The wicked borrows, and pays not again: but the righteous shows mercy, and gives.
Read Chapter 37
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
10. "The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again" (ver. 20). He receiveth, and will not repay. What is it he will not repay? Thanksgiving. For what is it that God would have of thee, what doth He require of thee, except that He may do thee good? And how great are the benefits which the sinner hath received, and which he will not repay! He hath received the gift of being; he hath received the gift of being a man; and of a being highly distinguished above the brutes; he hath received the form of a body, and the distinction of the senses in the body, eyes for seeing, ears for hearing, the nostrils for smelling, the palate for tasting, the hands for touching, and the feet for walking; and even the very health and soundness of the body. But up to this point we have these things in common even with the brute; he hath received yet more than this; a mind capable of understanding, capable of Truth, capable of distinguishing right from wrong; capable of seeking after, of longing for, its Creator,...
Give. Having both the will and the power to be liberal. (Haydock)
"He shall lend without expecting any advantage, while the wicked falls into such misery as not to be able to pay his debts. This is not always the order of Providence. (Calmet)
But the just is often enabled by economy to relieve his brethren, at the same time that the libertine wastes his estate, (Berthier) or at least unjustly defers to pay his debts. (Menochius)
