There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.
Parallel Translations
-
There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.
-
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
-
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth only to want.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Proverbs 11:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 19:17 He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh; he will reward him.
- Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”
- Deuteronomy 15:10 You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because it is for this thing Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to.
- Psalms 112:9 He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor.
- Ecclesiastes 11:6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don’t withhold your hand; for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be equally good.
- Haggai 1:6 You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don’t have enough. You drink, but you aren’t filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it.”
- Haggai 1:9-11 “You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says Yahweh of Armies, “Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of the hands.”
- Proverbs 11:18 Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
- 2 Corinthians 9:5-11 I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brothers that they would go before to you and arrange ahead of time the generous gift that you promised before, that the same might be ready as a matter of generosity, and not of greediness. Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work. As it is written, “He has scattered abroad. He has given to the poor. His righteousness remains forever.” Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, you being enriched in everything to all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.
- Haggai 2:16-19 Through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty, there were only twenty. I struck you with blight, mildew, and hail in all the work of your hands; yet you didn’t turn to me,’ says Yahweh. ‘Consider, please, from this day and backward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, since the day that the foundation of Yahweh’s temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? Yes, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree haven’t produced. From today I will bless you.’ ”
- Proverbs 28:8 He who increases his wealth by excessive interest gathers it for one who has pity on the poor.
- Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don’t know what evil will be on the earth.
- Acts 11:29-30 As any of the disciples had plenty, each determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea; which they also did, sending it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (20 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning them that give liberally, whom God blesseth.
Meaning them that give liberally, whom God blesseth.
That is, the niggard.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth;…
Pro 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and [there is] that withholdeth more than is meet, but [it tendeth] to poverty.
Ver. 24. There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth.] Bounty is the most compendious way to plenty; neither is getting but giving the best thrift. The five loaves in the Gospel, by a strange kind of arithmetic, were multiplied by a division and augmented by subtraction. So will it be in this case.
Read full note →
But it tendeth to poverty.] St Augustine descanting upon those words, "They have slept their sleep, all the rich men, and have found nothing in their hands," - for so he reads that text {Psa 76:5} - and why is this? saith he. Nihil invenerunt in manibus suis, quia nihil posuerunt in manu Christi. They found nothing in their own hands, because they feared to lay up anything in Christ’s hands. Manus pauperum gazophylacium Christi, saith another father - the poor man’s hand is Christ’s treasury.
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 That scattereth; that giveth liberally of his goods to…
That scattereth; that giveth liberally of his goods to the poor; for so this Hebrew word is used, Psa 112:9, He hath dispersed, which is explained in the following words, he hath given to the poor.
Increaseth, through God’s secret blessing upon his estate.
Read full note →
More than is meet, Heb. from what is right or just, i.e. what by the law of God, and the rules of general justice, he is obliged to give; of which see Pro 3:27.
It tendeth to poverty; by God’s providence secretly blasting his estate, either in his own or his children’s hands, as it very frequently befalls covetous wretches.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Note, 1. It is possible a man may grow…
Note, 1. It is possible a man may grow rich by prudently spending what he has, may scatter in works of piety, charity, and generosity, and yet may increase; nay, by that means may increase, as the corn is increased by being sown. By cheerfully using what we have our spirits are exhilarated, and so fitted for the business we have to do, by minding which closely what we have is increased; it gains a reputation which contributes to the increase. But it is especially to be ascribed to God; he blesses the giving hand, and so makes it a getting hand, Co2 9:10. Give, and it shall be given you. 2. It is possible a man may grow poor by meanly sparing what he has, withholding more than is meet, not paying just debts, not relieving the poor, not providing what is convenient for the family, not allowing necessary expenses for the preservation of the goods; this tends to poverty; it cramps men's ingenuity and industry, weakens their interest, destroys their credit, and forfeits the blessing of God: and, let men be ever so saving of what they have, if God blast it and blow upon it, it comes to nothing. A fire not blown shall consume it, Hag 1:6, Hag 1:9.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth,.... That scattereth…
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth,.... That scattereth "his own", as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions add: that disperses his money here and there, among many poor objects, plentifully and liberally; and his substance is so far from being lessened by such a conduct, that, by the blessing of God, it is increased more and more; or "become richer", as the Vulgate Latin; see Psa 112:9. So he that disperses and dispenses the word of God, and spreads the truths of the Gospel, and freely and fully preaches them, increases himself in spiritual knowledge and understanding;
and there is that withholdeth more than is meet; or, "right" or "just" (a), by the, laws of God and men; from himself, from his family, from his friends and relations, and from the poor of the church and of the world; and from the cause and interest of Christ, and what is necessary to support that, according to his ability;
Read full note →
but it tendeth to poverty, or "want" (b): such a man is often brought to beggary; there is a moth and rottenness sent into his substance, which secretly consume it: so he that withholds any truth or doctrine, that keeps back anything that may be profitable to the saints; this tends to the impoverishing: of his soul, and the souls of them that attend on his ministry.
(a) "plus aequo", Vatablus, Mercerus, Gejerus; "plus quam aequum est", Cocceius; "prae quam rectum est, seu plus aequo", Michaelis. (b) "ad egestatem". Junius & Tremellius, Picator; "ad penuriam", Cocceius; "ad rasam egestatem", Schultens.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Scattereth - That gives liberally. Increaseth - Through God's…
Scattereth - That gives liberally. Increaseth - Through God's blessing upon his estate. Poverty - By God's providence secretly blasting his estate.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 24. There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth]…
Verse 24. There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth] The bountiful man, who gives to the poor, never turning away his face from any one in distress, the Lord blesses his property, and the bread is multiplied in his hand. To the same purpose the following verse.
