We begin with an early collection of proverbs Solomon heard or spoke himself. Scripture text is in italics.
1. A wise son makes a glad father; but a foolish son is the sorrow of his mother. Whatever sorrows life might bring, children that tend to operate in moral wisdom can make life bearable for their parents. Children who turn out to be self-indulgent jerks make a mother want to hide her face public.
2. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing; but righteousness delivers from death. Whatever immoral living buys you isn’t worth having. It opens entry ways for demonic presence. Even if there is a significant time lag in the results, don’t be fooled. Pay the price for moral living and avoid the traps.
3. The LORD will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry; but He casts away the desire of the wicked. In Hebrew thought, the “soul” carried a different meaning than Western clinical assumptions. It symbolized the entire experience of life in this world. Embracing Jehovah’s revelation offers the best life possible simply because it is the key to understanding how His moral character is woven into all things. Those who ignore His revelation will find themselves ignored, in the sense that they become background noise and mere scenery as His hand works in history. Whatever priorities the wicked have won’t register with God.
4. He who deals with a lazy hand becomes poor; but the hand of the hard worker makes rich. The Hebrew word translated “lazy” here implies deceit and moral laxity. This isn’t a capitalist maxim because it’s all about morals, not money. Those who ignore the moral meaning of their actions will never have enough, but whatever the righteous gain will seem like a mountain of blessings.
5. He who gathers in summer is a wise son; but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame. We see here a common figure of speech that shows up in Jesus’ comment about “white unto harvest” — keep your eyes open to divine opportunities. Don’t be fooled by what your mere senses tell you, but keep track of the moral order built into Creation. Gird yourself to exert your best efforts when the time comes.
6. Blessings are on the head of the just; but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. This is a play on the Hebrew concept of covering. It weaves together the sense of sins removed from God’s sight so that He withholds wrath, along with proper submission to divine authority, as well as those He appoints as human authority. It’s also a symbol of wealth, power and authority of your own as you operate under God’s revelation. You would conspicuously display God’s favor and blessings as your “covering.” Thus, even the chatter of the morally indigent would ooze with threats to God’s provision for life.
7. The memory of the just is blessed; but the name of the wicked shall rot. This has nothing to do with official propaganda and our modern social orthodoxy. In the minds of God’s faithful people, someone who strives to walk in God’s divine justice will be remembered fondly. Regardless of human accomplishments, anyone who couldn’t be bothered with moral character would be remembered with distaste, if remembered at all.
8. The wise in heart will receive commandments; but a babbling fool shall fall. Keep in mind that Hebrew culture presumes the heart is the seat of moral discernment, a higher form of awareness than the brain. Thus, a willful commitment to God’s moral character means one would listen. But it’s a play on words; it also means God will most certainly take time to communicate with that kind of person, and promote them in His divine service. Such people were marked by reticence and contemplation. Someone who can’t wait to spill the contents of every thought that crosses their minds won’t have time to listen to God and He will give them enough rope to hang themselves.
9. He who walks uprightly walks surely; but he who twists his ways shall be known. Typical of Hebrew proverbs, this is loaded with puns. It’s a play on the image of a man hiking on a path. One who chooses to walk in moral justice will exhibit a strong stride. If he is noticed at all, others will admire him, but he draws no attention to himself. Someone lacking in moral orientation will tend to wander off course and become notorious for getting in the way, for showing up at the worst time and place, etc.
10. He who winks the eye causes sorrow; but a babbling fool shall fall. A variation on wording seen previously, we see that context is everything in Hebrew language. This points out two kinds of evil. The first is intentionally ambiguous — either a narrowed squinting of eyes in someone plotting evil or someone using subtle signals to a secret confederate. Either way, they cause everyone else trouble, but the point is the secrecy of their evil plans. At the other extreme is someone who causes trouble largely to himself because he never bothers to keep anything private. Secrecy is generally immoral, but privacy is not.
11. The mouth of a righteous one is a well of life; but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. Listen to what people say, and observe the moral results. A righteous person is known for making life better because the things they say elicit a more vivid moral clarity. They always have a cool drink for the thirsty soul. It won’t matter much what a wicked person says, because their whole orientation is morally destructive.
12. Hatred stirs up fights, but love covers all sins. Another example of common figures of speech, including the concept of moral covering. Identifying people as your enemies will awaken constant warfare. Giving people space to fail, even to the point of shrugging off their expressed hatred for you, will keep conflicts asleep under the covers. Here we see an explicit promotion of social stability.
13. In the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found; but a rod is for the back of him who is without understanding. We have a typical Hebrew pun here. The word for “lips” is ambiguous, meaning a part of the facial anatomy, but also the sharp boundary between, say, water and land, or even a linguistic boundary between nations. Wisdom is expected from a man who discerns moral boundaries (“understanding”) and his words tend to reflect that clarity. However, an empty heart (“without understanding”) fills the whole being of a fool with ambiguity (“rod” as in branching) and he deserves frequent beatings with a rod.
14. Wise ones store up knowledge; but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin. How do you invest your life? Moral wisdom causes you to gather and hold truth, instead of chasing mere material wealth. Again, this implies reticence and contemplation, versus the moral idiot who can’t shut up as he pursues mere fleshly comfort and is never far from losing what little his life is worth.
15. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the ruin of the poor is their poverty. Paralleling the previous verse, this is more subtle than it appears. In what do you trust? Whether in literal or some figurative meaning, make the most of what you have. Count your blessings, because if you see yourself as deprived, life isn’t worth living.
