Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
He shall not be rich - That is, he shall not continue rich; or he shall not again become rich. He shall be permanently poor.
Neither shall his substance continue - His property.
Neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof - Noyes renders this, "And his possessions shall not be extended upon the earth." Wemyss, "Nor shall he be master of his own desires." Good, "Nor their success spread abroad in the land." Luther, Und sein Gluck wird sich nicht ausbreiten im Lande - " And his fortune shall not spread itself abroad in the land." Vulgate, "Neither shall he send his root in the earth " - nec mittet in terra radicem suam . The Septuagint, ̓ ̀ ́ͅ ̓̀ ̀ ͂ ̀ ou mē balē epi tēn gōn skian - "and shall not cast a shadow upon the earth." The word rendered "perfection" ( mı̂nlām ) is commonly supposed to be from mı̂nleh , from nâlâh to finish, to procure, and hence, the noun may be applied to that which is procured - and thus may denote possessions. According to this the correct rendering is, "and he does not extend their possessions abroad in the land;" that is, his possessions do not extend abroad. Gesenius supposes, however, that the word is a corruption for - "their flocks." I see no objection, however, to its being regarded as meaning possessions - and then the sense is, that he would fail in that which is so much the object of ambition with every avaricious man - that his possessions should extend through the land; compare the notes at Isaiah 5:8.
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