As a Man Thinks (19)
We now have more than enough context and background to understand verses 6-8. These verses convey several ideas that overlap with the previous verses, but they also make some unique contributions in teaching us about human nature and how to deal with people.
Verse 6 literally refers to one who has an "evil eye" (KJV). Most people who have heard of this term would associate it with a later usage, which refers to the magical power to harm or curse others with a glance or glare. But this is not the biblical meaning.
When it comes to expressions such as "an evil eye," "an eye that is evil," "a good eye," "a bountiful eye," and so forth, many modern translations put down the interpretations instead of the actual words of the text. And since "the evil eye" and other related terms might mean slightly different things in different contexts, they are often rendered differently even within the same translation, making it impossible to perform a simple cross-reference study of the various verses that use these expressions. On the other hand, the KJV seems to be more literal and consistent when translating "the evil eye" and related terms.
Our first example comes from Deuteronomy 15:7-11. In the KJV, we read as follows:
If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
The context makes it clear that the expression "thine eye be evil" (v. 9) means to "harden thine heart," "shut thine hand," and "givest him nought." The opposite of this is to "open thine thand," "lend him sufficient for his need," and "shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him." The NASB translates, "…and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing."
In describing a people under God's curse, Deuteronomy 28:54-56 says:
So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter… (KJV)
"His eye shall be evil" means that this person who is eating the flesh of his own children would refuse to share it with the rest of his family. The NIV renders the expression "will have no compassion" (v. 54) and "will begrudge" (v. 56).
Then, "is thine eye evil" (KJV) in Matthew 20:15 is translated "are you envious" in the NIV. The workers who started at the beginning begrudge the fact that those who came later are given the same wages. Similarly, "an evil eye" (KJV) in Mark 7:22 is rendered "envy" in the NIV. In contrast, one who has "a bountiful eye" is one who "giveth of his bread to the poor" (Proverbs 22:9, KJV). He is "a generous man" (NIV).
So to think that one with an evil eye is "a stingy man" in Proverbs 23:6 is not wrong, but perhaps it is too weak and incomplete in that it fails to fully convey what kind of man we are talking about. This is not just a penny pincher, but a hard and mean person – stinginess is probably just one symptom of his rotten spirit.
(to be continued)