Proverbs 12:1-28
1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.
2 A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
6 The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
7 The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.
9 He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.
10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
11 He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
12 The wicked desireth the neta of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.
13 The wickedb is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
14 A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him.
15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
16 A fool's wrath is presentlyc known: but a prudent man covereth shame.
17 He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.
18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
20 Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.
21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
23 A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.
24 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothfuld shall be under tribute.
25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
26 The righteous is more excellente than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.
27 The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.
28 In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
Proverbs 12:4. A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband, as illustrated at large in chap. 31.
Proverbs 12:9. He that is despised, and hath a servant. There are various comments here. He that is despised, as a plebeian, and hath a servant; others say, and hath many servants, is better than the baron lost in poverty and debts. In the east, the rank of a man is known, not so much by the splendour of his carriage, as by the number of footmen which attend him. Absalom had fifty men to run before him. Mieux vaux l' homme qui ne fait point cas de soi, combien qu' il ait des serviteurs. Better is the man who boasts not how many servants he has. Melior est pauper, et sufficiens sibi; quam gloriosus, et indigens pane. Vulgate. Better is the poor man, who can provide for himself, than the proud man who wanteth bread.
Proverbs 12:10. A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast. Grace brings his soul into union with God, and into a resemblance of him in his imitable perfections; and as the beneficent Creator seeks to make all his creatures happy, so the good man will not over labour his beast, nor suffer it to languish for want of food. Nor can any man abuse his beast without sinning against humanity, and against God.
Proverbs 12:12. The wicked desireth the net of evil men. The allusion is to the art of spreading the net in hunting for game. The good man has no need of the arts by which they acquire wealth; his own vineyard, or other means, will yield him a sufficiency of fruit.
Proverbs 12:16. A fool's wrath is presently known. It is a great weakness to be under the power of passion, though there are times and seasons when it is proper to show resentment against folly and sin. The judgment should hold passion with a firm rein, should prudently cover the risings of undue resentment, and restrain unwarrantable expressions.
Proverbs 12:26. The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour. Grace ennobles his soul, elevates his views, and expands his affections. His whole life is a continued exercise of faith and piety, his afflictions are supported with patience, and divine love is the spring of all his benevolence. Or if we follow those who read, The righteous is more abundant than his neighbour; it is a grand truth that the Lord blesses the endeavours of a good man, while the way of the wicked, in wasting their substance, causes them to err, or wander in vagrancy to seek their bread.
Proverbs 12:27. The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting. A severe satire on indolence. The law of meats, clean and unclean, was some restriction on the pleasures of the chase. ציד tzaid refers both to hunting and fowling, as in Genesis 10:9; Genesis 25:27; and to the birds and beasts taken in the chase. Genesis 25:28; Genesis 27:3.