Charles Ellicott Commentary Proverbs 10:2

"Treasures of wickedness profit nothing; But righteousness delivereth from death." — Proverbs 10:2 (ASV)

Treasures of wickedness—that is, gained by wrongdoing.

Righteousness delivers from death.—The Hebrew word translated “righteousness” has a much wider meaning than its English equivalent, which generally means only deciding fairly, being especially applied to judges. But a “righteous” man in Hebrew is one who “renders to all their due,” whether to God, as Noah, who was “just and perfect” before Him (Genesis 6:9; Genesis 7:1), or to man. To his fellow men, his “justice” will show itself in liberality (Psalms 37:21), mercy (Proverbs 12:10), carefulness of speech (Proverbs 15:28), truthfulness (Proverbs 13:5), and wisdom (Proverbs 9:9). He is considerate to animals also (Proverbs 12:10).

So in the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord (Matthew 6:1) says, Take heed that you do not your ‘righteousness’ [so the best manuscripts read] before men; and then specifies it under the headings of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.

In this passage, “righteousness” forms a contrast to riches gained by wrong and therefore would seem particularly to signify “almsgiving,” as its Greek equivalent does in 2 Corinthians 9:10.

It is often rendered this way by the Septuagint, and this is the most usual sense of the word in late Hebrew. It is also interpreted this way in Tobit 4:10 and Tobit 12:9, where this passage from Proverbs is quoted. (and our Lord’s advice, Luke 16:9.)

This “righteousness” delivers from death, as it is a sign of the divine life within, which is hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).