Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. 2 The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life. 3 It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel. 4 The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing. 5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out. 6 Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man? 7 The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. 8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment Scatters all evil with his eyes. 9 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”? 10 Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord. 11 Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right. 12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both. 13 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread. 14 “It is good for nothing,” cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts. 15 There is gold and a multitude of rubies, But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. 16 Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger, And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress. 17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel. 18 Plans are established by counsel; By wise counsel wage war. 19 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips. 20 Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp will be put out in deep darkness. 21 An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning Will not be blessed at the end. 22 Do not say, “I will recompense evil”; Wait for the Lord, and He will save you. 23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord, And dishonest scales are not good. 24 A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way? 25 It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows. 26 A wise king sifts out the wicked, And brings the threshing wheel over them. 27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart. 28 Mercy and truth preserve the king, And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne. 29 The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head. 30 Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.
Commentary
Vs. 1 Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
Wine always
mocks those who are given to it, for they don’t control it, rather it controls
and mocks them, as they do and say all kinds of foolish things while under its
influence. Many lives have been negatively altered or ruined by decisions and
choices made while under alcohols influence. If abusing wine is the pathway to self
ruin, abusing strong drink is the pathway to fighting, violence, arrest and incarceration.
Vs. 2 The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
When a king or ruler is enraged all his subjects fear just like the lion’s prey does when it roars before it strikes. Provoking a king or ruler to wrath then is only to sin against one’s own life. In contrast to doing that then is the wise man who knows how to appease the kings wrath rather then bring it down on his own head. Now one Biblical account of this is the Book of Ester where the wicked Haman plotted to kill not only Mordecai the Jew, but all the Jews in the Kingdom of Persia, however the kings queen Ester was of Jewish descent, and so when the king became aware of Haman’s wicked plot his wrath was aroused against him, to Haman’s own death (Ester 1:1-7:10).
Vs. 3 It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel.
Some people live by quarrelling, however as the Scripture says there is no honor or dignity in that since any fool can start a quarrel. A Godly person then is never seeking to escalate a matter, rather they seek to diffuse it (Matt. 5:9).
Vs. 4 The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
Vs. 5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out.
People rarely reveal the deep counsels of their heart. And so a person of understanding will not take to heart everything
that is first told them, instead they will tactfully draw the truth out.
Vs. 6 Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man?
It's amazing how many people have such a high regard for themselves, who have no problem proclaiming their own goodness; just go to any job interview! However what people really are and what they say they are, often are two different things. Finding a faithful person then is no easy task.
Vs. 7 The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.
God not only honors those who live in integrity while they live, but He also blesses their children after them, that said a man whose life is ruled by integrity also leaves a lasting legacy for his own children to grow up in and be influenced and blessed by.
Vs. 8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment Scatters all evil with his eyes.
Here the Scripture makes it clear that a just ruler sits on the throne of judgment and scatters all evil with his eyes, that is he leaves no room for those given to it to have no place with him in his kingdom! In Christ’s Kingdom He will rule the world with a rod of iron and every wicked person He will strike even before their evil thoughts become deeds in their hands.
Vs. 9 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?
This is a warning against self-righteousness, against assuming that you, or anyone else can cleanse themselves from their own sin (1 John 1:6-10). For only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from our sins, washing us clean in the sight of God when we repent and believe in Him! For it is only when someone turns from dead works and turns to the Lord Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen from the dead, that Christ’s Sacrificial death on the Cross is imputed to them, and with that God’s Holy Spirit transforms them, bringing us to Spirit life and uniting us with Christ, just as He seals and sanctifies us forever (Heb. 10:14). Self-righteousness, and or self-redemption, then is a lie!
Vs. 10 Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord.
God hates it when people use deceitful and dishonest practices in their businesses, as well as in their personal lives, for the deceiver, the con man, and the liar have no place with Him, for all such practices are an abomination in the sight of God.
Vs. 11 Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right.
If children are rightly judged by their actions; whether they do what is pure and right; how much more their parents, and all of us.
Vs. 12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both.
The fact that God created us all means that we are all accountable to Him, accountable for what we choose to see and hear.
Vs. 13 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
The person who loves to sleep in will find themselves hungry and sleeping outside if they don’t get up and go to work! Yes, poverty is a tragedy that requires a compassionate response, but when someone willfully chooses to be lazy, and not try to take steps to provide for themselves, then their own self-induced poverty is no else’s fault but their own.
