1 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. 2 A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence. 3 He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction. 4 The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. 5 A righteous man hates lying, But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame. 6 Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, But wickedness overthrows the sinner. 7 There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. 8 The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, But the poor does not hear rebuke. 9 The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out. 10 By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom. 11 Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase. 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. 13 He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. 14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. 15 Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard. 16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly. 17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, But a faithful ambassador brings health. 18 Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored. 19 A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil. 20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed. 21 Evil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid. 22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. 23 Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste. 24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly. 25 The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.
Commentary
Vs. 1 “A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.”
The son who listens to his father’s instruction is wise, because he not only learns and grows as he does, but he also receives favor from God for doing so. In contrast the scoffer in his blind arrogance not only refuses instruction that would help him, but he also disdains any rebuke from his father that would keep him from any more troubles.
Vs. 2 “A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.”
If one uses derogatory and cutting speech all the time, then the fallout from that will be what one feasts on. Same with those whose words are kind, whose words try to encourage or comfort others, they too will eat well from the fruit of their lips. Now there are those whose souls only desire and look for violence, who literally feed on it, who when they’re not trying to stir up amongst men, they actively participate in it. These are unfaithful to God.
Vs. 3 “He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.”
There is wisdom in guarding one’s speech before God and man, for as the Proverbs says here by doing so one preserves one’s life. (James 3:1-12 also touches on this critical subject matter.) In contrast when opens wide their lips and lets whatever madness, vileness, wickedness etc. be expressed they are only sowing the seeds for their own ruin and destruction.
Vs. 4 “The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.”
The Lazy person dreams all day long about this thing or that, and yet because they will not put the work and time and effort into their desires to attain them, in the end, then end up with nothing. In contrast the diligent person gets up early, and puts their nose to grindstone, and gets about doing what they need to do to be successful in life. And so, they shall be made rich, as both their persons and lives will find not only much momentary gain and reward and promotions for their efforts, but more importantly they will have very much personal fulfillment and enjoyment in their lives as well. Now in the Spiritual realm this also applies as people who put the time and effort into growing their own knowledge and faith and service in the Lord will all be justly rewarded by Him, just as surely as the lazy person will be who did nothing with the talent given them by God will be (Matt. 25:14-30).
Vs. 5 “A righteous man hates lying,
But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.”
Righteous people hate lying, hate deception, hate dishonest dealings because all these are contrary to honest and upright living. In contrast the wicked has no reservations about doing such things, and so their persons and lives are loathsome, as they’re unprincipled nature brings them into every shameful and repugnant deed and act.
Vs. 6 “Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
But wickedness overthrows the sinner.
The greatest security one can have in life is to walk righteously with God, for righteousness always guards those who are blameless before Him. In contrast the sinner is soon overthrown by their own sins.
Vs. 7 “There is one who makes himself rich,
yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.”
Those who make themselves rich often do so, chasing and pursuing their riches to the neglect of their own souls’ welfare, as Jesus warned in so many ways and at so many times, saying: “What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world but lost his own soul.” Mark 8:36 And so what does the rich man actually possess if he doesn’t have Christ, only fleeting riches that others will take possession of when he passes away to face his judgment and then eternity! Then are those who forsake their lives and dreams and seek out and pursue God’s Will for them, these then are often materially poor because they put their lives and energies into building Christ’s Kingdom, not their own, and so though they appear outwardly poor now, in fact they are inwardly rich, because they are living lives that satisfy here and now, but also for all eternity they shall forever be satisfied when the Lord Jesus Christ rewards all His servants for what they have done for Him (consider Matt. 19:29-30).
Vs. 8 “The ransom of a man’s life is his riches,
But the poor does not hear rebuke.”
A rich man’s life is swallowed up by his own riches, indeed he will always have to face those institutions or individuals or even unforeseen events and threats which want to take them from him. The poor man though has no such problems or worries.
Vs. 9 “The light of the righteous rejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.”
There is joy in living righteously, indeed when someone comes to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus they have all their sins are washed away, they shine brightly, radiating THE LOVE AND GRACE OF God as a pre-cursor to their eternal destiny. In contrast the lamp of wicked is only destined to be put out.
Vs. 10 “By pride comes nothing but strife,
But with the well-advised is wisdom.”
When someone walks in pride they only promote and create strife, not peace and reconciliation. Conversely when someone is humble enough to listen too and receive counsel, they find wisdom.
Vs. 11 “Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished,
But he who gathers by labor will increase.”
