Proverbs 16:1-33
1 The preparationsa of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
3 Commitb thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.c
6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
9 A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
10 A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
11 A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weightsd of the bag are his work.
12 It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.
13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.
14 The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.
15 In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise teachethe his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.
24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
26 Hef that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.
27 An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.
28 A froward man sowethg strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.
29 A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.
30 He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass.
31 The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
Proverbs 16. The special feature is a group of aphorisms (Proverbs 16:10) relating to kings. The sentiments seem rather to reflect the picture of the ideal king than to indicate any particular period. The metaphors employed and the character depicted suggest a parallel with the ideal king of Psalms 72.
Proverbs 16:4. The lit. rendering of Proverbs 16:4 a is Yahweh has made every work for its answer i.e. the nexus of cause and effect seen in the moral government of the world is His work, a kind of prearranged harmony. The supreme instance is the case of the wicked, their answer is the day of evil. We have an assertion of the righteousness of Yahweh's government rather than of their predestination to judgment. There is no doubt, however, of the existence of the belief in predestination to blessing and judgment in later Jewis theology. This determinism is the fundamental feature in the eschatology of the Apocalyptists.
Proverbs 16:5. Proverbs 11:20 *.
Proverbs 16:6. An excellent illustration is found in Daniel 4:27 (cf. also Ezekiel 18:21; Ezekiel 18:27). Render Proverbs 16:6 b And by the fear of Yahweh there is escape from calamity.
Proverbs 16:8. cf. Proverbs 15:16.
Proverbs 16:10. This group relating to kings does not preserve the antithetic form characteristic of this section.
Proverbs 16:10. A divine sentence: lit. divination. For the precise meaning see Driver on Deuteronomy 18:10 f.
Proverbs 16:11 a. Just: qualifies scales only. Possibly, in view of the subject-matter of the group, the Lord's originally read the king's, and was afterwards, through misapprehension, changed to the present reading. The authorization of normal weights and balances is then ascribed to the king. This may be illustrated from a lion weight found at Abydos (c. vi.- v. cent. B.C.), with the inscription correct according to the commissioners of money.
Proverbs 16:15 b. cf. 2 Samuel 23:3 f.; Psalms 65:10; Psalms 72:6. the latter rain: not the heavy autumn and winter rain (Heb. the pourer), which breaks up the dry clods, but the gentler spring rain which fertilizes the crops.
Proverbs 16:20. cf. Proverbs 13:13.
Proverbs 16:21. learning: Toy's rendering, here and in Proverbs 16:23, persuasiveness or power of persuasion, is too free. The word may have both a passive and an active (cf. Deuteronomy 32:2) meaning. The sense requires the latter: agreeable speech increases a man's capacity of imparting knowledge.
Proverbs 16:25 = Proverbs 14:12. Like the doublets in the Synoptic Gospels, this and other doublets in the same section suggest that the editor is using more than one source, and that the proverb occurs in both his sources i.e. he is handling groups or collections rather than selecting isolated aphorisms and arranging them.
Proverbs 16:26. Read mg.
Proverbs 16:27. A group on slander (cf. Proverbs 6:12 *).
Proverbs 16:28. chief friends: cf. Proverbs 2:17; Psalms 55:13. The word means prince in Genesis 36:15; Zechariah 9:7, and the rendering alienates the prince is possible. But separates friends is probably the best rendering.
Proverbs 16:31 b. RVm is unwarranted. The meaning is that length of days is the reward of righteousness (cf. Psalms 91:16 and the Deuteronomic expression that thou mayst prolong thy days.
Proverbs 16:33. In primitive Heb. religion the casting of the sacred lot (p. 100) seems to have been the priest's prerogative (see H. P. Smith on 1 Samuel 14:41 f. in ICC and art. Lots in HDB), but later the practice of obtaining decisions in important matters became a practice of common life (cf. Jonah 1:7; Acts 1:26).