Discovery BoxProverbs 14:1-31
Context14:1 Every wise woman 1 builds 2 her household, 3
but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.
14:2 The one who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, 4
but the one who is perverted in his ways 5 despises him.
14:3 In 6 the speech 7 of a fool is a rod for his back, 8
but the words 9 of the wise protect them.
14:4 Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is clean,
but an abundant harvest is produced by strong oxen. 10
14:5 A truthful witness 11 does not lie,
but a false witness 12 breathes out lies. 13
14:6 The scorner 14 seeks wisdom but finds none, 15
but understanding is easy 16 for a discerning person.
14:7 Leave the presence of a foolish person, 17
or 18 you will not understand 19 wise counsel. 20
14:8 The wisdom of the shrewd person 21 is to discern 22 his way,
but the folly of fools is deception. 23
14:9 Fools mock 24 at reparation, 25
but among the upright there is favor. 26
14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness, 27
and with its joy no one else 28 can share. 29
14:11 The household 30 of the wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent 31 of the upright will flourish.
14:12 There is a way that seems right to a person, 32
but its end is the way that leads to death. 33
14:13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, 34
and the end 35 of joy may be 36 grief.
14:14 The backslider 37 will be paid back 38 from his own ways,
but a good person will be rewarded 39 for his.
14:15 A naive person 40 believes everything,
but the shrewd person discerns his steps. 41
14:16 A wise person is cautious 42 and turns from evil,
but a fool throws off restraint 43 and is overconfident. 44
14:17 A person who has a quick temper 45 does foolish things,
and a person with crafty schemes 46 is hated. 47
14:18 The naive inherit 48 folly,
but the shrewd 49 are crowned 50 with knowledge.
14:19 Those who are evil will bow 51 before those who are good,
and the wicked will bow 52 at the gates 53 of the righteous.
14:20 A poor person is disliked 54 even by his neighbors,
but those who love the rich are many.
14:21 The one who despises his neighbor sins,
but whoever is kind to the needy is blessed.
14:22 Do not those who devise 55 evil go astray?
But those who plan good exhibit 56 faithful covenant love. 57
14:23 In all hard work 58 there is profit,
but merely talking about it 59 only brings 60 poverty. 61
14:24 The crown of the wise is their riches, 62
but the folly 63 of fools is folly.
14:25 A truthful witness 64 rescues lives, 65
but the one who breathes lies brings 66 deception. 67
14:26 In the fear of the Lord one has 68 strong confidence, 69
and it will be a refuge 70 for his children.
14:27 The fear of the Lord 71 is like 72 a life-giving fountain, 73
to turn 74 people 75 from deadly snares. 76
14:28 A king’s glory is 77 the abundance of people,
but the lack of subjects 78 is the ruin 79 of a ruler.
14:29 The one who is slow to anger has great understanding,
but the one who has a quick temper 80 exalts 81 folly.
14:30 A tranquil spirit 82 revives the body, 83
but envy 84 is rottenness to the bones. 85
14:31 The one who oppresses 86 the poor insults 87 his Creator,
but whoever shows favor 88 to the needy honors him.
[14:1] 1 tn Heb “wise ones of women.” The construct phrase חַכְמוֹת נָשִׁים (khakhmot nashim) features a wholistic genitive: “wise women.” The plural functions in a distributive sense: “every wise woman.” The contrast is between wise and foolish women (e.g., Prov 7:10-23; 31:10-31).
[14:1] 2 tn The perfect tense verb in the first colon functions in a gnomic sense, while the imperfect tense in the second colon is a habitual imperfect.
[14:1] 3 tn Heb “house.” This term functions as a synecdoche of container (= house) for contents (= household, family).
[14:2] 4 tn Heb “fear of the
[14:2] 5 tn Heb “crooked of ways”; NRSV “devious in conduct.” This construct phrase features a genitive of specification: “crooked in reference to his ways.” The term “ways” is an idiom for moral conduct. The evidence that people fear the
[14:3] 6 tn The preposition בְּ (bet) may denote (1) exchange: “in exchange for” foolish talk there is a rod; or (2) cause: “because of” foolish talk.
[14:3] 7 sn The noun פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said (“speech, words, talk”).
[14:3] 8 tc The MT reads גַּאֲוָה (ga’avah, “pride”) which creates an awkward sense “in the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride” (cf. KJV, ASV). The BHS editors suggest emending the form to גֵּוֹה (“disciplining-rod”) to create tighter parallelism and irony: “in the mouth of a fool is a rod for the back” (e.g., Prov 10:13). What the fools says will bring discipline.
[14:3] 9 tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause, meaning what they say. The wise by their speech will find protection.
