6:30

This verse does not have parallel lines.

Men do not despise the thief: There are two ways to interpret this clause:

(1) It means that people do not despise a thief. For example:

People attach but little blame to a thief (New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) It means that people do indeed despise a thief. This may be expressed as a rhetorical question or as a statement. For example:

Do not men despise a thief? (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
We don’t put up with thieves (Contemporary English Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with a majority of versions and scholars. This interpretation preserves the contrast between the lesser evil of stealing and the greater evil of adultery. Also, the second interpretation does not follow normal Hebrew grammatical patterns for questions.

The point of the verse is that people may sympathize with a starving thief who steals food, but they will still punish him, as the next verse states.

In some languages, it may be more effective to change the negative statement “people do not despise a thief” into a rhetorical question. For example:

Do people despise a thief…? Of course not!

Notice that this rhetorical question has the same meaning as interpretation (1).

do not despise: The word despise means to show contempt for someone or to think of him in a belittling way. To “not despise the thief” may be expressed in various ways. For example:

Excuses might be found for a thief… (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
people don’t hate a thief… (New Century Version)

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