Confusing Proverb

edited December 1969 in Random Issues
"He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
It will be counted a curse to him." -Proverbs 27:14

Who will it be counted a curse too- the friend or the one who said the blessing? WHY will it be counted as a curse?

Comments

  • The Septuagint records this verse in the following manner,

    Whoever blesses a friend early in the morning with a loud voice will seem not to be different from one who is cursing.

    I think that this makes the meaning clear. I suppose it can be paraphrased as saying..

    Whoever wakes up his friend with a loud and cheerful voice early in the morning might as well be swearing at him.
  • [quote author=Father Peter link=topic=11321.msg136566#msg136566 date=1303818570]
    The Septuagint records this verse in the following manner,

    Whoever blesses a friend early in the morning with a loud voice will seem not to be different from one who is cursing.

    I think that this makes the meaning clear. I suppose it can be paraphrased as saying..

    Whoever wakes up his friend with a loud and cheerful voice early in the morning might as well be swearing at him.


    I've seen parents do this to wake up their kids. Could you please clarify further? (if there's any more explanations).
    Also I know this verse is an advantage because our first moments when we wake up should be with the Lord.. right?

    I know we shouldn't interpret verses on our own (please correct me if i'm wrong), but i always thought this verse meant something different through context.
  • What do you think the context is? The proverbs in this section all seem to be independent.

    The LXX translation does seem quite clear to me, and this is the version of the Bible that Orthodox should rely on.

    How do you read..

    Whoever blesses a friend early in the morning with a loud voice will seem not to be different from one who is cursing.

    I think that we should not take the word 'blesses' in a positive sense in this passage, but as if the person were just loudly being pious. I also don't think the proverb should be taken as saying that we should not bless a person in the morning. I think we all know the difference between a loud and noisy person and a quiet and sincere one.
  • [quote author=Father Peter link=topic=11321.msg136570#msg136570 date=1303825226]
    What do you think the context is? The proverbs in this section all seem to be independent.

    The LXX translation does seem quite clear to me, and this is the version of the Bible that Orthodox should rely on.

    How do you read..

    Whoever blesses a friend early in the morning with a loud voice will seem not to be different from one who is cursing.

    I think that we should not take the word 'blesses' in a positive sense in this passage, but as if the person were just loudly being pious. I also don't think the proverb should be taken as saying that we should not bless a person in the morning. I think we all know the difference between a loud and noisy person and a quiet and sincere one.



    I thought the context was if we go overboard when praising people, it becomes a stumbling block?..

    but, your passage makes a lot of sense.. thank you :)
  • I should show this verse to my mom. Make her think twice before waking me up Sunday morning :P
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