[14:4] 10 tn Heb “the strength of oxen.” The genitive שׁוֹר (shor, “oxen”) functions as an attributed genitive: “strong oxen.” Strong oxen are indispensable for a good harvest, and for oxen to be strong they must be well-fed. The farmer has to balance grain consumption with the work oxen do.
[14:5] 11 tn Heb “a witness of faithfulness.” The genitive functions in an attributive sense: “faithful witness” (so KJV, NRSV); TEV “reliable witness.”
[14:5] 12 tn Heb “a witness of falsehood.” The genitive functions in an attributive sense: “false witness.”
[14:5] 13 sn This saying addresses the problem of legal testimony: A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness does lie – naturally. The first colon uses the verb כָּזַב (kazav, “to lie”) and the second colon uses the noun כָּזָב (kazav, “lie; falsehood”).
[14:6] 14 sn The “scorner” (לֵץ, lets) is intellectually arrogant; he lacks any serious interest in knowledge or religion. He pursues wisdom in a superficial way so that he can appear wise. The acquisition of wisdom is conditioned by one’s attitude toward it (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 149).
[14:6] 15 tn Heb “and there is not.”
[14:6] 16 sn The Niphal of קָלַל (qalal) means “to appear light; to appear trifling; to appear easy.”
[14:7] 17 tn Heb “a man, a stupid fellow.”
[14:7] 18 tn Heb “and.” The vav (ו) that introduces this clause may be understood as meaning “or….”
[14:7] 19 tc The MT reads וּבַל־יָדַעְתָּ (uval-yada’ta, “you did not know [the lips of knowledge]).” It must mean that one should leave the fool because he did not receive knowledge from what fools said. Tg. Prov 14:7 freely interprets the verse: “for there is no knowledge on his lips.” The LXX reflects a Hebrew Vorlage of וּכְלֵי־דַעַת (ukhÿle-da’at, “[wise lips] are weapons of discretion”). The textual variant involves wrong word division and orthographic confusion between ב (bet) and כ (kaf). C. H. Toy emends the text: “for his lips do not utter knowledge” as in 15:7 (Proverbs [ICC], 285). The MT is workable and more difficult.
[14:7] 20 tn Heb “lips of knowledge” (so KJV, ASV). “Lips” is the metonymy of cause, and “knowledge” is an objective genitive (speaking knowledge) or attributive genitive (knowledgeable speech): “wise counsel.”
[14:8] 21 tn Or “the prudent [person]” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV).
[14:8] 22 tn The Hiphil infinitive construct denotes purpose. Those who are shrewd will use it to give careful consideration to all their ways.
[14:8] 23 tn The word means “deception,” but some suggest “self-deception” here (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 466; and D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 286); cf. NLT “fools deceive themselves.” The parallelism would favor this, but there is little support for it. The word usually means “craft practiced on others.” If the line is saying the fool is deceitful, there is only a loose antithesis between the cola.
[14:9] 24 tn The noun “fools” is plural but the verb “mock” is singular. This has led some to reverse the line to say “guilty/guilt offering mocks fools” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 287); see, e.g., Isa 1:14; Amos 5:22. But lack of agreement between subject and verb is not an insurmountable difficulty.
[14:9] 25 tc The LXX reads “houses of transgressors will owe purification.” Tg. Prov 14:9 has “guilt has its home among fools” (apparently reading לִין לוּן, lin lun).
[14:9] 26 tn The word רָצוֹן (ratson) means “favor; acceptance; pleasing.” It usually means what is pleasing or acceptable to God. In this passage it either means that the upright try to make amends, or that the upright find favor for doing so.
[14:10] 27 tn Heb “bitterness of its soul.”
[14:10] 28 tn Heb “stranger” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
[14:10] 29 tn The verb is the Hitpael of II עָרַב (’arav), which means “to take in pledge; to give in pledge; to exchange.” Here it means “to share [in].” The proverb is saying that there are joys and sorrows that cannot be shared. No one can truly understand the deepest feelings of another.
[14:11] 30 tn Heb “house.” The term “house” is a metonymy of subject, referring to their contents: families and family life.
[14:11] 31 tn The term “tent” is a metonymy here referring to the contents of the tent: families.
[14:12] 32 tn Heb “which is straight before a man.”
[14:12] 33 tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.” Here death means ruin (e.g., Prov 7:27; 16:25). The LXX adds “Hades,” but the verse seems to be concerned with events of this life.
[14:13] 34 sn No joy is completely free of grief. There is a joy that is superficial and there is underlying pain that will remain after the joy is gone.
[14:13] 35 tn Heb “and its end, joy, is grief.” The suffix may be regarded as an Aramaism, a proleptic suffix referring to “joy.”