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 11:24-25. There is that scattereth — That giveth…
Pro 11:24-25. There is that scattereth — That giveth liberally of his goods to the poor; for so the word פזר, here used, signifies, Psa 112:9; and yet increaseth — Through God’s secret blessing on his estate; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet — Hebrew, מישׁר, than what is right, or just, that is, what, by the law of God, and the rules of general justice, he is obliged to give: of which, see on Pro 3:27. But it tendeth to poverty — By God’s providence secretly blasting his property, either in his own or his children’s hands: as it frequently happens to covetous persons. The liberal soul — Hebrew, the soul of blessing, the man who is a blessing to others; who prays for the sick and needy, and provides for them; that scatters blessings with gracious lips and generous hands, the word blessing being often used for a gift; shall be made fat — Shall be enriched both with temporal and spiritual blessings. And he that watereth, &c. — Possibly this is a metaphor taken from a fountain, which, when it pours forth its waters, is instantly filled again; whereas, if it be stopped, it grows empty, the water seeking another course. Some render the last clause, הוא יורא, he shall be a rain, that is, he shall receive such liberal supplies from God, that he shall be able to pour forth showers of good things upon others.
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 Withholdeth more than is meet - i. e., Is…
Withholdeth more than is meet - i. e., Is sparing and niggardly where he ought to give. The contrast is stated in the form of a paradox, to which the two following verses supply the answer. Some render, “There is that withholdeth from what is due,” i. e., from a just debt, or from the generosity of a just man.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain 24 ¶ There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth;…
24 ¶ There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.†a
God has put a mark of distinguishing favor upon the exercises of that mercy, which is his own attribute. He scatters his blessings richly around (Psa 33:5 ; Psa 36:5-7 ); and those that partake of his spirit do the same. Men may scatter in improvidence and sin, and it tendeth to poverty. (Pro 21:17 .) But there is that scattereth, and yet increaseth. The husbandman, scattering his seed "plentifully" over his field, expects a proportionate increase. And shall not the man of God, "dispersing abroad" the seed of godliness (Psa 112:9 ); consecrating his substance and influence to the Lord; "as he has opportunity, doing good unto all men" (Gal 6:10 ) — shall not he receive a plentiful increase? (2Co 9:6, 2Co 9:11 .) The men of the world hazard all in uncertain, and often, ruinous, speculations. But in this scattering there is no uncertainty, no speculation. Bounty is the way to plenty. Have faith in God; and laying out for him will be laying up for ourselves. (Pro 3:9-10 ; Pro 19:17 .) This will be abundantly manifest, either in a visible enlargement of earthly blessings,†1 or in a satisfying enjoyment of a more limited portion. (Deu 15:10 .) The reward of grace will be given in the gracious acceptance of our God (Heb 13:16 ), and in a blissful reception into "everlasting habitations." (Luk 16:9 . 1Ti 6:18-19 .)
Read full note →
But is the covetous worldling happier — nay — is he richer — in withholding more than is meet? (Hag 1:4-10 .) ’Seldom does he prosper much even in the world. For God metes to men in their own measure; and bad crops, bad debts, expensive sickness, and a variety of similar deductions, soon amount to far more than liberal alms would have done.’†2
Still more clearly does the Lord mark his blessing and his blast in the spiritual dispensation. The liberal soul is made fat in the healthful vigour of practical godliness (Pro 11:17 . Isa 32:8 . M.R. (this verse plus the Marginal Reading: "But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand." {stand: or, be established}); and while he is the soul of blessing to others, he is watered himself with the descending showers.†3 The Minister is refreshed by his own message of salvation to his people. The Sunday School Teacher learns many valuable lessons in the work of instruction. The soul of the District Visitor or the Christian friend glows in carrying the precious name of Jesus to a fellow-sinner. Every holy temper, every spiritual gift, every active grace is increased by exercise; while its efficiency withers by neglect. (Mat 25:29 .)
Footnotes:
†a ’There are those, who, sowing their own, make it more: and those who gather, and are impoverished’ — LXX.
†1 Luk 6:38, into thy bosom — the sensible experience of the blessing.
†2 Scott in loco.
†3 Isa 58:10-11. ’How often, when my heart has been cold and dead, have I been quickened by the loving-kindness of the Lord, upon doing something kind and loving for a fellow-creature, and more especially for a fellow-Christian!’ — Venn’s Life, pp. 501, 502.
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 Others. Moderation is always requisite. Hebrew, "there is one…
Others. Moderation is always requisite. Hebrew, "there is one withholding from rectitude, yet for a defect," (Mont.[Montanus?]) being too saving, he is a loser. (Haydock) --- Avarice does not always increase riches. (Calmet)
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 The scope of the whole is a comment on…
The scope of the whole is a comment on Pro 11:23. Thus liberality, by God's blessing, secures increase, while penuriousness, instead of expected gain, procures poverty.
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 24. Is… scattereth — Distributes liberally of its substance.
24. Is… scattereth — Distributes liberally of its substance.
Increaseth — Addition is continually made to its wealth.
Read full note →
Is meet — Is right, proper, fitting.
It tendeth to poverty — Literally, but for lack; that is, this lack is the result of undue parsimony; sometimes the natural result, sometimes providential, or both. Compare Pro_13:7; Psa_112:9; 2Co_9:1; Gal_6:8; Mat_13:12.
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 24. scattereth] Comp. Psa_112:9 (where the same Heb. word…
24. scattereth] Comp. Psa_112:9 (where the same Heb. word is rendered dispersed); 2Co_9:6.
yet increaseth] Rather, increaseth yet more, R.V. εἰσὶν οἱ τὰ ἴδια σπείροντες πλείονα ποιοῦσιν, LXX.; Alii dividunt propria et ditiores fiunt, Vulg.
Read full note →
more than] This, with A.V. and R.V. text, is the best rendering here, of the Heb. particle. It may, however, mean from, and be taken with the verb (keep from = withhold), and then we have the rendering of R.V. marg. withholdeth what is justly due.
