Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

Adam Clarke Commentary

An inheritance - gotten hastily - Gotten by speculation; by lucky hits; not in the fair progressive way of traffic, in which money has its natural increase. All such inheritances are short-lived; God's blessing is not in them, because they are not the produce of industry; and they lead to idleness, pride, fraud and knavery. A speculation in trade is a pubiic nuisance and curse. How many honest men have been ruined by such!

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Or, An inheritance gotten hastily (greedily sought after by unjust means) at the beginning, the end thereof shall not be blessed. Another reading gives, “an inheritance loathed, (compare Zechariah 11:8), or with a curse upon it.” The King James Version agrees with the versions.

The Biblical Illustrator

Proverbs 20:21

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.

Patience and permanence

Ours is an age of haste. Short cuts to learning, professional life without due preparation, fortunes before labour; all this foretells disaster and collapse. In behalf of an energy that is persistent, a labour that is patient, enterprises that count the cost I wish to speak. The truth of the text appears--

I. In the material world. Tremendous forces have operated through ages to bring the earth into its present condition. Geological, chemical, astronomical science tell of changes slow, silent, but persistent, and therefore permanent.

II. In the intellectual world. The human mind has a physical basis. As grew the material, so grows the mental world. A process here, a progress there. Ideas endure hardness in their battle for recognition. Doctrines are developed according to this law of progress. Scripture unfolds like herbage in the field. Intellectual power is secured by labour and persistent effort. Nature reveals her secrets, history discloses the past, revelation makes known her truth, only to the studious and devout.

III. In the spiritual world. Scripture has styled the Almighty “the God of all patience.” His works bear evidence of finish and completeness. Why does He deliberate, tarry, and hasten not? Let this God of patience interpret His own plans. With Him millenniums are as days. Sudden movements in grace, as in nature, are of the destructive kind. Gentle dews, not crashing storms, make good pasture. A lamb, not the lion, is final conqueror, and the servant who sows and waits, prays and persists, believes and does not make haste, squall have a sure reward. (Frank Rector, M. A.)

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible

"An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; But the end thereof shall not be blessed."

As it stands, this is ambiguous. Toy understood it to say that, "The heir does not wait to receive his inheritance in the due course of nature, obtaining it prematurely by foul means; no blessing, the proverb declares will attend property so acquired."[15] Deane applied it also to, "The prodigal in the parable who demanded and received his inheritance,"[16] squandered it in the far country and at last could hear the grunting of the swine in both ears!

Our personal view is that the proverb suggests the inability of the heirs of rich men to continue the successful operations of their father. Rehoboam is the classical illustration of this from the Bible. In Houston, Texas, the heir of the great merchant prince, Simon Sakowitz, soon lost his empire.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning,.... Of a man's setting out in the world in trade and business; and which sometimes is got lawfully, and this must be excepted from this proverb; but generally what is got hastily and in a short time is got unlawfully, and so does not prosper. Some Jewish interpreters, as Gersom, understand it of an inheritance which comes to persons from their friends, without any labour or industry of theirs; and which they are not careful to keep, but, as it lightly comes, it lightly goes: here is a various reading; our version follows the marginal reading, and which is followed by the Targum, Jarchi, and Gersom, and by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate Latin versions; but the written text is, "an inheritance loathsome" or "abominable"; an ill gotten one, so the word is used in Zechariah 11:8. Schultens, from the use of the word in the Arabic language, which signifies to be covetous, renders it "covetously got" or "possessed"^F9Animadv. ad V. T. p. 248. ; and so the Arabic version is, "an inheritance greedily desired", obtained through covetousness and illicit practices; but in his late commentary on this book he renders the passage, by the help of Arabism, "an inheritance smitten with the curse of sordidness", as being sordidly got and enjoyed;

but the end thereof shall not be blessed; it will not continue, it will be taken away from them, and put into some other hands. Jarchi illustrates it by the tribes of Gad and Reuben making haste to take their part on the other side Jordan before their brethren, and were the first that were carried captive.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

gotten hastily — contrary to God‘s providence (Proverbs 28:20), implying its unjust or easy attainment; hence the man is punished, or spends freely what he got easily (compare Proverbs 20:17).

Keil & Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

21 An inheritance which in the beginning is obtained in haste,

Its end will not be blessed.

The partic. מבחל may, after Zechariah 11:8, cf. Syr. bhlaa', nauseans , mean “detested,” but that affords here no sense; rather it might be interpreted after the Arab. bajila, to be avaricious, “gotten by avarice, niggardliness,” with which, however, neither נחלה, inheritance, nor, since avarice is a chronic disease, בּראשׁונה agrees. On the contrary, the Kerı̂ מבהלת [hastened] perfectly agrees, both linguistically ( vid ., Proverbs 28:22; cf. Proverbs 13:11) and actually; for, as Hitzig remarks, the words following Proverbs 20:20 fully harmonize with the idea of an inheritance, into the possession of which one is put before it is rightly due to him; for a son such as that, the parents may live too long, and so he violently deprives them of the possession (cf. Proverbs 19:26); but on such a possession there rests no blessing. Since the Piel may mean to hasten, Esther 2:9, so מבהל may mean hastened = speedy, Esther 8:14, as well as made in haste. All the old interpreters adopt the Kerı̂ ; the Aram. render it well by מסרהבא, from מסרהב, overturned; and Luther, like Jerome, haereditas ad quam festinatur .

