Proverbs 12:1

Pro 12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof [is] brutish.

Ver. 1. Whoso loveth instruction, loveth knowledge.] Here is showed, that adversity is the best university, saith an interpreter. Schola crucis, schola lucis. {a} Corrections of instruction are the way of life. Men commonly beat and bruise their links, before they light them, to make them burn the brighter. God first humbles whom he means to illuminate; as Gideon took thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he "taught the men of Succoth." {Jdg 8:16} {See Trapp on "Rev 3:19"} Mr Ascham was a good schoolmaster to Queen Elizabeth, but affliction was a better, as one well observeth. That verse was much in her mouth -

“ Non ignara mali miseris suceurrere disco. ” - Virgil.

But he that hateth reproof.] Whether it be by the rebukes of men, or the rod of God, he is brutish: tardus est, he is fallen below the stirrup of reason, he is a beast in man’s shape; nothing is more irrational than irreligion. That sapless fellow Nabal would hear nothing; there was no talking to him, no dealing with him; but as [the] horse and mule that have no understanding. {Psa 32:9} Basil complains of the Western churches, that they were grown so proud, ut quid verum sit neque sciant, neque sustineant discere, {b} that they neither knew what was truth, nor would be taught better. Such are near to ruin, and that without remedy. {Pro 29:1} {See Trapp on "Pro 29:1"}

{a} Vexatio dat intellectum.

{b} Epist. ad Evagr.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro_12:1

Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

Worthless and attentive hearers

Attention to the precepts and wise counsels of this book is urged by--

1. The advantage which such precepts are of, to improve a mans carriage and conversation.

2. The fact that they are a safeguard against the mischiefs of evil company.

3. That they are the best preservatives of health and long life.

4. In the ways of wisdom is to be found peace with God, with man, and with our own conscience. But Solomon tells us there are several sorts of men who will be never the wiser nor better for what he says.

(1) Such as are stupid, and have no palate to relish anything but sensual, earthly pleasures.

(2) The froward man, who is under the dominion of his lusts and passions.

(3) The proud man. For he is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. This conceit is commonly the child of prosperity.

(4) The negligent and slothful man. He will not be at the pains to cultivate his mind with the instructions of wisdom.

(5) Men of a vain and frothy spirit, who love to turn serious things into ridicule; jesters and scorners. The qualifications our divine philosopher calls for are diligence and attention. He would have his hearers apply their hearts and incline their ears to the words of his mouth. Where were, and where are now, these schools of wisdom, where diligent hearers may be instructed in the laws of God and a good life? They are found in our schools of literature and in our churches. (W. Reading, M. A.)

The love of instruction

It is by instruction that knowledge comes. He who fancies he has all in himself will never learn. In proportion to the love of instruction will be the acquisition of knowledge. The love of instruction implies humility. It argues a sense of ignorance and need of information. It is a common thing for men to allow pride to cheat them of much valuable knowledge. That the knowledge of duty as well as of truth is here to be included may be inferred from the latter part of the verse. Refusing reproof is brutish, as irrational, senseless, unworthy of a creature endowed with intellect; distinguished by reason from the beasts of the field, and distinguished from them too by his immorality. There may also be comprehended in the expression the absence of what every rational creature ought to have--spiritual discernment and taste; the destitution of all right sentiment and feeling in reference to God and Divine things. This is the character of him whom Paul denominates the natural or animal man, who receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. (R. Wardlaw.)

Instruction implies discipline

Instruction, as the contrast teaches, chiefly implies discipline--that most needful course for acquiring spiritual knowledge. The submission of the will is the only road to Christian attainment. The irritable pride that hates reproof, as if it were an affront to be told of our faults, argues not only want of grace but also want of understanding. (C. Bridges.)

Reproof

The knowledge and the wisdom which this book recommends is a practical and devout thing, having for its foundation the fear of God, and then obedience will come out as the result. If a man loves the end he will love that which leads to the end. Reproof is instruction under another form. It is instruction with an unpleasant face; but not the less necessary and salutary. Some men can hardly be managed in any other way than by just having the rein kept tight upon them. The Bible never permits us to lose sight of our immediate connection with God. The world and human society is not a mere machine. It is a great thing to get the idea of law, and that law is working out its results; but it is a greater thing to get before the mind the idea of the personal superintendence of the Lawgiver. Under His superintendence virtue will be its own reward, and vice and wickedness will bring their own condemnation and punishment. The good or benevolent man does not think about the results to himself and his actions towards others; he does the thing out of those impulses, those Divine and holy instincts, which inhabit that religious nature of his: and God has His eyes upon the good, and the result is the favour of God comes upon him and overshadows him. A man may get on by wickedness for a while wonderfully; but in general the triumph of the wicked is short. When he seems to be established he is always in fear. (T. Binney.)

Hating reproof

A story is told of a Scotch minister, who, for a month or two after his appointment to a country parish, used to treat his hearers to sermons of a very flowery description. Finding, however, that continual preaching of this kind is fruitful of little benefit, he changed his style to something less catching but more practical, and also, with the view of adding weight to his exhortations, inaugurated the schedule system of making collections. On one occasion a young lady collector called on an erstwhile benevolent old spinster belonging to the congregation, and began the attack with the insinuating schedule; but no sooner was her mission comprehended than the countenance of the spinster hardened. Na, na! she exclaimed. Wha wud gie a hapenny to yon man? I likit um weel eneuch when he used to tell us aboot the works o nature, an the bonnie floers, an a that; but when he begoon to speak till us like yon aboot oor fauts, I couldna dae wi um.

Reproof in preaching

One thing I have against the clergy, both of the country and in the town; I think they are not severe enough on their congregations. They do not sufficiently lay upon the souls and consciences of their hearers their moral obligations, and probe their hearts and bring up their whole lives and action to the bar of conscience. The class of sermons which I think are most needed are of the class which offended Lord Melbourne long ago. Lord Melbourne was seen one day coming from a church in the country in a mighty fume. Finding a friend, he exclaimed, Its too bad! I have always been a supporter of the Church, and I have always upheld the clergy. But it is really too bad to have to listen to a sermon like that we have had this morning. Why, the preacher actually insisted upon applying religion to a mans private life! But this is the kind of preaching which I like best, the kind of preaching which men need most; but it is also the kind which they get the least. (W. E. Gladstone.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro 12:1. Whose loveth instruction — Admonition, or reproof, (as appears from the next clause,) which is a singular means of gaining true wisdom; loveth knowledge — Shows that he is a true lover of it, because he is willing to purchase it upon such unwelcome terms, as reproofs are generally thought to be. But he that hateth reproof — Who cannot endure to be told of, and reproved for, his faults; is brutish — Discovers himself to be a most foolish and stupid creature, because he is an enemy to himself, and to his own happiness.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Pro_12:1. Instruction, “discipline” or “disciplinary instruction.”

Pro_12:2. Obtaineth, literally “draws out.”

MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_12:1

THE LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE PROOF OF IT

True knowledge is to be loved—

I. For what it can do for him who loves it.

1. It refines a man. Gold when it is in its natural condition is valuable because it is gold, but when it has been purged from its impurities by the refining process it is more to be valued and is more beautiful. So a man may be sterling gold without much knowledge, but when the dross of ignorance is removed, he is worth more and is more attractive. If this be true of knowledge in the general, it is pre-eminently true of the knowledge which comes from above. If any knowledge exercises a refining influence upon the human mind, much more does the highest knowledge—the knowledge of God.

2. It will open up sources of enjoyment that would otherwise be hidden. The blind are deprived of many enjoyments by lack of sight. There is an abundance of beauty all around them, but their want of vision makes it useless to them. Intellectual ignorance is intellectual blindness; the ignorant man is a stranger to a thousand pleasures which are enjoyed by a well-informed man. Especially ignorance of Divine things shuts a man out from the highest, the only lasting unalloyed source of joy.

3. It makes a man less dependent on the outward and visible. A man who has stored up knowledge will be good company for himself. He can find refreshment by meditating on what he has within him, and need not be ever seeking it in external things. The contemplation of Divine and eternal truths especially, will ever be “within him a well of water” (Joh_4:14).

II. For what it will do for others. If a man makes money only to dig a grave and bury it, he sins against himself and all whom he might bless by its use. So there are men who seem to have no other end in getting knowledge than to bury it. Such a man is an intellectual miser, and a sinner against human kind. There ought to be a love of giving, as well as a love of getting. For a man who possesses any kind of knowledge can bless others by its use. And this being true of all useful knowledge, how much more true is it of the knowledge which makes “wise unto salvation?” Christ insists that no Christian make himself a grave in which to bury this knowledge, but a medium to communicate it (Mat_5:16). And the influence of knowledge which has been acquired is not limited to the short life of a man upon the earth. How much are we indebted to the knowledge gained by earnest seekers in every department of knowledge long before we were born. One earnest seeker may gain a knowledge that will be a light to men as long as the world lasts. Especially those who have been earnest seekers after Divine truth leave a legacy of blessing behind them, the influence of which will outlive the world. For all these reasons men ought to love knowledge.

III. The proof of loving knowledge. He will seek instruction. This is the only way to knowledge. If a man loves the object of his pursuit, he will show his love by the use of means.