Vs. 14 “It is good for nothing,” cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.
The cunning buyer distains whatever the seller offers him by pointing out all kinds of faults in what he is actually wanting to purchase, the seller being taken aback by all of that now feels compelled to lower their asking price, sometimes even well beyond what its true value is. And with that the buyer grudgingly aggress to purchase it. However, when the deal is done, and he has gone his way, then he boasts of how he stole it from them. Not a practice that honest people should employ.
Vs. 15 There is gold and a multitude of rubies, But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
People may covet gold and all kinds of precious gems, but truly the most rare and valuable gems are those lips which bear Godly knowledge.
Vs. 16 Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger, And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
Having financial dealings with someone who secures high risks debts, here the debts of strangers and people of ill-repute, (people of low moral character), is only a very high risk to yourself. Therefore, do not do so because the chance of their defaulting on you is almost guaranteed.
Vs. 17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
When people get ahead by dishonest means they initially celebrate their "success", however justice is always looming and sooner or later all that was acquired by ill-begotten means will leave a very bad taste in their mouths.
Vs. 18 Plans are established by counsel; By wise counsel wage war.
In all walks of life plans are established by counsel, from the engineering of bridges and buildings, to establishing of corporate plans and agendas, and most certainly in matters concerning the local church or even within ones own family, like with purchasing a home, or in ones own life. Consultation before making big decisions is always the key to ones success. Therefore, before making critical or important decisions seek wise counsel, for by it you will wage and win your own war.
Vs. 19 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.
Telling anything to a gossip guarantees that they will tell it to others, and who knows what kind of “spin” they will put on it when they do. Therefore, if someone flatters you (overtly speaks well of you to you) which is often just a ploy to get you to open up to them, turn away from them and walk on, because they will only harm you in the end.
Vs. 20 Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.
In the Law the cursing of one’s parents was to be punished by death (Ex. 21:17). Here the warning is given that all who do so, who hold their parents in such low regard, so as to disdain and curse them, will have their lamp put out in deep darkness, their own persons then will be judged by God.
Vs. 21 An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning Will not be blessed at the end.
Here the warning is against dispensing one’s wealth hastily to one’s children before they have proven themselves to be financially responsible. Because if you do chances are they will only squander it.
Vs. 22 Do not say, “I will recompense evil”; Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
In the Scripture we are told and promised that vengeance is the Lords, that He will repay, therefore it is incumbent upon us all who believe in Him to give place to wrath, and let Him bring about both justice and our justification (consider Rom. 12:19-21).
Vs. 23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord, And dishonest scales are not good.
All business practices that are crooked, that are misleading and are meant to deceive the buyer, are practices that everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ must not partake in, or be partners with. Honesty and integrity are the marks of a true Christian business man or woman.
Vs. 24 A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?
God’s Sovereignty is Supreme, as men and women who believe in Him, we must all learn to trust Him and His Will for us, rather than trying to bring about what we want for ourselves.
Vs. 25 It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows.
Here we are warned not to make false promises to God, to rashly devote something to Him as holy and then later change our mind, for God has no delight in fools, in those who like to make a big display of their false giving and sacrifices before others (consider Ecc. 5:4-6; Acts 4:36-5:1-11).
Vs. 26 A wise king sifts out the wicked, And brings the threshing wheel over them.
How does a king or ruler establish his tenure or reign, by sifting out the wicked in his realm and crushing them under the wheels of justice.
Vs. 27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
Here the thought is that we all have a conscience given us by God by which we can all discern basic good and evil in His sight, that said, one can harden their conscience by continually choosing to go against it.
Vs. 28 Mercy and truth preserve the king, And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.
Sadly, king Rehoboam, king Solomons son, who succeeded him, did not heed his own fathers counsel given here, but instead took the harsh advice of the youths he grew up with, and so his decision to be heavy handed with those who sought him cost him dearly, for he would lose all of Israel, except the tribe of Judah.
Vs. 29 The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head.
The glory of young men is their strength, hopefully they will use it in God’s and all people’s service, for it lasts but a season. In contrast the splendor of old men is their grey head, for they by living wisely have attained to old age.
Vs. 30 Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.
Chastening of a child is the means by which lasting change in their behavior becomes established in their hearts and lives.
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