1 Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife. 2 A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, And will share an inheritance among the brothers. 3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts. 4 An evildoer gives heed to false lips; A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue. 5 He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. 6 Children’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father. 7 Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, Much less lying lips to a prince. 8 A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; Wherever he turns, he prospers. 9 He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends. 10 Rebuke is more effective for a wise man Than a hundred blows on a fool. 11 An evil man seeks only rebellion; Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him. 12 Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly. 13 Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house. 14 The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts. 15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord. 16 Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, Since he has no heart for it? 17 A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. 18 A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge, And becomes surety for his friend. 19 He who loves transgression loves strife, And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction. 20 He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil. 21 He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy. 22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. 23 A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back To pervert the ways of justice. 24 Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. 25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her who bore him. 26 Also, to punish the righteous is not good, Nor to strike princes for their uprightness. 27 He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. 28 Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.
Vs. 1 Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife.
Managing one’s own family and home should be paramount to a man rather then just pursing wealth and promotions to their neglect, and ultimately to his own families disfunction and disharmony.
Vs. 2 A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, And will share an inheritance among the brothers.
If anyone needs motivation for serving well this maybe it. Now in the realm of the Gospel a Gentile Christian who serves Christ well will indeed share an inheritance among all of God’s elect children, and may very well rule over those who only caused shame.
Vs. 3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.
Like with the testing of precious metals to see how pure they are, so the Lord is the One who tests our hearts.
Vs. 4 An evildoer gives heed to false lips; A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.
Evil people will listen to those who tell blatant lies, slander, or bear false witness against others. Similarly, a liar will eagerly listen to a spiteful tongue which harms or defames others. And so evil people are known by what they will listen too, and what they will unfoundedly believe about others.
Vs. 5 He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
In God’s Word He makes it very clear that we are to take care of poor, that we are to defend the defenseless, and always consider their plight and cause. Therefore, to knowingly mock them when it is our God given duty and responsibility to always watch out for them is only to reproach Him, which is a very perilous thing for anyone to do, since He makes rich and He makes poor, He makes peace and He makes calamity, He kills and He keeps alive etc. And so, to mock those whom God has called us all to watch out for is only to unleash His wrath and displeasure upon oneself (consider Ex. 22:22-24; Deut. 10:17-18; 24:17-18; Job 34:28; Psalm 12:5; James 2:1-12 etc.). In the same vein then is the one who rejoices at another’s calamity, pain, peril or misfortune. For all who do so will not go unpunished by the Lord.
Vs. 6 Children’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father.
Children and grandchildren are the crown of old men, it is to their honor and delight that God has given them these (consider Psalm 127:3-5). Similarly, the glory of children is their father, for children inherently look up to and admire their father, and so fathers bear this responsibility well and be honorable with and merciful towards all.
Vs. 7 Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, Much less lying lips to a prince. Excellent speech is the mark of dignity, and as such has no place in the mouth of a fool, neither than should lying lips have any place with a prince.
Vs. 8 A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; Wherever he turns, he prospers.
Here the word present may also be rendered, “a bribe”, and so the idea is that the possessor of it thinks that by it, they can obtain the favor of others, or have doors of influence and opportunity opened to them etc. (note: may be re-written)
Vs. 9 He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.
This is the sign of a mature Christian who forgives a transgression in order to keep a Godly relationship intact, thus by covering it they seek love, not revenge. In contrast is the one who is wronged (or hears of a wrong), and then only goes on to repeat the matter to others, and thus in doing so they only destroy the relationship. Now there is a time when serious matters must come to light, but that is a whole other matter which is not being addressed here.
Vs. 10 Rebuke is more effective for a wise man Than a hundred blows on a fool.
Rebuking a wise man will bring about change, as they will consider the wisdom of your words and see the error of their way and want to change, while severely chastening a fool may never convince them that they are wrong about anything.
Vs. 11 An evil man seeks only rebellion; Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
Evil people will not submit to God’s authority, in fact they never want to submit too any lawful authority, instead they only want rebellion and chaos and trouble. Therefore, a cruel messenger will be sent against them, which could be an earthly “messenger”, or a heavenly one.
Vs. 12 Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly.
Quite a graphic proverb, but the point is driven home that one should steer wide and clear of a fool when he has engulfed himself in his folly.
Vs. 13 Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.