1. Seeking instruction is a confession of ignorance, and to be convinced that we are ignorant is the first step to becoming wise. Self-conceit is the fatal barrier to a man’s gaining knowledge.

2. It involves self-denying labour. Little that is worth having can be obtained without labour. The gold-digger has to labour long and painfully before he finds the precious nuggets. If men would drink of a springing well of pure water they must dig deep down for it. The student must plod over dry details if he wishes to taste the sweets of learning.

3. It generally involves correction by the instructor. If a man sets out to dig for gold or to dig for water, he will most likely make mistakes while he is a novice. If he is really in earnest about his work he will receive “reproof,” although it will not be altogether palatable. So with the scholar, he must suffer the reproof of the master. Doubtless the main reference here is to that knowledge which regenerates the character; and certainly the man who loves this highest knowledge will confess his ignorance, will not shrink from labouring to attain it, will accept that “reproof” which is an indispensable element in Divine instruction. If the man of God is to be “thoroughly furnished” or “perfected,” he must accept “reproof” and “correction,” as well as instruction (2Ti_3:16-17).

IV. The character of the man who does not love reproof. He is “brutish.” The great difference between a man and a brute is that the one can grow intellectually and morally and the other cannot. Many animals possess great sagacity, and to a certain extent that can be developed. They sometimes, too, possess admirable qualities, but they are not capable of soul-enlargement. But man is, and in order to attain it he must submit to the instruction and reproof of those who are wiser than himself. He must stoop before he can rise. If he will not do this, he will never attain to the high destiny for which he was created—ever to be rising higher and higher in the scale of being. His lower nature will rule his spirit, and he will be little better than the beast. He must submit to the correction and instruction of His God if he would not be classed with “the horse and the mule, which have no understanding” (Psa_32:8-9). The man who will not take reproof will certainly have to submit to it, and this not only from those who are wiser than himself, but from his companions in ignorance, A terrible reproof will be administered by Divine Wisdom to those who refuse reproof (chap. Pro_1:24-31). And he will not escape upbraidings from those who are involved in the same sentence. Ungodly men are the first to upbraid their companions in ungodliness when they are all involved in the same penalty.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

Here is shewed that adversity is the best university, saith an interpreter. Corrections of instructions are the way of life. Men commonly beat and bruise their links before they light them, to make them burn the brighter. God first humbles whom He means to illuminate; as Gideon took thorns of the wilderness and briars and with them he taught the men of Succoth (Jdg_8:16). M. Ascham was a good schoolmaster to Queen Elizabeth, but affliction was a better, as one well observeth. He that hateth reproof, whether it be by the rebukes of men, or the rod of God, is fallen below the stirrup of reason, he is a brute in man’s shape; nothing is more irrational than irreligion.—Trapp.

The most we can attain to in this life is, not to know, but only to have a love of knowledge; we know in part, and a partial knowledge is not to know indeed. If we can love knowledge entirely, that is the entireness of knowledge in this life. Now as knowledge cometh from instruction, so the love of knowledge from the love of instruction. He that is servant to the one, will soon be a master to the other. A loving obedience in receiving doth even command love to keep what is received.… There is the reproof of an enemy and there is the reproof of a friend, the one seeketh reproach, the other amendment, but neither is to be hated, for howsoever reproof be used it is a profitable thing.—Jermin.

Reproof is not pleasant to nature. We may learn its value from its results, but it will never be sweet to our taste. At the best it is a bitter morsel. The difference between a wise man and a fool is not that one likes it and the other loathes it; both dislike it, but the fool casts away the precious because it is unpalatable, and the wise man accepts the unpalatable because it is precious.—Arnot.

The grand secret of life is to hear lessons, and not to teach them.—Haliburton.

It is the property of all true knowledge, especially spiritual, to enlarge the soul by filling it; to enlarge it without swelling it; to make it more capable, and more earnest to know, the more it knows.—Bishop Sprat.

Ignorance is the curse of God,

Knowledge the wing with which we fly to heaven.

Shakespeare.

This is a great text. We may expect great texts where there is a look of commonplace. The thought raises itself two stories at least in the respect of doctrine. He that, instead of fretting at that mysterious Providence of God that we call evil, enters into its deep experiences, and learns to value it as precious to his soul—that man loves light, or gospel “knowledge.” That is the first story. But, now, he who takes a much wider view, and looks at all the gains from evil to the universe—how impossible would be high forms of knowledge, how utterly unconceived by anyone not Infinite, without the foil of either observed or experienced misery—that man acquiesces in all the evils that are seen in the creation, loving discipline because he loves knowledge, and acquiescing even in hell itself, because he suspects its absolute necessity in the providential system. Mourning over our griefs, which seems to be the work often of a refined and delicate nature, is here asserted to be “brutish.” He is but a Hottentot in the ways of the Almighty who does not see that the crushing of his hopes has been one of the tenderest methods of his redemption.—Miller.

He, and he only, that loves the means, loves the end. The means of knowledge are “instruction” in what is right, and “reproof” for what is wrong. He who is an enemy to either of these means is an enemy to the end. A. Fuller.

Is there any man so like a beast as not to love knowledge? Solomon tells us, that those who hate reproof are brutish. Let us, therefore, examine ourselves by this mark.… He is surely not a rational creature who has swallowed poison, and will rather suffer it to take its course than admit the necessary relief of medicine, lest he should be obliged to confess his folly in exposing himself to the need of it.—Lawson.

It was when Asaph recovered from that strange temptation, under the power of which he seemed to forget the eternity of man’s being, and to confine his estimate to the present life, that he exclaimed, “So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before Thee” (Psa_73:22). And the same comparison is repeatedly used respecting the ungodly. They sink themselves even below the level of the brutes, for they fulfil the ends of their being, under the impulse of their respective instincts and appetites; but the man who forgets his immortality and his God, does not fulfil the end of his. There may also be comprehended in the expression, the absence of what every rational creature ought to have—spiritual discernment and taste; the destitution of all right sentiment and feeling in reference to God and Divine things. This is the character of him whom Paul denominates the “natural” or animal “man,” who receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him.—Wardlaw.

The subject of Pro_12:2 has been treated in previous chapters. See Homiletics on chap. Pro_3:4; Pro_11:21, etc.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

Pro_12:2. Or “hath what he will of God.” Thus it is written of Luther, that by his prayers he could prevail with God at his pleasure. When gifts were offered him, he refused them with this brave speech, “I solemnly protested to God that I would not be put off with these low things.” And on a time praying for the recovery of a godly useful man, among other passages, he let fall this transcendent rapture of a daring faith, “Let my will he done,” and then falls off sweetly; “My will, Lord, because Thy will.” Blessed is he that hath what he will and wills nothing but what he should. If an evil thought haunt his heart, it is the device of the man, he is not the man of such devices.—Trapp.

A man can no way be so happy as by being in God’s favour. If any other thing were better than this, it would here be named; for His purpose is to promise and perform the best. Good men do set their wits to work to find the way whereby they may best please Him, and He doth set His wisdom to work to frame a recompense that may best pleasure them. It is precious—

1. In regard of the rareness of it, it is a flower which groweth only in God’s own garden. It is a privilege and freedom peculiar to the children of God.

2. In regard to the continuance of it, it is not worn out by time, it vanisheth not away, it is never taken from them upon whom it is bestowed.

3. In regard to those good effects wherewith it is always accompanied—defence from enemies, safety from danger, gladness of heart, the love and favour of God it doth minister to everyone that partakes of it.—Dod.

Were the goodness of the godly such as it should be, it would from God’s goodness even deserve praise, not stand in need of remitting favour, it would carry favour with it, it would not be put by seeking to obtain it. But in the best, so little it is, that he must even fetch it out from the Lord with many prayers, earnest suit, and at last it is the great mercy of God that he doth obtain it. But yet, such is the mercy of God toward the good, that however He dealeth with the good man he still obtaineth favour from Him. St. Augustine saith, “Thou receivedst benefit both from His coming and His going; He cometh to the increase of thy comfort, He goeth to the increase of thy care. He goeth away sometimes lest continual presence should make Him despised, and that absence should make Him more desired.—Jermin”

A man of wicked devices may be artful enough to disguise his selfish plans under the mask of religion and benevolence, like the old Pharisees; but the eyes of the Judge of the world are like a flame of fire, they pierce into the secrets of every soul, and there is no dark design harboured which shall not be completely disclosed in the day of Christ.—Lawson.

Let blind reason condemn God. (see on Pro_12:1.) He who has gospel light will see Him as one out of whom he can draw favour. A man not only pure himself, but doing good to others, looks upon God as a fountain of blessing.—Miller.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

β) With reference to domestic, civil and public avocations

Proverbs 12

1          He that loveth correction loveth knowledge;

but whosoever hateth rebuke is brutish.

2     The good man obtaineth favor from Jehovah;

but the man of wicked devices doth he condemn.

3     A man shall not be established by wickedness;

but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

4     A good wife is the crown of her husband,

but one that causeth shame is as rottenness in his bones.

5     The thoughts of the righteous are justice;

the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

6     The words of the wicked are a lying in wait for blood,

but the mouth of the upright delivereth them.

7     The wicked are overturned and are no more;

but the house of the righteous shall stand.

8     According to his wisdom shall a man be praised;

but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.

