Proverbs 11:26
in Proverbs 11The people will curse the hoarder of grain, but blessing will crown the one who sells it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that withholdeth grain, the people shall curse him; But blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
KJV
He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
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This verse in Proverbs 11
Commentary
12 notes on this verseHe that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him,.... That hoards it up for a better price, in hopes of a better market; and does not bring it out, and expose it to sale, when there is a scarcity of it; so the Targum adds, "in famine"; or, "in straits", as the Syriac version; in a time of distress through, famine: this will bring the curse of the poor upon him, who will imprecate the most dreadful things on him and his family.
This site's exposition
The desire of the righteous leads only to good
on Proverbs 11:23-27
The proverbs that follow work out the same contrast in the economics of giving. “One gives freely, yet gains even more,” and “A generous soul will prosper”. In famine “The people will curse the hoarder of grain, but blessing will crown the one who sells it”.
This site's exposition
The people will curse the hoarder of grain
The hoarder holds his grain back in a famine, waiting for prices to climb. John Gill notes the Targum adds in famine, and the curse is the cry of the hungry poor. The seller is crowned with blessing.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
It is written, "Men speak evil of him who withholds wheat." One who withholds is without mercy. He does not gather for the sake of mercy. For, unless he gathers, with what can he bestow mercy? Is it not also true that men bless the …
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsConstitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 2 · Written before 380.
proposed
Account these worthy to be esteemed your rulers and your kings, and bring them tribute as to kings; for by you they and their families ought to be maintained. As Samuel made constitutions for the people concerning a king, in the first book of Kings, and Moses did so concerning priests in Leviticus, so do we also make constitutions for you concerning bishops. For if there the multitude distributed the inferior services in proportion to so great a king, ought not therefore the bishop much more now to receive of you those things which are determined by God for the sustenance of himself and of the rest of the clergy belonging to him? But if we may add somewhat further, let the bishop receive more than the other received of old: for he only managed the affairs of the soldiery, being entrusted with war and peace for the preservation of men's bodies; but the other is entrusted with the exercise of the priestly office in relation to God, in order to preserve both body and soul from dangers. By how much, therefore, the soul is more valuable than the body, so much the priestly office is beyond the kingly. For it binds and looses those that are worthy of punishment or of remission. Wherefore you ought to love the bishop as your father, and fear him as your king, and honour him as your lord, bringing to him your fruits and the works of your hands, for a blessing upon you, giving to him your first-fruits, and your tithes, and your oblations, and your gifts, as to the priest of God; the first-fruits of your wheat, and wine, and oil, and autumnal fruits, and wool, and all things which the Lord God gives thee. And thy offering shall be accepted as a savour of a sweet smell to the Lord thy God; and the Lord will bless the works of thy hands, and will multiply the good things of the land. "For a blessing is upon the head of him that giveth."
The Medieval Church2 voices
He who hides grain in time, etc. He who keeps the words of holy preaching to himself will be cursed among the people, because for the fault of silence alone, he is condemned for the punishment of many whom he could have corrected. He is …
It is well said through Solomon, "He that hideth corn shall be cursed among the people." For to hide corn is to retain with one's self the words of sacred preaching. And every one that does so is cursed among the people, because through his fault of silence only he is condemned in the punishment of the many whom he might have corrected.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He that withholdeth corn - Who refuses to sell because he hopes for a dearth, and then he can make his own price. The people shall curse him - Yes, and God shall curse him also; and if he do not return and repent, he will get God’s curse, and the curse of the poor, which will be a canker in his money during time, and in his soul throughout eternity.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The scope of the whole is a comment on Pr 11:23. Thus liberality, by God's blessing, secures increase, while penuriousness, instead of expected gain, procures poverty.
IF I dared, I would always preach upon the comfortable promises and gracious doctrines of God's Word. I find it most delightful and easy work to expatiate upon those themes of Revelation which abound in sweetness and are full of savor and preciousness to the child of God. I said, "If I dared," and you will ask me why I dare not?
IF I dared, I would always preach upon the comfortable promises and gracious doctrines of God's Word. I find it most delightful and easy work to expatiate upon those themes of Revelation which abound in sweetness and are full of savor and preciousness to the child of God. I said, "If I dared," and you will ask me why I dare not? The answer is because I have a solemn conviction on my mind that if I would be clear of the blood of all men I must strive to make my range of ministry as wide as the range of Revelation and I must not shun to declare the whole counsel of God. I feel bound to go not where my wishes would lead me, but where Holy Scripture has made a track for my feet. There are certain texts in the Scriptures which are very seldom preached upon because it is thought that there is little Gospel in them and that the people, when they go home, will say to one another, "Well, I wasn't fed this morning." Those who aim at pleasing men may well be shy of such subjects. But I hold that since God, in His wisdom has placed these passages in the Bible, He intends His servants, the preachers of the Word, to expound them. We are, it strikes me, not to preach from selections of Scripture only, but from the whole of the Sacred Volume, for "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness—that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." I freely confess that I do not know why I have selected this text this morning except that it haunted and hunted me until I could not forbear to preach upon it. It seemed to force itself upon me and to bore its way into my soul like a rifle shot.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In the early stages of commerce there seems no way of making money rapidly so sure as that of buying up grain in time of famine, waiting until the dearth presses heavily, and then selling at famine prices. Men hate this selfishness, and pour blessings upon him who sells at a moderate profit.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֹ֣נֵֽעַ | monea' | [one who] withholds | H4513 → | 29 times |
| בָּ֭ר | bar | grain | H1250 → | |
| יִקְּבֻ֣הוּ | yikevuhu | they curse him | H6895 → | |
| לְא֑וֹם | leom | a people | H3816 → | 31 times |
| וּ֝בְרָכָ֗ה | uverakhah | and a blessing | H1293 → | 69 times |
| לְרֹ֣אשׁ | lerosh | [belongs] to [the] head of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| מַשְׁבִּֽיר׃ | mashbir | [one who] sells grain | H7666 → |
מֹ֣נֵֽעַ[one who] withholds
monea'H4513 →29 times
בָּ֭רgrain
barH1250 →
יִקְּבֻ֣הוּthey curse him
yikevuhuH6895 →
לְא֑וֹםa people
leomH3816 →31 times
וּ֝בְרָכָ֗הand a blessing
uverakhahH1293 →69 times
לְרֹ֣אשׁ[belongs] to [the] head of
leroshH7218 →599 times
מַשְׁבִּֽיר׃[one who] sells grain
mashbirH7666 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 24:24Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;
it leads to
- Proverbs 17:15
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
- Isaiah 5:23
who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
- Exodus 23:6–7
You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.
- Isaiah 66:24
“As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a…
- Proverbs 30:10
Do not slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.
- Proverbs 17:15
Through
Job 29:13The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
it leads to
- Job 22:9
You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
- 2 Timothy 1:16–18
May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains.
- Isaiah 27:13
And in that day a great ram’s horn will sound, and those who were perishing in Assyria will come forth with those who were exiles in Egypt. And they will worship the LORD on…
- Job 22:9
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, Constitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 2; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 642: “Withholding Corn” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Gregory the Dialogist, The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Shenoute the Archimandrite, ON LANGUAGE.