The Meaning of Proverbs 15:27 Explained

Proverbs 15:27

KJV: He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.

YLT: A dishonest gainer is troubling his house, And whoso is hating gifts liveth.

Darby: He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.

ASV: He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; But he that hateth bribes shall live.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He that is greedy  of gain  troubleth  his own house;  but he that hateth  gifts  shall live. 

What does Proverbs 15:27 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 15:18-33 - Words In Season
Learn to be slow to anger. This paragraph describes the even temper which is blessed to live with and blessed to die with. Temper is said to be nine-tenths of Christianity. What best proves a Christian is an even temper. It is told of a Japanese gentleman, who was led by a tract to renounce the use of intoxicants and to accept Jesus Christ, that the immediate effect on his temper was so great that his wife, who had often suffered from his uncontrollable fits of anger, said, "If this is the result of Christianity, I want to become a Christian." When the missionaries afterward visited the place, they found her and ten other persons awaiting baptism.
As these proverbs suggest, the quickest method of overcoming and eradicating the wrong is, in the power of God, to cultivate the right. By this we shall tread the way of the wise that goeth upward toward the heavenly life of the angels, and we shall be saved from a hell of misery. See Proverbs 15:24, r.v. Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 15

1  A gentle answer turns away wrath

What do the individual words in Proverbs 15:27 mean?

Troubles his own house He who is greedy for gain but he who hates bribes will live
עֹכֵ֣ר בֵּ֭יתוֹ בּוֹצֵ֣עַ בָּ֑צַע וְשׂוֹנֵ֖א מַתָּנֹ֣ת יִחְיֶֽה

עֹכֵ֣ר  Troubles 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָכַר  
Sense: to trouble, stir up, disturb, make (someone) taboo.
בֵּ֭יתוֹ  his  own  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
בּוֹצֵ֣עַ  He  who  is  greedy  for 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בָּצַע  
Sense: to cut off, break off, gain by unrighteous violence, get, finish, be covetous, be greedy.
בָּ֑צַע  gain 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֶּצַע  
Sense: profit, unjust gain, gain (profit) acquired by violence.
וְשׂוֹנֵ֖א  but  he  who  hates 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׂנֵא  
Sense: to hate, be hateful.
מַתָּנֹ֣ת  bribes 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: מַתָּנָה  
Sense: gift.
יִחְיֶֽה  will  live 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.