A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
Parallel translations
- WEB It is well with the man who deals graciously and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment.
- BSB It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.
- NKJV A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion.
- NASB It goes well for a person who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment.
- NLT Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly.
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
It goes well with the person who is generous, lends freely, and conducts his affairs justly. Gracious generosity and integrity bring blessing.
Overview
The righteous person is marked by open-handed lending and fairness, reflecting God's own grace. Such a life is established and vindicated 'in judgment.' The verse commends generosity and justice as fruits of true faith, virtues that echo Christ's call to give freely and act with integrity (Luke 6:35).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Ps 37:21The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
- Eph 5:15See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
- Prov 2:20That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
- Phil 1:9And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
- Ps 37:25–26I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
- Deut 15:7–10If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
- John 6:12When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
- Prov 24:30–34I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
- Rom 12:11Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
- Luke 23:50And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:
- Prov 22:26–27Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
- Rom 5:7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
- Prov 17:18A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend.
- Luke 6:35But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
- Prov 12:2A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
- Prov 24:27Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
- Prov 18:9He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
- Col 4:5Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
- Acts 11:24For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
- Job 31:16–20If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
- Prov 27:23–27Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 112:5 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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