9     Better is the lowly that serveth himself,

than he that boasteth and lacketh bread.

10     The righteous careth for the life of his beast;

but the sympathy of the wicked is cruelty.

11     He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread:

but he that followeth after vanity is void of understanding.

12     The wicked desireth the spoil of evil doers,

but the root of the righteous is made sure.

13     In the transgression of the lips is a dangerous snare,

but the righteous escapeth from trouble.

14     From the fruit of a man’s mouth shall he be satisfied with good;

and the work of one’s hands shall return to him.

15     The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

but he that hearkeneth to counsel is wise.

16     The vexation of the fool is at once known;

but he that hideth offence is wise.

17     He that uttereth truth proclaimeth right,

but the lying tongue deceit.

18     There is that talketh idly like the piercings of a sword:

but the tongue of the wise is health.

19     The lip of truth shall be established forever;

but the lying tongue only for a moment.

20     Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,

but to those who give wholesome counsel is joy.

21     There shall no evil befall the righteous;

but the wicked are full of calamity.

22     Lying lips are an abomination to Jehovah;

but they that deal truly are his delight.

23     A prudent man hideth knowledge:

but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.

24     The hand of the diligent shall rule:

but the slothful shall be obliged to serve.

25     If heaviness be in the heart of man it boweth it down;

a good word maketb. it glad.

26     The righteous guideth his friend aright;

but the way of the wicked leadeth him astray.

27     The idle catcheth not his prey,

but a precious treasure to a man is diligence.

28     In the path of righteousness is life:

but a devious way (leadeth) to death.

GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL

Ver.11.—רַחֲמֵי. [This plural is cited by Böttcher, § 699, among the examples of that, ideally extended and abstract, which vividly and agreeably impresses the spirit, and therefore is fitly represented by a plural; comp. אַשְׁרֵי, etc.]

Pro_12:17.—יָפִיחַ אֱמוּנָה (comp. יָפִיחַ כְּזָבִים, Pro_6:19) is to be regarded as a relative clause. [Böttcher, however, regards יפיה here and in Pro_6:19; Pro_14:25; Pro_19:5; Pro_19:9; Psa_12:6; Psa_27:12, as a Hiphil participle of peculiar form, found only in a few instances in connection with roots containing a labial that would closely follow the מ which is the ordinary prefix of the Hiphil participle. The omission of this מ gives a form approaching the Kal. Böttcher objects to Ewald’s description of this as an intransitive Kal participle (§ 169, a), that this verb is not intransitive, etc. See § 994, 9 and 4).—A.]

Pro_12:28.—An additional objection to the ordinary interpretation (see exegetical notes below) is the absence of Mappiq in the ה of נְתִיבָה, which must nevertheless be regarded as a third pers. suffix referring to צְרָקָה, “the way of its path.”

EXEGETICAL

1. Pro_12:1-3. Three proverbs, on the contrast between good and evil in general.—Whosoever hateth correction is brutish.—בָּעַר, brutus, stupid as a beast; a peculiarly strong expression. Comp. chaps, Pro_30:2; Psa_49:10; Psa_73:22; Psa_92:6. Hitzig prefers to read בֹּעֵר, which alteration, however, appears from the passages just, cited to be unnecessary.

Pro_12:2. The good man obtaineth favor from Jehovah. For the use of this verb “obtain” (lit. “to draw out”) comp. Pro_3:13; Pro_8:35—But the man of wicked devices doth he condemn,—i.e., Jehovah. Others regard the verb as intransitive, e.g., the Vulgate, “impie agit,” and now Hitzig, who finds expressed here the idea of “incurring penalty.” But for this signification of this Hiphil there is wanting the necessary illustration and support; and as evidence that the וְאִישׁ מְזִמּוֹת may be regarded as an accusative without the sign אֶת comp., e.g., Pro_10:11; Psa_56:8; Job_22:29, etc.—With Pro_12:3 compare Pro_10:25, and with the second clause in particular Pro_12:12 below.

2. Pro_12:4-11. Eight proverbs on the blessings and banes of domestic life, and on the cause of both.

Pro_12:4. A good wife is her husband’s crown. Literally, a woman of power, i.e., of moral power and probity, such as manifests itself in her domestic activity; comp. Pro_31:10; Rth_3:11. The “crown” or the garland (עֲטָרָה) is here regarded evidently as an emblem of honor and renown, comp. the “crown of rejoicing” (στέφανος καυχήσεως), 1Th_2:19; also Pro_31:23; Pro_31:28.—But like a rottenness in his bones is she that causeth shame.—Literally a worm-eating, i.e., a ruin inwardly undermining and slowly destroying; comp. Pro_14:30; Job_3:16.

Pro_12:5. The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceit,—i.e., the very thoughts of the pious, much more then their words and deeds, aim at simple justice and righteousness; the shrewd counsels, however, by which the wicked seek to direct others (תַּחְבֻּלוֹת, comp. Pro_11:14), are in themselves deceitful and unreal, and therefore lead solely to evil

Pro_12:6. The words of the wicked are a lying in wait for blood,—i.e., they mean malice, they are the expression of a bloodthirsty and murderous disposition; comp. Pro_1:11 sq.; Pro_11:9—Altogether needlessly Hitzig alters the phrase אֲרָב־דָּם to אֶרֶב בָּם “are a snare for them.”—The mouth of the righteous, however, delivereth them,—that is, the righteous (comp. Pro_11:6), or it may be also the innocent who are threatened by the lying in wait of the wicked for blood (comp. Pro_11:9). [So Wordsw. and Muenscher]

Pro_12:7. The wicked are overturned and are no more.—The infin. abs. הָפוֹךְ here stands emphatically for the finite verb, and furthermore, for this is certainly the simplest assumption, in an active or intransitive sense [comp. however in general on this idiom Böttcher, § 990, a.—A.]; “the wicked turn about, then are they no more” [comp. the proverbial expression “in the turning of a hand”]. To regard it as a passive (Ewald, Elster, Hitzig) [K., M., S.] is unnecessary; this gives a stronger meaning than the poet probably designed, i.e., “the wicked are overthrown” (or even “turned upside down,” Hitzig). The subsequent clause “and are no more” would not harmonize with so strong a meaning in the antecedent clause, especially if, as Hitzig supposes, the verb really designs to remind us of the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen_19:21). With the second clause comp. Pro_10:25; Mat_7:25.

Pro_12:8. According to his wisdom.—לְפִי [literally “in the face or presence of”], “in proportion to,” “according to the measure of,” as in Jdg_1:8 and frequently elsewhere.—But he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised,—lit., “the crooked in heart,” i.e., the perverse man, who does not see things as they are, and therefore acts perversely and injudiciously (Hitzig).

Pro_12:9. Better is the lowly that serveth himself.—With this use of “lowly, insignificant,” comp. 1Sa_18:23. The phrase וְעֶבֶד לוֹ the Targum, Aben Ezra, Bertheau, Elster [De W., N., S.], regard as expressing this idea, “and he has at the same time a servant.” But the parallelism demands the meaning early given in the LXX, Vulgate and Syr. versions [and now preferred by K., H., M., W.], “ministrans sibi ipsi,” serving himself, which is here evidently put in contrast with the foolish, impoverished pride of birth mentioned in the second clause,—whether we retain the Masoretic reading, or, with Ziegler, Ewald and Hitzig, read וְעֹבֵד לוֹ (participial).—And lacketh bread.—Comp. 2Sa_3:29. With the general sentiment compare the passage which undoubtedly grew out of this, Sir_10:30.

Pro_12:10. The righteous careth for the life of his beast,—i.e., he knows how his beast feels, he concerns himself, he cares for his domestic animals, does not allow them to hunger. [Arnot: When the pulse of kindness beats strong in the heart, the warm stream goes sheer through the body of the human family, and retains force enough to expatiate among the living creatures that lie beyond], Comp. Exo_23:9, “Ye know the heart of he stranger,” from which parallel passage it appears that Ziegler, Elster, etc., are in the wrong in translating נֶפֶשׁ here by “hunger.” For examples of this use of the verb יָדַע “to know,” in the sense of “to concern one’s self, to care for something,” comp. also Pro_27:23; Gen_39:6; Psa_1:6, etc.—But the compassion of the wicked is cruelty,—lit., “is cruel.”—With the whole proverb comp. Sir_7:23.

Pro_12:11. But he that followeth after vanity.—רֵיקִים is probably not the designation of “vain persons,” as in Jdg_9:4; 2Sa_6:20; comp. 2Ki_4:3 (Umbreit, Bertheau, etc.), but is to be regarded as neuter, i.e., as an abstract, and therefore as meaning vain things, vanities, and, as the contrast with the first clause shows, specially “idleness, inaction, laziness.” Comp. the LXX, who have here rendered the expression by μάταια, but in the passage almost literally identical, Pro_28:19, by σχολήν; in like manner Symmachus (ἀπραγίαν), Vulgate (otium), etc.

