6:25-26 .) ’Yet the promises require faith, whereby we believe that God helpeth us.’†3 He may for the exercise of faith suffer us to hunger (1Co 4:11 . 2Co 11:27, with Deu 8:3 . Mat 4:2-4 ); yet not to famish. (Psa 37:3 . Isa 33:16 . Mat 6:32 .) And does not his unfailing care for temporal provision convey the assurance, that he will not suffer the soul to famish? "The good Shepherd knows his sheep." He "seeks them out in the cloudy and dark day," and brings them into his fold, where "they go in and out, and find pasture." (Joh 10:9 . Eze 34:12 .) Awful indeed is the contrast of the wicked — their substance cast out (Job 20:15 ); themselves buried in the ruins of their own family. (Psa 49:6-20 Luk 12:19-20 ; Luk 16:23 .)
Footnotes:
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†1 By Shobi the brother of his bitter enemy. 2Sa 17:27, with 2Sa 10:4 . Machir also of the house of Saul. 2Sa 9:4 . Compare Psa 37:25 .
†2 Heb 13:5; five negatives in the original.
†3 Cope in loco.
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Famine. Psalm xxxvi. 25. The prophets and Lazarus rejoice…
Famine. Psalm xxxvi. 25. The prophets and Lazarus rejoice in suffering. [Luke xvi. 20.]
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Compare Psa 37:16-20). The last clause is better: "He…
(Compare Psa 37:16-20). The last clause is better: "He will repel the greedy desires of the wicked."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 3. Soul of the righteous — נפשׁ צדיק, (nephesh…
3. Soul of the righteous — נפשׁ צדיק, (nephesh tsaddik.) Nephesh is a word of various and multitudinous signification, and extensive use. It probably means here the person or body, considered especially in respect to the animal appetites. We have no word expressing the meaning it has in this place. Desire or appetite (for food) comes as near as any other — Jehovah will not famish the desire or appetite of the righteous, he will not let it go unsatisfied, or “starve the righteous appetite.” — Miller.
Substance — הות, (havvath,) is also a word which may be variously rendered. As it stands in parallelism with nephesh, desire, it may be rendered cravings. This accords with the latest criticism. The whole verse imports that Jehovah will not starve (refuse to satisfy) the desire of the righteous, but the cravings of the wicked he will disappoint. Comp. Psa_10:14, etc.; Psa_37:25.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 3. to famish] Comp. Psa_37:25; and for the soul’s…
3. to famish] Comp. Psa_37:25; and for the soul’s highest hungering, Mat_5:6.
casteth away the substance] Rather, thrusteth away (as Gehazi would have done the Shunammite, 2Ki_4:27) the desire, R.V.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (3) The Lord will not suffer the soul of…
(3) The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish.—Comp. David’s experience (Psa_37:25), and the great promise of our Lord to those who “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Mat_6:33). (Comp. also below, Pro_13:25.)
He casteth away the substance of the wicked.—Rather, He repels (the word is used in 2Ki_4:27, of Gehazi “thrusting away” the Shunammite) the eager, passionate desire of the wicked. However much they long for it, they get it not, “because they ask amiss” (Jas_4:3).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The Lord will not suffer the soul of the…
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish. (comp. Pro_19:23) The soul is the life. (comp. Pro_13:25) So the psalmist says, (Psa_37:25) "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread." Christ speaks of the providence that watches over the lower creatures, and draws thence a lesson of trust in his care of man. concluding, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you". (Mat_6:26, Mat_6:33) But he casteth away the substance of the wicked; Septuagint, "He will overthrew the life of the wicked;" Vulgate, "He overturns the plots of sinners." The word rendered "substance" (havvah) is better understood as "desire." God frustrates the eager longing (for food or other good things) of the wicked; they are never satisfied, and get no real enjoyment out of what they crave. (comp. Pro_13:25)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The Lord will not suffer the soul of the…
Pro_10:3
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish.
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The Lord and the righteous
I. God has bountifully provided even for the ungodly. Has He shown such concern for the wicked as to provide for them in the gospel a feast of fat things full of marrow, and will He disregard the righteous?
II. God is peculiarly interested in the welfare of the righteous. The righteous are Gods peculiar treasure above all people.
III. God has pledged His word that they shall never want anything that is good. Exceeding numerous, great and precious are the promises which God has given to His people. He may seem to leave His people in straits, but it shall be only for the more signal manifestation of His love and mercy towards them.