The two clauses of this verse are expanded into separate proverbs in the two verses which follow.
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 (24) There is that scattereth—i.e., with bounteous hand (comp.…
(24) There is that scattereth—i.e., with bounteous hand (comp. Psa_112:9), “and yet increaseth” in wealth and blessings (comp. Pro_19:17, and the old epitaph, “What we spent, we had; what we saved, we lost; what we gave, we have.”)
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 There is that scattereth; that giveth liberally, as Ps…
There is that scattereth; that giveth liberally, as Ps 112 Ps 99, "He hath dispersed, he hath given to the needy." And yet increaseth; becomes only the richer in wealth and more blessed by God. (comp. Pro_19:17) Nutt quotes the old epitaph, "What we spent, we had; what we saved, we lost; what we gave, we have." Experience proves that no one ultimately loses who gives the tithe of his income to God. (see on Pro_28:27) . There is that withholdeth more than is meet; i.e. is niggardly where he ought to be liberal. But the expression is best taken as in the margin of the Revised Version, "that withholdeth what is justly due," either as a debt or as a proper act of generosity becoming one who desires to please God and to do his duty. But it tendeth to poverty. That which is thus withheld is no real benefit to him it only inure, so is his want. Septuagint and Vulgate, "There are who, sewing what is their own, make the more; and there are who, gathering what is another"s, suffer loss." Dionysius Cato, "Distich. de Mor.," 54:4, 1"Despice divitias, si vis animo esse beatus, Quas qui suscipiunt mendicant semper avari.
Meanness.
Read full note →
The Book of Proverbs is sometimes accused of taking too low and worldly a view of conduct, and of giving undue importance to prudential, self-regarding duties. Whatever truth there may be in these charges and no doubt the New Testament does describe so pure and lofty an ideal of life as to leave the morals of Solomon and his compeers in a decidedly inferior rank gives only the greater emphasis to those maxims of broad and noble character which are so clear and imperative as to claim attention even from moralists who observe the less exalted standards of character. Thus it is very significant that, with all its inferiority to Christianity, the ethics of the Book of Proverbs unhesitatingly and repeatedly condemns all meanness, and does honor to liberal habits. Even from a selfish and comparatively worldly point of view, meanness is shown to be a miserable mistake, and generosity a wise and profitable virtue. It is evident that high Christian principles would condemn meanness. It is interesting to see that the morals of the Proverbs are equally opposed to it.
I MEANNESS IS UNPROFITABLE BECAUSE IT IS DISPLEASING TO GOD. Let us set this consideration first, as of highest importance. Too many leave it to the last or ignore it altogether. They calculate the consequences of their actions on narrow, earthly principles; possibly they inquire what view their neighbours may take of it. But God"s judgment on it they consider to be of little or no account. Yet surely, if there is a God at all, the first question should be How far will our conduct be approved by him? If there is a providence that "shapes our ends," schemes that ignore this leave out of account the most important factor in determining the final issue of events. If God is really overruling our life, and will mete out to us curse and blessing according to his view of it, the way in which he will regard it is no mere problem of idle speculation; it is the most pressing question of practical life, more important than all other things put together. Now, God does hate selfishness, greed, and meanness, and he loves unselfishness and generosity; he will therefore punish the one and reward the other.
II MEANNESS IS UNPROFITABLE BECAUSE IT EXCLUDES US FROM THE SYMPATHY OF OTHERS. No vice is more anti-social. Even cruelty does not seem to sever the ties of friendship more thoroughly. Regarded only from a commercial point of view, it is shortsighted. The mean customer who strikes off the odd pence in the payment of a bill does this at the cost of checking all generosity in those who deal with him. The mean employer of labour saves a little by his grinding harshness, but he loses far more by provoking his workpeople to take no interest in their work. Meanness destroys those great pleasures and comforts of life which come from the love and friendship of our neighbours.
III MEANNESS IS UNPROFITABLE BECAUSE IT FAILS TO SACRIFICE THE PRESENT FOR THE FUTURE. The mean farmer will not sow sufficient seed, and consequently he will reap a short harvest. In business men must launch out liberally if they are to make large returns.
From the lowest up to the highest concerns of life, self-sacrifice and generosity are requisite for ultimate profit. We must be willing to give up earthly wealth for the heavenly inheritance. The miser who clutches at his gold when God claims it will fail to obtain the pearl of great price.
IV MEANNESS IS UNPROFITABLE BECAUSE IT DEGRADES AND NARROWS THE SOUL. It is a vice that destroys all noble aspirations and all lofty aims. It dwarfs the spiritual stature. It shuts out visions of the infinite. It confines thought, affection, and desire to a miserable little world of worthless interests. In groping after the small gain that meanness idolizes, we lose all power of pursuing better things. The same meanness may be carried into religion, to our soul"s undoing. The pursuit of selfish salvation to the neglect of our duty to others overreaches itself. Whosoever desires to save his life, or his soul, will lose it. But in working for the good of others while forgetting our own advantage, we find our own soul most profited. "He that watereth shall be watered also himself.
The narrow and the large heart.
I THRIFTY SPENDING. All wise outlay of money is a form of thrift, The increase of capital depends upon the observance of certain laws and rules of prudence; and the prudence which enables to amass enables also to spend. Spending in works of benevolence is seldom known to impoverish a man, for it is seldom disjoined from calculation and economy in personal habits. But whether we can trace out the manner of the connection in every instance or not, it is real and profound. Wise distribution is the condition of steady increase. In the highest point of view benevolence is a "lending to the Lord.
II UNTHRIFTY SAVING. Niggardliness tends to poverty, because it stints the energies. It springs from a false view of the value of money, or an exaggerated view. The true source of happiness, as of wealth, lies at last in the will, its energy, its industry. He who has so little faith in this as to put all his reliance on the mere means of living, may well become poor outwardly, as he certainly is inwardly.
