Proverbs Chapter 29 verse 4 Holy Bible
The king by justice establisheth the land; But he that exacteth gifts overthroweth it.
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A king, by right rule, makes the land safe; but one full of desires makes it a waste.
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A king by just judgment establisheth the land; but he that taketh gifts overthroweth it.
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The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
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read chapter 29 in WBT
The king by justice makes the land stable, But he who takes bribes tears it down.
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A king by judgment establisheth a land, And one receiving gifts throweth it down.
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 4. - Many of the proverbs in this chapter seem to suit the time of Jeroboam II. (see on Proverbs 28:3). The king by judgment establisheth the land. The king, the fountain of justice, by his equitable government brings his country into a healthy and settled condition (1 Kings 15:4; comp. Ver. 14; Proverbs 16:12; Proverbs 25:5). In the security of the throne the land and people participate. He that receiveth gifts overthroweth it. The expression, אִישׁ תְּרוּמות (ish terumoth), "man of offerings," "man of gifts," is ambiguous: it may mean "the taker of bribes," the unrighteous ruler who sells justice (Proverbs 15:27), or it may signify "the imposer of taxes" (Ezekiel 45:13, etc.) or forced benevolences. Aquila and Theodotion have ἀνὴρ ἀφαιρεμάτων, "man of heave offerings," and Wordsworth regards him as a man who claims and receives gifts, as if he were a deity on earth. Whichever sense we give to the phrase, the contrast lies between the inflexibly upright ruler and the iniquitous or extortionate prince. The Septuagint gives παράνομος, "a transgressor;" Vulgate, vir avarus.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(4) By judgment.--Upright decisions.He that receiveth gifts.--To pervert justice (Proverbs 15:27).