Discovery BoxProverbs 6:30 
Context6:30 People 1 do not despise a thief when he steals
to fulfill his need 2 when he is hungry.
Proverbs 25:21
Context25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
Proverbs 27:7
Context27:7 The one whose appetite 3 is satisfied loathes honey,
but to the hungry mouth 4 every bitter thing is sweet.
1 tn Heb “they do not despise.”
2 tn Heb “himself” or “his life.” Since the word נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, traditionally “soul”) refers to the whole person, body and soul, and since it has a basic idea of the bundle of appetites that make up a person, the use here for satisfying his hunger is appropriate.
3 tn Traditionally, “soul” (so KJV, ASV). The Hebrew text uses נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here for the subject – the full appetite [“soul”]. The word refers to the whole person with all his appetites. Here its primary reference is to eating, but it has a wider application than that – possession, experience, education, and the like.
4 tn Here the term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, traditionally, “soul”) is used again, now in contrast to describe the “hungry appetite” (cf. NRSV “ravenous appetite”), although “hungry mouth” might be more idiomatic for the idea. Those whose needs are great are more appreciative of things than those who are satisfied. The needy will be delighted even with bitter things.