1. A word of reproof. Many do not make their profiting to appear as they ought.
2. A word of consolation. Some may put away from them this promise under the idea that they are not of the character to whom it belongs. (Skeletons of Sermons.)
The famishing of the soul
It is of temporal supplies the wise man is here speaking. The famishing of the soul might be understood, with great truth, of the proper and peculiar life of the soul. But the connection demands a different interpretation. Soul is often used to signify the person and the animal life. It may have reference to that weakness and fainting of spirit which is the result of the corporeal exhaustion produced by the extremity of want. (R. Wardlaw.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Pro_10:3. The soul of the righteous, literally, “the spirit…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_10:3. The soul of the righteous, literally, “the spirit of the righteous.” But He casteth away, etc. Zöckler and Delitzsch here read, “but the craving of the wicked He disappointeth.” Miller thus translates the whole verse: “Jehovah will not starve the righteous appetite, but the craving of the wicked He will thrust away.”
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Pro_10:4. Dealeth, rather, “worketh.
Pro_10:6. Zöckler and most commentators translate the second clause of this verse, “the mouth of the wicked hideth or covereth violence or iniquity.” Stuart reads, “the mouth of the wicked concealeth injury.” Miller adheres nearly to the authorised version, and understands it to mean that “wrong shuts up all chance of feast and comfort.” It will be observed, that this latter reading renders the clause antithetical to the former part of the verse, which is not the case with the other renderings.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH—Pro_10:3-4
DIVINE AND HUMAN PROVIDENCE
I. A general rule. God supplies all the needs of His children (Pro_10:3). We take the word soul here to mean what it often does in the Old Testament, viz., the bodily life, and, therefore, understand the promise to be similar to that in Psa_33:19, etc. God’s special providential care is over the righteous. This we should have expected if this and like promises did not exist. The animal creation, as a rule, care and provide for their own offspring. There are men and women who have fallen so low as not to care for the well-being of those dependent on them, but wherever there is any virtue left in human beings it will certainly manifest itself in making some efforts to secure from want those who are nearly related to them and dependent upon them. God has laid it as a charge upon His creatures to care for the bodily wants of their children, and He has implanted within men and women an instinct which is generally strong enough to lead them to do it. It is an apostolic sentence—“If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (1Ti_5:8). God has taught us that the righteous are bound to Him by a closer tie than we are bound to each other by flesh and blood relationships. “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven,” said Christ, “the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mat_12:50). He was more nearly related to His disciples than to those of His brethren who did not believe on Him. They were Christ’s “own” (Joh_13:1) in a sense in which other men were not, and He provided for their necessities because they held this special relation to Him. God has a general care for all that He has made. He cares for the life of the tiniest wild flower, and feeds it with light and moisture according to its need. “He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry” (Psa_147:9). He maketh His sun to shine and His rain to fall upon the fields of the unjust, and is kind to the unthankful and the evil (Luk_6:35). Then it follows from necessity that He, the Righteous Father, will not suffer the souls of the “righteous” to famish. When ordinary means will not meet their need, He will employ special means to do so. There are many instances upon record in the history of God’s Church in which, the supply not being obtainable within the ordinary working of His providence, He has gone into the region of the supernatural for sustenance for His children.
II. Special exceptions to this rule If we understand these words as referring to the bodily life, we must admit that there have been exceptions to it. Some of God’s children have suffered from want, some have starved to death in dungeons because they have been righteous. But these special exceptions have been for special ends. Solomon’s father, when he was hunted by Saul, was doubtless often in want of food, but this severe discipline fitted him for the position he was afterwards to occupy as the King of Israel. Paul tells us that he was often “in hunger and thirst, in fastings, in cold and nakedness” (2Co_11:27), but he likewise tells us that he “gloried in tribulation,” because it “worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope,” etc. (Rom_5:3-4). Whenever there are partial or entire exceptions to this rule, we may rest assured that those who are the subjects of the exceptions have their material loss more than made up to them.
III. Special relationship to God will not secure exemption from want unless the necessary conditions are fulfilled. “He,” whether saint or sinner, “becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand” (Pro_10:4). If a godly man is not diligent in business, he will come to want as certainly as an ungodly one. God’s children are not exempt from the working of the natural and providential laws of the world in which they live. If they transgress any physical law, they must pay the penalty. The disregard of any such law is a “tempting of the Lord their God” (Mat_4:5-7). And what is true of physical laws is true of providential laws. If a husbandman is ever so prayerful and trustful, he will not have a crop in harvest unless he works hard in the days of ploughing and sowing. And the most spiritually-minded tradesman will not earn a living unless he gives due attention to his business. “God’s promises were never made to ferry our laziness” (Beecher). It is sheer presumption to expect God to give us our daily bread if we neglect to do all within our power to earn it. Even in Paradise nature would not yield her treasure without diligence on the part of man. Adam was to “till the ground,” to “dress and keep” the Garden of Eden (Gen_2:5-15). And this dependence of success upon diligence is—
1. Good for the man himself. He has bodily and mental powers which cannot be developed without constant exercise.
2. Good for others. A man who does not bring all his powers into play defrauds society of the benefit it might receive from his latent abilities.
