HarperCollins Study Bible, page 240
20From the fruit of the mouth one’s stomach is satisfied;
the yield of the lips brings satisfaction.
21Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
22He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
and obtains favor from the LORD.
23The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.
24Somec friends play at friendshipd
but a true friend sticks closer than one’s nearest kin.
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a Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Gk Syr Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Syr Tg: Heb A man of
d Cn Compare Syr Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
18.1 The Hebrew is unclear.
18.4 The relationship between the two lines is unclear (synonymous or antithetic parallelism? See Introduction).
18.5 See 17.15. Here the legal context is in the foreground: the innocent must be protected in court (see also Ex 23.1–3).
18.8 Slander attracts listeners to deadly effect. See 26.22.
18.10–11 Real and deceptive sources of strength. See 10.15a.
18.12 See 15.33; 16.18.
18.14 See 17.22b.
18.15 Mind, lit. “heart,” seat of the intellect and the will (cf. note on 2.2). In oral societies one learns by listening.
18.16 See 17.8; 21.14.
18.17–18 Two more neutral observations.
18.20 See 12.14a; 13.2a. The sages reflect on material and intellectual rewards of their vocation.
18.21 Power of the tongue, language, used aptly (see note on 1.6).
18.22 See 19.14. A nice contrast to the implicit misogyny of 19.13b, 14a.
18.23 See Sir 13.3.
18.24 See 27.10b.
PROVERBS 19
1Better the poor walking in integrity
than one perverse of speech who is a fool.
2Desire without knowledge is not good,
and one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.
3One’s own folly leads to ruin,
yet the heart rages against the Lord.
4Wealth brings many friends,
but the poor are left friendless.
5A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will not escape.
6Many seek the favor of the generous,
and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.
7If the poor are hated even by their kin,
how much more are they shunned by their friends!
When they call after them, they are not there.d
8To get wisdom is to love oneself;
to keep understanding is to prosper.
9A false witness will not go unpunished,
and the liar will perish.
10It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11Those with good sense are slow to anger,
and it is their glory to overlook an offense.
12A king’s anger is like the growling of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13A stupid child is ruin to a father,
and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
14House and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
15Laziness brings on deep sleep;
an idle person will suffer hunger.
16Those who keep the commandment will live;
those who are heedless of their ways will die.
17Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,
and will be repaid in full.
18Discipline your children while there is hope;
do not set your heart on their destruction.
19A violent tempered person will pay the penalty;
if you effect a rescue, you will only have to do it again.a
20Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom for the future.
21The human mind may devise many plans,
but it is the purpose of the LORD that will be established.
22What is desirable in a person is loyalty,
and it is better to be poor than a liar.
23The fear of the LORD is life indeed;
filled with it one rests secure
and suffers no harm.
24The lazy person buries a hand in the dish,
and will not even bring it back to the mouth.
25Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
reprove the intelligent, and they will gain knowledge.
26Those who do violence to their father and chase away their mother
are children who cause shame and bring reproach.
27Cease straying, my child, from the words of knowledge,
in order that you may hear instruction.
28A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
29Condemnation is ready for scoffers,
and flogging for the backs of fools.
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d Meaning of Heb uncertain
a Meaning of Heb uncertain
19.1 See 28.6.
19.2 See 15.18; 16.32; 21.5b.
19.3 Fools seldom take responsibility for their own actions; see 22.13; 26.12; Sir 15.11–12.
19.4 See 14.20. No wonder the sages counsel mercy toward the poor (14.21, 31; 17.5; 21.13; 22.9, 16; 28.8, 27; 29.7, 14; 31.9, 20).
19.5 See v. 9.
19.8 Wisdom, lit., “heart,” see note on 18.15
19.10 See 30.22.
19.11 See 14.29.
19.12a See 20.2.
19.13–14 Note the juxtaposition of good and bad examples.
19.13a See 17.25a.
