Proverbs 15:27
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house,.... Or "that covets a covetousness" {t}, an evil one, as in Habakkuk 2:9; that seeks riches by unlawful means, that gathers the mammon of falsehood, or unrighteousness, as the Targum; he entails a curse and brings ruin and destruction upon his family; the Septuagint and Arabic versions are, he "destroys himself"; or "his own soul", as the Syriac version; it may be understood of a man that is over anxious and eager to be rich, and hurries on business, and gives his servants no proper time for food and rest; See Gill on "Proverbs 11:29";
but he that hateth gifts shall live; that rejects them with abhorrence, when offered to bribe him to pervert judgment, or to do an unjust thing; otherwise gifts may be lawfully received from one friend by another; the sin is when they are given and taken for the sake of doing what is base and sinful; and a man that shakes his hand from receiving gifts on such a basis, he and his family shall prosper and increase in worldly things; and, doing this from a right principle of grace, shall live comfortably in a spiritual sense, and thrive and flourish in his soul, and live an eternal life hereafter; see Psalms 16:5.
{t} eub euwb "appetens concupiscentiam", Montanus; "qui avaritiam inhiat" Tigurine version; "concupiscens concupiscentiam", Vatablus.