1 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. 2 Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet. 3 The foolishness of a man twists his way, And his heart frets against the Lord. 4 Wealth makes many friends, But the poor is separated from his friend. 5 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape. 6 Many entreat the favor of the nobility, And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts. 7 All the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him. 8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good. 9 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies shall perish. 10 Luxury is not fitting for a fool, Much less for a servant to rule over princes. 11 The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression. 12 The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is like dew on the grass. 13 A foolish son is the ruin of his father, And the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping. 14 Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the Lord. 15 Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger. 16 He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die. 17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given. 18 Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction. 19 A man of great wrath will suffer punishment; For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again. 20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days. 21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand. 22 What is desired in a man is kindness, And a poor man is better than a liar. 23 The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil. 24 A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. 25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge. 26 He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother Is a son who causes shame and brings reproach. 27 Cease listening to instruction, my son, And you will stray from the words of knowledge. 28 A disreputable witness scorns justice, And the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity. 29 Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And beatings for the backs of fools.
Commentary
Vs. 1 “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.”
Far better is a poor person who is an honest and has integrity; even if it costs them financially for doing so; than the person who has perverse lips, and is a fool. Thus, perverse lips here equate with being devious and misleading, for such mean to mislead, scam, or take advantage of people or a situation in some way. These people then are fools who will be snared by their own deceitful words and ways.
Vs. 2 “Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet.”
It is never good for a soul to be without knowledge, knowledge of God and His Word and ways, which alone are right and truthful, and thus can guide one through the perils of this life safely, because in this world there is nothing but lies and deceptions forwarded and fostered by the father of lies, Satan. Thus, to begin anything hastily, without knowledge of God, only leads to sin and error.
Vs. 3 “The foolishness of a man twists his way, And his heart frets against the Lord.”
When people knowingly engage and indulge in what God has forbidden, and their own foolish choices bring the consequences home to them, instead of confessing and forsaking their sin, as one should, often their heart only turns against the Lord and they try to lay the blame on Him. This is how nominal believers often fall away from the Lord and their faith in Him.
Vs. 4 “Wealth makes many friends, But the poor is separated from his friend.”
This is a sad fact that peoples desire for wealth
is often the impetus or driving force for them to seek “friendship” with those
who have it. That the poor is only separated from his friend is simply because
his ambitious friend only wants “friendships” with those that will profit him,
or help him get ahead. And so as soon as they come then he immediately goes to them, forsaking his poor friend. However, those kinds of "friendships" are the most shallow
and meaningless of all; especially when things go bad.
Those who bear false witness against others, who slander and defame people; often to set others against them; will not go unpunished, for the Lord judges all liars (consider Rev. 21:8).
Vs. 6 “Many entreat the favor of the nobility, And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.”
People always seek the favor of the rich, powerful, and influential, hoping that they will forward their cause and or prosper them. Similarly, people will always be “friends” with those who give gifts, that is until the gifts or blessings cease to flow, the prodigal son found this out when his wealth dried up and in his time of need no one gave him anything. One should not then put much stock in such “friendships”.
Vs. 7 “All the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him.”
In striking contrast to the previous proverb which saw the rich and powerful always being courted by those seeking their favor, who want to be like them, is the poor man who no one seeks the favor of. Indeed his own brothers turn against him and hate him when he falters and falls, being ashamed to identify themselves with him. Even his own friends have little patience for him in his plight, and so though he may pursue them with words, with appeals for understanding, yet they abandon him, because to them there is no point in remaining loyal to a poor man when he is on his way down, because they all wrongly assume that God is judging him. Sadly we see this played out in the life of Job, a truly righteous and just man whose his friends and loved ones all abandoned and turned against him, when they should have been consoling and comforting him. Maybe that's why Jesus chooses the poor in spirit for His Kingdom (Matt. 5:3).
Vs. 9 “A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies shall perish.”
This proverb is again restated from verse five, by doing so the Word of God is making a strong point against bearing false witness against others and speaking lies.
Vs. 10 Luxury is not fitting for a fool, Much less for a servant to rule over princes.
Luxury is not fitting for a fool for they do not know how to conduct themselves with dignity and refinement. Servants should not rule over princes because they do not know how to exercise authority justly, for inevitably power and privilege goes to their head and they become unjust and ungodly rulers.
Vs. 11 The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.
A mans discretion causes him to pause and consider, and thus be slow to anger, when faced with a provocation. Similarly he knows how to let offenses pass away, and so it is to his glory that he overlooks a transgression, rather then seeking to punish or repay every single offense.
Vs. 12 The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is like dew on the grass.
The kings (or a ruler’s wrath) is like the roaring of a lion, (which roars loudly to strike fear in its prey), thus so is the kings wrath, warning all who arouse it of impending punishment and doom. In contrast having his favor is like dew on the grass, a gentle refreshing. (BBC was consulted for this proverb).
