Proverbs 14:1-35
1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
2 He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.
3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
6 A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.
9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.
10 The heart knoweth his owna bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
11 The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
14 The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
15 The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
16 A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.
17 He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
18 The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
19 The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20 The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the richb hath many friends.
21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
22 Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.
23 In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
24 The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.
25 A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
26 In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
28 In the multitude of people is the king's honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
29 He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hastyc of spirit exalteth folly.
30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
31 He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
32 The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
33 Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
35 The king's favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.
Proverbs 14. In this, as in each of the preceding Chapter s in this section, aphorisms on the moral government of the world come first in number. There are rather more in this chapter of a political and social character, while a group that might be called psychological appears for the first time (e.g. Proverbs 14:10; Proverbs 14:13, and in part Proverbs 14:30). The contrast between wisdom and folly, simplicity and prudence, also yields a fairly numerous group.
Proverbs 14:1. MT cannot be translated. Proverbs 14:1 a is probably the quotation of Proverbs 9:1 a, and Proverbs 14:1 b is added as an aphoristic and antithetic comment. Read Wisdom hath builded her house, but folly tears it down with her hands.
Proverbs 14:3. rod: lit. shoot (mg.) or twig, as in Isaiah 11:1, the only other place where the word occurs. Hence, if the text is sound, the fool's mouth is represented as sending forth a branch of folly. But this leaves the antithesis without point. We expect some word conveying the harmfulness of the fool's speech to himself.
Proverbs 14:4 a yields no intelligible contrast; a slight emendation, where there are no oxen there is no corn, gives it.
Proverbs 14:7. The straightforward rendering of the Heb. is, If thou go from the presence of a fool thou hast not known lips of knowledge i.e. time spent in a fool's company is time wasted. But the text is very uncertain. LXX may preserve the original, All things are contrary to a fool, but wise lips are instruments of perfection, evidently following Proverbs 20:15 for Proverbs 14:7 b.
Proverbs 14:9. Another very difficult verse. The lit. translation, as far as one can be given, is Guilt (or a guilt offering) mocks fools, but among (lit. between) the upright there is good pleasure. It is hard to extract any sense from this. LXX, evidently with a widely different text in Proverbs 14:9 a, has the houses of transgressors need purification, but the houses of the righteous are acceptable (i.e. to God). The word mocks is the trouble. A slight emendation would give fools go astray by guilt, which yields a possible sense.
Proverbs 14:13. Cf.
Our sincerest laughter with some pain is fraught,
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.
Proverbs 14:14. Instead of the difficult from himself, read the necessary from his deeds, the same verb being supplied as in Proverbs 14:14 a.
Proverbs 14:17 b. Omit, with LXX, one Heb. letter, and read, to the improvement of sense and antithesis, but a man of thought endures. The Heb. for a quick-tempered man is lit. one who is short of nostrils; a patient man is long of nostrils i.e. his anger does not soon become apparent, by a snort!
Proverbs 14:18. are covered: the verb (Job 36:2) is Aram. Render the prudent wait for knowledge.
Proverbs 14:21. is happy: rather is blessed by God, as in Psalms 1:1, blessed is the man.
Proverbs 14:24 b is tautologous and yields no antithesis. Read The crown of the wise is their wisdom, the chaplet of fools is their folly (LXX).
Proverbs 14:32. in his death: read, transposing two letters, in his integrity (so LXX).
Proverbs 14:35. causeth shame: properly disappoints i.e. in a political sense, one who is a political or diplomatic failure.