10:2 At face value both statements in this verse may seem untrue. The solution to this puzzling proverb, as well as the solution to many that follow, lies in remembering this. Solomon had the whole course of a life in view, not just the immediate consequences of an act or condition. The righteous escape death in that they have greater true riches than the wicked simply because they are righteous, regardless of their financial condition.
10:3 Again the righteous will not lack what is most important in life, though they may lack food. Conversely God will not meet the deepest cravings of the wicked because they have rejected His ways.
"The wicked are condemned to live forever with their unfulfilled, and so sterile, desires, which cannot be transformed into practical attainment."100
10:6 The righteous receive blessings from God and other people. The wicked, on the other hand, conceal violence within themselves.
10:10 The winking eye is a clue to insincere speech or behavior. As a tiny gesture, it can do greater damage than many larger overt acts. Similarly the words of a fool though small will result in his or her own destruction eventually. However the power of words is greater than that of "shifty signs."101
10:15 Even though wealth is not most important, it still can result in security or poverty, and therefore people should not despise it.
10:19 Transgressing means breaking across. When we speak too much, we break across into an area where we should not go. This can happen in private as well as public speech. Some people transgress when they engage in inappropriate transparency. We should only share our lives with people to the degree that they have committed themselves to us.
10:30 The righteous person will never be permanently or ultimately shaken, though he or she may experience hardships. However the wicked will not experience God's blessing ultimately. Dwelling in the land of promise was the wandering Israelite's hope of eventual divine blessing. The alternative was exile from the land.
10:32 Speech indicates character. "Acceptable"is better "fitting"(NIV), and "perverted"means "unfitting."
11:2 A proud person refuses to accept instruction from God, which, if he or she would follow it, would result in his or her receiving honor. The humble take God's advice, and that is their wisdom.102
11:4 Riches do not profit in the day of God's wrath (cf. Job 21:30; Ezek. 7:19; Zeph. 1:18).103
11:8 The wicked do not experience deliverance from trouble ultimately, but finally they go to the place reserved for them forever.
11:12 "Despises"means "belittles"(RSV).
11:19 The full quality of life is in view (cf. John 10:10), not just the possession of life.
"Since life and death result from moral choices, righteousness must be pursued. . . . Life' and death' describe the vicissitudes of this life but can also refer to beyond the grave."104
11:29 "Wind"here probably represents something that cannot be grasped (27:16; Eccles. 1:14, 17). It may also imply something bad and destructive such as the dreaded Palestinian sirocco (cf. v. 17). The foolish man who mismanages his accounts may also have to sell himself as a servant to the wise person who is a better manager.
11:30 A righteous person exercises a life-giving influence. Furthermore a wise person wins others to wisdom. That is, he or she captures others with ideas or influence (cf. 2 Sam. 15:6).105While it is true that evangelistic soul-winning is wise work, soul-winning is not all that this verse is talking about. The idea here is that wise people influence others to follow the way of wisdom, which includes turning to God for salvation.
11:31 No one sins with impunity. God will judge every sin. 1 Peter 4:18 quotes this proverb.106
12:6 The words of the wicked, particularly their false accusations, are an ambush, but the words of the upright are straightforward and sincere (cf. 1:18).107
12:9 A better translation is, "Better is a man of humble standing who works for himself than one who plays the great man but lacks bread"(RSV).
"The point seems to be that some people live beyond their means in a vain show . . . whereas, if they lived modestly, they could have some of the conveniences of life, e.g., a servant."108
12:12 The contrast appears to be between two kinds of people. The wicked want to gain from the work of other evil people (e.g., skimming money off the top of a gambling operation). On the other hand, the righteous are content to earn wages from their own honest toil.109
12:16 A prudent person "ignores an insult"(RSV). The insult is dishonor to himself or herself. A fool's reaction is "like an injured animal and so his opponent knows that he has been wounded."110
12:18 Thoughtless or critical speech can wound others. Transparent sharing can wound the speaker. Transparent sharing is good, but we must practice it wisely.111Wise people do not cause harm by their reckless talk.
12:21 ". . . decent people do not have frequent trouble of their own making . . ."112
The verse is also true when one considers what happens to people after death as well as before.
"The rigid application of this law was the mainstay of Job's comforters; but taken rightly, it is a stimulating truth as valid for Paul (Rom. 8:28 with 36, 37) as for Joseph (Gn. 50:20)--cheaply held in prosperity, precious in adversity."113
12:22 "When words can't be trusted, then society starts to fall apart. Contracts are useless, promises are vain, the judicial system becomes a farce, and all personal relationships are suspect."114
12:25 What is the "good word?"It could be any word that gives encouragement. Solomon was evidently general deliberately.
12:26 The antecedent of "them"in 26b is "the wicked"(plural).115
12:27 The lazy man does not finish his projects; he does not roast and eat the game he has hunted. He throws away his chances for something better by quitting too soon. However the person who has mastered diligence and finishes his task has a precious tool at his disposal (i.e., perseverance).
