18. A wrathful man stirs up fighting, but one slow to anger calms fighting. Don’t give someone else control over your feelings, unless you are capable of killing all your new enemies and living with the consequences. Obviously this defies God’s command for social stability.
19. The way of the lazy one is like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the righteous is made plain. As usual, this emphasizes moral discernment. You can be altogether industrious to no good purpose, so the point here is to exercise your heart’s discernment first. The image contrasts a thorny hedge as a fence against a wide open highway of moral clarity.
20. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother. We’ve seen this one twice before and it will come around a few more times before the book ends. In this context, it simply echoes the previous verse in different terms. If God commands that we honor our parents, then it’s just one more reason to invest in your heart’s mastery in moral discernment.
21. Folly is joy to him who is without any wisdom, but a man of understanding walks uprightly. Lacking wisdom is a valid translation of the Hebrew phrase “void of heart,” but may still be misleading. Someone who ignores their heart-mind will take delight in moral silliness. This person is easily distracted from morally important tasks, while a heart-led man can be trusted.
22. Without wisdom, purposes are defeated, but by many wise men they are established. In this verse, lack of wisdom is the image of having no wise counselors. The whole idea is that someone with less skin in the game than you might have a better view of the big picture. Hebrew men of action generally kept at least one advisor around. In this case, the more you can afford, the better.
23. A man has joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word in due season, how good it is! This one requires a proper context; it is otherwise a bit subtle. It’s fun for everyone involved if one can say the right thing at the right time. A talent for it is priceless.
24. The way of life is above to the wise, so that he may turn away from hell below. This simply defines the imagery commonly used in such proverbs. Moral wisdom is life on a higher plane of awareness and keeps you from suffering, both now and eternally.
25. The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, but He will set up the border of the widow. We have here a subtle contrast with the previous proverb. The paradox of walking in the higher realms is that it makes you humble. Thus, by definition that arrogant are lacking moral truth and their dominion in life will be morally empty, much as a man who loses his entire inheritance. A widow is a common Hebrew image of someone who has lost everything, including all social standing and material support, and wouldn’t dare pretend arrogance. God defends the humble.
26. The thoughts of the wicked are very hateful to the LORD, but the words of the pure are pleasant words. This is both a restatement of the previous, and phrasing we’ve seen before in Proverbs. God might delay mortal wrath, but withholds His moral peace until a man wants it enough to embrace revelation.
27. He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes shall live. Again, the standard is a higher moral peace. Within a covenant community, you would expect a more literal application. The real wealth in this world has always been moral purity.
28. The heart of the righteous studies to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. This is the typical Hebrew affinity for letting the heart answer first, then engaging the mind and mouth. It implies seeking the wisdom of the Spirit for answers the mind cannot comprehend, but that the heart can translate as moral imperative. Otherwise, the content makes no difference. It is foul belching simply because it was not taken before the Lord first, as it were.
29. The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous. Almost the same words as in verse 8 above, the context emphasizes righteousness as taking the time to consider things from the higher moral standpoint. A higher moral consciousness brings you closer to God, while a silenced heart keeps you remote from Him.
30. The light of the eyes rejoices the heart; a good report makes the bones fat. The lyrical phrasing is subtle and ambiguous. We have a parallel of eyes that see by the light of the sun with ears that hear a good moral teaching. The other parallel is a heart that rejoices and a healthy body. The imagery makes sense if you understand the concept of reality itself defined by God’s moral character. When your perception is attuned to seeing the glory of God in Creation, it’s no different from reading a good word of divine revelation. A heart that is full of divine joy tends to make your body, and by extension your entire human existence, strong and healthy.
31. The ear that hears the reproof of life shall remain among the wise. This extends the metaphor of Creation resounding with the moral character of God. If cultivate an awareness of how your experiences in life speak to you of moral reality, then God will treat you like a VIP in His court.
32. He who refuses instruction despises his own soul, but he who hears reproof gets understanding. As before, the translation equates the Hebrew term for “heart” as wisdom. If you are willing to entertain something offered as correction or reproof, even if you can’t use it, that willingness indicates your heart is alive and active on the moral plane of awareness.
33. The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility. Reverence for God is equated with a high status in His divine court. It requires a certain level of awareness to sense the divine Presence in the first place, but with that sense comes the inevitable overwhelming burden of guilt and shame our fallen nature. Without that ground of understanding, there is no hope of hearing from God how He intends for us to live in this world. If your awareness of His holiness teaches you penitence, then you are ready to hear that revelation. Embracing His revelation honors Him, and in turn shines the light of His glory into your life. In a more literal translation, that last phrase is “humility is the face of honor.”