III THE SATISFACTION OF DOING GOOD. Here, again, we must look to the reflex effect of actions, The indirect results are the wider and the more important. From every free forth-going of the heart in acts of love and kindness there is a certain return into the heart. It is not sufficiently considered that whatever gives expansion to the mind large views, broad sympathies is so much gain in actual power. And again, that we cannot directly do much towards the removal of our own troubles, but obliquely may quell or diminish them by aiming at removing the troubles of others. Fulness of interests in the heart will not give room for grief to gnaw.
IV SELFISHNESS AND GENEROSITY IN COMMERCE. (Ver. 26.) In time of dearth the avaricious proprietor, keeping back his corn to secure a higher price, brings down upon himself curses; while he who thinks of humanity more than of personal profit earns the blessings of the poor. The maxim that "business is business" is true, but may be pushed too far. If a trader profits by a war or scarcity, that is an accident; but it is not an accident, it is a crime, if he votes for war or interferes with the natural action of the market with a view to personal gain. If the same conditions of trade make the man rich which impoverish the many, he will feel it to be his duty to give the more out of his abundance. J.
Vers. 24-26. Expensive economy, etc.
We am accustomed to speak as if the man who spends freely is a spendthrift, and as if the man who restrains his hand is on the way to wealth. But if that is our thought, we am often and much mistaken. There is an
I EXPENSIVE ECONOMY. "There is that withholdeth," etc.
1. If we keep back the wage that is due to the workman, we shall miss the blessing that goes with justice, and suffer the curse which attends injustice. (Jam_5:1 Jam_5:4)
2. If we keep back the corn we should sow more plentifully, or the strength we should expend more liberally, or the mental power we should employ more patiently and systematically, we shall reap less bountifully, we shall make less profit, we shall do less work in the spiritual sphere. "He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly". (2Co_9:6)
3. If we shut up our thought and our care to our own heart, or even our own home, we shall lose all the harvest of love and blessing we might reap if we did not withhold ourselves from those outside our door. It is a poor economy, indeed, that hides its talent in a napkin.
II PROFITABLE EXPENDITURE. There is a bound beyond which we should not go in putting forth our resources, physical, pecuniary, mental, spiritual What that limit is every one must decide for himself. Regard should certainly be had to the preservation of health and to the necessity for replenishment. But we may often wisely and rightly go very much further than we do; and if we did we should find that we were liberally repaid. Our scattering would mean increase, our liberality would mean nourishment, our endeavour to enrich others would result in our own growth and ripeness; watering them, we should ourselves be watered. This is true of:
1. Human sympathy and love. The friendly man makes many friends; and to have true friends is to be blessed indeed.
2. The energetic pursuit of our vocation, whatever it may be. It is the man who throws his full energies into his work who is repaid in the end.
3. Generous helpfulness. Give money, time, thought, counsel, whatever you have to give, unto those who need it, unto the young, the ignorant, the baffled and beaten, the unfortunate, the slain in life"s battlefield; and there shall come back to you that which will be far more valuable than anything or all that you have expended. There shall come to you
(1) the smile of that Divine Saviour who gave himself for us, who, though he was rich, for our sake became poor;
(2) the gratitude of those whom you serve, afterwards and yonder if not now and here;
(3) spiritual enlargement, the "soul will be made fat," the heart will expand, and Christian graces of many kinds and of much beauty will make their home there.
III THE SUPERIOR CLAIM. (Ver. 26) A man has a right to do the best he can for himself; the best, even, for his own purse, though that is saying something very different and much less. But this right may soon be traversed. It is so crossed when a man cannot go any further without injuring his brethren; that bars his way; obligation limits claim. In other words, the claim of our fellow men is greater far than that of our individual self. When the people are lacking bread, we may not hold back our corn. God has given us our powers and our resources, not that we may build up a fortune, but that we may be of true service in a world which is full of need. To grow rich is not at all necessary to any one, and proves to be a curse to multitudes; to feed the hungry, to minister to want and sorrow, to still the cry of pain or perishing, to make glad the heart and bright the life, that is the real privilege and heritage of man. C.
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 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth.
Pro_11:24
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth.
Read full note →
The tendency of liberality to riches, and of covetousness to poverty
The words of this text carry an air of improbable and surprising paradoxes to the covetous and worldly-minded, who naturally imagine that scattering tends to poverty, and withholding to increase. But if we take them to be allusive to the management of a husbandman in sowing his seed, the sense will stand as easy as the thought will appear to be beautiful and just (compare 2Co_9:6).
I. The description of persons of very opposite characters. Scatter is the same word as disperse (Psa_112:9). He that scatters is the liberal soul; the man who, with a free and generous spirit, labours to spread the most useful and extensive influence, by all manner of means; the man who is ready to distribute of his temporal substance for promoting religious and civil liberties and interests, for doing good to the souls and bodies of men, and, particularly, for relieving the necessitous and the distressed. We should manage our religious and charitable distributions, not with contrivance how to shift off our obligations and opportunities for them, but with devising how in the best manner to improve them; not with a grudging, but with a free and cheerful heart. On the contrary, he that withholds, keeps back, or spares, more than is meet or right, is the covetous man, whose narrow, selfish spirit will not suffer him cheerfully to pay his personal or his public debts, much less to practise beneficence at an expense that cannot be demanded by human laws. No arguments derived from humanity or Christianity can work his heart up to bear his proper proportion in generous and beneficent acts.