3. Pro_12:12-22. Eleven additional proverbs with regard to virtues and faults in civil relations, especially sins of the tongue and their opposites.—The wicked desireth the spoil of evil doers,—i.e., one wicked man seeks to deprive another of his gains, one of them is evermore seeking the injury and ruin of another, so that no peace prevails among them (Isa_48:22; Isa_57:21); they are rather “by the conflict of their selfish strivings ever consuming one another.” Thus, and doubtless correctly, Umbreit and Elster [to whose view K. gives a qualified assent], while Bertheau, following the Targum, translates מָצוֹד by “net,” and to illustrate the meaning thus obtained, compares Pro_8:35 [this is also the rendering of the E. V., which is followed by W., M., H.; S. renders “desireth an evil net,” i.e., destruction, being so intent upon his evil deeds as to disregard the consequences; N. renders in seeming agreement with our author “the prey of evil doers,” the genitive being however possessive and not objective, i.e., such prey as evil doers take]; Ewald however and Hitzig regard the passage as altogether corrupt, on account of the widely divergent text of the ancient versions (LXX, Vulg., Syr.), and therefore propose emendations (Ewald, “the desire of the wicked is an evil net;” Hitzig, “the refuge of the wicked is crumbling clay”). It is certainly noteworthy that the LXX and Vulgate offer a double rendering of the verse, first one that widely departs, and then one less seriously differing from the form of the Masoretic text.—With the second clause comp. Pro_12:3, second clause. For the verb יִתֵּן it is probably not needful to supply as subject the word “Jehovah,” which has been omitted (Umbreit, Bertheau, Elster [Wordsw. (?)], etc.) [nor with Luther, De W., E. V., N. and M. to supply an object,—giveth or yieldeth (fruit)]; but, as in the instance in Pro_10:24, to change the punctuation to the passive יֻתַּן, or again, to write יֵתֵן (derived from יָתַן firmus fuit, comp. the proper name אֵיתָן with the Targum, Reiske, Hitzig [Stuart], etc.

Pro_12:13. In the transgression of the lips is a dangerous snare; i.e., he who seeks to ruin others by evil speaking is himself overthrown in the same way. Bertheau proposes to construe so as to give the meaning “is a snare of or for the wicked,” which, however, is contrary to the analogy of Ecc_9:12—After this verse also the LXX introduces a peculiar addition consisting of two clauses, which, however, is probably nothing more than an old gloss on the following verse; comp. Hitzig on this passage.

Pro_12:14. From the fruit of a man’s mouth is he satisfied with good.—Lit., “from the fruit of the mouth of the man doth he satisfy himself with good;” i.e., it is the good fruit which one brings forth in wise, intelligent, benevolent discourse, that results in blessing to him. Comp. Pro_13:2; Pro_18:20. In the second clause to good words good works are added, and as “returning upon him” (comp. Psa_7:16); they are therefore represented as being in a sense the personified bearers of reward and blessing. Compare the similar thought, referring however to future retributions, and therefore somewhat differently expressed, Rev_14:13, “their works do follow them.”

Pro_12:15-16 belong together, as both refer to the fool and his opposite.—The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,—i.e., according to his own judgment (comp. Pro_3:7), which presents to him his own mode of action in a light favorable enough, although others may ever so often, and in a way ever so convincing, point out its perverseness. The exact opposite of this is found in the conduct of the wise man, the willing listener to wise counsels. Comp. Pro_14:12; Pro_16:25; Pro_21:2.—The vexation of the fool is at once known,—lit., “is known even on the same day,” i.e., at once, after a short time (Vulgate, statim). In contrast with this passionate breaking out of the offended fool, the wise man exercises a prudent self-control in a seemly disregard of the insult put upon him, as Saul once did, 1Sa_10:27.

Pro_12:17. He that uttereth truth proclaimeth right, i.e., always gives utterance to that which is strictly just; so especially in judicial examinations as witness. This “truth” (אֱמוּנָה) is subjective truth, fidelity to one’s own convictions (πίστις, LXX), the opposite to the lies which characterize the false witness; comp. Pro_14:5; Pro_14:25.

Pro_12:18. There is that talketh idly, as though it were thrusts of a sword, lit., “like piercings of a sword,” or “like knife thrusts” (Hitzig); i.e. he breaks out with speeches so inconsiderate and inappropriate, that the persons present feel themselves injured as if by sharp thrusts. This rude and inconsiderate babbling of the fool is here fitly described by the verb בָּטָה, which is equivalent to בָּטָא, used in Lev_5:4; Num_30:7; Psa_106:33 (of speaking hastily, rashly, unadvisedly).—But the tongue of the wise is health.—“Medicine, healing” (comp. Pro_4:22), forms here an exceedingly appropriate antithesis to the inwardly wounding effect of the inconsiderate babbling mentioned before.

Pro_12:19. But the lying tongue only for a moment.—Literally, “till I wink again, till I complete a wink of the eye;” comp. Jer_49:19; Jer_50:44. This is therefore a detailed poetical circumlocution for the idea of a little while, an instant (Isa_54:7): the verb here employed (הִרְגִּיעַ) is a denominative derived from רֶגַע a wink.—Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil.—“Deceit, malignity” (comp. Pro_12:17, second clause) might here be made antithetic to “joy,” because the necessary effect of deceit is sorrow and trouble. Therefore this noun מִרְמָה is not to be transformed to מְרֹרָה bitterness (Houbigant), nor to be interpreted by “self-deception,” or by “joy in evil” (Schadenfreude) with Umbreit.—But to those who give wholesome counsel is joy.—The common rendering (as also that of Umbreit, Elster, etc.), is “who counsel peace;” comp. the old reading of the LXX, οἱ βουλόμενοι εἰρήνην, and the εἰρηνοποιοί of Mat_5:9. But שָׁלוֹם is here to be taken in the general sense of “welfare, that which is salutary,” as, for example, in Psa_34:14; Psa_37:37. The special signification “peace” would not correspond with the “evil” of the first clause, which is nowhere equivalent to strife, division (not in Jdg_9:23, as Umbreit thinks).. The “joy” of the well-meaning counsellor is furthermore probably to be conceived of as one to be found in the heart, the inward cheerfulness and happy contentment of a good conscience (as Hitzig rightly maintains against Bertheau and others).

Pro_12:21. No evil befalleth the righteous.—For this verb (Pual of אָנָה) comp. Psa_91:10; Exo_21:13. אָוֶן here signifies not “sin,” but “evil, misfortune, calamity,” like the parallel term in the second clause, or the רָעָה in the 91st Psalm cited above.—With respect to the sentiment, which naturally should be regarded as a relative truth, not as unconditionally illustrated in every experience, comp. Pro_10:3; Pro_11:23; Pro_12:2-3, etc.—With Pro_12:22 compare Pro_11:20. It is unnecessary to alter the plural עֹשֵׂי into the singular עֹשֶׂה (with the LXX, many MSS., Hitzig, etc.).

4. Pro_12:23-28. Six proverbs which relate to the contrast between the wise and the foolish, the diligent and the slothful.—With reference to the first clause of Pro_12:23 compare Pro_10:14; Pro_10:17; with the second clause, Pro_13:16; Pro_15:2.

Pro_12:24. The hand of the diligent will rule; but the slothful will be obliged to serve.—With the first clause compare Pro_10:4; with the second, Pro_11:29.—רְמִיָה, “slothful,” is doubtless an adjective belonging to the noun יַד (hand), and not an abstract substantive “sloth,” standing here for the concrete, “the sluggard,” as J. D. Michaelis, Döderlein, Bertheau and Elster suggest.—“Will be obliged to serve,” literally, “will be for tribute, for service,” i.e., will be forced to labor as one owing tribute.

Pro_12:25. If trouble be in the heart of man it boweth it down.—The suffix attached to the verb seems like that connected with the parallel verb, which, moreover, rhymes with this, to refer to the noun “heart,” and this as a synonym with נֶפֶשׁ “soul,” has here the force of a feminine. [Böttcher, § 877, e, cites this among the examples of the use of the fem, singular as a neuter with reference to objects named before but conceived of as neuter. See also Green, § 197, b—A.] In this connection it is indeed remarkable that דְּאָגָה (trouble), also contrary to its natural gender, appears here construed as a masculine. Hence the varying views of many recent expositors, e.g., that of Umbreit and Elster; “if trouble be in a man’s heart, let him repress it (the sorrow);” or that of Hitzig, who refers the suffixes of both these verbs to the noun “hand” of the verse preceding, and accordingly renders (at the same time in a peculiar way reproducing the rhyme):

“Is sorrow in the man’s heart, he bends it (i.e., the hand, down).

But if gladness, he extends it.”

[Hitzig’s rhyme is made with the verbs senket and schwenket, which are rather violent equivalents to the Hebrew terms, but are perhaps fairly matched by bends and extends, or abases and raises.—A.] In favor of the rendering which we prefer are the old versions, and among recent expositors Rosenmueller, Dathe, Döderlein, Ewald, Bertheau.

Pro_12:26. The righteous guideth his friend aright.—The verb יָתֵר, Hiphil of תָּרַר (which is equivalent to תּוּר), means “to set right, to guide to the right way, ὁδηγεῖν;” מֵרֵעַ is then equivalent to רֵעַ, friend, companion, as in Gen_26:26; Jdg_14:20; Jdg_15:6. [So Gesen., Röd., Fuerst, Ewald, Bertheau, K., S., M. and W.]—Others, especially Luther, M. Geier, etc., following the Chaldee version, regard יתָרֵ as an adjective followed by the object of comparison: “better than his friend is (or fares) the righteous man.” [So the E. V., which is followed by Noyes]. Others still, like Dathe, J. D. Michaelis, Ziegler and Hitzig (the latter changing the verb to יָתֻר), read מִרְעֵהוּ, “his pasture,” and so reach the meaning “the righteous looketh after his pasture,” i.e., his path in life. It seems, however, altogether needless to depart from the above explanation, which is grammatically admissible, and gives a meaning which agrees well with that of the second clause.—But the way of the wicked leadeth them astray; them, i.e., the wicked. The construction is the same as in Pro_11:6, and probably also Pro_12:6.

