Proverbs 13

1. A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a scorner does not hear rebuke. The Western approach makes this a matter of inflated reverence, even fearfulness, for the social system. Hebrew folks were not like that; there is no presumption that every word of your male parent is sacred wisdom. The issue here is between heeding revelation and simply trusting in your own intelligence and reason. The father in this proverb symbolizes a commitment to social stability (shalom). Arrogant fools never listen to anyone because they don’t care about social stability.

2. From the fruit of his mouth a man shall eat good, but the soul of the treacherous eats violence. Jesus restated this: It’s not what you put in your mouth that defiles you, but what comes out of your mouth, because it represents what’s in your heart. The ancient proverb Solomon cites here is meant to make you smile with the paradoxical image that your own righteous words will feed you. This is contrasted with someone who acts covertly and treachery, whose life is focused on oppression, both giving and receiving.

3. He who keeps his mouth keeps his life; he who opens his lips wide, it is ruin to him. Keeping in mind that the mouth is two-way, this proverb promotes introspection. Be aware of what you but in your body and what you absorb into your soul. If you don’t discriminate according to the Word of God, you have no say at all in what happens.

4. The soul of the sluggard desires and has nothing; but the soul of the hard worker shall be made fat. There are few things more evil in this world than a sense of entitlement. This isn’t merely hedonistic laziness, but the sense that life is supposed to be easy and carefree. It’s an attitude that denies the Curse of the Fall. People who realize that God requires us to put some effort into this life will receive the promised blessings.

5. The righteous hates lying, but the wicked one is odious and acts shamefully. This is mangled some by traditional translation. In Hebrew, it begins with the subject: a word of deception. This is far more than lying, but symbolizes a life of deception, either by design or through lack of one. Against this kind of thing, the righteous man has declared himself the enemy. This is a noble image — the shepherd of souls on watch. It contrasts with the unrighteous man who is a craven coward, unwilling to sacrifice anything so that he is a threat to the community.

6. Righteousness guards the perfect of way, but wickedness subverts sin. This is a visual contrast: traveling through life with a faithful bodyguard versus wandering about at the end of the slave chain held by some demon. Embracing God’s moral character sets you free from Satan’s dominion.

7. There are those who act rich, yet have nothing; and those who act poor, yet have great riches. This is the classic contrast between arrogance and humility. As such, it serves as a sharp rebuke to the Western middle-class materialism, and the pretense of ostentatious wealth and position. The truly noble can afford to act humbly.

8. The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, but the poor does not hear rebuke. This connects to the previous proverb. We have here a figure of speech that translates poorly into English. When you are rich and people know it, you find yourself facing a lot of hassles. Every where you turn, people are eager to find ways to take your stuff. If you are obviously poor, no one seems to notice you.

9. The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. There is a delicious contrast in the words used for light here. The righteous have natural light, rather like the sun, moon and stars. Nature favors them and they rejoice in moral purity. The wicked are lucky to have a flickering lamp against the darkness of their lives.

10. Only by pride comes argument, but with those who take advice is wisdom. Something subtle Westerners miss here is the difference between mere intellectual logic and wisdom from ancient revelation. The word for “argument” points to the arrogance of human talent as the grounds of inquiry into issues of this life. The second line does not exclude contentious debate. To “take advice” emphasizes the difference of standing on the ground of moral wisdom when hearing all the arguments.

11. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be taken away, but he who gathers by labor shall increase. The symbolism here actually continues the previous verse. We can see the obvious literal meaning that folks who are born to privilege could easily become profligate wasters of their wealth, while those who work hard for their prosperity are more cautious about how they spend it. This also points out that those born brilliant tend to waste their talent on whatever amuses them, often due to the feeling that lesser lights of intellect aren’t worth helping. Someone who works hard to humbly approach wisdom does so with the assumption that respect for God’s command to bless others is the beginning of wisdom.

12. Hope put off makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. By itself, this proverb seems to say something too obvious. In the context of previous verses, this serves to warn those who lead not to make inflated promises.

13. Whoever despises the word shall be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment shall be rewarded. This proverb paints the image of self-restraint. If you don’t bind yourself under the Word, you’ll be bound by its penalties. If you revere the Law, you will be free from fear and blessed by God.

14. The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. This is the previous verse restated in different words. Most readers are surprised that the expression “water of life” comes right out the Old Testament.

15. Good understanding gives favor, but the way of traitors is ever flowing. A clumsy translation here; “ever flowing” should be more like “hard as stone” — it’s the image of permanence. Human experience from ancient times would suggest this isn’t always true in the literal sense. Lots of plundering fools think they have it made, and may well die without ever suffering an afflicted conscience. However, the implication is aimed at moral existence, not mere material comfort. Under the Covenant, the blessings of God arise from taking seriously the duty to moral purity.

16. Every wise one deals with knowledge, but a fool lays open his folly. In this context, “deals with” translates a Hebrew word that implies maintenance, as in keeping an operation going. In contrast, a fool runs everything into the ground.

17. A wicked messenger falls into mischief, but a faithful ambassador is health. The word “mischief” implies a wide range of misfortune, into which an immoral messenger might stumble on a regular basis. People with poor moral orientation are always prone to get sidetracked into business that threatens the message. Someone focused on the mission is one less thing his master has to worry about.

18. Poverty and shame shall be to him who refuses instruction, but he who listens to correction shall be honored. When you stand before God and live under the Covenant, you can expect His wrath to fall on those who can’t be bothered with self-restraint. God counts the honor of those who take criticism well as His own glory.

19. The desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but it is hateful to fools to turn from evil. Living contrary to divine justice was often viewed as an addiction, a form of slavery that kept you under God’s wrath. The “desire fulfilled” is the broader call to divine justice, a challenging path of self-restraint. As the moral climate in the community improves, fools start to whine about their lost opportunities to indulge their lusts.

20. He who walks with the wise shall be wise, but a companion with fools shall be destroyed. Even in English vernacular there’s humor in breaking the rhythm. This is roughly equivalent to: Walk with the wise and you’ll be wise; walk with fools and you’ll be dead.

21. Evil pursues sinners, but to the righteous good shall be repaid. This paints the image of sinners hounded by moral calamity while the righteous stand safely (“repaid” in the sense of recompense secured).

22. A good man leaves an inheritance to his sons’ sons, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. This is a very old proverbial image. It’s a seed concept; when allowed to blossom it offers the implication that we pass to our children our moral legacy. A sinner’s children can repent on their own, but demonic presence is not so easily dismissed when it has been allowed to build a fort in your family life.

23. Much food is in the plowed ground of the poor, but when there is no justice, it is swept away. This is an obscure way of saying the same as the previous verse. You can be poor, but grants us all a powerful opportunity (“plowed ground” as yet unplanted) to leave a strong moral legacy. If you don’t exploit the situation for God’s glory by living in His justice, everything you could have built would be just an empty dream.

24. He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him chastens him early. This has passed into English an abbreviated form: Spare the rod and spoil the child. But the image in our Western heritage is ugly and harsh. Whereas, in the Hebrew it was merely a symbol of giving moral context and shape to your child’s world in the sense of holding a ruling scepter, not merely a weapon for inflicting pain. There’s a pun here because “rod” could also mean “branch” as in a son.

25. The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, but the belly of the wicked shall lack. If you focus on your moral duty under the Covenant, God takes care of the promise to provide reasonable prosperity, including food. This is feeding your entire self, with all the various faculties God gave us. Moral weakness leads to a very debased existence, a lustful living that is never satisfied.