Peace, Testing, and Family
Study note
The chapter opens by saying it is better to have a dry piece of bread in peace than a house full of feasting with fighting. God tests hearts like a furnace tests gold. Grandchildren are the crown of old age. These proverbs cover the close relationships that shape our daily lives.
1 A dry crust of bread in a peaceful home is better. It beats a feast where people always fight. Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
2 A wise servant will end up running the house. They will rank above a child who brings shame. They will even share in the family wealth. A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
3 Silver is tested in a pot and gold is tested in a furnace. But the Lord is the one who tests what is inside a person's heart. The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
4 People who do evil like listening to wicked talk. Liars enjoy hearing words that destroy. A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
5 Mocking the poor insults the God who made them. Being happy when others suffer will bring payback. Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are like a crown of pride for older people, and children are proud to say who their parents are. Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
7 Eloquent speech coming from a fool does not make sense, and lies coming from a leader are even more out of place. Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.
8 A bribe looks like a magical charm to the person giving it. They think it will open every door they try. A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
Friendship and Forgiveness
Study note
These proverbs deal with how we handle conflict and relationships. Covering an offense promotes love, while repeating a matter separates close friends. A true friend loves at all times, and a brother is born to help in times of trouble. Meeting a mother bear robbed of her cubs is safer than meeting a fool in their foolishness.
9 Forgiving someone's mistake builds love between you. But always bringing it up again drives a wedge between close friends. He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
10 One honest rebuke sinks deep into a wise person. A hundred beatings do nothing to a fool. A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
11 A rebellious person is always picking fights, so a severe punishment is what gets sent their way. An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
12 You are safer meeting a mother bear missing her cubs. A fool in the grip of folly is worse. Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If you pay back kindness with cruelty, trouble will never leave your house. Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
14 Getting into an argument is like poking a hole in a dam. Walk away before the whole thing breaks loose. The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
15 Letting guilty people go free and punishing innocent people are both things the Lord hates. He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
16 What is the point of a fool having money to buy wisdom? They have no interest in getting it. Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?
17 A real friend shows love no matter what happens. And a brother or sister was born to be there when times get hard. A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Foolishness, Sorrow, and the Tongue
Study note
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. This famous proverb recognizes the connection between emotional health and physical health. Other proverbs warn about rash financial promises, the love of conflict, and the corruption of justice through bribery.
18 A person who makes careless pledges shows poor thinking. Do not put up your own things for someone else's debts. A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend.
19 If you enjoy getting into arguments, you enjoy sin. If you build your walls extra high, you are just begging for something to break through them. He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
20 A person with a crooked heart never finds anything good. A person with lying speech keeps falling into trouble. He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
21 Having a foolish child brings nothing but sorrow. There is no joy for the parent of someone who refuses to learn. He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
22 A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
23 A wicked person quietly takes a bribe to bend the course of justice in their favor. A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
The Value of Silence
Study note
The chapter ends with a humorous but true observation: even a fool is considered wise if they keep their mouth shut. A foolish child brings grief to both parents. These proverbs emphasize that wisdom often shows itself in restraint and careful speech.
24 A person with understanding keeps wisdom before them. But a fool's attention wanders all over the place. Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish child crushes a father with grief and fills the mother who brought them into the world with bitterness. A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
26 It is wrong to punish someone who did nothing bad. It is wrong to beat a good leader for doing right. Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.
27 A wise person does not waste words. Somebody who truly understands things keeps a cool head. He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
28 Even a fool can be mistaken for wise if they keep their mouth closed. Staying quiet makes anyone look smart. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.