Proverbs 20:21

King James Version with Strong's Numbers

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

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

נַ֭חֲלָה *מבחלת **מְבֹהֶ֣לֶת בָּרִאשֹׁנָ֑ה וְ֝אַחֲרִיתָ֗הּ לֹ֣א תְבֹרָֽךְ׃

Transliteration

naḥalâ *məbōhelet in-the-riʾšōnâ and-ʾaḥarîtāh not təbōrāk*

Grammar Details

• *naḥalâ*: noun, feminine singular - inheritance/possession
• **məbōhelet**: verb, Pual participle feminine singular - gained hastily
• *riʾšōnâ*: adjective, feminine singular - beginning/first
• *ʾaḥarîtāh*: noun, feminine singular with 3rd feminine singular suffix - its end
• *təbōrāk*: verb, Pual imperfect 3rd feminine singular - will be blessed

Word Meanings

• *naḥalâ*: inheritance/possession/property
• **məbōhelet**: gained hastily/acquired quickly/gotten anxiously
• *riʾšōnâ*: beginning/first/initial stage
• *ʾaḥarîtāh*: its end/outcome/final state
• *təbōrāk*: will be blessed/will prosper

Referenced Verses

• Prov 13:22 : 22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
• Prov 23:4 : 4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
• Prov 28:22 : 22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
• Prov 28:8 : 8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
• Prov 28:20 : 20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
• Hab 2:6 : 6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
• Zech 5:4 : 4 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
• Mal 2:2 : 2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
• 1 Tim 6:9 : 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
• Job 27:16-17 : 16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; 17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.