II. What is affirmed of these persons respectively. We might consider this increase and want with respect to our best interests, that relate to the enrichment of the soul in goodness. Distributing enlarges the heart, and makes it open, free, and generous, with growing propensions to every good work. The man who withholds is poor-spirited; he has a contracted soul; he is destitute of those amiable graces by which our God and Saviour are most conspicuously imitated and glorified. We may also consider this increase and want with respect to our worldly substance. That is not lessened but improved by distributions on all proper occasions. Withholdings, more than is meet, ever tend to poverty and want. Gods blessing on the generous comes either as a visible increase of their outward estates, or as a secret increase of the inward contentment of their own minds. Those who are of a covetous temper, do not enjoy what they possess. According to a just estimation of things, they are no richer by all their silver and gold than if it still lay in the ore of the Indian mines.
III. Account for the truth of both these propositions. Every virtuous, spiritual, and holy disposition of the soul increases by frequent and proper exercise; and loses its force and vigour, and aptness for action, by disuse and neglect. This is common to all principles and habits of the moral or religious and supernatural kind.
1. The blessing of God is upon them that scatter, and His blast is upon them that withhold more than is meet.
2. The friendship of men is toward them that scatter, and their disaffection toward those who withhold more than is meet. (J. Guyse, D.D.)
Wise philanthropy
To distribute portions of our wealth in schemes and acts of wise philanthropy is like casting into the ground as seed a proportion of the last years harvest. It goes out of your sight for the moment, but it will spring in secret, and come back to your own bosom, like manna from heaven. An unwise man may indeed scatter his corn on barren rocks, or on equally barren sands, and though he sow bountifully he will reap sparingly there. So, in the moral region, the increase is not absolutely in proportion to the profusion of the scattering. When a man lays out large sums on unworthy objects, to feed his own vanity or gratify his own whim, he neither does nor gets good. The outlay is in its own nature and necessarily profitable. In educating the young, in reclaiming the vicious, in supporting the aged poor, in healing the sick, and in making known the gospel to all, we have ample fields to cultivate, and the prospect of large returns to cheer us in the toil. (W. Arnot, D.D.)
The profit of liberality
The Bible gives us plain view of the character and mind of God; and that view sets Him before us as a Being interested in promoting the happiness of His creatures. It presents Him as establishing, by His wise decree, that order of things which places men in different classes and circumstances of life; it shows us that high and low station, wealth and poverty, affluence and dependence, are the result of Divine arrangement, and so far it discourages pride and envy, and teaches thankfulness, contentment, and resignation, in the several conditions of human life. God, in His care of all His creatures, has made it binding on the rich, by an express enactment, that they should see to, and provide for, the wants of the poor. There is nothing more frequently, nor more strongly spoken of in the Word of God, than that assistance, arising out of the fact of their brotherhood, which man should render man. The text sets before us two different modes of dealing with our property, in reference to our fellow-creatures.
I. The liberal man, and what he gets from his liberality. The man here is living in the midst of dependent fellow-creatures, and uses his property in relieving them. Here seems to be the idea of a husbandman throwing his seed in every direction where it may be profitable. The liberal man looks abroad, and where his money is wanted, and where it is likely to do good, there he gives it with the greatest cheerfulness of mind. This is what ought to be. We are not required to give away when we have not in reality the power to do so; but when we possess the power the duty is incumbent. We must scatter for the blessing of others. A notion prevails that if we give liberally to others, we hurt ourselves. We are, indeed, told to do good, hoping for nothing again, yet we may urge as an encouragement that, in sowing the seeds of kindness, we are sure to reap a personal benefit. The men who have been most liberal have, in a general way, prospered most in their worldly undertakings; and certainly they have been rewarded with growth in grace, and a large measure of peace, confidence, and joy in their own souls.
II. The mean man, and the result which follows his meanness. To withhold is not always wrong. It may be a right thing, a positive duty. But some men are wretchedly mean; they have not a spark of kind sympathy or of generous sensibility in their souls. They are over-full of their own things. These the text speaks about. There is a measure in the amount of almsgiving which is to be determined by a persons circumstances. To whom much is given, from the same will much be required. If you give God less than God requires of you, then instead of a blessing there will rest on you a curse. God has often taken away from a man the riches which he would not use rightly when he had them. Poverty of pocket is not the worst kind of poverty. It is poverty of soul that is so deplorable. (William Curling, M.A.)
The use and abuse of poverty
Nothing is wanting to the right direction of human conduct, but a clear perception of mans own interest, and a correct estimate of mans own responsibility. In the text a contrast of two characters and of two consequences.
I. Two opposing characters. One is said to scatter. Of the blessed man it is said, He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor (Psa_112:9). The apostle says, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Faithfulness implies two things: first, a clear perception, a just apprehension of the purposes for which we are put in trust; and secondly, a conscientious employment of those means by which the purposes are to be accomplished, according to the dictates and directions of the supreme Lord of all. Neither indiscriminate almsgiving nor improvident expenditure derive any countenance from the rule of Christian practice, as finally and unalterably settled in the epistles to the infant Churches. The man who scattereth is the man who gives, whether to the service of his God, or to the succour of his fellow-men, on principle; the man whose charities, as they are called (though the term religious obligations would be far more applicable), bear some definite and assignable proportion, not only to his present expenses and indulgences, but to the provision for the family; the man, who devotes to purposes of philanthropy and piety such a proportion of his worldly increase, as his own conscience, enlightened and directed by Gods Word, accounts an offering expressive of his gratitude to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. The contrary character to this is he who withholdeth more than is meet ; he who is actuated, alike in what he saves, and in what he spends, by considerations purely selfish; who professes, indeed, that he accumulates upon principle, but whose principle will not endure the application of the standard of the Word of God, his object being to found or to aggrandise a family, while in prosecuting this object he overlooks or undervalues the salvation of the soul. Many are the subterfuges and evasions by which men endeavour to justify, or at least to palliate, their own conduct in withholding more than is meet, e.g., difficulty of detecting imposture; perversion of benevolent funds; and the excuse that whatever is spent is a contingent evil, while whatever is hoarded is a certain good.
