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Texts -- Proverbs 15:1-28 (NET)

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15:1 A gentle response turns away anger , but a harsh word stirs up wrath . 15:2 The tongue of the wise treats knowledge correctly , but the mouth of the fool spouts out folly . 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place , keeping watch on those who are evil and those who are good . 15:4 Speech that heals is like a life-giving tree , but a perverse tongue breaks the spirit . 15:5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline , but whoever heeds reproof shows good sense . 15:6 In the house of the righteous is abundant wealth , but the income of the wicked brings trouble . 15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge , but not so the heart of fools . 15:8 The Lord abhors the sacrifices of the wicked , but the prayer of the upright pleases him. 15:9 The Lord abhors the way of the wicked , but he loves those who pursue righteousness . 15:10 Severe discipline is for the one who abandons the way ; the one who hates reproof will die . 15:11 Death and Destruction are before the Lord – how much more the hearts of humans ! 15:12 The scorner does not love one who corrects him; he will not go to the wise . 15:13 A joyful heart makes the face cheerful , but by a painful heart the spirit is broken . 15:14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge , but the mouth of fools feeds on folly . 15:15 All the days of the afflicted are bad , but one with a cheerful heart has a continual feast . 15:16 Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth and turmoil with it. 15:17 Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox where there is hatred . 15:18 A quick-tempered person stirs up dissension , but one who is slow to anger calms a quarrel . 15:19 The way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns , but the path of the upright is like a highway . 15:20 A wise child brings joy to his father , but a foolish person despises his mother . 15:21 Folly is a joy to one who lacks sense , but one who has understanding follows an upright course . 15:22 Plans fail when there is no counsel , but with abundant advisers they are established . 15:23 A person has joy in giving an appropriate answer , and a word at the right time – how good it is! 15:24 The path of life is upward for the wise person, to keep him from going downward to Sheol . 15:25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud , but he maintains the boundaries of the widow . 15:26 The Lord abhors the plans of the wicked , but pleasant words are pure . 15:27 The one who is greedy for gain troubles his household , but whoever hates bribes will live . 15:28 The heart of the righteous considers how to answer , but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • At Jericho, Israel learned God's strength. At Ai, she learned her own weakness. She could only conquer her enemies as she remained faithful to God's covenant."We are never in greater danger than right after we have won a grea...
  • The main part of the second half of the Book of Joshua dealing with the division of the land ends with the appointment of the Levitical cities (chs. 13-21). The rest of the book deals with settlement in the land (chs. 22-24)....
  • "Chapter 26 is one of the grandest recitals in the whole book. It is excelled only by the Lord's speeches, as is fitting. It sounds well in Job's mouth, and ends the dialogue, like the first movement of a symphony, with great...
  • Proverbs claims to be a compendium of the wise sayings of several different individuals.4Solomon originated some of them (10:1-22:16 and chs. 25-29 definitely, and probably chs. 1-9 as well).5Unnamed wise men (sages) wrote ot...
  • The Book of Proverbs contains no history. It is purely didactic. It is a book of explicit instruction. Like the other Old Testament wisdom books, Job and Ecclesiastes, it does not contain references to Israel's laws, rituals,...
  • I. Discourses on wisdom chs. 1-9A. Introduction to the book 1:1-71. The title of the book 1:12. The purpose of the book 1:2-63. The thesis of the book 1:7B. Instruction for young people 1:8-7:271. Warning against consorting w...
  • Verse one introduces both the book as a whole and chapters 1-9 in particular. The Book of Proverbs is a collection of at least five separate groups of proverbs. There are those that Solomon spoke and or wrote (possibly chs. 1...
  • This verse enjoys almost universal recognition as the key statement not only in Proverbs but in all the wisdom literature of the Bible (cf. 9:10; 15:33; Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10; Eccles. 12:13). Some people think of it as the mo...
  • In the pericope before us the wise way (vv. 8-9) does not have the personal appeal, the excitement and hope of power, that the second way does (vv. 10-19). Its only reward is goodness as opposed to acceptance by one's peers."...
  • The last pericope of this chapter emphasizes the importance of persisting in the good practices that will lead to life. Success usually comes to those who keep concentrating on and perfecting the basics in their work. Our tem...
  • Chapters 1-9, as we have seen, contain discourses that Solomon evidently wrote urging his sons to choose the way of wisdom for their lives.92At 10:1 we begin the part of the book that sets forth what the wise way is in a vari...
  • These proverbs are more difficult to group together under a general heading because there are fewer common ideas that tie them together.14:1 This verse makes better sense if for "house"we read "household."14:3 The antecedent ...
  • There is a shift in emphasis in Solomon's anthology here. Pleasing God (cf. Col. 1:10; 1 John 3:22) becomes a greater factor in the proverbs that follow whereas those in chapters 10-15 had living successfully more in view. Ne...
  • 18:1 Evidently the intent is, "He who separates himself [from other people]"does so because he wants his own way and does not want others to restrain him. Such an approach runs counter to sound wisdom because we all need inpu...
  • As was true in the chapter 10-15 section, this one (16:1-22:16) also becomes more difficult to outline as it ends because there are fewer groupings of proverbs.19:7 The first part of this verse is hyperbole (overstatement to ...
  • A third major section of the Book of Proverbs begins with 22:17. This is clear from several indicators. The proverbs lengthen out again from the typical one verse couplet that characterizes 10:1-26:16 (cf. chs. 1-9). The phra...
  • 22:22-23 Note the chiastic structure in these four lines that unifies the thought of the passage: violence, litigation, litigation, violence. God will avenge the poor on those who oppress them.22:24-25 The writer gave a reaso...
  • We return now to the proverbs of Solomon (cf. 1:1-22:16). Chapters 25-26 contain proverbs that are mainly comparisons. The key words in these chapters are "like . . . so."Chapter 27 is a mixture of comparative and antithetica...
  • 25:1 A group of scholars who served during King Hezekiah's reign (715-686 B.C.) added more of Solomon's 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32) to the former collection (1:1-22:16). These men lived about 250 years after Solomon. Solomo...
  • Chapters 30 and 31 form a distinct section in Proverbs because neither Solomon (1:1-22:16; chs. 25-29) nor the unnamed sages (22:17-24:34) wrote them. Two other wise men whose names the text records did. Some expositors specu...
  • The quality of wisdom that Proverbs presents is much more than the ability to apply knowledge to various situations in life effectively. It also involves submission to the way of God that is the order of life God has revealed...
  • 1:15 Ezekiel also saw a prominent wheel standing upright on the ground beside each of the four living creatures.1:16 These wheels appeared to have been skillfully made of some valuable material, the exact identity of which is...
  • 26:1 An oracle concerning Tyre came to Ezekiel on the first of an unspecified month in the eleventh year of the captivity, namely, 587-586 B.C.35326:2 Divine judgment would come on this city-state because its people rejoiced ...
  • 1:19 James' readers already knew what he had just reminded them of in the preceding verses (vv. 17-18; cf. Prov. 10:19; 13:3; 14:29; 15:1; 17:27-28; 29:11, 20; Eccles. 7:9). Nevertheless they needed to act in harmony with thi...
  • An invitation preceded the promise, as in all the letters to follow (cf. 1:3). Jesus was the only person to issue this invitation in Scripture. The Gospels also record Him doing so seven times (Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9...
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