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Texts -- Proverbs 23:1-19 (NET)

Context
23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler , consider carefully what is before you, 23:2 and put a knife to your throat if you possess a large appetite . 23:3 Do not crave that ruler’s delicacies , for that food is deceptive . 23:4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich ; be wise enough to restrain yourself. 23:5 When you gaze upon riches, they are gone , for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle ! 23:6 Do not eat the food of a stingy person , do not crave his delicacies ; 23:7 for he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind . “Eat and drink ,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you; 23:8 you will vomit up the little bit you have eaten , and will have wasted your pleasant words . 23:9 Do not speak in the ears of a fool , for he will despise the wisdom of your words . 23:10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or take over the fields of the fatherless , 23:11 for their Protector is strong ; he will plead their case against you. 23:12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge . 23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child ; even if you strike him with the rod , he will not die . 23:14 If you strike him with the rod , you will deliver him from death . 23:15 My child , if your heart is wise , then my heart also will be glad ; 23:16 my soul will rejoice when your lips speak what is right . 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners , but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord all the time . 23:18 For surely there is a future , and your hope will not be cut off . 23:19 Listen , my child , and be wise , and guide your heart on the right way .

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Ephesians 6:4; Legs of wisdom

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Ruth carried out Naomi's instructions exactly, further demonstrating her loyal love to her mother-in-law, and encouraged Boaz to pursue the possibility of marriage (vv. 6-9)."Note that the threshingfloor was a public place an...
  • "But it is just here, when everything is blackest, that his faith . . . like the rainbow in the cloud . . . shines with a marvelous splendor."89This short section contains probably the best known verses in the book (vv. 23-27...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • Many scholars have called attention to the similarities between Proverbs 22:17-24:22, the 30 sayings of the wise, and The Instruction of Amen-em-Ope.157The Instruction of Amen-em-Opeis a piece of Egyptian wisdom literature th...
  • 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...
  • 23:13-14 The sage again advocated discipline. Beating with a rod is not the only form of discipline advocated in Proverbs. It is simply one form used here as a poetic parallel to discipline (Heb. musar, moral correction). Oth...
  • 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...
  • The next five sections (vv. 1-4, 5-8, 9-11, 12-13, and 14-18) continue the theme of Judah's guilt from the previous chapter. These pericopes have obvious connections with one another, but they were evidently originally separa...
  • 2:1 Paul used an athletic metaphor to describe his anxieties and deep concerns for his readers and their neighbor Christians. His strivings (1:29) included specific struggles and conflicts for them. Laodicea was about 11 mile...

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