II. Two opposing consequences. True wisdom involves the consideration of our latter end. If the habits and actions of the life that now is can exert any influence upon the destinies of that which is to come, the counsel given by our Lord would be the dictate of policy, as well as the command of authority: Walk while ye have the light. Temporal blessings do usually wait upon the discreet and conscientious dispensation of Gods bounty. He that scattereth increaseth even in this worlds goods. But Christian benevolence for Christs sake must not be taken for the whole of the system of Christian practice, of which it only constitutes a part. Towards poverty of soul tendeth that mistaken and short-sighted policy, which men are wont to term prudence and forecast. But to have made no use of Gods property for Gods purposes will be a ground of judgment and condemnation, as much as to have abused it for our own. (Thomas Dale, M.A.)
How to gain by spending
The text is generally true, if we confine its application to money. In a moral and spiritual sense the proverb is universally true. The man who gives bountifully loses nothing by his gifts, but gains much. The first thing that strikes us when we consider the nature of property is its exclusive character. Every pound we call our own, and every shilling we reserve for our own use, is so much less for other people. The higher wealth of the intellect is not so exclusive in its nature. You do not lose your gift as an artist if you teach a class to paint. Only in a limited degree do you increase your mental endowments by imparting them to others. But we actually increase our spiritual riches by spending them. The more of the bread of life you give away, the more you will find in your store. Spiritual wealth is like money wealth in this respect, that we must invest it if it is to increase. Hoarding money never adds to the heap. Two practical lessons.
1. We see the absolute necessity of some form of spiritual activity to the increase of the Christian life.
2. The course of thought we have been pursuing suggests to us the spiritual nature of the Divine rewards. We need, badly need, a revision of the vocabulary of the Divine rewards. Too often those rewards are spoken of in terms which degrade rather than honour the high service of God. The reward and the service are one. The rewards of Christ are not less service, but more service and higher toil. (G. S. Barrett, D.D.)
Discreet liberality
Of all the rich men that have come to poverty, I never heard of any that was ruined by a discreet liberality. (G. Lawson.)
Generosity
I. Generosity exemplified.
1. In nature. Clouds give rain, sun gives light, earth gives fruit. The heart does not receive the blood to store it up, but while it pumps it in at one valve, it sends it forth at another.
2. In the example of Christ (Gal_1:4).
3. In the early Church (Act_2:44-45).
4. In modern times. Peabody, Morley, etc.
II. Generosity extolled.
1. It is unstinted (Isa_32:8).
2. It is profitable. One who has had experience in giving systematically, says, It pays as an investment, and is a fortune in business. Mr. Haig Miller tells of a gentleman who, on starting in life, said, I determined that for every £10,000 I made £1,000 should be given back to God and works of charity, and I have had ten times to fulfil my vow. If temporal gain is the motive which inspires giving, the act will be spoiled by the motive; but giving from right motives is often honoured by a present and a bountiful return. The converse of this is true. Withholding tendeth to poverty. If not poverty of purse, as is often the case, there will be poverty of soul.
3. It is hearty. God never sent us into this world to do anything into which we cannot put our hearts.
4. It is healthy. If a man is growing large in wealth, nothing but constant and generous giving can save him from growing small in soul.
5. It is refreshing.
6. It wins the heart. Edward Payson said, when dying, I long to give a full cup of happiness to every human being. The benedictions of his people were a chief part of his rich reward (compare Job_29:13).
7. It is painstaking. The true friend of the needy does not wait till misery presses its claim at his door; he goes and looks first (compare Luk_19:10). (H. Thorne)
Profitable scattering
Every year George Moore wrote these words in his pocket-book. They became engraved on his soul, and to an extent formed his creed: What I spent I had: What I saved I lost: What I gave I have.
Benevolent activity
One would say that to scatter anything is to part with it without advantage; and that to withhold, to keep back, is undoubtedly to save and to retain. The text teaches that this may be quite a mistake on our part. There is reckless scattering and there is wise withholding. The text is not to be taken in its literalness; it is to be examined in its spirit. Happily we have no need to go further in search of illustration of the truth of the text; we find it on every farm, in every business, in every school. The text calls to benevolent activity founded on religious faith. The doctrine enlarges and glorifies life by calling into life elements and considerations which lie beyond the present and the visible. The very exercise of scattering carries blessing with it, breaks up the mastery of selfishness, and enlarges the circle of kindly interests. Beneficence is its own compensation. Charity empties the heart of one gift that it may make room for a larger. But if any man think to give God something with the idea of having it back again, that man will be disappointed and humiliated, and justly so, The other side of this text is as emphatic and as often illustrated in practical life as the first. Selfishness is suicidal; selfishness lives in gloom; selfishness injects poison into every stream of life. Selfishness is most intensely selfish when it assumes the name of prudence. When selfishness chatters proverbs, it has reached the depth beyond which there is no death. God can turn the wicked mans very success into failure, and out of selfish ambition He can bring the scorpion whose sting is death. Though this text is found in the Old Testament, the principle is distinctly held by Jesus Christ. It is a moral principle, universal and unchangeable in its force and application. (J. Parker, D.D.)
Liberality
This is one eminent branch of the character of the righteous, but because there are many objections in the heart of man against the practice of it, urgent motives are here addressed to us. The instructions delivered in this and the four following verses, will, if they are but believed, be a sufficient answer to every objection. There is that scattereth his substance by profusion and luxury. That man diminishes his substance till it comes to nothing. But he that disperses by giving to the poor, by liberal distributions for the support of the commonwealth in times of danger, or for the service of religion, shall increase his substance. He is like the husbandman, who sows with good-will and unsparing hand that precious seed which is to produce a joyful harvest. It is God who gives all that we enjoy, and by His secret blessing, or by remarkable interpositions of providence, the liberal man is often made to abound in riches, and enabled more and more abundantly to serve his fellow-men. Abraham sat at his tent door to watch for passengers, and those who came he urged to partake of his bounty, with more earnestness than other men beg an alms. (G. Lawson.)