IV. When the conditions of growing rich are fulfilled by unrighteous men, the wealth attained by diligence shall be taken away by justice. Riches and poverty are comparative terms; it is certainly not true that every diligent man makes a fortune; probably Solomon means no more than that diligence always brings some amount of reward. However that may be, we must put the declaration “The hand of the diligent maketh rich” side by side with that in the preceding verse, “He casteth away the substance of the wicked.” The professional thief exercises a diligence which is not surpassed by many honest men, if by any. He deals with no slack hand, and he generally succeeds in getting rich for a time. But if he is diligent, the detective officer is vigilant, and the substance he has gathered will one day be scattered by the hand of justice. And there are many unprofessional thieves in the world who gain their riches by means quite as unlawful as their professional brethren, although they sail under other colours. Substance thus obtained is as surely marked by God for scattering as that of the housebreaker or highwayman, although He sometimes delays long the apprehension of the culprit. Against all such the sentence has gone forth, “Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and He shall also blow upon them and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble” (Isa_40:24). There are three reasons why wealth, which has been gathered by unrighteous diligence, should be scattered.
1. Such unrighteous dealing is a sin against God. It is a defiance of the eighth and tenth commandments, for all men who get rich unlawfully must both covet and steal. When God’s “thou shalt not” is thus disregarded, we may be certain that He will vindicate His right to give laws to His creatures.
2. It is a sin against man. Such a man’s diligence must have caused much misery to many of his fellow-creatures. Men cannot satisfy lawless desires without bringing unhappiness on others.
3. Wealth unlawfully gained is sure to be made an instrument of oppression. Wealth always gives some amount of power, and he who has trampled on the rights of others to get riches will be sure to use them for their oppression when he has obtained them. Pro_10:4 may be applied spiritually. If material good cannot be obtained without diligence, most assuredly spiritual blessings cannot (2Pe_1:5; 2Pe_1:10, etc.). It is as necessary for the spiritual powers to be kept in constant exercise, if they are to be healthy and strong, as it is for the body or the mind. The needs of others as well as our own demand diligence in spiritual things. And whatever exceptions there may be in the rule in relation to material good, this higher wealth will always be in proportion to the diligent use of means.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_10:3. Should the wicked be permitted to hold their substance all their days, Death, that terrible messenger, shall at last drag them from it; nor shall their glory descend after them to the grave, but that wickedness by which they acquired it shall lie down with them in the dust and torture their souls in hell.—Lawson.
The substance of the wicked is “of the earth, earthy.” It pertains not to the soul, and partakes not of its imperishable vitality. O the miserable but sadly common mistake of the rich man in the parable, when he addressed his soul in terms of congratulation, as if, in the abundance of worldly good, it had got what would give it real and permanent satisfaction (Luk_12:16-21). “Casting it away” is an act indicative of regarding it as worthless. The substance of this world is that on which the hearts of the sons of men are set. But “God will cast it away.” He will not only bereave them of it—and that, it may be, suddenly—but what is there in all this substance that can avail as purchase money for the soul and for heaven? Had a man “the world” to offer, God would “cast it away.” He would say, “Thy money perish with thee!” “Riches profit not in the day of wrath.” The famished soul must then die, and die for ever.—Wardlaw.
As the end of the former verse must chiefly be understood of spiritual death, because temporarily the righteous die as well as the wicked, so, with St. Jerome, I understand this of a spiritual famine. Now, as the course that is needful to preserve the body is so to nourish it that it may neither be glutted with fulness nor pined with emptiness, but in such sort to feed it that it may still have appetite for food, the same is the care which Almighty God taketh of the soul’s health; for He so feedeth the righteous that He will not suffer them to famish, and yet He doth not so fill them as that they do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. The time of fulness is heaven, where, as there will be no danger of sickness to the soul, so no lack of plenty.—Jermin.