Pro_12:27. The slothful catcheth not his prey.—“The slothful,” properly here again an adjective, “idle” hand, expresses the idea of sloth, and then, as an abstract for the concrete, stands for “the sluggard, the slothful.” חָרַךְ then, an ἁπαξ λεγόμενον in the Old Testament, is explained by the Rabbins, following the Aramean (Dan_3:27), by “to singe, to roast;” therefore Bertheau, e.g., still translates “the slothful roasteth not his prey,” and then supplies the idea, “because he is too lazy to catch it.” [M. adopts this explanation, and S. doubtfully.] Others, more simply, and in conformity with the old versions, render “the idle man catcheth not his game” [so K., H., and N.], for which signification of hunting, catching, seizing, Hitzig cites lexical analogies from the Arabic. [Fuerst, criticising this interpretation, and defending the other, urges 1) that not to catch game is no sure sign of laziness, and 2) “his prey” must be already in hand—A.]—But a precious treasure to a man is diligence.—To reach this meaning it is necessary either to take חָרוּץ exceptionally in the abstract sense of diligence, or with C. B. Michaelis and Hitzig to read as an infinitive חָרוֹץ, “to bestir one’s self, to show one’s self diligent.”—Others, like Köhler, Umbreit, Elster, etc., resort to a partial transposition of the words, yielding the meaning “but precious treasure belongeth to the diligent man”—an alteration which is favored in advance by the Syriac version, and to some extent also by the LXX.

Pro_12:28. But a devious way (leadeth) to death.—This is doubtless the interpretation to be given with Hitzig to this clause; for in Jdg_5:6; Isa_58:12, נְתִיבָה in fact signifies (in contrast with אֹרַח) a crooked winding by-path, and the modification of אַל to אֶל seems the more justifiable in proportion as the combination on which the ordinary rendering rests is otherwise unknown (אַל־מָותֶ as equivalent to לֹא־מָוֶר); “and the way of its path is not-death” (which is to be understood as “immortality,” Ewald, Umbreit, Elster [K., E. V., N., S., M.], etc.). Furthermore, the form of expression (דֶּרֶךְ before נְתיבָה) indicates plainly that to the second of the terms employed not its ordinary sense, but a quite peculiar signification, a quasi adjective import is to be given. [Hodgson and Holden express a decided preference for this view].—With the general sentiment of the verse compare Pro_10:2; Pro_11:19.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

The contrasts between diligence and indolence, wisdom and folly, which present themselves as the strongest characteristics of the second and fourth of the groups of verses found in this chapter, lead us to refer the proverbs of these groups mainly to private or domestic life,—while the predominating reference of the third main group (Pro_12:12-22) to sins of the tongue or lips, leads us to regard social or civil life as the special department hero chiefly contemplated. Still this classification is after all only a general one, and proverbs of a more general moral tendency and bearing, like those contained in the introductory group (Pro_12:1-3) are interspersed through each, of the three large groups (e.g. in Pro_12:5-6; Pro_12:12; Pro_12:21; Pro_12:26; Pro_12:28): these therefore show the impossibility of carrying through a division of the contents of the chapter according to definite and clearly distinct categories.

Moral truths to which an emphatic prominence is given are found in the very first verse, on which Umbreit pertinently remarks, “The thought seems weak, and to a spirit practised in reflection hardly worth recording, yet on its truth rests the possibility of a spiritual progress in the human race, its development to a higher humanity; one might even say, the very conditions of history lie in that proverb.” Again we find them in Pro_12:10, a proverb which sets forth that tender care for animals as man’s fellow-creatures, which impresses itself on so many other passages of the Old Testament, e.g. Exo_20:11; Exo_22:29-30; Lev_22:27; Deu_22:6 sq.; Pro_25:4; Psa_36:6; Psa_104:27; Psa_145:15 sq.; Psa_147:9; Job_38:39 sq.; Job_39:5 sq.; Jon_4:11, etc.1

We find like important truths in Pro_12:13, as also in general in all the proverbs that relate to the right use of the lips and tongue (compare besides Pro_12:14; Pro_12:16-19; Pro_12:22; Pro_12:25); so also in the commendation of a willingness to receive good counsel, Pro_12:15, with which we may appropriately compare Theognis, Gnom., V., 221–225 (see the passage in Umbreit, p. 158);—and again in the admonition to a wise self-command and presence of mind under experience of injury, Pro_12:16, with which should be compared admonitions of the New Testament against persistent anger and heat of passion, such as Rom_12:19; Eph_4:26; Eph_4:31; Jam_1:19-20, etc.—It has already been made evident that the concluding verse of the chapter (Pro_12:28; Pro_12:2 d clause) unlike chapter Pro_11:7, probably contains no hint of a hope of immortality.

HOMILETIC AND PRACTICAL

Homily on the entire chapter. On the true wisdom of the children of God, as it ought to appear 1) in the home, under the forms of good discipline, diligence and contentment; 2) in the state or in the intercourse of citizens, under the forms of truthfulness, justice, and unfeigned benevolence (Pro_12:12-22); 3) in the Church or in the religious life, as a progressive knowledge of God, a diligent devotion to prayer and striving after eternal life (Pro_12:23-28).—Comp. Stöcker:—On true discipline: 1) its general utility (Pro_12:1-8); 2) the blessing on those who receive discipline, and the curse on those who hate and despise it (Pro_12:9-16); 3) comprehensive repetition of what has been taught concerning the salutariness of discipline (Pro_12:17-28).—Starke:—On the injurious nature of ungodliness and the utility of piety; 1) in general (Pro_12:1-3); 2) in particular, a) in the marriage relation (Pro_12:4); b) in common life (Pro_12:5-8); c) in the care of cattle and in agriculture (9–11); d) in the use of the tongue (12–23; c) in attention to one’s calling (24–28).—Calwer Handbuch:—The heart, the action and the speech of the fool and the wise man.—or, of the life that is to be found in the way of righteousness, and the ruin that is to be found in the way of ungodliness.

Pro_12:1-3. Geier:—No one is so perfect that he might not sometimes fail, and consequently need a chastisement not only on the part of God, but also on the part of men.—(On Pro_12:3): He who by faith and love is rooted in God (Eph_3:17) will not possibly ever be rooted up by anything; Psa_73:25; Joh_10:28.—Starke:—It is better to be with true sympathy chastised by a just man, than to be deceitfully praised.—Berleburg Bible:—He who suffers himself to be guided comes constantly nearer to wisdom, i.e. to Christ, and for such a one His fellowship with all its blessedness stands open.—Von Gerlach (on Pro_12:1):—All that raises man above the brute is secured to him by training, by the wholesome discipline of his parents and teachers.—(On Pro_12:3): The ungodly has no ground in which he is rooted, no stability in assaults from without, while the righteous man is rooted in the eternal nature of the Creator Himself. Hence the righteous man is a tree by a river’s side, a house on a rock,—the ungodly, however, is a fleeting storm-cloud, a tree in a dry land, a house built on the sand, and even chaff that the wind driveth away, Psa_1:3 sq.; Isa_44:4, etc.—[Arnot (on Pro_12:1):—The fool casts away the precious because it is unpalatable, and the wise man accepts the unpalatable because it is precious. Nature hates reproof; let grace take the bitter potion and thrust it down nature’s throat, for the sake of its healing power.—A. Fuller (on Pro_12:1):—He, and he only, that loves the means loves the end. The means of knowledge are “instruction” in what is right, and “reproof” for what is wrong. He who is an enemy to either of these means is an enemy to the end.—Bridges (on Pro_12:3):—Firm and unshaken is the condition of the righteous. Their leaves may wither in the blast. Their branches may tremble in the fury of the tempest, But their root—the true principle of life—shall not be moved].

Pro_12:4-11. Geier (on Pro_12:4):—By vicious conduct a woman destroys her husband as it were with subtle poison, but even then harms herself the most.—Zeltner (on Pro_12:4):—He who will enter into the marriage relation should begin with God, with hearty prayer, sound reflection, and devout purposes, lest he be compelled afterward bitterly to bewail his folly, Tob_8:4 sq.—(On Pro_12:9): An honorable life in narrow circumstances is much better and more peaceful, and besides not subject to so many temptations, as when one lives in ever so high a position in the view of the world. To make a great figure and to aim at being great is the ruin of many a man, Tob_4:14; Sir_3:19; Sir_3:30.—Würtemberg Bible (on Pro_12:10):—The brute has no one that can do him good but man; therefore treat it kindly, with reason and moderation.—[Trapp (on Pro_12:5):—If good thoughts look into a wicked heart, they stay not there, as those that like not their lodging.—(On Pro_12:7): There is a council in heaven will dash the mould of all contrary counsels upon earth.—(On Pro_12:11): Sin brought in sweat (Gen_3:19), and now not to sweat increaseth sin.—Lord Bacon (on Pro_12:10):—The tender mercies of the wicked are when base and guilty men are spared that should be stricken with the sword of justice. Pity of this sort is more cruel than cruelty itself. For cruelty is exercised upon individuals, but this pity, by granting impunity, arms and sends forth against innocent men the whole army of evil-doers.—Chalmers (on Pro_12:10):—The lesson is not the circulation of benevolence within the limits of one species. It is the transmission of it from one species to another. The first is but the charity of a world. The second is the charity of a universe].