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_11:25. Liberal soul, “the soul of blessing,” i.e., “the…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_11:25. Liberal soul, “the soul of blessing,” i.e., “the soul that blesses others.”
Read full note →
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Pro_11:24-26
THE LIBERAL AND THE NIGGARDLY MAN
We have here a twofold contrast under two similitudes—
I. A man who withholds what he ought to give out. “He withholdeth more that is meet—he withholdeth corn” when he ought to sell it.
1. He is a sinner against the law of necessity which runs through all human things. The earth will only yield of her good things by first having good things cast into her bosom. The farmer who is sparing of labour and of money in the tillage of his fields will never be a rich man. The same principle is at work in the mart and on the exchange. There must of necessity be a wise scattering of wealth before there is any increase.
2. He is a sinner against the Divine ordination and commandment. When God organised the Hebrew commonwealth he ordained that the “poor should not cease out of the land” (Deu_15:2), and that they should be helped by the rich. The same principle was proclaimed by Christ, when he said “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Mat_10:8), God has given to you that you may give to others. This is the fast that Jehovah has chosen, “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thine house? When thou seest the naked that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thy own flesh” (Isa_58:7).
3. He is, as a necessity, a sinner against his fellow creatures. He sins against their need. In times of scarcity those who have abundance and will not give of their abundance are guilty, how much more those who have the material to feed the people and will not even sell it, but withhold it to raise the price. Such men are robbers and murderers. They murder by refusing the means of life.
4. He is a sinner against himself. He will not be so rich as he would have been if he had used what he had in accordance with the laws of nature and morality. A man who does not put his money out to a lawful use cannot make more by it. More than this, he is a stranger to that blessedness of which Christ spake when He said “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Act_20:35). But this is not all, he is under a Divine and human curse. God’s ban is upon him. If a tree is constantly receiving from the fatness of the earth and the heavens and yet brings forth no fruit for the service of man, it is marked for the woodman’s axe. The message of God to such cumberers of the ground is, Go to, now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire (Jas_5:1-3). “The people shall curse him.” How can they do otherwise? They feel that he has robbed them of their rights when he will not even sell what they are willing to buy.
II. The man who gives out liberally of that which he possesses. He yields first of all to the necessity of things. He scatters his wealth wisely in order to increase it. But this is his lowest motive and his smallest blessing. So far as mere trading goes this scattering to increase is a mere matter of necessity. He knows he must cast a bushel of corn into the ground if he would have it increase—that he must spend a thousand pounds before he can gain ten thousand. In this way he shows that he has faith in the ordinary law of multiplication. But he goes further than this. “He selleth corn” at a fair price, when, by withholding it, he might exact more. This is a sample of all his dealings with his fellow-men. He does not take advantage of their necessities to enrich himself (see Homiletics on Pro_11:1). He goes beyond this—he not only sells at a fair price, but he is a giver. He scatters in the way of giving out of his abundance, “looking for nothing again” (Luk_6:35). But he is a great gainer.
1. He will very likely get richer in material wealth by giving. This is not positively affirmed in the text “there is that scattereth and yet increaseth.” But he will certainly never be the poorer, for he makes God his creditor. “He that hath pity on the poor lendeth to the Lord” (chap. Pro_19:17).
2. He will certainly be richer in more precious wealth. “He will be watered himself.” He will have a double blessing. Men will call down blessings on his head. Those who partake of his wealth will give him in return love, honour, and respect. God will add to his personal character that which will increase tenfold the blessedness of his existence. He will, according to the apostolic promise, “make all grace to abound toward him, that he, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” He will “increase the fruits of righteousness” (2Co_9:6-11), and water his soul with His own Divine influence. “If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, aud make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, whose waters fail not” (Isa_58:11).
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_11:24-25. Is not this just one of the appropriate ways of putting faith to the test on God’s part, and showing its reality on ours? Is it not precisely the defectiveness of this faith that makes us timid, cautious, parsimonious in giving? ever fearing that we may stint ourselves and feel the want of what we expend on suffering humanity and on the cause of God? Is it not thus by unbelief that we are tempted to sow sparingly? And ought it to be, that the husbandman trust more to the laws of nature than the Christian does to the covenant of his God.—Wardlaw.
The Jews in Haggai’s time had no prosperity till they made the house of the Lord their chief object (Hag_1:6; Hag_1:9-11; Hag_2:15-19). So far is the true wealth of the withholder from being increased by withholding what is meet to be given for the glory of God and the good of man, that he is at last deprived even of that which he had (Mat_13:12).—Fausset.
Men may scatter in improvidence and sin, and it tendeth to poverty (chap. Pro_21:17). But the man of God, “dispersing abroad” the seed of godliness (Psa_112:9), consecrating his substance and influence to the Lord, “as he has opportunity, doing good unto all men” (Gal_6:10), shall receive a plentiful increase.—Bridges.
The liberal man will ever be rich; for God’s providence is his estate, God’s wisdom and power are his defence, God’s love and favour are his reward, and God’s word is his security. Barrow.
The liberal soul is made fat in the healthful vigour of practical godliness. The minister is refreshed by his own message of salvation to his people. The Sunday-school teacher learns many valuable lessons in the work of instruction. The Christian visitor’s own soul glows in carrying the precious name of Jesus to a fellow-sinner. Every holy temper, every spiritual gift, every active grace is increased by exercise. Bridges.