When someone repays someone with evil when they have been done good by them, they only set themselves up for ongoing evil to come to themselves. This proverb then speaks to the Sovereignty of God.
Vs. 14 The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.
Though disagreements can start of small they can soon become raging torrents! Therefore, when you see that the matter is not resolving, but only beginning to escalate, turn of the taps as it were rather than continuing to force the issue, and thus opening the flood gates of wrath and fury.
Vs. 15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
God is a God of justice and those who pervert justice by justifying the wicked or condemning the just will give an account to Him who will not justify them for doing so.
Vs. 16 Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, Since he has no heart for it?
This proverb makes me think of those who are given God’s precious Word and yet only disdain it, or do not even know what to do with it.
Vs. 17 A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.
True friends stick with you through thick and thin. They’re the ones you can trust and lean on when things go south. Similarly, is the bond of brotherhood he will be there for you when adversity befalls you.
Vs. 18 A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge, And becomes surety for his friend.
Acting as a guarantor for a friends debt, even for a close friend is never wise, for if they default then you will have to bear all their debt, which will only strain or ruin your friendship, and being friends does not guarantee that your friend is financially sound or will act prudent if your securing their debt. And so just follow basic wisdom rather then getting entangled in your friends financial burdens. For if they need a guarantor in the first place then they are already a bad credit risk, and if they ask you to secure their loan for them then they are not a "friend" that you need in your life.
Vs. 19 He who loves transgression loves strife, And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.
Someone who loves transgression is an evil person whose heart is only bent on stirring up strife and trouble, often for their own pleasure and amusement. While he who exalts his gate, is a person who only loves to boast in the presence of others, of having this or that, of doing this or that, or being this or that, and thus they are unwittingly seeking destruction because many a strife, rebellion, and conflict has been born out of the boaster’s tongue.
Vs. 20 He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.
The person with a deceitful heart cannot find good because their own deceptive ways and lives will not allow them to find it. While the person who speaks with a perverse tongue likewise finds a similar fate, for the tongue not only directs the body, but also their own lives into evil.
Vs. 21 He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy.
A scoffing child is always a grief to their parents, because they by their scoffing are always arousing the wrath of others. Consider that Ismael mocked Isaac when Isaac was weaned, and thus brought about his and his mother’s removal forever from their place with Abraham (Gen. 21:8-21). Similarly, the father of a fool has no joy because the foolish child is always getting themselves into all kinds of mischief and troubles.
Vs. 22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.
Having a merry heart, a joyful heart, does indeed do a person good, and not just physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. Is it any wonder then that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. In contrast a broken spirit only dries the bones, that is it takes away one’s vitality and health.
Vs. 23 A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back To pervert the ways of justice.
Only wicked men accept and give bribes, and thus pervert the ways of justice by doing so (Psalm 26:10). Therefore every Godly man and leader is called to shun all such things, and such people (consider Ex. 18:21-23; 23:6-9; Deut. 10:17-18; 2 Chr. 19:7; Prov. 29:4; Isaiah 1:23-26; 33:15-16 etc.).
Vs. 24 Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Wisdom is in sight of everyone who understands, who sees their error of their own way, and repents and believes in the Gospel! However, the fool never comes to understand anything, instead their eyes are only on the ends of the earth always looking at this thing or that.
Vs. 25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her who bore him.
Here we are warned to take heed to how we rear our children, because when one rears a fool, by never instructing or correcting them but instead only allows them to live a life of foolishness, recklessness, and irresponsibility, then that son will be a grief not only to others but also to his father, and he will bring sorrow to her who bore him.
Vs. 26 Also, to punish the righteous is not good, Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.
To punish the righteous is never good, nor is it good to strike princes (leaders) when they are upright and sound. For correction is not for the righteous and the Godly, but for the wicked, sinners, and the profane (consider 1 Tim 1:8-11).
Vs. 27 He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.
Knowing when and what to speak is the sign of the mature Christian who uses knowledge rightly. In the same vein a man of understanding is of a calm spirit, and thus he is not quickly aroused to wrath (consider James 1:19-20).
Vs. 28 Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.
Continuing on from verse 27 exhortation to use knowledge in a timely and right way, to remain calm rather then be provoked verse 28 reveals that even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace, that when he shuts his mouth and listens even he is considered perceptive.
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