Proverbs 29:21 - Exposition

He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child. The verb panak , which is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament, is rightly here translated as in the Vulgate, qui delicate nutrit . It refers to the spoiling a person by over-refinement, luxury, and pampering—a treatment peculiarly unsuitable in the case of a bond servant, and one which makes such forgetful of his dependent position. Septuagint, "He that liveth wantonly ( κατασπαταλᾷ ) from childhood shall be a servant." Shall have him become his son at the length; i . e . at length, like "at the last," equivalent to "at last" ( Proverbs 5:11 ). The word rendered "son" ( מַנוֹן , manon ) is of doubtful meaning, and has been variously understood or misunderstood by interpreters. Septuagint, "And in the end shall have pain ( ὀδυνηθήσεται ) over himself;" Symmachus, "shall have murmuring ( ἔστα γογγυσμός );" Vulgate, Postea sentiet eum contumacem . Ewald translates "ungrateful;" Delitzsch, "place of increase," i . e . a household of pampered scapegraces; but one does not see how the disaster can be called a place or a house. It seems safest in this uncertainty to adopt the Jewish interpretation of "progeny:" "he will be as a son." The pampered servant will end by claiming the privileges of a son, and perhaps ousting the legitimate children from their inheritance (comp. Proverbs 17:2 ; and the ease of Ziba and Mephibosheth, 2 Samuel 16:4 ). "Fodder, a stick, and burdens are for the ass; and bread, correction, and work for a servant. If thou set thy servant to labour, thou shalt find rest; but if thou let him go idle, he will seek liberty" (Ecclesiasticus 33:24, etc.). Spiritual writers have applied this proverb to the pampering of the flesh, which ought to be under the control of its master, the spirit, but which, if gratified and unrestrained, gets the upper hand, and, like a spoiled servant, dictates to its lord.