Men don’t despise a thief, if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry:
Parallel translations
- KJV Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
- BSB Men do not despise the thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger.
- NKJV People do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
- NASB People do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry;
- NLT Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving.
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
People may not scorn a thief who steals merely to satisfy his hunger. Even understandable theft is still a serious wrong.
Overview
The father notes that a hungry thief, though guilty, may draw some measure of sympathy or understanding. This sets up a contrast with the adulterer, whose sin is far less excusable. The comparison heightens the gravity of adultery by measuring it against even a desperate crime.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Job 38:39“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 6:30 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.