Proverbs 11:17

Webster's Bible (1833)

The merciful man does good to his own soul, But he who is cruel troubles 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 the King will tell those on his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; 36 naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?' 40 "The King will answer them, 'Most assuredly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers{The word for "brothers" here may be also correctly translated "brothers and sisters" or "siblings."}, you did it to me.'
• Luke 6:38 : 38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you.{literally, into your bosom.} For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you."
• 2 Cor 9:6-9 : 6 Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work. 9 As it is written, "He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor. His righteousness remains forever." 10 Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; 11 you being enriched in everything to all liberality, which works through us thanksgiving to God. 12 For this service of giving that you perform not only makes up for lack among the saints, but abounds also through many givings of thanks to God; 13 seeing that through the proof given by this service, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the Gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all; 14 while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, yearn for 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 increases to your account.
• Jas 2:13 : 13 For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
• Jas 5:1-5 : 1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. 5 You have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
• Matt 6:14-15 : 14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don't forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
• Isa 57:1 : 1 The righteous perishes, and no man lays 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 Isn't it to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? when you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh shall by your rearward. 9 Then shall you call, and Yahweh will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly; 10 and if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall your light rise in darkness, and your obscurity be as the noonday; 11 and Yahweh will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don't fail. 12 Those who shall be of you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
• Dan 4:27 : 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of your tranquillity.
• Job 20:19-23 : 19 For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up. 20 "Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save anything of that in which he delights. 21 There was nothing left that he didn't devour, Therefore his prosperity shall not endure. 22 In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress shall overtake him: The hand of everyone who is in misery shall come on him. 23 When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating.
• Ps 41:1-4 : 1 > Blessed is he who considers the poor: Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil. 2 Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive, He shall be blessed on the earth, And he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies. 3 Yahweh will sustain him on his sickbed, And restore him from his bed of illness. 4 I said, "Yahweh, have mercy on me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you."
• Ps 112:4-9 : 4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, Gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5 It is well with the man who deals graciously and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment. 6 For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever. 7 He will not be afraid of evil news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in Yahweh. 8 His heart is established. He will not be afraid in the end when he sees his adversaries. 9 He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor.
• Prov 15:27 : 27 He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.
• Eccl 4:8 : 8 There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. For whom then, do I labor, and deprive my soul of enjoyment? This also is vanity, yes, it is a miserable business.
• Isa 32:7-8 : 7 The instruments of the churl are evil: he devises wicked devices to destroy the humble with lying words, even when the needy speaks right. 8 But the noble devises noble things; and in noble things shall he continue.