Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again; tomorrow I will give it to you,” when you have it by you.
- BSB Do not tell your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I will provide”—when you already have the means.
- NKJV Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you.
- NASB Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it to you,” When you have it with you.
- NLT If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Do not put off helping your neighbor when you have the means now. Wisdom gives promptly rather than delaying needed good.
Overview
Building on v. 27, the verse condemns needless delay in doing good, treating a neighbor's real need as a thing to be deferred. Such procrastination often masks unwillingness. Christian love acts readily and now, reflecting the God who is generous and ready to give (Jas 1:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Lev 19:13Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
- Deut 24:12–15And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:
- 2 Cor 8:11Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
- Eccl 9:10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
- Eccl 11:6In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
- 1 Tim 6:18That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
- 2 Cor 9:3Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
- Prov 27:1Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 3:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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