“He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.”
My Notes
What Does Proverbs 15:27 Mean?
"He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live." The proverb connects greed to domestic destruction. The greedy person doesn't just harm themselves — they trouble their own household. Greed is a family-destroyer.
The phrase "greedy of gain" (batsa betsa) means to cut for profit, to take unjust gain. It describes someone who amasses wealth through exploitative, dishonest, or excessive means. The gain they pursue costs someone else.
The contrasting figure "hateth gifts" likely refers to bribes — the person who refuses corrupt payments, who won't be bought, who values integrity over income. Their reward isn't wealth but life itself. The proverb suggests that the choice between greed and integrity is a choice between death and life.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What is your pursuit of 'more' costing the people closest to you?
- 2.How does greed disguise itself as providing for your family while actually destroying it?
- 3.What would 'hating gifts' — refusing corrupt or excessive gain — look like in your work life?
- 4.What would your household be like if you chose integrity over increase?
Devotional
The greedy person troubles their own house. Not just their bank account, not just their reputation — their house. Their family. Their children. Their relationships. Greed is a domestic poison.
This proverb is devastatingly practical. You've seen it play out. The parent who works relentless hours for money that never quite satisfies, while the family crumbles for lack of presence. The spouse who pursues financial gain through compromise, and the household bears the consequences. The person whose greed for more — more money, more status, more success — costs the people closest to them everything.
The contrast — hating gifts (refusing bribes, rejecting corrupt gain) — has a simpler reward: life. Not wealth. Not honor. Just life. The proverb suggests that life without corrupt gain is life, and life with it is death disguised as prosperity.
The word "troubleth" carries the sense of bringing trouble, disturbance, ruin into a space that should be peaceful. Your house is supposed to be your place of rest, your safe space, your sanctuary. Greed turns it into a troubled zone. The thing you pursued to benefit your family becomes the thing that destroys it.
What is your greed troubling? What house — what relationships, what peace, what stability — is being disrupted by your pursuit of more?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house,.... Or "that covets a covetousness" (t), an evil one, as in Hab 2:9;…
Gifts - There is a special application to the office of the judge. The Aramaic Targum paraphrases the first words of…
Note, 1. Those that are covetous entail trouble upon their families: He that is greedy of gain, and therefore makes…
gifts The proverb, though universal in its moral, is Oriental in its form. Gifts "play a very important part in the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture