NOTES for Pro 20:1-30
1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. |
2 The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul. |
3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling. |
4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. |
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out. |
6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find? |
7 The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. |
8 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes. |
9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? |
10 Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD. |
11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. |
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them. |
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread. |
14 It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth. |
15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. |
16 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman. |
17 Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel. |
18 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war. |
19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips. |
20 Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. |
21 An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed. |
22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee. |
23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good. |
24 Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way? |
25 It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make inquiry. |
26 A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them. |
27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly. |
28 Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy. |
29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head. |
30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly. |
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People value mercy above truth, and that remains the case today. Is there not a contradiction here, since we are called to be merciful? No. Stating this reality neither denies mercy and forbearance toward the weak and those who have stumbled, nor imposes the Pharisaic demand that formal correctness should obscure everything else. But love of truth is inseparable from love of God, and therefore a life lived according to truth cannot but be a life lived standing before Him. Mercy practiced in defiance of God will therefore sooner or later reveal itself as a lack of mercy.
Among the proverbs, we find many observations drawn from life and much advice of everyday wisdom. To understand their true meaning, some must be considered in the context of their place and time, while others remain suitable for literal application even today. One may ask why, on the pages of the Bible, revelation about God and the meaning of human existence is combined with such seemingly simple advice. But everything begins with small things, and any “small thing” can have global significance. Starting from them, one can rise to new levels.
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