1 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid. 2 A good man obtains favor from the Lord, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn. 3 A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved. 4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones. 5 The thoughts of the righteous are right, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. 6 The words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,” But the mouth of the upright will deliver them. 7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand. 8 A man will be commended according to his wisdom, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised. 9 Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant, Than he who honors himself but lacks bread. 10 A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 11 He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding. 12 The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit. 13 The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble. 14 A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him. 15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise. 16 A fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame. 17 He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit. 18 There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health. 19 The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy. 21 No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, But the wicked shall be filled with evil. 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight. 23 A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness. 24 The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor. 25 Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. 26 The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray. 27 The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession. 28 In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.
Commentary
Vs. 1 “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge,
But he who hates correction is stupid.”
To love to be instructed is to have a love for one’s own growth and wellbeing. Indeed, one can only gain knowledge by first listening too and then willingly receiving instruction. For this is the foundation of having faith in God’s Word. Conversely the one who hates to be corrected, to be told that they are wrong, is only stupid.
Vs. 2 “A good man obtains favor from the Lord,
But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.”
Truly God shows favor to all who do good, even if they do not yet know Him, because God loves all who do so, and they show by their doing so that they have His law written in their hearts. Conversely the man of wicked intentions, who outwardly only pretends to be righteous and just, but inwardly is only scheming and plotting wicked things, He will condemn.
Vs. 3 “A man is not established by wickedness,
But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.”
No one is established by wickedness, for though they may "prosper" for a season they will always end up on the receiving end of the wrath of God. Conversely the root of the righteousness runs deep, and so their person is well watered, nurtured, and even anchored by God Himself in whatever they do (consider Psalm 1).
V. 4 “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.”
A man’s wife can be either like a crown on his head, giving him favor with all, or if she conducts herself shamelessly, she will only be like rottenness in his bones, eating away at his person and life.
Vs. 5 “The thoughts of the righteous are right,
But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.”
The righteous person thoughts are right because they think about doing what is just, fair, and right in whatever circumstances they find themselves in, while the wicked person is only thinking about how to use or manipulate people, or circumstances, or events to their own advantage, and so their counsels are always deceitful.
Vs. 6 “The words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,”
But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.”
The wicked counsel’s revenge and violence against others, however by doing so they only lead themselves and others to their own fall and ruin. In contrast the mouth of the upright by speaking the truth in love delivers themselves and others.
Vs. 7 “The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
But the house of the righteous will stand.”
God’s Justice and Judgment will always find the wicked, and then they are no more. However the house of the righteous will stand, and not only through the storms of this life, but also in the presence of God in the end.
Vs. 8 “A man will be commended according to his wisdom,
But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.”
People look too and admire a person who has wisdom, who is principled, who conducts themselves wisely, (think Billy Graham). However, they have nothing but contempt for a crooked, perverse, or vile person.
Vs. 9 “Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant,
Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.”
It is better to live truthfully, and within ones means, though one has a “low status” in this life, then to pretend to be affluent and influential, and only lack bread.
Vs. 10 “A righteous man regards the life of his animal,
But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”
Righteous people are not only kind towards others; but they also show the same sort of empathy towards their animals, and in this case, these were not their pets, but working farm animals. In striking contrast is the wicked whose “tender mercies” are only cruel for they know nothing of love for others or kindness or mercy. Indeed, they think it to be righteous when they are fierce, mean, and cruel! Do not then expect any sympathy or compassion or understanding from them.
Vs. 11 “He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread,
But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.”
A person who invests their time and energies working at things which will provide for all their needs will not suffer any lack or want. While a person who only spends their time doing and pursuing frivolous things, which may seem like fun to them, especially when they are young, is only devoid of understanding. Better than to go to school and college if you can then to sit around at your parents’ home playing video games, or just hanging out with your friends accomplishing nothing, because one day you will be on your own.
Vs. 12 “The wicked covet the catch of evil men,
But the root of the righteous yields fruit.”
Here we are given more insights into the heart of the wicked that they only covet the catch of evil men; that is, they covet what was stolen, or taken by force or coercion, or acquired unjustly. And thus, theirs is not to work honestly to get ahead, but only to seek out evil ways and means and schemes to try to prosper themselves. In contrast the righteous persons heart and mind is not preoccupied with such evil endeavors, therefore their root bears fruit through the good ground of living uprightly and doing justly towards all.