Pro_12:12-22. Melanchthon:—In everything are we exhorted to good, and to striving after truth, in the knowledge of God, in science and arts, in all honorable occupations and compacts; and because truthfulness belongs to the most glorious and eminent virtues, therefore the vice opposed to it is condemned in strong language, and pronounced (Pro_12:22) an offence and abomination in the sight of God.—Osiander:—We use the gift of speech rightly when we employ it to God’s glory and to our neighbor’s benefit.—Zeltner:—As one has here used his tongue, whether for good or evil, he will hereafter be recompensed. Truth is a daughter of righteousness; apply thyself diligently to this, and thou hast the true witness in thyself that thou art of the truth and a child of God (1Jn_3:18-19). Fidelity and veracity have indeed in the world, whose watchword is only hatred, a poor reward; but so much the more precious are they in the sight of God (Psa_15:1-2).—[Arnot (on Pro_12:13): When a man is not true, the great labor of his life must be to make himself appear true; but. if a man be true, he need not concern himself about appearances.—Trapp (on Pro_12:20):—Such counsellors shall have peace for peace: peace of conscience for peace of country].—On Pro_12:20, Tischer (in Zimmerman’s “Sonntagsfeier,” 1835, No. 41):—Every one can become acquainted with himself from his social intercourse.—[South (on Pro_12:22):—A lie is a tiling absolutely and intrinsically evil: it is an act of injustice, and a violation of our neighbor’s right. The vileness of its nature is equalled by the malignity of its effects; it first brought sin into the world, and is since the cause of all those miseries and calamities that disturb it; it tends utterly to dissolve and overthrow society, which is the greatest temporal blessing and support of mankind; it has a strange and peculiar efficacy, above all other sins, to indispose the heart to religion. It is as dreadful in its punishments as it has been pernicious in its effects].

Pro_12:23-28. Hasius:—The ordinary modes of acquisition are always the safest and best. Him who loves crooked ways and devices we never find prospering; but those who walk in ways of innocence and justice, cannot become unsuccessful.—Osiander:—Follow thy calling in the fear of God and with diligence, and thy possessions will be with God’s blessing richly multiplied.—Starke:—He who squanders time, shuns toil and buries his pound in a napkin, is unworthy to dwell on earth (Luk_19:20; Luk_19:24).—Wohlfarth (on Pro_12:25):—The friendly word. Where we can help by actual deeds, such real help is by all means better than mere consolation in words. If however the means for such aid are wanting to us, if the evil is of such a sort that no human help whatever is possible, then it is a double duty to cheer the depressed with friendly words; yes, consolation is then often in itself help because it leads to God, the true helper in all need!—[Trapp (on Pro_12:27):—Jabal and Jubal, diligence and complacence, good husbandry and well contenting sufficiency, dwell usually together.—Chalmers (on Pro_12:28):—The deeds of the hand have a reflex influence on the state of the heart. There is life in spiritual-mindedness; and it serves to aliment this life to walk in the way of obedience].

Footnotes:

[1]Comp. Zöckler, Theologia Naturalis, Entwurf einer systematischen Naturphilosophie, etc., I., pp. 539 sq.

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Proverbs

THE MANY-SIDED CONTRAST OF WISDOM AND FOLLY

Pro 12:1 - Pro 12:15.

The verses of the present passage are a specimen of the main body of the Book of Proverbs. They are not a building, but a heap. The stones seldom have any mortar between them, and connection or progress is for the most part sought in vain. But one great antithesis runs through the whole-the contrast of wisdom or righteousness with folly or wickedness. The compiler or author is never weary of setting out that opposition in all possible lights. It is, in his view, the one difference worth noting between men, and it determines their whole character and fortunes. The book traverses with keen observation all the realm of life, and everywhere finds confirmation of its great principle that goodness is wisdom and sin folly.

There is something extremely impressive in this continual reiteration of that contrast. As we read, we feel as if, after all, there were nothing in the world but it and its results. That profound sense of the existence and far-reaching scope of the division of men into two classes is not the least of the benefits which a thoughtful study of Proverbs brings to us. In this lesson it is useless to attempt to classify the verses. Slight traces of grouping appear here and there; but, on the whole, we have a set of miscellaneous aphorisms turning on the great contrast, and setting in various lights the characters and fates of the righteous and the wicked.

The first mark of difference is the opposite feeling about discipline. If a man is wise, he will love ‘knowledge’; and if he loves knowledge, he will love the means to it, and therefore will not kick against correction. That is another view of trials from the one which inculcates devout submission to a Father. It regards only the benefits to ourselves. If we want to be taught anything, we shall not flinch from the rod. There must be pains undergone in order to win knowledge of any sort, and the man who rebels against these shows that he had rather be comfortable and ignorant than wise. A pupil who will not stand having his exercises corrected will not learn his faults. On the other hand, hating reproof is ‘brutish’ in the most literal sense; for it is the characteristic of animals that they do not understand the purpose of pain, and never advance because they do not. Men can grow because they can submit to discipline; beasts cannot improve because, except partially and in a few cases, they cannot accept correction.

The first proverb deals with wisdom or goodness in its inner source; namely, a docile disposition. The two next deal with its consequences. It secures God’s favour, while its opposite is condemned; and then, as a consequence of this, the good man is established and the wicked swept away. The manifestations of God’s favour and its opposite are not to be thrown forward to a future life. Continuously the sunshine of divine love falls on the one man, and already the other is condemned. It needs some strength of faith to look through the shows of prosperity often attending plain wickedness, and believe that it is always a blunder to do wrong.

But a moderate experience of life will supply many instances of prosperous villainy in trade and politics which melted away like mist. The shore is strewn with wrecks, dashed to pieces because righteousness did not steer. Every exchange gives examples in plenty. How many seemingly solid structures built on wrong every man has seen in his lifetime crumble like the cloud masses which the wind piles in the sky and then dissipates! The root of the righteous is in God, and therefore he is firm. The contrast is like that of Psa 1:1 - Psa 1:6 -between the tree with strong roots and waving greenery, and the chaff, rootless, and therefore whirled out of the threshing-floor.

The universal contrast is next applied to women; and in accordance with the subordinate position they held in old days, the bearing of her goodness is principally regarded as affecting her husband. That does not cover the whole ground, of course. But wherever there is a true marriage, the wife will not think that woman’s rights are infringed because one chief issue of her beauty of virtue is the honour and joy it reflects upon him who has her heart. ‘A virtuous woman’ is not only one who possesses the one virtue to which the phrase has been so miserably confined, but who is ‘a woman of strength’-no doll or plaything, but

‘A perfect woman, nobly planned

To warn, to comfort, and command.’

The gnawing misery of being fastened like two dogs in a leash to one who ‘causes shame’ is vividly portrayed by that strong figure, that she is like ‘rottenness in his bones,’ eating away strength, and inflicting disfigurement and torture.

Then come a pair of verses describing the inward and outward work of the two kinds of men as these affect others. The former verses dealt with their effects on the actors; the present, with their bearing on others. Inwardly, the good man has thoughts which scrupulously keep the balance true and are just to his fellows, while the wicked plans to deceive for his own profit. When thoughts are translated into speech, deceit bears fruit in words which are like ambushes of murderers, laying traps to destroy, while the righteous man’s words are like angels of deliverance to the unsuspecting who are ready to fall into the snare. Selfishness, which is the root of wickedness, will be cruelty and injustice when necessary for its ends. The man who is wise because God is his centre and aim will be merciful and helpful. The basis of philanthropy is religion. The solemn importance attached to speech is observable. Words can slay as truly as swords. Now that the press has multiplied the power of speech, and the world is buzzing with the clatter of tongues, we all need to lay to heart the responsibilities and magic power of spoken and printed words, and ‘to set a watch on the door of our lips.’

Then follow a couple of verses dealing with the consequences to men themselves of their contrasted characters. The first of these {Pro 12:7} recurs to the thought of Pro 12:3 but with a difference. Not only the righteous himself, but his house, shall be established. The solidarity of the family and the entail of goodness are strongly insisted on in the Old Testament, though limitations are fully recognised. If a good man’s son continues his father’s character, he will prolong his father’s blessings; and in normal conditions, a parent’s wisdom passes on to his children. Something is wrong when, as is so often the case, it does not; and it is not always the children’s fault.

The overthrow of the wicked is set in striking contrast with their plots to overthrow others. Their mischief comes back, like an Australian boomerang, to the hand that flings it; and contrariwise, delivering others is a sure way of establishing one’s self. Exceptions there are, for the world-scheme is too complicated to be condensed into a formula; but all proverbs speak of the average usual results of virtue and vice, and those of this book do the same. Pro 12:8 asserts that, on the whole, honour attends goodness, and contempt wickedness. Of course, companions in dissipation extol each other’s vices, and launch the old threadbare sneers at goodness. But if wisdom were not set uppermost in men’s secret judgment, there would be no hypocrites, and their existence proves the truth of the proverb.