[14:13] 36 tn The phrase “may be” is not in the Hebrew but is supplied from the parallelism, which features an imperfect of possibility.
[14:14] 37 tn Heb “a turning away of heart.” The genitive לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a backslidden heart.” The term סוּג (sug) means “to move away; to move backwards; to depart; to backslide” (BDB 690 s.v. I סוּג). This individual is the one who backslides, that is, who departs from the path of righteousness.
[14:14] 38 tn Heb “will be filled”; cf. KJV, ASV. The verb (“to be filled, to be satisfied”) here means “to be repaid,” that is, to partake in his own evil ways. His faithlessness will come back to haunt him.
[14:14] 39 tn The phrase “will be rewarded” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
[14:15] 40 sn The contrast is with the simpleton and the shrewd. The simpleton is the young person who is untrained morally or intellectually, and therefore gullible. The shrewd one is the prudent person, the one who has the ability to make critical discriminations.
[14:15] 41 tn Heb “his step”; cf. TEV “sensible people watch their step.”
[14:16] 42 tn Heb “fears.” Since the holy name (Yahweh, translated “the
[14:16] 43 tn The Hitpael of עָבַר (’avar, “to pass over”) means “to pass over the bounds of propriety; to act insolently” (BDB 720 s.v.; cf. ASV “beareth himself insolently”).
[14:16] 44 tn The verb בָּטַח here denotes self-assurance or overconfidence. Fools are not cautious and do not fear the consequences of their actions.
[14:17] 45 sn The proverb discusses two character traits that are distasteful to others – the quick tempered person (“short of anger” or impatient) and the crafty person (“man of devices”). C. H. Toy thinks that the proverb is antithetical and renders it “but a wise man endures” (Proverbs [ICC], 292). In other words, the quick-tempered person acts foolishly and loses people’s respect, but the wise man does not.
[14:17] 46 tn Heb “a man of devices.”
[14:17] 47 tc The LXX reads “endures” (from נָשָׂא, nasa’) rather than “is hated” (from שָׂנֵא, sane’). This change seems to have arisen on the assumption that a contrast was needed. It has: “a man of thought endures.” Other versions take מְזִמּוֹת (mÿzimmot) in a good sense; but antithetical parallelism is unwarranted here.
[14:18] 48 tc G. R. Driver, however, proposed reading the verb as “are adorned” from הלה (“Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 181). A similar reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).
[14:18] 49 tn Or “prudent” (KJV, NASB, NIV); NRSV, TEV “clever.”
[14:18] 50 tn The meaning of יַכְתִּרוּ (yakhtiru, Hiphil imperfect of כָּתַר, katar) is elusive. It may not mean “to be crowned” or “to crown themselves,” but “to encircle” or “to embrace.” BDB 509 s.v. כָּתַר Hiph suggests “to throw out crowns” (throw out knowledge as a crown) or “to encompass knowledge,” i.e., possess it (parallel to inherit).
[14:19] 51 tn Many versions nuance the perfect tense verb שָׁחַח (shakhakh) as a characteristic perfect. But the proverb suggests that the reality lies in the future. So the verb is best classified as a prophetic perfect (cf. NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT): Ultimately the wicked will acknowledge and serve the righteous – a point the prophets make.
[14:19] 52 tn The phrase “will bow” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
[14:19] 53 sn J. H. Greenstone suggests that this means that they are begging for favors (Proverbs, 154).
[14:20] 54 tn Heb “hated.” The verse is just a statement of fact. The verbs “love” and “hate” must be seen in their connotations: The poor are rejected, avoided, shunned – that is, hated; but the rich are sought after, favored, embraced – that is, loved.
[14:22] 55 sn The verb חָרַשׁ (kharash) means (1) literally: “to cut in; to engrave; to plow,” describing the work of a craftsman; and (2) figuratively: “to devise,” describing the mental activity of planning evil (what will harm people) in the first colon, and planning good (what will benefit them) in the second colon.
[14:22] 56 tn The term “exhibit” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
[14:22] 57 tn Heb “loyal-love and truth.” The two terms חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת (khesed ve’emet) often form a hendiadys: “faithful love” or better “faithful covenant love.”
[14:23] 58 sn The Hebrew term עֶצֶב (’etsev, “painful toil; labor”) is first used in scripture in Gen 3:19 to describe the effects of the Fall. The point here is that people should be more afraid of idle talk than of hard labor.
[14:23] 59 tn Heb “word of lips.” This construct phrase features a genitive of source (“a word from the lips”) or a subjective genitive (“speaking a word”). Talk without work (which produces nothing) is contrasted with labor that produces something.
