Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 22:9 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: World English Bible — Catholic Edition
" He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. "
Proverbs 22:9
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
7 The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
10 Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop.
11 He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully is the king’s friend.
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Here is the picture of a generous person. He has a generous eye, which is the opposite of the evil eye (Proverbs 23:6), and the same as the single eye (Matthew 6:22). This is an eye that looks for chances to give, even beyond the needs that come before it. It is also an eye that sees someone in need or pain and feels compassion. And when he gives, his kind look makes the gift twice as welcome.
He also has an open hand. He gives some of his own bread to those who need it, the bread meant for his own table. He would rather cut back on his own comfort than let the poor go hungry. Yet he does not give away all his bread, only some of it. The poor have their share, but so does his own household.
Such a man is blessed. The needy will bless him, and everyone around him will speak well of him. God himself will bless him, in answer to many prayers offered for him, and he will be blessed indeed.
From This Chapter
Proverbs 22:1
"A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold."
Proverbs 22:2
"The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is the maker of them all."
Proverbs 22:3
"A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it."
Proverbs 22:4
"The result of humility and the fear of the LORD is wealth, honor, and life."
Proverbs 22:5
"Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked; whoever guards his soul stays far from them."
Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
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