Pro 12:9 seems suggested by ‘despised’ in Pro 12:8. There are two kinds of contempt-one which brands sin deservedly, one which vulgarly despises everybody who is not rich. A man need not mind, though his modest household is treated with contempt, if quiet righteousness reigns in it. It is better to be contented with little, and humble in a lowly place, than to be proud and hungry, as many were in the writer’s time and since. A foolish world set on wealth may despise, but its contempt breaks no bones. Self-conceit is poor diet.

This seems to be the first of a little cluster of proverbs bearing on domestic life. It prefers modest mediocrity of station, such as Agur desired. Its successor shows how the contrasted qualities come out in the two men’s relation to their domestic animals. Goodness sweeps a wide circle touching the throne of God and the stall of the cattle. It was not Coleridge who found out that ‘He prayeth best who loveth best’ but this old proverb-maker; and he could speak the thought without the poet’s exaggeration, which robs his expression of it of half its value. The original says ‘knoweth the soul’ which may indeed mean, ‘regardeth the life’ but rather seems to suggest sympathetic interest in leading to an understanding of the dumb creature, which must precede all wise care for its well-being. It is a part of religion to try to enter into the mysterious feelings of our humble dependants in farmyard and stable. On the other hand, for want of such sympathetic interest, even when the ‘wicked’ means to be kind, he does harm; or the word rendered ‘tender mercies’ may here mean the feelings {literally, ‘bowels’} which, in their intense selfishness, are cruel even to animals.

Pro 12:11 has no connection with the preceding, unless the link is common reference to home life and business. It contrasts the sure results of honest industry with the folly of speculation. The Revised Version margin ‘vain things’ is better than the text ‘vain persons,’ which would give no antithesis to the patient tilling of the first clause. That verse would make an admirable motto to be stretched across the Stock Exchange, and like places on both sides of the Atlantic. How many ruined homes and heart-broken wives witness in America and England to its truth! The vulgar English proverb, ‘What comes over the Devil’s back goes under his belly,’ says the same thing. The only way to get honest wealth is to work for it. Gambling in all its forms is rank folly.

So the next proverb {Pro 12:12} continues the same thought, and puts it in a somewhat difficult phrase. It goes a little deeper than the former, showing that the covetousness which follows after vain things, is really wicked lusting for unrighteous gain. ‘The net of evildoer’s is better taken as in the margin {Rev. Ver.} ‘prey’ or ‘spoil,’ and the meaning seems to be as just stated. Such hankering for riches, no matter how obtained, or such envying of the booty which admittedly has been won by roguery, is a mark of the wicked. How many professing church members have known that feeling in thinking of the millions of some railway king! Would they like the proverb to be applied to them?

The contrast to this is ‘the root of the righteous yields fruit,’ or ‘shoots forth,’ We have heard {Pro 12:3} that it shall never be moved, being fixed in God; now we are told that it will produce all that is needful. A life rooted in God will unfold into all necessary good, which will be better than the spoil of the wicked. There are two ways of getting on-to struggle and fight and trample down rivals; one, to keep near God and wait for him. ‘Ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not.’

The next two proverbs have in common a reference to the effect of speech upon the speaker. ‘In the transgression of the lips is an evil snare’; that is, sinful words ensnare their utterer, and whoever else he harms, he himself is harmed most. The reflex influence on character of our utterances is not present to us, as it should be. They leave stains on lips and heart. Thoughts expressed are more definite and permanent thereby. A vicious thought clothed in speech has new power over the speaker. If we would escape from that danger, we must be righteous, and speak righteousness; and then the same cause will deepen our convictions of ‘whatsoever things are lovely and of good report.’

Pro 12:14 insists on this opposite side of the truth. Good words will bring forth fruit, which will satisfy the speaker, because, whatever effects his words may have on others, they will leave strengthened goodness and love of it in himself. ‘If the house be worthy, your peace shall rest upon it; if not, it shall return to you again.’ That reaction of words on oneself is but one case of the universal law of consequences coming back on us. We are the architects of our own destinies. Every deed has an immortal life, and returns, either like a raven or a dove, to the man who sent it out on its flight. It comes back either croaking with blood on its beak, or cooing with an olive branch in its mouth. All life is at once sowing and reaping. A harvest comes in which retribution will be even more entire and accurate.

The last proverb of the passage gives a familiar antithesis, and partially returns to the thought of Pro 12:1. The fool has no standard of conduct but his own notions, and is absurdly complacent as to all his doings. The wise seeks better guidance than his own, and is docile, because he is not so ridiculously sure of his infallibility. No type of weak wickedness is more abominable to the proverbialist than that of pert self-conceit, which knows so little that it thinks it knows everything, and is ‘as untameable as a fly.’ But in the wisest sense, it is true that a mark of folly is self-opinionativeness; that a man who has himself for teacher has a fool for scholar; that the test of wisdom is willingness to be taught; and, especially, that to bring a docile, humble spirit to the Source of all wisdom, and to ask counsel of God, is the beginning of true insight, and that the self-sufficiency which is the essence of sin, is never more fatal than when it is ignorant of guilt, and therefore spurns a Saviour.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CHAPTER XII

Of the benefit of instruction, and the cultivation of piety.

The virtuous woman. The different lot of the just and unjust.

The humane man. The industrious man. The fool and the wise man.

The uncharitable. The excellence of the righteous. The slothful

is in want. Righteousness leads to life, c.

NOTES ON CHAP. XII

Verse 1. Whoso loveth instruction] מוסר musar, discipline or correction, loves knowledge for correction is the way to knowledge.

But he that hateth reproof is brutish.] בער baar, he is a bear; and expects no more benefit from correction than the ox does from the goad.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

XII.

(1) Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge.—Rather, he that loveth knowledge loveth discipline, i.e., to put himself in the place of a learner; while “he that hateth reproof,” who will not take advice, is “brutish,” “nourishing a blind life within the brain,” like the animals who are incapable of improvement.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1. instruction] or, correction, R.V. text. See Pro_1:2, note.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Brutish - Dumb as a brute beast. The difference between man and brute lies chiefly in the capacity of the former for progress and improvement, and that capacity depends upon his willingness to submit to discipline and education. Compare Psa 49:12.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Knowledge. It is a great kindness to shew us our faults. But God’s grace is necessary to make us reap benefit from correction, (Calmet) as self-love recoils at it.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Instruction; admonition or reproof, as appears from the next clause, which is a singular means of getting true and sound knowledge.

Loveth knowledge; showeth that he is a true lover of knowledge, because he is willing to purchase it upon such unwelcome terms, as reproofs are generally esteemed.

Is brutish; discovereth himself to be a most foolish and stupid creature, because he is an enemy to himself and to his own happiness.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. A crown, etc.] Possibly there may be a reference to the crown worn on their wedding-day by bride and bridegroom (Son_3:11; Son_8:9). In Damascus the bridal crown consists of a silver hoop covered with a network of strings of corals. On this net are fastened strings of gold coins.

5. Two kinds of plans.

6. Their very words are an ambush, meant to cause destruction.

9. Even a poor man in those days could afford to have a slave (cp. Exo_21:32), and such a man, although others might look down on him, would be happier than a person who maintained much state and show but was starving all the while.

11. Follow a regular business: to be occupied with 'vain things' (RM), speculations, and the like, brings disaster.

12. Read, 'Wickedness is the net of evil men.' Their ovm badness entraps them.

16. A fool blurts out his annoyance: a wise man is in. no hurry to publish the insult he has received.

18. Thoughtless talk inflicts grievous wounds: if a wise man is present he heals them.

20. The counsellors of peace] Those who promote prosperity.

21. Mischief] i.e. calamity (Pro_17:20; Pro_28:14).

23. 'Still waters run deep.' 'Empty vessels make the most sound.'

24. Under tribute] forced to do taskwork (1Ki_9:21).

26. More excellent than] RV 'is a guide to.' Seduceth them] RV 'causeth them to err.'

27. He is too lazy to look after his own food (Pro_19:24).

J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1. Loveth instruction — Better, discipline. (See Pro_1:3, and note.)

He that hateth reproof (or admonition) is brutish — בער, (ba’har,) is boorish, bearish, or beastly stupid. Comp. Pro_30:2; Pro_3:11-12; Heb_12:6; Heb_10:11; Psa_49:10; Psa_73:22; Psa_92:6; Psa_141:5.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Instruction; correction, discipline, which shows a man his faults, gives him a lowly opinion of himself, and opens his mind to receive knowledge, especially the knowledge of himself and of all moral obligations. Is brutish; is as insensible to higher aspirations, to regret for the past or hope of amendment, as a brute beast. (comp. Pro_30:2) On this point St. Augustine is quoted: "Quicumque corripi non vis, ex eo sane corripiendus es quia corripi non vis. Non vis enim tua tibi vitia demonstrari; non vis ut feriantur, fiatque tibi utilis dolor, quo medicum quaeras; non vis tibi tu ipse ostendi, ut cum deformem te vides, reformaturum desideres, eique supplices ne in illa remaneas foeditate" ("De Corrept. et Grat.," 5). Such conduct is unworthy of one who is possessed of an immortal soul and infinite capacity for progress and improvement.

HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-3. Primary truths.

I THE WISDOM OF SUBMISSION, THE FOLLY OF RESISTANCE, TO REPROOF. As self-knowledge is the most precious and indispensable, and as it comes to us by chastisement, i.e. by disappointment, humiliation, pain of various kinds, to welcome correction, to be willing and anxious to know our faults, is the mark of true wisdom. To fret at reproof, to be angry with the counsellor, to hate the revealing light, is the worst folly and stupidity.

II THE FAVOUR AND THE DISFAVOUR OF GOD ARE DISCRIMINATING. The good reap his good will; the crafty and malicious are exposed to his condemnation.

III MORAL STABILITY AND INSTABILITY. Wickedness gives no firm foundation. The bad man is insecure, as a tottering wall or a leaning fence. The good man is like the oak, firmly and widely rooted, which may defy a thousand blasts and storms. J.

HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1, 15. The downward and the upward paths.

Whether we are daily ascending or descending depends very much on whether we are ready or are refusing to learn The man of open mind is he who moves up, but the man whose soul is shut against the light is he who is going down.

I THE DOWNWARD PATH. We strike one point in this path when we come to:

1. The forming of a false estimate of ourself. When "our way is right in our own eyes" (ver. 15), and that way is the wrong one, we are certainly in the road that dips downward. The wise who love us truly are grieved when they see us imagining ourselves to be humble when we are proud of heart, generous when we are selfish, spiritual when we are worldly minded, sons of God when we are children of darkness; they know well and sorrow much that we are in a bad way, in the downward road.

2. The consequent refusal to receive instruction. The man who thinks himself right is one who will oppose himself to all those who, and to all things which, approach him to instruct and to correct. He takes up a constant attitude of rejection. Whenever God speaks to him by any one of his many agents and influences, he is resolutely and persistently deaf.

3. The consequent sinking into a lower state; he becomes "brutish." A man who never admits correcting and purifying thoughts into his mind is sure to decline morally and spiritually. If our soul is not fed with truth, and is not cleansed with the purifying streams of Divine wisdom, it is certain to recede in worth; it will partake more and more of earthly elements. The finer, the nobler, the more elevating and enlarging elements of character will be absent or will grow weaker; the man will sink; he will become brutish.

II THE UPWARD PATH. This is, naturally and necessarily, the reverse of the other. It is that wherein:

1. We form a true estimate of ourselves.

2. We open our minds to welcome wisdom from all quarters. We. hearken "unto counsel," i.e. to the words of those who are wiser than ourselves. And it may be that some who have much less learning, or experience, or intellectual capacity than we can claim are in a position to advise us concerning the way of life. It may be even "the little child" who will "lead" us into the circle of truth, into the kingdom of God. And not only unto "counsel" shall we hearken; we shall give heed, if we are wise, to the suggestions of nature, to the teaching of events, to the promptings of the Divine Spirit. We shall be always ready and even eager to learn and willing to apply.

3. We attain to a higher and deeper wisdom. "Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge." In the upward way which he of the humble heart and open mind is travelling there grow the rich fruits of heavenly wisdom. The higher we ascend, the more of these shall we see and gather. To love counsel is to love knowledge; it is to love truth; it is to become the friend and disciple and depository of wisdom. There is a knowledge which is very precious that may be had of all men; it is found on the plain where all feet can tread. There is also a knowledge which dwells upon the hills; only the traveller can reach this and partake of it; and the path which climbs this height is the path of humility and heedfulness; it is taken only by those who are conscious of their own defect, and who are eager to learn all the lessons which the Divine teacher is seeking to impart. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Three proverbs on knowledge, the favour of God, firmness and the means thereto.

1 He loveth correction who loveth knowledge,

And he hateth instruction who is without reason.

It is difficult in such cases to say which is the relation of the ideas that is intended. The sequence of words which lies nearest in the Semitic substantival clause is that in which the predicate is placed first; but the subject may, if it is to be made prominent, stand at the head of the sentence. Here, 1b, the placing of the subject in advance recommends itself: one who hates instruction is devoid of reason. But since we have no reason in 1a to invert the order of the words as they lie together, we take the conceptions placed first in both cases as the predicates. Thus: he who loves knowledge shows and proves that he does so by this, that he willingly puts himself in the place of a learner; and devoid of reason is he who with aversion rejects reproof, which is designed to guard him from future mistakes and false steps. Regarding the punctuation דעת אהב (with Mercha on the ante-penult. and the העמדה-sign on the penult.), vid., at Pro 11:26., Pro 1:19. In 1b the Munach in תוכחת is transformed from Mugrash (Accentssystem, xviii. 2), as in Pro 15:10. בּער (cf. Pro 30:2) is a being who is stupid as the brute cattle (בּעיר, from בּער, to graze, cattle of all kinds; Arab. b'ayr, the beast κατ ̓ ἐξ., i.e., the camel); as a homo brutus is compared to a בּהמּה (Ps. 49:21), 73:22), and is called Arab. behymt, from bahym, "shut up" (spec. dabb, a bear; thwr, an ox; ḥamâr, an ass) (Fl.).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

INSTRUCTION, as the contrast teaches, chiefly implies discipline (Jdg 8:16 . Jer 6:8 ) — that most needful course for acquiring spiritual knowledge. (Psa 119:67, Psa 119:71 .) For so contrary is it to our proud hearts, that the submission of the will is our only road to Christian attainment. (Mat 18:3-4 .) Yet the value of this attainment abundantly covers the cost. (Php 3:8 .) A faithful Ministry, therefore, is a most valuable blessing; and all instructive discipline may well be loved as "the way of life." (Pro 9:8 . Psa 141:5, with Pro 6:23 . Compare Psa 16:7 ; Psa 94:12 ; Jer 31:18 .)

But that irritable pride, that hates reproof, as if it were an affront to be told of our faults, argues not only want of grace (Pro 10:17 ; Pro 15:10 ), but want of understanding — brutish folly (Isa 1:3 . Jer 8:7 ): ’like the horse, which bites and kicks at the man, who performs a painful operation upon him; though absolutely necessary for removing a dangerous distemper. He is surely a brute, and not a rational creature, who has swallowed poison, and will rather suffer it to take its course, than admit the necessary relief of medicine, lest he should be obliged to confess his folly, in exposing himself to the need of it.’†1 O for a teachable spirit to "sit at the feet of our Divine Master," and learn of Him!

Footnotes:

†1 Lawson in loco. Compare Psa 32:9 .

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CHAPTER 12 The Contrast in Relation to Various Conditions

In these proverbs we have the righteous mentioned, his thoughts, his words, his domestic relationship, his attitude toward animal creation Pro 12:10); his diligence; all is contrasted with the wicked in these beautiful antithetic expressions of wisdom. The thoughts of the righteous are right Pro 12:5), because his heart is right; his words bring deliverance Pro 12:6); in speaking truth he showeth forth righteousness Pro 12:17); his tongue is health Pro 12:18); the lip which uttereth truth shall be established for ever Pro 12:19); he knows nothing of lying lips, but dealing truly he is the Lord’s delight Pro 12:22). All is summed up in one statement, with which the chapter closeth: “In the way of righteousness there is life; in the pathway thereof there is no death.” Happy are we if we know this way, which is Christ Himself, and if we follow Him.Pro 12:21 speaks of the blessing of the righteous, “There shall no evil happen to the just,” that is, all things must work together for good.

Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

v. 1. Whoso loveth instruction, including all moral training, loveth knowledge, for that is the fruit of such training; but he that hateth reproof is brutish, for in resenting correction a person places himself on the level of beasts in stupidity.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro 12:22

I. To tell lies is pitiful and mean. Nobody who is honourable and high-minded will stoop to do it. Even when we suffer for telling the truth, it is far better to have the courage to stick to it.

II. Lying is a hateful thing, because it has brought so much misery into the world. The safety and happiness of God’s children depend on their telling the truth.

III. Lying is wicked. Wrong-doing consists in disobeying God’s holy laws, and since He so positively bids us tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, we commit sin every time that we fail to do it.

IV. Another reason why lying should be abhorred is because it is dangerous. Even when God does not punish liars in this world, they will not escape in the next. Hear what the Bible says about it: "All liars have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" (Rev 21:8).

J. N. Norton, The King’s Ferry-boat, p. 33.

References: Pro 12:22.—R. Newton, Bible Warnings, p. 114. Pro 12:26.—G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 178; H. Thompson, Concionalia: Outlines for Parochial Use, 2nd series, p. 419. Pro 13:12.—W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 1st series, p. 347. Pro 13:15.—Ibid., p. 352; R. Newton, Bible Warnings, p. 91. Pro 13:16-21.—R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. i., p. 347. 13—J. Irons, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. xv., p. 333.

The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

The author uses Parallelism throughout this chapter.

General Information:

Verses 1-15 contrast wisdom and foolishness.

Whoever

"Any person who"

the one who hates correction

"the person who does not want to be told what to do"

is stupid

"is foolish" or "is unwise"

translationWords

love

discipline

know

Yahweh

favor

condemn

evil

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.