16. The labor of the righteous tends to life; the fruit of the wicked tends to sin. The word “tend” is not in the Hebrew and the ambiguity is intentional. The word translated “labor” implies the wages of such labor. This is as much about moral accounting as anything else. Righteousness is work and its wages purchase a life worth living, while wickedness grows wildly like poisonous fruit that slowly kills you.
17. He who keeps instruction is in the way of life; but he who refuses reproof goes astray. Much of the imagery is lost in translation. One who builds a protective hedge around the hard lessons of life learned by bad consequences will walk in God’s shadow. When you abandon those lessons and refuse to learn from them, you can’t help but wander in moral wilderness, where you can fall off a cliff or be robbed, or eaten by wild beasts.
18. He who hides hatred with lying lips, and he who speaks a slander, is a fool. If someone is honest in labeling you an enemy, it gives you a chance to seek ways to keep the peace. Someone who seeks to hide their enmity has no interest in keeping the peace. Sooner or later, they’ll stir up trouble by what they say about their perceived enemies. This is tied to the folly of imagining that it’s your duty to enforce your personal truth on others, versus the wisdom of “live and let live.”
19. In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking; but he who holds back his lips is wise. This has nothing to do with a teaching or storytelling. Rather, it refers to how one behaves in social settings. Hebrew language lent itself to expansive ideas expressed through minimal words. The idea was not to nail down precise meanings, but quite the opposite — to encourage contemplation and reflection. Thus, real men of wisdom managed to say a lot with few words. People who rattled on endlessly were usually up to no good. This is actually a proverb encouraging proverbs.
20. The tongue of the just is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little. Almost on the same theme as the previous verse, we have more Hebrew puns. The word translated “tongue” is also a figure of speech for flames as one might see in a foundry, as well as an ingot of metal. Having defined justice as consistency with God’s moral character, we should expect even the words of the just to be as precious as silver in covenant life. Again, Hebrew culture saw the heart as the seat of the will and moral discernment, so a moral reprobate can’t offer much because his figurative heart is inactive. If you tore his literal heart from his chest, would he miss it?
21. The lips of the righteous feed many; but fools die for lack of wisdom. A little dry humor in this one. The righteous is the image of a bird feeding nestlings. A fool wouldn’t recognize life-giving truth if it bit him.
22. The blessing of the LORD itself makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. This reminds us not to blame God for our fallen condition. Whatever God grants us is always in our best interests, and whatever is in our best interest always comes from God. His revelation and the blessings bundled with it are our only hope in this life. Blame your fallen nature for any sorrow you experience.
23. To work out evil devices is as laughter to a fool; so wisdom is to a man of understanding. Most Westerners miss the point on this one. What amuses you betrays your moral sensibilities, but this isn’t about a mere sense of humor. This points at where you invest your energies. There is such a thing as harmless a practical joke, but if you can’t empathize with the victim, your prank is harmful and hateful. Contrast this with someone who is amused by investing his energies in striving to understand God’s moral character.
24. What the wicked fears shall come upon him; but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. Again, cultural subtlety lost in translation comes into play here. This illustrates what we see in the Eden narrative, that Adam and Eve were no longer willing to meet with God in the Garden after their sin. We shall all face God at the time of His choosing. If we cower from His holiness, His wrath will find us. If we long to see His mercy and grace, He will show us His loving Fatherly face.
25. As the storm passes, so the wicked is no more; but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. The context is not secular life in general, but life under the Covenant. For inscrutable reasons, God may grant a season of sorrow allowing the wicked to hold power. However, within a covenant life, such will pass briefly. Those who seek God’s moral character will establish a presence that outlasts their own span of life.
26. Like vinegar to the teeth, and like smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. This has a dual message. Don’t trust someone who can’t be bothered to care about your wishes. By the same token, don’t be a self-centered jerk or you might find yourself out of a job.
27. The fear of the LORD prolongs days; but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. Again, the context is within the Covenant. However, you should recognize the subjective element that does matter in moral reckoning. When you embrace God’s revelation and His Lordship as if He were your feudal master, however much life He grants seems plenty. The concept of longevity also indicates fullness in other senses. On the other hand, if you are trying to game the system for your appetites, you’ll always believe you were short-changed.
28. The hope of the righteous is gladness; but the hope of the wicked shall perish. Essentially this is a restatement of the previous verse, with another play on words. The righteous patiently awaits, sight unseen, what he believes God will grant, persisting in hope for joy. The wicked is reasonably certain he’ll get what he wants by his scheming, but it will wander off and die.
29. The way of the LORD is strength to the upright; but ruin is to the workers of iniquity. The translation misses something. If your habitual path is a life adhering to God’s revelation, that life itself is a mighty fortress. If you give yourself to any other moral system, your life will be a moral shambles, like the dusty rubble of a crushed castle.
30. The righteous shall never be moved; and the wicked shall not live in the earth. This restates the previous verse. Righteous moral orientation makes your life stable, but moral indolence leaves you rootless.
31. The mouth of the just brings forth wisdom; but the perverse tongue shall be cut out. We have here another case of double intention. People should seek wise men of moral strength; speak wisely and people will listen. Don’t tolerate someone who prattles folly; blather like an idiot and no one will take you seriously.
32. The lips of the righteous know what is pleasing; but the mouth of the wicked what is contrary. Yet again, this parallels the previous verse. Here, what is “pleasing” pleases God, and by implication should please the Covenant People. You can detect wickedness by talk that perverts revelation.