[14:23] 60 tn The term “brings” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
[14:23] 61 sn The noun מַחְסוֹר (makhsor, “need; thing needed; poverty”) comes from the verb “to lack; to be lacking; to decrease; to need.” A person given to idle talk rather than industrious work will have needs that go unmet.
[14:24] 62 sn C. H. Toy suggests that this line probably means that wealth is an ornament to those who use it well (Proverbs [ICC], 269). J. H. Greenstone suggests that it means that the wisdom of the wise, which is their crown of glory, constitutes their wealth (Proverbs, 155).
[14:24] 63 tc The MT reads אִוֶלֶת (’ivelet, “folly”). The editors of BHS propose emending the text to וְלִוְיַת (vÿlivyat, “but the wealth”), as suggested by the LXX. See M. Rotenberg, “The Meaning of אִוֶּלֶת in Proverbs,” LesŒ 25 (1960-1961): 201. A similar emendation is followed by NAB (“the diadem”) and NRSV (“the garland”).
[14:25] 64 tn Heb “a witness of truth”; cf. CEV “an honest witness.”
[14:25] 65 tn The noun נְפָשׁוֹת (nÿfashot) often means “souls,” but here “lives” – it functions as a metonymy for life (BDB 659 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 3.c).
[14:25] 66 tn The term “brings” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Also possible, “is deceitful.”
[14:25] 67 tc Several commentators suggest emending the text from the noun מִרְמָה (mirmah, “deception”) to the participle מְרַמֶּה (mÿrameh, “destroys”). However, this revocalization is not necessary because the MT makes sense as it stands: A false witness destroys lives.
[14:26] 68 tn Heb “In the fear of the
[14:26] 69 tn Heb “confidence of strength.” This construct phrase features an attributive genitive: “strong confidence” (so most English versions; NIV “a secure fortress”).
[14:26] 70 sn The fear of the
[14:27] 71 sn The verse is similar to Prov 13:14 except that “the fear of the
[14:27] 72 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
[14:27] 73 tn Heb “fountain of life.”
[14:27] 74 tn The infinitive construct with prefixed ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the first line; it could also function epexegetically, explaining how fear is a fountain: “by turning….”
[14:27] 75 tn The term “people” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
[14:27] 76 tn Heb “snares of death” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); CEV “deadly traps.”
[14:28] 77 tn The preposition serves as the beth essentiae – the glory is the abundant population, not in it.
[14:28] 78 tn Heb “people.” Cf. NLT “a dwindling nation.”
[14:28] 79 sn The word means “ruin; destruction,” but in this context it could be a metonymy of effect, the cause being an attack by more numerous people that will bring ruin to the ruler. The proverb is purely a practical and secular saying, unlike some of the faith teachings in salvation history passages.
[14:29] 80 tn Heb “hasty of spirit” (so KJV, ASV); NRSV, NLT “a hasty temper.” One who has a quick temper or a short fuse will be evident to everyone, due to his rash actions.
[14:29] 81 sn The participle “exalts” (מֵרִים, merim) means that this person brings folly to a full measure, lifts it up, brings it to the full notice of everybody.
[14:30] 82 tn Heb “heart of healing.” The genitive מַרְפֵּא (marpe’, “healing”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a healing heart.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) is a metonymy for the emotional state of a person (BDB 660 s.v. 6). A healthy spirit is tranquil, bringing peace to the body (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 158).
[14:30] 83 tn Heb “life of the flesh” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NIV “gives life to the body.”
[14:30] 84 tn The term קִנְאָה (qin’ah, “envy”) refers to passionate zeal or “jealousy” (so NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT), depending on whether the object is out of bounds or within one’s rights. In the good sense one might be consumed with zeal to defend the institutions of the sanctuary. But as envy or jealousy the word describes an intense and sometimes violent excitement and desire that is never satisfied.
[14:30] 85 tn Heb “rottenness of bones.” The term “bones” may be a synecdoche representing the entire body; it is in contrast with “flesh” of the first colon. One who is consumed with envy finds no tranquility or general sense of health in body or spirit.
[14:31] 86 tn The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq) normally means “to oppress” (as in many English versions). However, here it might mean “to slander.” See J. A. Emerton, “Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 20 (1969): 202-22.
[14:31] 87 sn In the Piel this verb has the meaning of “to reproach; to taunt; to say sharp things against” someone (cf. NIV “shows contempt for”). By oppressing the poor one taunts or mistreats God because that person is in the image of God – hence the reference to the “Creator.” To ridicule what God made is to ridicule God himself.
[14:31] 88 sn The phrase “shows favor” is contrasted with the term “oppresses.” To “show favor” means to be gracious to (or treat kindly) those who do not deserve it or cannot repay it. It is treatment that is gratis. This honors God because he commanded it to be done (Prov 14:21; 17:5; 19:17).