Vs. 13 “The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
But the righteous will come through trouble.”
The sins from the wicked persons mouth always leads them into their own troubles, especially their lies and deceptive speech which only undermines and entraps them in the end. However, the righteous by their honest words and just conduct will come through trouble.
Vs. 14 “A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth,
And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.
Good and gracious speech is always rewarded, just as good and Godly behavior is.
Vs. 15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But he who heeds counsel is wise.”
The fool in his arrogance and pride thinks himself and his doings wise, while it is the one who actually heeds counsel that is.
Vs. 16 “A fool’s wrath is known at once,
But a prudent man covers shame.”
The fool goes from zero to ten when told of a failing or transgression, however the prudent person knows how to deal with sensitive matters.
Vs. 17 “He who speaks truth declares righteousness,
But a false witness, deceit.”
The person who speaks the truth declares righteousness, that is they give a true testimony, while a false witnesses’ words are only deceit.
Vs. 18 “There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise promotes health.”
Harsh words do not promote repentance and faith, indeed speech that only cuts people down is always contrary to God (consider Matt. 5:22). Therefore, the wise choose words that build people up, or when necessary tactfully brings them to repentance and change.
Vs. 19 “The truthful lip shall be established forever,
But a lying tongue is but for a moment.”
God is the God of Truth, therefore those who speak the truth shall have their words established forever. While those who speak lies have their words last but a moment.
Vs. 20 “Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
But counselors of peace have joy.”
People who plot evil bring forth deception, deceiving themselves and others, and so their hearts are full of deceit, full of treachery, and so their lives are also full of conflict. While counselors of peace, that is people who speak peace and seek peace with others have joy, because they are walking in step with God (consider Psalm 34:14-15; Matt. 5:9; Rom. 12:18, 14:19; Heb. 12:14 etc,).
Vs. 21 “No grave trouble will overtake the righteous,
But the wicked shall be filled with evil.”
God watches over the righteous, He always keeps them from grave trouble, and so whatever troubles come their way are always temporary (just ask Job). In contrast the wicked persons life is filled with evil, it follows them wherever they go.
Vs. 22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
But those who deal truthfully are His delight.”
The Lord hates lying lips, hates it when people tell lies or use deceptive or misleading speech, for all such things are an abomination to Him, therefore those who deal truthfully are always His delight!
Vs. 23 “A prudent man conceals knowledge,
But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.”
There are certain things that should not be revealed, and a prudent man knows when to conceal knowledge. While the fool knows no such wisdom, instead he only openly proclaims all his foolishness.
Vs. 24 “The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.”
There are principals that govern life and one of them is that diligence gives people favor in the eyes of others, for a hard worker is always esteemed much more by his employer than a lazy one is, and thus they will find themselves being promoted more often than not. Similarly, the lazy person who refuses to labor, having no good grounds for not doing so, will be put to forced labor, whether by others, or by his own circumstances of life.
Vs. 25 “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression,
But a good word makes it glad.”
Excessive worrying does not lead to solving or resolving anything, it only leads to depression, as the worrier compounds their anxiety and fears, and thus their feeling of helplessness, by not addressing them. That said an encouraging word can do wonders to lift someone up. Speech than that does that is much more beneficial than merrily criticizing someone.
Vs. 26 “The righteous should choose his friends carefully,
For the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
This wise principal applies throughout our lives, because whom we associate with is whom we often become. And thus, hang out with wicked people and a wicked person you will become as they and their lifestyles will erode your Godly beliefs and values.
Vs. 27 “The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting,
But diligence is man’s precious possession.”
Because the lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting it quickly spoils as maggots will start to form in meat in about 48 hours. As well there are dangerous bacteria’s that will start to soon form within making it go rancid if it is not persevered in some way before it becomes uneatable. So too is life also full of things that require our immediate attention, otherwise they too will spoil and or be rendered useless. Therefore, diligence is man’s precious possession for by it he preserves and keeps what he needs and values most.
Vs. 28 “In the way of righteousness is life,
And in its pathway there is no death.”
Everlasting truths are everlasting, and one of them is that in the pathway of righteousness there is no death, for death reigns only where sin is (Rom. 6:23). Which is why the the Lord Jesus Christ warns us all to: 13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matt. 7:13-14 Therefore, choose the pathway of righteousness, where the Lord Jesus Christ is and Reigns, because all who do so, who believe in Him and obey Him will escape all the snares and traps of sin and death!
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
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