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

Note, 1. It is possible that an estate may be suddenly raised. There are those that will be rich, by right or wrong, who make no conscience of what they say or do if they can but get money by it, who, when it is in their power, will cheat their own father, and who sordidly spare and hoard up what they get, grudging themselves and their families food convenient and thinking all lost but what they buy land with or put out to interest. By such ways as these a man may grow rich, may grow very rich, in a little time, at his first setting out. 2. An estate that is suddenly raised is often as suddenly ruined. It was raised hastily, but, not being raised honestly, it proves soon ripe and soon rotten: The end thereof shall not be blessed of God, and, if he do not bless it, it can neither be comfortable nor of any continuance; so that he who got it at the end will be a fool. He had better have taken time and built firmly.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

Proverbs 20:21 An inheritance [may be] gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.

Ver. 21. An inheritance may be gotten hastily, &c.] By wishing and working the death of parents, or by any other evil arts whatsoever. See an instance hereof in Achan, Ahab, Gehazi, Adonijah’s leaping into the throne without his father’s leave. Jehoahaz also, the younger son of Josiah, would needs be king after his father, putting by his eldest brother, Jehoiakim; but he was soon put down again, and put into bands by Pharaohnechoh. [2 Kings 23:33-34] He portrayed the ambitionist to the life, that pictured him snatching at a crown, and falling, with this motto, Sic mea fata sequor. So I am followed by fate.

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann

v. 21. An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning, wayward and ungodly children being so eager that they even drive their parents out of their possession; but the end thereof shall not be blessed, the blessing of God will not rest upon such unfilial and wicked behavior.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; an estate sometimes is got suddenly, in the very beginning of a man’s labours for it; in which case it may be presumed that some indirect and unrighteous courses were used for the getting of it, because riches are very seldom given by God, or gotten by men, without men’s diligence. But this, as well as many other proverbs, are to be understood of the common course, although it admit of some exceptions. For sometimes merchants or others get great estates speedily by one happy voyage, or by some other prosperous event. This translation follows the Hebrew marginal reading, but according to the textual reading it may be thus rendered and understood; An inheritance gotten in the beginning (to wit, of a man’s endeavours) is abominable, to wit, unto God, being supposed to be unjustly gotten, as was now said.

The end thereof shall not be blessed; at last it shall be cursed and wither by God’s just judgment.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

21.Inheritance’ gotten hastily — It is implied that the hastily gotten wealth is gotten unfairly — by some dishonest or dishonourable means — in consequence of which God’s blessing does not accompany it, and that it will not be permanent. As a matter of observation, it is a generally received truth, “Quickly got, quickly gone.” Instead of quickly gotten, Gesenius suggests greedily gotten. Conant reads: “A heritage abhorred;” that is, one so obtained as to be abhorred. Comp. Zechariah 11:8. Zockler understands the proverb to be related to the one preceding, and to refer to wicked sons who despise and curse their parents, and possibly drive them off, being in haste to seize upon the inheritance. Compare Luke 15:12; Proverbs 19:26.

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable

The inheritance in view evidently comes prematurely-by request or by dishonesty (cf. Proverbs 19:26; Luke 15:12). In either case, the consequence is often lack of divine blessing.

"Such wealth may be squandered and often squelches initiative and work." [Note: Buzzell, p949.]

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments

Proverbs 20:21. An inheritance may be gotten hastily — An estate is sometimes soon gained, even in the very beginning of a man’s labours for it: in which case, it may be presumed that some indirect and unrighteous means have been used for the getting of it, because riches are very seldom given by God, or gotten by men, without men’s diligence. But this, as well as many other proverbs, are to be understood of the common course of things, which may admit of many exceptions. For sometimes merchants or others gain a large property speedily, suppose by a successful voyage, or by some other prosperous event. But the end thereof shall not be blessed — Namely, the end of what was not righteously obtained: it was suddenly raised, and shall be as suddenly ruined: it shall wither by God’s just judgment, and come to nothing.

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Blessing. It is morally impossible that they should have been acquired justly, chap. xiii. 11., and xxi. 5.

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

blessed = happy. See note on Proverbs 3:13.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.

An inheritance (may be) gotten hastily, [so the Qeri' reads, m

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(21) The end thereof shall not be blessed.—Comp. Proverbs 28:20 : the evil means by which he acquired the possession will, at the last, be visited upon him. Thus Jacob was punished severely for the selfishness by which he gained the birthright, and for the fraud by which he obtained the blessing belonging to his brother.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

gotten

23:4; 28:20,22; 1 Timothy 6:9

but

13:22; 28:8; Job 27:16,17; Habakkuk 2:6; Zechariah 5:4; Malachi 2:2

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

Отметьте:

(1) человек может внезапно получить богатство. Есть люди, которым ради богатства все равно, как поступать – правильно или неверно; им все равно, что говорить или делать, если с помощью этого они могут заработать деньги; если бы это было в их власти, они обманули бы своего отца; они упорно экономят и копят деньги, отказывая себе и своей семье в самом необходимом, и готовы со всем расстаться ради покупки земли или получения прибыли. Такими способами человек может стать богатым, очень богатым, за короткое время, лишь начав заниматься бизнесом.

(2) Богатство, быстро возникшее, часто так же быстро погибает. Оно быстро возросло, но нечестным путем; окажется, что оно быстро созреет и быстро сгниет; оно не благословится впоследствии Богом, а если Он не благословит его, то оно не принесет утешения и будет кратковременным. Поэтому приобретший его в конце окажется глупцом. Лучше бы он потратил бы больше времени, но строил крепко.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

An estate suddenly raised, is often as suddenly ruined.