Those who gain their wealth through dishonest means will have it diminished, whether by the direct intervention of God, or by their own choices and decisions. In contrast honest labor always brings with it an honest reward.
Vs. 12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.”
When ones hope or expectation is not met or fulfilled there is great disappointment, but when it is there is great jubilation!
Vs. 13 “He who despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.”
Those who despise the Word of God will be destroyed (consider Luke 19:27), while those who fear God’s commandment to repent and believe in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ will be rewarded, with remission of all their sins and everlasting life!
Vs. 14 “The law of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.”
The Law of the wise is born out of the Word of God; it’s commandments, its statutes, its principals, its truths, all which bring life to those who believe and heed them, for by them they turn people away from sin and death and from the power of Satan to God. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ then is the Law of the wise.
Vs. 15 “Good understanding gains favor,
But the way of the unfaithful is hard.”
Good understanding, that is those who understand and discern the Word of God correctly gain favor with all, (consider Daniel), while those who follow the degenerate and deceived course of this world are only on a hard path.
Vs. 16 “Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool lays open his folly.”
The prudent man knows how to conduct himself in the presence of God and man, and so he acts with knowledge in whatever situations he finds himself in. While the fool only lays open his folly before everyone.
Vs. 17 “A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
But a faithful ambassador brings health.”
A wicked messenger lacks the tact and concern to know how to bring a message to those to whom they are sent, and so they only create more strife and problems. However a faithful ambassador will represent you and your words wisely, and so they bring health to all concerned.
Vs. 18 “Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction,
But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.”
Those who refuse to be corrected, who will not listen when rebuked, who disdain being told they are wrong, will only bring poverty and shame to themselves. However those who heed a rebuke, who take it to heart and apply it to their circumstances, person, and life will be honored, because positive change always brings a positive reward.
Vs. 19 “A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.”
When righteous men achieve their Godly desires and goals it’s like a refreshing to their souls. In contrast it is an abomination for fools to depart from evil, to forsake their sins and evil ways and live righteously before God.
Vs. 20 “He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will be destroyed.”
Once again, we are admonished to be careful about whom we keep company with (see Prov. 12:26; also consider 1 Cor. 15:33). And so those who walk with wise men will be wise, for they will be positively directed and influenced by their wise words and conduct to also do and achieve greater and better things. However, the one who befriends fools, i.e., godless people whose lives are only full of sin and folly and vile speech will be destroyed, for they are only following those on a dead-end path that ends in destruction.
Vs. 21 “Evil pursues sinners,
But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.”
When one lives a sinful life, they can be assured that it will be filled with evil, with all kinds of troubles, tragedies, and sorrows, for their lifestyle opens the door to it, and the consequences of their sins assures it. On the other hand, those who live righteously will be repaid with good. The quality of their lives then is always more blessed and secure and peaceful.
Vs. 22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.”
Righteous people not only leave an inheritance for their children, but if they can, for their grandchildren as well. Now even though the sinner may store up wealth for themselves in the end it will find its way into righteous hands.
Vs. 23 “Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor,
And for lack of justice there is waste.”
Untilled land will not bring forth a harvest, therefore the poor who does work what little land he has will find much food. However, because there is a lack of justice in this life, what he does bring forth may also go to waste, because he is not compensated fairly for it.
Vs. 24 “He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”
Corporal punishment is a sound form of loving discipline for one’s child, to bring about a positive change. But should never be done in anger or used to vent one’s frustrations on them. Therefore, to withhold it when it is necessary to effect a change in their behavior is only to hate one’s child, because you then only open the door to greater rebellion and greater defiance coming from them towards you and towards all. Therefore, if you love your child discipline them promptly when they knowingly miss behave or openly defy you because by doing so you will drive rebellion and folly far from them (consider Pr. 22:15). Again, if you don’t, and then by default you leave it to others, you will likely be later dealing with irate parents and neighbors, school teachers and principals, and as they “grow” into teenagers and adulthood, the police, the courts, lawyers and judges, correction officers and institutions, probation and parole officers etc. (and all of the “fun” and fallout that goes with all of that, of raising an undisciplined child). Just a whole lot of trouble that can be avoided by you if you deal with it when they are young, and not leave it to society to deal with after those mischievous and malfeasant behavior patterns have been well formed in them.
Vs. 25 “The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul,
But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.”
God always provides for the righteous, just as surely as He withholds His blessings from the wicked. That said, the wicked by their own lifestyle choices often lead themselves into their own poverty and degradation.
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
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