"I recall hearing some of my student friends say at seminary graduation, Thank the Lord, no more Greek and Hebrew!' They had spent several years learning to use the Bible languages, and now they were selling their valuable language tools and thereby wasting their gains."116
13:3 This caution applies to transparent sharing as well as verbose communication. Both can bring ruin to the speaker.
13:4 The "soul"stands for the whole person (cf. Matt. 16:24-27; Mark 3:4; Luke 6:9; 9:56; Rom. 13:1; 1 Thess. 5:20; James 1:21; 5:20).
"The slothful wishes and dreams of prosperity and abundance . . . but his desire remains unsatisfied, since the object is not gained but only lost by doing nothing; the industrious gain, and that richly, what the slothful wishes for, but in vain."117
13:8 The idea in this contrast is that a rich man may lose his money by having to buy himself out of trouble. A poor man is not the target of robbers and kidnappers because he has little money. The more money a person has the more financial obligations become his, but a poor man is free of these distractions. Another view is that the poor man cannot buy himself out of trouble since his means are limited.118
13:11 Wealth obtained by fraud would be money gotten by not working for it (e.g., in gambling). This kind of income dwindles in that though it is "easy come"it is also "easy go."
"This is a warning against wild speculation."119
13:19 Even though it is pleasant to hope for something better and then see it happen, a fool will not do so because he would rather continue practicing evil. Fools characteristically do not hope for higher things. They only want to continue in evil.
"In spite of the sweetness of good desires accomplished, fools will not forsake evil to attain it."120
13:25 This proverb illustrates the difference between a proverb and a promise. It expresses a condition that is generally true in this life all other things being equal. However, God never promised that He would keep every righteous person from starving to death (cf. Matt. 6:33; Lev. 26).
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 of "them"(3b) is "the wise"(plural).
"Words come back to roost."121
"What people say has a great bearing on how they are received."122
14:12 Without the additional light of divine revelation we might conclude that any number of courses of action will lead to good ends. Nevertheless God's Word helps us see the end of some of these paths so we can avoid them. Salvation by works is one example of this. As someone once told me, "I was climbing the ladder of success, but then I discovered that it was leaning against the wrong wall."This proverb warns that apparently good roads may prove fatal to the moral life (cf. 7:27; 16:25; Matt. 7:13-14) because their destination is wrong.
14:24 The ends of the wise and the foolish are in view.
"The wise are crowned, that is, blessed with wealth (cf. 3:16; 8:18, 21; 15:6; 22:4) because of their diligence (14:23), but foolish conduct results not in blessing but in more folly (cf. v. 18)."123
14:28 It is a credit to a ruler when he rules over many people and they prosper and increase, but it is a discredit to him when his people decline in number and wealth. This is so because part of a governmental leader's responsibility is to generate prosperity.
14:33 A paraphrase of this verse could be, "A wise man does not parade his knowledge; a fool does."124Fools may have knowledge but not wisdom.
15:2 The contrast here is not between the quantity of words that the wise and the fool utter. It is the fact that the wise man considers what he says before he says it, but the fool does not. Consequently what the wise says is "acceptable"(lit. "good") and what the fool says is "folly"(unwise). This proverb deals with responsible speech.
"When you summarize what Proverbs teaches about human speech, you end up with four important propositions: (1) speech is an awesome gift from God; (2) speech can be used to do good; (3) speech can be used to do evil; and, (4) only God can help us use speech to do good."125
15:20 The full thought behind this verse seems to be, "The wise son honors and gladdens his father, the foolish laughs at and saddens his mother."126It may imply that the fool is callous toward his mother.127
15:22 A person who makes his or her plans without asking for advice or comments from other people shows that he or she is excessively self-confident. However someone who consults others and asks for their advice shows that he realizes he may be overlooking some factors and is not entirely self-confident.
15:24 Everyone goes to Sheol (the grave) eventually (except believers who experience translation at the Rapture and do not die). However the wise avoid Sheol as long as they can by being wise. Living wisely tends to prolong life.
"We may at least say that the language [of this proverb] anticipates what later Scripture will clearly teach about the ultimate destination of the way of life."128
15:30 Happy people and good news both have a heartwarming effect. Good news has an uplifting effect. Healthy bones (lit. fat bones) pictured health and prosperity to the Jews (cf. 17:22; 25:25; Gen. 45:27-28; Isa. 52:7-8).
15:33 The fear of Yahweh is not just the foundation of a wise life (1:7; 9:10). It is also the whole path of wisdom. To fear the Lord amounts to being wise in one sense, though it is the foundation for wisdom in another (1:7).
Though 33b presents a universal truth, the humility in the context (33a) is the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the willingness to humble oneself before God and to let His Word guide us.
