“He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.”
My Notes
What Does Proverbs 28:27 Mean?
"He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse." The proverb establishes a paradox: giving produces abundance; withholding produces scarcity. The generous person doesn't lack; the person who hides their eyes receives curses.
The phrase "hideth his eyes" is vivid and specific. It describes someone who deliberately averts their gaze — who sees the poor person approaching and looks away, who crosses the street to avoid the beggar, who scrolls past the need. The sin isn't inability to help; it's the deliberate choice not to see.
The curses that follow aren't necessarily divine punishments — they may be the natural social consequences of being known as someone who doesn't care. Communities remember who helped and who hid. The person who consistently hides their eyes builds a reputation that produces its own kind of poverty — relational, social, spiritual impoverishment.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Where are you currently hiding your eyes from need that you have the capacity to address?
- 2.Have you experienced the paradox of giving producing abundance rather than scarcity?
- 3.Why is the act of looking away sometimes more costly than the act of giving?
- 4.What would change if you stopped hiding your eyes from the needs around you?
Devotional
He gives to the poor and doesn't lack. She hides her eyes and receives curses. The math doesn't make sense — giving should reduce your resources, not increase them. Hiding should protect your resources, not invite curses. But the proverb insists: generosity produces abundance; avoidance produces scarcity.
The hiding of eyes is the detail that cuts. This isn't about people who can't help. It's about people who won't look. The phone buzzes with a need, and you swipe away. The homeless person stands at the intersection, and you study your dashboard. The friend mentions a struggle, and you change the subject. You hide your eyes because seeing creates obligation, and you don't want the obligation.
But the proverb says: the hiding is more expensive than the giving would have been. The person who gives doesn't lack. The person who hides accumulates curses. The resource you thought you were protecting by not seeing is actually being eroded by your refusal to look.
Generosity isn't just morally right — it's economically sound. Not because giving always produces financial return, but because the kind of person who gives freely, who doesn't hide their eyes, who responds to need when they see it — that person builds a life characterized by abundance. And the person who hides builds one characterized by curses.
Where are you hiding your eyes?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack,.... That gives alms unto them, relieves them in their distress, supplies…
Hideth his eyes - i. e., Turns away from, disregards, the poor. Compare Isa 1:15.
Here is, 1. A promise to the charitable: He that gives to the poor shall himself be never the poorer for so doing; he…
hideth his eyes in neglect or disgust. Comp. Isa 1:15; and see Sir 4:5-6.
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture