Proverbs 10:3

3 The Lord will not famish a righteous soul: but he will overthrow the life of the ungodly.

Proverbs 10:3 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 10:3

The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish,
&c.] Or to perish by famine: not but that good men may be afflicted with it, as Jacob and his sons were, when the famine was in Egypt and in other lands; and as the apostles, particularly the Apostle Paul, were often in hunger and thirst, yet not so as to be destroyed by it; for in "famine" the Lord redeems such from death; though the young lions lack and suffer hunger, they that fear the Lord shall not want any good thing; at least whatever they may suffer this way does not arise from the wrath of God, nor does it nor can it separate from the love of God and Christ, ( Job 5:20 ) ( Psalms 34:8 Psalms 34:9 ) ( Romans 8:35 ) . Moreover, the souls of such shall not be famished for want of spiritual food; shall not have a famine of the word and ordinances; their souls shall be fed, as with marrow and fatness, with the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock: the church, though in the wilderness, is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, ( Revelation 12:14 ) ;

but he casteth away the substance of the wicked;
that which is got in a wicked way; as sometimes he causes it to diminish by little and little; at other times he forcibly and suddenly drives it away, and causes it to take wings and fly away; though it has been swallowed down with great greediness and in great abundance, he makes them throw it up again, and casts it out of their belly, whether they will or not, so that it does not profit them, ( Job 20:15 ) .

Proverbs 10:3 In-Context

1 A wise son makes father glad: but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.
2 Treasures shall not profit the lawless: but righteousness shall deliver from death.
3 The Lord will not famish a righteous soul: but he will overthrow the life of the ungodly.
4 Poverty brings a man low: but the hands of the vigorous make rich. A son who is instructed shall be wise, and shall use the fool for a servant.
5 A wise son is saved from heat: but a lawless son is blighted of the winds in harvest.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.