17 July

Bible In 365 Days

Proverbs 13-15

Proverbs 13

Proverbs 13:2. Compare this with Proverbs 12:14. As the words of a good man benefit himself as well as others, so the evil deeds of transgressors react upon themselves.

Proverbs 13:5. The contrast here between the wicked and the righteous is intense, in that concerning the righteous man the proverb simply states he hateth lying; concerning the wicked it declares that he becomes loathsome. That is to say, a righteous man keeping himself separate from wickedness hates lying. An evil man giving himself over to lying or other forms of sin becomes hated by others.

Proverbs 13:8. That is to say that if wealth has its advantages, so also has poverty. The rich man by his wealth may be able to conserve his life, but the poor man escapes the very dangers into which the rich are brought.

Proverbs 13:14. In this proverb the words "depart from the snares of death" interpret the action of such as obey the law. Thus by obedience to law a man departs from the snares of death, and so law becomes a fountain of life.

Proverbs 13:19. The reason that desire is not accomplished is declared in the second part of this proverb. Men will not pay the price of departing from evil, and so fail of the sweetness of fulfilled desire.

Proverbs 13:23. This is the declaration of an abiding truth that there is sustenance in the land, but men are excluded from it by injustice.

Proverbs 14

Proverbs 14:7. The sense of this proverb is entirely altered in the Revision. The Authorized reading would make it mean that if a man is perceived to be devoid of knowledge he should be abandoned. The Revised urges attention to the foolish man in order that it may be known that he lacks knowledge.

Proverbs 14:9 is a decidedly ambiguous proverb. It may mean that foolish men despise sin in the sense of holding in contempt the guilty, whereas upright men have grace or favor or good will in their heart, that is, even to such as fail. Instead of "sin," the American Standard Revision, renders "trespass offering," and so makes it mean that a religious rite by fools is of no value.

Proverbs 14:17. The contrast here is between hastiness of temper and maliciousness. The former leads to acts of folly. The other makes the man guilty of it hated by others.

Proverbs 15

Proverbs 15:11 is a simple method of drawing attention to God's perfect knowledge of all the deepest and hidden things. If that which is most full of mystery to us is perfectly known to Him, how well He must know our hearts.

Proverbs 15:23 sets forth the satisfaction of being able to say the right thing at the right moment. The explanation of its first part is found in the phrase in the second, "in due season."

Proverbs 15:24 is a recognition of the two forces of which man is ever conscious the upward pull and the downward pull with a declaration that wisdom consists in answering the upward.

Proverbs 15:27. The "gain" referred to here must mean a bribe. The meaning of the proverb then becomes perfectly plain.