Vs. 13 A foolish son is the ruin of his father, And the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping.
A foolish son is the ruin of his father because his foolish lifestyle ruins his good name and squanders his wealth. Thus, the lesson is to raise your children to be responsible individuals. That’s one situation that takes away peace from a man’s house, the other is having a contentious wife whose constant nagging and bickering are as annoying as a continual dripping of water in a metal pan.
Vs. 14 Houses
and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a
prudent wife is from the Lord.
Just as fathers give houses and riches to the sons they love, who obey and serve them, so the Lord gives a prudent (i.e., a wise wife) to those men who serve and honor Him.
Vs. 15 Laziness
casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will
suffer hunger.
Being lazy casts one into a deep sleep, thus laziness causes one’s life and opportunities to pass away or be missed by them (consider what happened in Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matt. 25:14-30). Similarly being idle will lead to ones own hunger and poverty.
Vs. 16 He who
keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die.
Keeping
the commandments of God is mans whole duty, everything else one does is this
life should then be born out of that (consider Ecc. 12:13-14; Rev. 12:17). Those
then who are careless of their ways will die, and not just physically, but they
will die in their sins and transgressions forever alienated from the Lord. Better
then to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ while one can!
Vs. 17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
Such is God’s care for the poor that He promises to repay everyone who has pity on them. Guaranteeing to pay everyone back abundantly for what they did with what He Himself first gave them.
Vs. 18 Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction.
The time to discipline your children is when they are still teachable, when chastisement will bring correction. That said, you never need to be overbearing or heavy handed when you do so.
Vs. 19 A man of great wrath will suffer punishment; For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
A man of great wrath will suffer punishment because his wrath is unappeasable. Therefore, if you rescue him, thinking his heart will change, or he will change his ways you are wrong, for he will still keep his wrath and fury no matter what you say or do, and you’re trying to help him will only lead to your being used and or abused by him. Therefore, if you rescue him guaranteed you will have to do it again. Better then to leave him alone till the Lord, or his own ways humble and correct him.
Being wise and having understanding doesn’t just happen by osmosis, it begins with first listening and then learning to apply what is learned. Ideally then this begins in one’s youth and continues throughout one’s life, ever increasing in the knowledge of and the fear of the Lord.
Vs. 21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.
Whatever plans a man may make, whether he is a common man, or even a ruler of a nation, no mans plans will ever supersede the Lord’s counsel, for He raises up men and nations or brings them low according to His own plans and counsels.
Vs. 22 What is desired in a man is kindness, And a poor man is better than a liar.
Of all the attributes that men think make them men, there is but one thing that is desired to be seen in us men from all and that is kindness. The true measure of a man then is not seen in his abilities, his accomplishments, or his conquests, nor is it found in his influence, his stature, or his wealth, it is only found in the size of his heart, for that alone is the true measure of a man. That a poor man is better than a liar is that he has nothing to offer you but his friendship, while a rich liar, though he promises you much, he will deliver nothing.
Vs. 23 The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.
The fear
of the Lord leads to life because by it one fears and departs from evil, one
departs from the paths of sin and darkness, to God’s pathway of life and light.
Now the Scripture promises that all who do so will abide in satisfaction, that
they will not be visited with evil, for God always watches over the pathway of His
saints who walk with Him on the road of goodness, righteousness, and truth. If there
is an exception there it seen in the O.T. saint Job and the Redeemer of our
souls the Lord Jesus Christ whom God allowed evil to visit for a season so as
to do us all good in the end.
Vs. 24 A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
This is a graphic picture of the lazy glutton, who after filling himself to the full, buries his hand in the bowl once more, but now it is to much of a burden for him to bring it back to his mouth again.
Vs. 25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.
Though a scoffer is not likely to change when you strike or chastise him, nonetheless those simpletons who were following him and his ways will take note and will wary of doing so anymore when they see him punished. In contrast you do not need to use the rod on the back of one who has understanding, a simple rebuke is all he needs to discern knowledge and change.
Vs. 26 He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother Is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.
Respecting and honoring one’s parents is foundational to living right before God and man. Those then who mistreat their father, whether by neglect or willful abuse, or chase away their mother, when she seeks to help or correct them, are only sons and daughters who bring shame and reproach to themselves and their families.
Vs. 27 Cease listening to instruction, my son, And you will stray from the words of knowledge.
Vs. 28 A disreputable witness scorns justice, And the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
The one who bears a false witness against others, justice is not revered or upheld, but only scorned by them. Similarly, the mouth of the wicked not only expounds inequity, but they also feed on it.
Vs. 29 Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And beatings for the backs of fools.
Though the scoffer openly mocks and disdains God and others, (seemingly with impunity), and the fool also brazenly expounds his foolishness to all, yet there is a judgment that is prepared by God for them all.
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