19.13b See 27.15. This is one of the few places where water imagery is negative.
19.14 See 18.22.
19.15 Laziness and sleep go together. See 6.9–10.
19.16 Commandment here means precept, not revealed law; in parallel with ways, it matches the usage in the paternal instructions in chs. 1–9.
19.17 See 14.31; 28.27.
19.18 On their destruction, lit. “to kill him.” Sparing reproof might do much worse damage than merely spoiling the child. See also 23.13–14.
19.21 See 16.1, 9.
19.23 See 4.27.
19.24 The epitome of laziness encapsulated in an amusing visual image.
19.26 See 20.20; 30.17; Ex 20.12; 21.17.
19.27 A return to the instruction style (see Introduction).
PROVERBS 20
1Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
2The dread anger of a king is like the growling of a lion;
anyone who provokes him to anger forfeits life itself.
3It is honorable to refrain from strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel.
4The lazy person does not plow in season;
harvest comes, and there is nothing to be found.
5The purposes in the human mind are like deep water,
but the intelligent will draw them out.
6Many proclaim themselves loyal,
but who can find one worthy of trust?
7The righteous walk in integrity—
happy are the children who follow them!
8A king who sits on the throne of judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.
9Who can say, “I have made my heart clean;
I am pure from my sin”?
10Diverse weights and diverse measures
are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
11Even children make themselves known by their acts,
by whether what they do is pure and right.
12The hearing ear and the seeing eye—
the LORD has made them both.
13Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
14“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
then goes away and boasts.
15There is gold, and abundance of costly stones;
but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.
16Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.
17Bread gained by deceit is sweet,
but afterward the mouth will be full of gravel.
18Plans are established by taking advice;
wage war by following wise guidance.
19A gossip reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a babbler.
20If you curse father or mother,
your lamp will go out in utter darkness.
21An estate quickly acquired in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.
22Do not say, “I will repay evil”
wait for the LORD, and he will help you.
23Differing weights are an abomination to the LORD,
and false scales are not good.
24All our steps are ordered by the LORD;
how then can we understand our own ways?
25It is a snare for one to say rashly, “It is holy,”
and begin to reflect only after making a vow.
26A wise king winnows the wicked,
and drives the wheel over them.
27The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD,
searching every inmost part.
28Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the king,
and his throne is upheld by righteousness.a
29The glory of youths is their strength,
but the beauty of the aged is their gray hair.
30Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
beatings make clean the innermost parts.
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a Gk: Heb loyalty
20.1 See 23.29–35; 31.4–5.
20.2a See 19.12.
20.5 See 18.4.
20.8 Winnows, sifts. Solomon’s judicial wisdom is the model (1 Kings 3.16–28). See also 20.26.
20.9 The form of the rhetorical question implies a negative answer.
20.10 See 11.1.
20.11 “By their fruits, you shall know them.”
20.13 Negative and positive admonitions.
20.14 Another amusing encapsulation of a social type.
20.15 See 3.13–15.
20.16 See note on 6.1; also 27.13; Ex 22.26–27.
20.17 See 9.17–18; Job 20.12–14.
20.18 See 24.6. Wise men provided political guidance to kings, e.g., 2 Sam 16.20, 23; 17.5, 14.
20.24 Such pessimism about the search for understanding is rare in Proverbs.
20.30 A particularly strong attempt to justify corporal punishment.
PROVERBS 21
1The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
he turns it wherever he will.
2All deeds are right in the sight of the doer,
but the LORD weighs the heart.
3To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
4Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
the lamp of the wicked—are sin.
5The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.
6The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snarea of death.
7The violence of the wicked will sweep them away,
because they refuse to do what is just.
8The way of the guilty is crooked,
but the conduct of the pure is right.
9It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a contentious wife.
10The souls of the wicked desire evil;
their neighbors find no mercy in their eyes.
11When a scoffer is punished, the simple become wiser;
when the wise are instructed, they increase in knowledge.