Give, and thou shalt receive. John Howard, when he grew sad about his piety, put on his hat and went about among the poor. He came back a gainer. He diverted his mind from his own interests, and yet promoted them in a higher assurance. Religion being benevolence, as well as a love of holiness, doing good to others is a philosophic way of ripening it in ourselves. Pro_11:24 has its Poor Richard phrase as well as a higher one. Being “penny wise and pound foolish” is understood even in our shops. But the grand sense is evangelical. “Inserviendo allius consumor” may be true of poor impenitents, but a candle is no emblem for a Christian. He is a glorious sun who, by some strange alchemy, brightens by shining. Watereth refers to the ground, or to animals. “Giving plenty to drink” is the meaning of the word as applied to men.—Miller.
Wherefore doth the Lord make your cup run over, but that other men’s lips might taste the liquor? The showers that fall upon the highest mountains should glide into the lowest valleys.—Secker.
Man is God’s image, but a poor man is
Christ’s stamp to boot; both images regard.
God reckons for him, counts the favour His:
Write, so much given to God; thou shalt be heard.
Let thy alms go before, and keep heaven’s gate
Open for thee, or both may come too late.
The last clause of Pro_11:25 is literally he that raineth shall himself become a river. The water that falls in refreshing and fertilising irrigation is not lost, but becomes a fair stream. So the bounty of the liberal man, which rains down blessings, will flow on for ever in a beautiful river.—Wordsworth.
The well-being of all is concerned in the right working of each. One necessarily affects for good or evil all the rest in proportion to the closeness of its relations and the weight of its influence. You draw another to keep him from error: that other’s weight which you have taken on keeps you steadier in your path. You water one who is ready to wither away; and although the precious stream seems to sink into the earth, it rises to heaven and hovers over you, and falls again upon yourself in refreshing dew. It comes to this, if we be not watering we are withering.—Arnot.
Poor men are not excluded from the grace and blessing of being merciful, though they attain not to the state and ability of being wealthy. Mercy is not placed with money in the purse, but dwelleth with loving-kindness in the heart. He that can mourn with such as do mourn, he that can pray for them that be in distress, has a “soul of blessing.”—Dod.
St. Gregory applieth the words particularly unto ministers, and saith, He that by preaching doth outwardly bless, receiveth the fatness of inward increase. And to this sense the Chaldee reads it, saying, “He that teacheth shall himself also learn.” And then the former part of the verse may be taken thus, the soul that bestoweth abroad the blessings of a wise instruction shall profit much in his wisdom, according to a common saying among the Jews, “I have profited more by my scholars than by all things else.”—Jermin.
Bounty is the most compendious way to plenty; neither is getting, but giving, the best thrift. The five loaves in the Gospel, by a strange kind of arithmetic, were multiplied by a division and augmented by subtraction. So will it be in this case. St. Augustine, descanting upon Psa_76:5, says, “Why is this?” “They found nothing in their own hands, because they feared to lay up anything in Christ’s hands.” “The poor man’s hand is Christ’s treasury,” saith another Father.—Trapp.
Pro_11:26. He that withholdeth corn holdeth, as it were, the gracious hand of God, yea, pulleth it back by his covetousness, when God in bounty hath stretched it forth unto a land.… Now, what is said of a countryman concerning his corn, let the citizen also mark concerning his wares, “Let not profit overcome honesty, but let honesty overcome profit.” And what is said to the citizen let the minister also observe, and bind not up by a damnable silence that good word which may profit many.—Jermin.
The point of antithesis apparently fails only to give stronger security to the blessing. The curse comes directly from the people; the blessing from above.—Bridges.
The prevailing maxim of the world, ever since the first murderer gave utterance to the tendencies of human nature, after its fall, in the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” has been, “Every man for himself.” The identity of human nature in all ages is stamped upon the book of Proverbs. What presented itself to view in Solomon’s days is no rarity still.… There can hardly be a more affecting exemplification than this of the power of an avaricious disposition in hardening the heart.—Wardlaw.
Such a man, like a corrupt, imposthumated member, would draw all the nourishment to himself, and cares not, though the other parts of the body perish. This oak, which will suffer no small trees to thrive near it, will in time fall with the breath of so many curses.—Swinnock.
Modern political economy may have taught us that even here the selfishness of the individual does, in the long run, by limiting consumption, and maintaining a reserve, promote the general good, but it is no less true that men hate the selfishness and pour blessings upon him who sells at a moderate profit. Our own laws against forestalling and regrating schemes for a maximum price of bread, as in the famine of the French Revolution, histories like that of M. Manlins, legends like that of Bishop Hatto and the rats, are tokens of the universality of the feeling.—Plumptre.
Literally, “breaketh it,” like Joseph to his brethren and the people in Egypt. In a spiritual sense this verse may be applied specially to pastors and to churches. He that withholdeth corn—he that keepeth back from others the bread of life, which is the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures—the food of the soul, he shall be accursed; but blessings are upon him that fully and freely dispenses it.—Wordsworth.
To be an object of aversion among his neighbours is a heavy infliction upon a human being. No man can despise it.… This, in the last resort, is the protection of the poor and the punishment of the oppressor. The mightiest man desires the blessing of the people, and dreads their curse. Wealth would be a weapon too powerful for the liberty of men, if he who wields it were not confined within narrow limits by the weakness of humanity, common to him with the meanest of the people.—Arnot.
Here is consolation to them that bring an upright heart to selling, though they cannot be large in giving: therein they do a service to God and perform a work of love to their neighbour.—Dod.
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. 24. There is that scattereth, practicing cheerful liberality…
v. 24. There is that scattereth, practicing cheerful liberality with the goods given him in life, and yet increaseth, since the blessing of the Lord more than compensates for the money spent in benevolences; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, not even giving his share for the alleviation of bodily and spiritual suffering, but it tendeth to poverty, in spite of his careful hoarding his possessions decrease, so that he saves only to poverty.
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 11:24-26 Generous people who give freely to others will…
11:24-26 Generous people who give freely to others will prosper, but those who hoard their money will lose it (see 28:27; 2 Cor 9:6-9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.