It might be objected, If I strain not my conscience I may starve for it. Fear not that, saith the wise man. Faith fears not famine. Necessaries thou shalt be sure of (Psa_37:25-26; Psa_34:15); superfluities thou art not to stand upon (1Ti_6:8).—Trapp.
Pro_10:4. “The diligent” (Hebrew, charutzim, from charatz, to cut short, or settle); those who are decisive in all things, who economise their time and means—prompt in movement.—Fausset.
Riches were first bestowed upon the world as they are still continued in it, by the blessing of God upon the industry of men, in the use of their understanding and strength.—Bishop Butler.
The Lord’s visits of favour were never given to loiterers. Moses and the shepherds of Bethlehem were keeping their flocks (Exo_3:1-2; Luk_2:8-9). Gideon was at the threshing-floor (Jdg_6:11). “Our idle days,” as Bishop Hall observes, “are Satan’s busy days.” Active employment gives us a ready answer to his present temptation. “I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down” (Neh_6:3).—Bridges.
Not only will God provide for the wise, but wisdom itself is a provision. “The hand of the diligent makes riches,” even if it earn little; the meaning being that active work is itself a treasure; or, passing into the realm of piety, which is the one intended, he is a poor man who is a sluggard in his soul’s work, and a rich man who is awake and active. Our treasure is within. “My meat is,” said our Great Exemplar, “to do the will of Him that sent me.” And on our dying bed our money will be of small account, but our work will be the splendid fortune that will follow the believer (Rev_14:13).—Miller.
The advantages of virtuous industry.
1. The industrous man performs and accomplishes many things which are profitable to himself and others in numberless respects. Let his station be never so humble, yet that which he does in it has influence more or less upon all other stations. If he completely fulfil his duty, every other can more completely fulfil his. Let the faculties, the endowments of a man be never so confined, yet by continued uninterrupted application he can perform much, often far more than he who with eminent powers of intellect is slothful or indolent.
2. He executes them with far more ease and dexterity than if he were not industrious. He has no need of any long previous contest with himself, of long previous consideration how he shall begin the work, or whether he shall begin it at all. But he attacks the business with alacrity and spirit and pursues it with good-will.
3. He unfolds, exercises, perfects his mental powers. And this he does alike in every vocation; because it is not of so much consequence to what we apply our intellectual faculties, as how we employ them. Whether we apply them to the government of a nation or to the learning and exercise of some useful trade makes no material difference. But to learn to think methodically and justly, to act as rational beings, with consideration and fixed principles, to do what we have to do deliberately, carefully, punctiliously, conscientiously, that is the main concern. Virtuous diligence is a continual exercise of the understanding, of reason, of reflection, of self-command.
4. The industrious man lives in the entire true intimate consciousness of himself. He rejoices in his life, his faculties, his endowments, his time. He can give an account of the use and application of them and can therefore look back upon the past with satisfaction and into the future without disquietude.
5. He experiences neither languor nor irksomeness. He who really loves work can never be wanting in means and opportunities for it. To him every occupation is agreeable, even though it procure him no visible profit.
6. He alone knows the pleasures of rest for he alone really wants it, he alone has deserved it, he alone can enjoy it without reproach. 7. The industrious man alone fulfils the design for which he is placed on earth, and can boldly give an account to God, to his fellow-creatures, and to himself how he has spent his life.—Zollikofer.
This rule applies alike to the business of life and the concerns of the soul. Diligence is necessary to the laying-up of treasures, either within or beyond the reach of rust.… A world bringing forth fruit spontaneously might have suited a sinless race, but it would be unsuitable for mankind as they now are. If all men had plenty without labour, the world would not be fit for living in. In every country and under every kind of government, the unemployed are the most dangerous classes. Thus the necessity of labour has become a blessing to man.… It would be a libel upon the Divine economy to imagine that the tender plant of grace would thrive in a sluggard’s garden. The work is difficult. The times are bad. He who would gain in godliness must put his soul into the business. But he who puts his soul into the business will grow rich. Labour laid out here is not lost. Those who strive lawfully will win a kingdom. When all counts are closed, he who is rich in faith is the richest man.—Arnot.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 3. The Lord will not suffer the soul…
v. 3. The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish, actually to suffer want; but He casteth away the substance of the wicked, repelling their greedy desire, often leaving their craving for wealth unfulfilled.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 10:3 This proverb can be misused if outward results…
10:3 This proverb can be misused if outward results are regarded as a barometer of godliness. Job’s three friends, for example, wrongly reasoned that Job must have sinned to earn his suffering (see Job 22:6-11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.