Proverbs

Proverbs 14

35 verses · Wisdom · Old Testament

1Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands. 2He who walks in his uprightness fears Yahweh, but he who is perverse in his ways despises him. 3The fool’s talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them. 4Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox. 5A truthful witness will not lie, but a false witness pours out lies. 6A scoffer seeks wisdom, and doesn’t find it, but knowledge comes easily to a discerning person. 7Stay away from a foolish man, for you won’t find knowledge on his lips. 8The wisdom of the prudent is to think about his way, but the folly of fools is deceit. 9Fools mock at making atonement for sins, but among the upright there is good will. 10The heart knows its own bitterness and joy; he will not share these with a stranger. 11The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent of the upright will flourish. 12There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. 13Even in laughter the heart may be sorrowful, and mirth may end in heaviness. 14The unfaithful will be repaid for his own ways; likewise a good man will be rewarded for his ways. 15A simple man believes everything, but the prudent man carefully considers his ways. 16A wise man fears and shuns evil, but the fool is hot headed and reckless. 17He who is quick to become angry will commit folly, and a crafty man is hated. 18The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. 19The evil bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. 20The poor person is shunned even by his own neighbor, but the rich person has many friends. 21He who despises his neighbor sins, but he who has pity on the poor is blessed. 22Don’t they go astray who plot evil? But love and faithfulness belong to those who plan good. 23In all hard work there is profit, but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty. 24The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools crowns them with folly. 25A truthful witness saves souls, but a false witness is deceitful. 26In the fear of Yahweh is a secure fortress, and he will be a refuge for his children. 27The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death. 28In the multitude of people is the king’s glory, but in the lack of people is the destruction of the prince. 29He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a quick temper displays folly. 30The life of the body is a heart at peace, but envy rots the bones. 31He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him. 32The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge. 33Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, and is even made known in the inward part of fools. 34Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. 35The king’s favor is toward a servant who deals wisely, but his wrath is toward one who causes shame.

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4 commentators · 137 notes on this chapter

Matthew HenryEnglish Puritan / Nonconformist · 1708–171433

Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.

Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.

v. 2

Here are, 1. Grace and sin in their true colours. Grace reigning is a reverence of God, and gives honour to him who is infinitely great and high, and to whom all honour is due, than which what is more becoming or should be more pleasing to the rational…

v. 3

See here, 1. A proud fool exposing himself. Where there is pride in the heart, and no wisdom in the head to suppress it, it commonly shows itself in the words: In the mouth there is pride, proud boasting, proud censuring, proud scorning, proud commanding and…

v. 4

Note, 1. The neglect of husbandry is the way to poverty: Where no oxen are, to till the ground and tread out the corn, the crib is empty, is clean; there is no straw for the cattle, and consequently no bread for the service of man. Scarcity is represented by…

John GillParticular Baptist / High Calvinist · 1746–176335

The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.

Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.

v. 1

Every wise woman buildeth her house,.... Not only by her fruitfulness, as Leah and Rachel built up the house of Israel; but by her good housewifery, prudent economy; looking well to the ways of her household; guiding the affairs of her house with discretion…

v. 2

He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord,.... It is plain that the fear of the Lord is upon the heart and before the eyes of such that walk according to the word of God, with a sincere desire to glorify him; for it is by the fear of the Lord that…

v. 3

In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride,.... A proud tongue, or a tongue speaking proud and haughty things; with which foolish or wicked men smite others and wound and hurt their reputation and credit, and in the issue hurt themselves also; their tongue…

Keil & DelitzschGerman Lutheran, conservative-critical · 1861–187535

The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.

Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.

v. 1

1 The wisdom of the woman buildeth her house, And folly teareth it down with its own hands. Were it חכמות נשׁים, after Jdg 5:29, cf. Isa 19:11, then the meaning would be: the wise among women, each of them buildeth her house. But why then not just אשּׁה חכמה…

v. 2

2 He walketh in his uprightness who feareth Jahve, And perverse in his ways is he that despiseth Him. That which syntactically lies nearest is also that which is intended; the ideas standing in the first place are the predicates. Wherein it shows itself, and…

v. 3

3 In the mouth of the fool is a switch of pride; But the lips of the wise preserve them. The noun חטר (Aram. חוּטרא, Arab. khiṭr), which besides here occurs only at Isa 11:1, meaning properly a brandishing (from חטר = Arab. khatr, to brandish, to move up and…

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownScottish Presbyterian / Reformed · 187134

The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.

Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.

v. 2

uprightness--is the fruit of fearing God, as falsehood and ill-nature (Pro 2:15; Pro 3:32) of despising Him and His law.

v. 3

rod of pride--that is, the punishment of pride, which they evince by their words. The words of the wise procure good to them.

v. 4

crib is clean--empty; so "cleanness of teeth" denotes want of food (compare Amo 4:6). Men get the proper fruit of their doings (Gal 6:7).

World English Bible — Public domain