12The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;
he casts the wicked down to ruin.
13If you close your ear to the cry of the poor,
you will cry out and not be heard.
14A gift in secret averts anger;
and a concealed bribe in the bosom, strong wrath.
15When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous,
but dismay to evildoers.
16Whoever wanders from the way of understanding
will rest in the assembly of the dead.
17Whoever loves pleasure will suffer want;
whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich.
18The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
and the faithless for the upright.
19It is better to live in a desert land
than with a contentious and fretful wife.
20Precious treasure remainsb in the house of the wise,
but the fool devours it.
21Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
will find lifec and honor.
22One wise person went up against a city of warriors
and brought down the stronghold in which they trusted.
23To watch over mouth and tongue
is to keep out of trouble.
24The proud, haughty person, named “Scoffer,”
acts with arrogant pride.
25The craving of the lazy person is fatal,
for lazy hands refuse to labor.
26All day long the wicked covet,d
but the righteous give and do not hold back.
27The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
how much more when brought with evil intent.
28A false witness will perish,
but a good listener will testify successfully.
29The wicked put on a bold face,
but the upright give thought toe their ways.
30No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel,
can avail against the LORD.
31The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but the victory belongs to the LORD.
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a Gk: Heb seekers
b Gk: Heb and oil
c Gk: Heb life and righteousness
d Gk: Heb all day long one covets covetously
e Another reading is establish
21.1 Heart, here translated literally, but still meaning “mind.” Cf. the relationship of king and God in 25.3.
21.2 Cf. 24.12; see note on 16.2.
21.3 See Ps 50.
21.4 Lamp of the wicked. See note on 13.9; also 24.20.
21.6 Fleeting vapor, the Hebrew term translated “vanity” in Ecclesiastes (see Eccl 1.2, 14).
21.9 See 25.24; the Hebrew for wife also means “woman.”
21.13 The relationship between act and consequence in action: “Do unto others…”
21.14 Another pure observation (see 17.8; cf. 17.23).
21.19 See v. 9. Abusive husbands are not a topic for the sages.
21.22 An unusual bit of narrative form among the sayings.
21.24 Sages describe here the meaning of scoffer. See also note on 1.4.
21.27 An echo of v. 3.
21.28 A good listener is one who hears truth and acts accordingly.
21.30–31 Though the sages praise wisdom, no human understanding can fathom God’s.
PROVERBS 22
1A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.
2The rich and the poor have this in common:
the LORD is the maker of them all.
3The clever see danger and hide;
but the simple go on, and suffer for it.
4The reward for humility and fear of the LORD
is riches and honor and life.
5Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
the cautious will keep far from them.
6Train children in the right way,
and when old, they will not stray.
7The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
8Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of anger will fail.
9Those who are generous are blessed,
for they share their bread with the poor.
10Drive out a scoffer, and strife goes out;
quarreling and abuse will cease.
11Those who love a pure heart and are gracious in speech
will have the king as a friend.
12The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge,
but he overthrows the words of the faithless.
13The lazy person says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be killed in the streets!”
14The mouth of a loosea woman is a deep pit;
he with whom the LORD is angry falls into it.
15Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy,
but the rod of discipline drives it far away.
16Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself,
and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss.
Sayings of the Wise
17The words of the wise:
Incline your ear and hear my words,b
and apply your mind to my teaching;
18for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
if all of them are ready on your lips.
19So that your trust may be in the LORD,
I have made them known to you today—yes, to you.
20Have I not written for you thirty sayings
of admonition and knowledge,
21to show you what is right and true,
so that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
22Do not rob the poor because they are poor,
or crush the afflicted at the gate;
23for the LORD pleads their cause
and despoils of life those who despoil them.
24Make no friends with those given to anger,
and do not associate with hotheads,
25or you may learn their ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.
26Do not be one of those who give pledges,
