Proverbs 11:17

American Standard Version (1901)

The merciful man doeth good to his own soul; But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

גֹּמֵ֣ל נַ֭פְשׁוֹ אִ֣ישׁ חָ֑סֶד וְעֹכֵ֥ר שְׁ֝אֵר֗וֹ אַכְזָרִֽי׃

Transliteration

Gōmēl napšô ʾîš ḥāsed wəʿōkēr šəʾērô ʾakzārî.

Grammar Details

• *Gōmēl*: verb Qal participle masculine singular - doing good to
• *napšô*: feminine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his soul
• *ʾîš*: masculine singular noun - man
• *ḥāsed*: masculine singular noun - kindness/mercy
• *wəʿōkēr*: conjunction + verb Qal participle masculine singular - and troubling
• *šəʾērô*: masculine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his flesh/body
• *ʾakzārî*: masculine singular adjective - cruel

Word Meanings

• *Gōmēl*: doing good to/benefiting/rewarding
• *napšô*: his soul/self/life
• *ʾîš*: man/person
• *ḥāsed*: kindness/mercy/loyalty/faithfulness
• *ʿōkēr*: troubling/disturbing/bringing misfortune to
• *šəʾērô*: his flesh/body/relatives
• *ʾakzārî*: cruel/brutal/fierce

Referenced Verses

• Matt 5:7 : 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
• Matt 25:34-40 : 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? 38 And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, [even] these least, ye did it unto me.
• Luke 6:38 : 38 give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again.
• 2 Cor 9:6-9 : 6 But this [I say], He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 [ Let] each man [do] according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work: 9 as it is written, He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor; His righteousness abideth for ever. 10 And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness: 11 ye being enriched in everything unto all liberality, which worketh through us thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministration of this service not only filleth up the measure of the wants of the saints, but aboundeth also through many thanksgivings unto God; 13 seeing that through the proving [of you] by this ministration they glorify God for the obedience of your confession unto the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of [your] contribution unto them and unto all; 14 while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, long after you by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you.
• Phil 4:17 : 17 Not that I seek for the gift; but I seek for the fruit that increaseth to your account.
• Jas 2:13 : 13 For judgment [is] without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.
• Jas 5:1-5 : 1 Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.
• Matt 6:14-15 : 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
• Isa 57:1 : 1 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil [to come] .
• Isa 58:7-9 : 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall by thy rearward. 9 Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly; 10 and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday; 11 and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
• Dan 4:27 : 27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
• Job 20:19-23 : 19 For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; He hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up. 20 Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save aught of that wherein he delighteth. 21 There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall not endure. 22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him. 23 When he is about to fill his belly, [God] will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating.
• Ps 41:1-4 : 1 [For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David]. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil. 2 Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies. 3 Jehovah will support him upon the couch of languishing: Thou makest all his bed in his sickness. 4 I said, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me: Heal my soul; For I have sinned against thee.
• Ps 112:4-9 : 4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: [He is] gracious, and merciful, and righteous. 5 Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously and lendeth; He shall maintain his cause in judgment. 6 For he shall never be moved; The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance. 7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: His heart is fixed, trusting in Jehovah. 8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, Until he see [his desire] upon his adversaries. 9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the needy; His righteousness endureth for ever: His horn shall be exalted with honor.
• Prov 15:27 : 27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; But he that hateth bribes shall live.
• Eccl 4:8 : 8 There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then, [saith he], do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
• Isa 32:7-8 : 7 And the instruments of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. 8 But the noble deviseth noble things; and in noble things shall he continue.