1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits. 3 Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established. 4 The Lord has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. 5 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. 6 In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. 7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. 8 Better is a little with righteousness, Than vast revenues without justice. 9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. 10 Divination is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment. 11 Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s; All the weights in the bag are His work. 12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is established by righteousness. 13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And they love him who speaks what is right. 14 As messengers of death is the king’s wrath, But a wise man will appease it. 15 In the light of the king’s face is life, And his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain. 16 How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul. 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. 19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud. 20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. 21 The wise in heart will be called prudent, And sweetness of the lips increases learning. 22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it. But the correction of fools is folly. 23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips. 24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. 25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 26 The person who labors, labors for himself, For his hungry mouth drives him on. 27 An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire. 28 A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends. 29 A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good. 30 He winks his eye to devise perverse things; He purses his lips and brings about evil. 31 The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness. 32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. 33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.
Commentary
Vs. 1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
A man my plan to do this thing or that, but the Lord is Sovereign, and He will always prevail, in revealing and declaring and then establishing His will.
Vs. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits.
A man may justify to himself or others doing this thing or that, however it is the Lord who weighs the spirits, that is it is He who knows and judges all the works and ways of a man.
Vs. 3 Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.
Here we are encouraged to commit all of our works to the Lord, to trust Him wholly to bring them about, for if they are His will then He Will bring them about, and thus our thoughts will established when we accept His decisions and not try to establish our own.
Vs. 4 The Lord has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.
The Sovereignty of Almighty God is such that though the wicked may “triumph” for season, there end, and ruin is assured.
Vs. 5 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
Human pride is always an abomination to the Lord because by it man or woman denies and or seeks to supplant their Creator and Sustainer; seeks to establish themselves or their will above Him and His. When the world united themselves to build the tower of Babylon it was through human pride, and when the world once again unites itself to take their stand against the Lord Jesus Christ and His armies at Armageddon it will be through the same human pride. Be assured then all who do so will be punished.
Vs. 6 In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.
Here we see a parallel with John 1:16, that through God’s mercy and His words truth the Atonement has been provided for all of our iniquities (i.e., sins). That said having in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is never devoid of having a fear of the Lord, for it is by it that one also departs from evil.
Vs. 7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
This is a great promise, as well as a reality check for us when things go south, because surely the Lord appoints both good and bad in our lives (Isaiah 45:7).
Vs. 8 Better is a little with righteousness, Than vast revenues without justice.
Here we commended to living honestly and justly rather then following the paths of the ruthless, greedy and unjust.
Vs. 9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
God’s Sovereignty is once again from and center, as a man may plan this or that, but it is Lord alone who directs His steps, which again is another reason to fear Him,
Vs. 10 Divination is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment.
Here the idea is that the king rules for God, therefore his mouth must not transgress in judgment by showing partiality, or by rendering unjust decisions that do not reflect nor represent God well.
Vs. 11 Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s; All the weights in the bag are His work.
God’s dealings are always honest and just, everything He measures out is always fair and true, therefore those who conduct business down here must always do the same. A dishonest measure then has no place with those who fear Him and want to obey Him.
Vs. 12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is established by righteousness.
The king is God’s representative, therefore he must shun all wickedness and evil, for a throne is established by righteousness, not lawlessness’s.
Vs. 13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And they love him who speaks what is right.
When a man speaks righteously, and not with deception or flattery, they become the delight of kings. For even the evil Herod had a deep regard for John the Baptist because he always spoke what was right and true in the sight of God (Mark 6:20).
Vs. 14 As messengers of death is the king’s wrath, But a wise man will appease it.
A wise will not arouse the king’s wrath, for the king can has power to sentence one to death, and so when his wrath is aroused a wise will appease it.
Vs. 15 In the light of the king’s face is life, And his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain.
When a king is alighted with joy his face lights up with life, and so his favor goes out to those who do so, and thus he refreshes them like a cloud of the latter rain
Vs. 16 How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
Wisdom from, and understanding of God lasts forever, but silver and gold are only possessed for a moment. For a man may become rich, but yet he remains a fool.
Vs. 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul.
