Life Project Blog

Proverbs 19:8-15

The one who gets wisdom loves life;
    the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper. (19:8)

This verse provides transition for the next several which are a collection of verses that identify things which are not proper or fitting for a wise person. We can look at this short section as a statement of a goal, in this case obtaining wisdom and understanding, and then showing what will not accomplish the goal.

To see this, consider verse 9…

A false witness will not go unpunished,
    and whoever pours out lies will perish.

Solomon is trying to tell us that if we want to obtain wisdom and understanding, we will not succeed by telling lies all the time. In fact, sooner or later, we will get burned by our own lies.

Here’s another one, verse 12…

A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,
    but his favor is like dew on the grass.

If we really and truly desire to become wise, we mustn’t tick off the king. Consider: Back in the days when kings ruled their lands with absolute power, it required a very special kind of idiot to set about to anger the king. Rather, a person with anything even slightly resembling wisdom made it a project to please the king.

All right, I think you have the idea, but there are a couple of these that aren’t so easy, and I’d love to hear your take on them. See you next time!

Chapter 19 deals primarily with the issues of poverty and wealth, Here in vv. 1-7, poverty comes to the fore…

19:1     Better the poor whose walk is blameless
    than a fool whose lips are perverse.

This is very similar to Proverbs 28:6. There is often a connection between being poorer and honest and being dishonest and getting rich. The “fool” in this verse is apparently a rich fool, or at least, a fool who is comfortable. In any case, we see a common theme at work here in which a poor man who is without guile in his dealings, and who has integrity, is in a better position than an wealthier person who is lacking character and integrity.

V. 2: Desire without knowledge is not good—
    how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

As I read this verse in the NIV, it occurs to me that something is wrong. I checked King James: Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

That is way different, much more than usual, so I took a look at the New American Standard (NASB) which is very literal: Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And one who hurries his footsteps errs. {Lit. “sins”}. Still not satisfied, I used the Blue Letter Bible on line to see the Hebrew interlinear, and I came away with the opinion that the NASB is probably the best translation of a very tough verse to translate. So, let’s try again…

V. 2: Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And one who hurries his footsteps errs. (NASB)

It is not a good situation for anyone to be without knowledge and in the language of Proverbs, that person would be a fool. Also, it isn’t good to rush through everything carelessly for it leads to errors, mistakes and even sin.

V. 3: A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,
    yet their heart rages against the Lord.

Rom. 1:19-32 gives a running account of the way mankind subverted its way: they began with a knowledge of God; there came a time when they did not glorify Him as they should; darkness set in upon their unspiritual hearts; in their conceit they began making idols, and the longer they went the worse representation of God they made; they came to be filled with all kinds of wickedness; God finally gave up on them until Gospel times, and that about sums up the verse, and our story.

V. 4: Wealth attracts many friends,
    but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.

Compare v. 7. People like to identify with someone who will be a credit to them in the eyes of men, not with someone who will discredit them. The poorest of families don’t have very many real friends: those who will claim them, invite them over, etc. (Prov. 14:20). Sometimes even relatives practically disown extreme poverty cases.

V. 5: A false witness will not go unpunished,
    and whoever pours out lies will not go free.

Another case of Hebrew parallelism in which the latter statement is a restatement of the first. This verse is almost identical to v. 9. For the punishment of false witnesses, see Prov. 21:28; Deut. 19:16-19.

V. 6: Many curry favor with a ruler,
    and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.

People seek his favor for what he can do for them. A saying: “Be an unusual success, and you will have many false friends and true enemies.” This can raise the question: Do people love you or what you can do for them? Let a child show up on the school ground with a sack of candy, and everybody wants some; “you know me,” many will say.

V. 7: The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
    how much more do their friends avoid them!
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
    they are nowhere to be found.

This is another verse that is tough to translate, but here the NIV seems to me to be on the right track. If you want to check it, you can use the method I mentioned above.

In v. 6 everybody wants to be a friend of the well-to-do, the one who gives gifts; but in this verse a man’s friends and relatives even go away from him, not wanting to have anything to do with him. Even the poor man’s words of appeal fall on deaf ears.

From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;
    with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.

The tongue has the power of life and death,
    and those who love it will eat its fruit.

He who finds a wife finds what is good
    and receives favor from the Lord.

The poor plead for mercy,
    but the rich answer harshly.

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Prov 18:20-24

Chapter 18 winds up with these 5 verses that, once again, give us insight into the nature of disputes and their avoidance. Verses 20 and 21 are all about what people choose to say. Most people today do not quite understand how powerful their words can be, and most often, what is said is so careless that their speech seldom rises beyond nonsense. Words can be as destructive as a bomb, or they can build great cities. Our author describes the result of speech as “Fruit” that can satisfy and fill a person. It is an apt metaphor, as fruit can nourish a person or sicken a person.

Verse 22 takes quite a different angle about disputes, for a person who finds a wife not only finds what is good, but he finds himself within God’s will for creating humanity (cf. Genesis 2:20-25).

The final two verses reference the friends we keep. If we really think about it, we may have a lot of friends at any given time, yet

 If we are honest, most of those are more likely acquaintances and not true friends. Sometimes there may be someone who insinuates themselves into our circle of friends and who goes to great lengths to earn our trust, only to take advantage of us and bring about our ruin. Yet a true friend will remain at our side no matter what and will always have our back.