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.