To depart from evil is the highway of the upright, for they not only preserve their persons and lives from sins troubles, but everyone who departs from evil preserves their soul.
Vs. 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
This proverb is so true, when a man or woman walk in pride they do not see the pitfalls before them, and so they cast of restraint, or reject sound counsel and guidance and only set themselves on a course for destruction and ruin.
Vs. 19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
The person who remains humble will remain with humble people instead of getting snared with the proud. For no one who is proud will go unpunished.
Vs. 20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.
Wisely heeding God’s Word is the only way to find good. Same with trusting in the Lord is the only way to everlasting joy.
Vs. 21 The wise in heart will be called prudent, And sweetness of the lips increases learning.
A wise person will be well regarded not only for their discernment and understanding, but also their ability to teach and instruct others.
Vs. 22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it. But the correction of fools is folly.
Having understanding overflows with life to those who have it. However, to correct a fool is only folly because they will not listen and learn. The Lord Jesus warned about giving what is holy to the dogs and casting one’s perils before swine lest they turn and tear you in pieces (also consider Prov. 1:7; 2:2; 7:23; 12:15, 12:23; 13:19; 14:3, 9; 15:5, 14; 17:16; 18:2; 23:9; 26:7, 9 etc.).
Vs. 23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips.
A wise person teaches his mouth, that is he disciplines it (consider James 1:26) and in doing so he also adds learning to his lips so that he may wisely instruct others.
Vs. 24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.
When we use pleasant words, i.e., kind words or caring speech, or even just encouraging speech we are like a honey comb (i.e., a blessing) to those we speak too, bringing sweetness to their souls and health to their bones.
Vs. 25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
This Proverb is first stated in Pr. 14:12 and being repeated in the Word God gives evidence to its importance and reality. When I came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God was opened up to me I was amazed at how true and revealing it was, and one of the first verses I read in Proverbs was this one which struck me as being profoundly wise and insightful.
Vs. 26 The person who labors, labors for himself, For his hungry mouth drives him on.
The person who only labors for themself is driven by nothing other than their desire to satisfy their own appetites. Jesus warned about having that sort of outlook on life when He said: “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” John 6:27
Vs. 27 An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire.
An ungodly person not only does evil but also actively digs it up, i.e., looks for it in others, and then they broadcast it everywhere.
Vs. 28 A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends.
Similar to the ungodly person in being evil is the perverse (i.e., crooked) person. For they love to distort the truth and to use such things to their advantage, even setting people against each other for their own gain. Therefore, where they are there is going to be strife. In the same vein as them is the whisper (talebearer) who by doing so will destroy even the best of friendships.
Vs. 29 A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good.
The violent man entices his neighbor to join in violent or vengeful acts often under the guise of doing justice, or “protecting”, someone or something.
Vs. 30 He winks his eye to devise perverse things; He purses his lips and brings about evil.
Winking of the eye is likely to bring others in agreement to do whatever illegal or evil or wrongdoing that he himself has already plotted to do. The Pursing of his lips indicates his determination to see it through.
Vs. 31 The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness.
Long life is a crown of glory, and it is found in the way of righteousness.
Vs. 32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
Far greater in the sight of God (and far better of) is the person who is slow to anger than he who is mighty (consider Pr. 14:17), because a strong or powerful man who cannot manage his temper will only do much unnecessary harm (antithesis James 1:19-20). In the same vein then is he who rules his spirit, and thus is not ruled by it, this one is far better he who takes a city (i.e., does great deeds) because they’re works will remain, for the angry person always undermines their own successes and relationships.
Vs. 33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.
In ancient times the casting of lots was they way God’s people determined the Will of the Lord. Now God Himself was in this and so through it He rendered His decision, that is what is being stated here. Now this practice was last used by the Apostles in determining the replacement Apostle for Judas Iscariot (see Acts 1:15-26). However, since the Holy Spirit’s outpouring the mind of the Lord is now revealed to us though Him and God’s Word (consider 1 Cor. 2:6-16; John 10:1-5) and thus the casting of lots has ceased to be used by God to render His Will for us.
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
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