Proverbs 11:17

A kind person ¹  benefits ²  himself, ³  but a cruel person brings himself trouble. ⁴ 

A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.

The merciful man does himself good, But the cruel man does himself harm.

Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.

When you're kind to others, you help yourself; when you're cruel to others, you hurt yourself.

The man who has mercy will be rewarded, but the cruel man is the cause of trouble to himself.

Those who are kind reward themselves, but the cruel do themselves harm.

The merciful man does good for his own soul, But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

A kind person ¹  benefits ²  himself, ³  but a cruel person brings himself trouble. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “man of kindness.”

sn This contrasts the “kind person” and the “cruel person” (one who is fierce, cruel), showing the consequences of their dispositions.

² tn The term גֹּמֶל (gomel) means “to deal fully [or “adequately”] with” someone or something. The kind person will benefit himself.

³ tn Heb “his own soul.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person): “himself” (BDB 660 s.v. 4).

⁴ tn Heb “brings trouble to his flesh.”

sn There may be a conscious effort by the sage to contrast “soul” and “body”: He contrasts the benefits of kindness for the “soul” (translated “himself”) with the trouble that comes to the “flesh/body” (translated “himself”) of the cruel.