Proverbs 29:24
in Proverbs 29A partner to a thief hates his own soul; he receives the oath, but does not testify.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul; He heareth the adjuration and uttereth nothing.
KJV
Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.
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This verse in Proverbs 29
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWhoso is partner with a thief,.... That robs and steals, and raises away another man's property; which to do is sinful and contrary to the law of God, and punishable by it; and so it is to join with him in the theft, or to devise, or consent unto it; or to receive the stolen goods, or to hide and conceal them; or to hide the thief, or the theft, and not declare them; see Psa 50:
This site's exposition
An angry man stirs up dissension
on Proverbs 29:22-24
"An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression," one outburst multiplying sin. Verse 23 restates the book's constant reversal. Verse 24 closes on complicity, for the partner to a thief "receives the oath, but does not testify."
This site's exposition
A partner to a thief
Clarke explains the oath: every culprit was charged before God to testify truly, and the partner hears the oath and keeps silent. He hates his own soul, for the law may take his life. Gill counts hiding the theft as sharing it.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He who associates with a thief hates his own soul, etc. Wisdom teaches its helper not only to abstain from sins but also to refrain from the company of sinners, lest he should deserve to hear from the strict judge, "If you saw a thief, …
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Hateth his own soul - נפשו naphsho, his life, as the outraged law may at any time seize on and put him to death. He heareth cursing - אלה alah, the execration or adjuration, (for all culprits were charged, as before God, to tell the truth), ולא יגד velo yagpid, but He will not tell It. He has no fear of God, nor reverence for an oath, because his heart is hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
On the first discovery of the theft, the person wronged Jdg 17:2, or the judge of the city (marginal reference), pronounced a solemn curse on the thief and on all who, knowing the offender, were unwilling to give evidence against him. The accomplice of the thief hears that curse, and yet is silent, and so falls under it, and “destroys his own soul.”
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חוֹלֵ֣ק | cholek | [one who] has shares | H2505 → | 65 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| גַּ֭נָּב | gano | a thief | H1590 → | |
| שׂוֹנֵ֣א | sone' | [is] hating | H8130 → | 146 times |
| נַפְשׁ֑וֹ | nafsho | own self his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| אָלָ֥ה | ʾalah | an oath | H423 → | |
| יִ֝שְׁמַ֗ע | yishma' | he hears | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַגִּֽיד׃ | yagid | he tells | H5046 → |
חוֹלֵ֣ק[one who] has shares
cholekH2505 →65 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
גַּ֭נָּבa thief
ganoH1590 →
שׂוֹנֵ֣א[is] hating
sone'H8130 →146 times
נַפְשׁ֑וֹown self his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
אָלָ֥הan oath
ʾalahH423 →
יִ֝שְׁמַ֗עhe hears
yishma'H8085 →1159 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יַגִּֽיד׃he tells
yagidH5046 →
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 8:36But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:32
He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.
- Proverbs 1:31
So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
- 1 Corinthians 16:22
If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!
- John 15:23–24
Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well.
- Proverbs 12:1
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.
- Proverbs 15:32
Through
Leviticus 5:1“If someone sins by failing to testify when he hears a public charge about something he has witnessed, whether he has seen it or learned of it, he shall bear the iniquity.
it leads to
- Leviticus 5:17
If someone sins and violates any of the LORD’s commandments even though he was unaware, he is guilty and shall bear his punishment.
- Leviticus 5:17
Through
Isaiah 1:23Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
it leads to
- Micah 7:3
Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
- Exodus 23:8
Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
- Micah 7:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.