Chapter Ten

From ch. X begin the “Proverbs of Solomon” (Prov 10:1) concerning the general character, content, purpose, and goal of which it was spoken at the beginning of the Book of Proverbs (Prov 1:2-6). If in ch. I-IX the development of the thought about the significance of wisdom proceeded through consecutive and connected periods, then from here, with ch. X through XXIX inclusive, there follows a series of proverbial sayings of miscellaneous content, so that almost every verse is an independent whole, a separate proverb, having no visible connection either with what precedes or with what follows. In content these proverbial sayings relate to all possible relations and conditions of life. Before the reader’s eyes, in the diversity proper to human life, here pass side by side: the rich and the poor, the wise and the foolish, the industrious and the lazy, the righteous and the wicked, father and son, husband and wife, master and slave, king and subject, etc. Relating each to separate phenomena of life, all the proverbs together, however, express a whole worldview on life, a finished worldview of the sacred writer. In form, these proverbs constitute rhyming couplets, both parts of which are usually in a relation of opposition (in ch. X-XV) — exclusively or represent what is called antithetical parallelism, in which one hemistich expresses the converse side of truth expressed in the other (see for example, also in Ps 2:6; Eccl 2:14).

Proverbs 10:1. Proverbs of Solomon. A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings sorrow to his mother. This very form is already possessed by this first verse, which evidently relates to the entire subsequent collection of proverbs. A particular shade of meaning in the opposition of father and mother: the grief of an unsuccessful son is perceived especially deeply by a mother’s heart (compare Prov 1:8).

Proverbs 10:2. Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. Proverbs 10:3. The Lord will not let the righteous soul go hungry, but he thrusts aside the craving of the wicked. Proverbs 10:4. A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth. Proverbs 10:5. He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a shameful son. Proverbs 10:6. Blessings rest on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. Proverbs 10:7. The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. For all the diversity of content of these six verses, they are somewhat unified by a thought common to all of them about the unequal earthly lot of the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the foolish, the industrious and the lazy. “Life and death” (v. 2) — a typical designation of good and misfortune in life running through the entire Book of Proverbs. — “Treasures gained by wickedness” — acquired by injustice, lawlessness — “do not profit” — are powerless to save from death, as well as from any deadly misfortune. What will save from this is only “righteousness” (Heb. tzedakah), that is, the rectitude of all intentions and acts of a man, the active fulfillment of “wisdom,” chokhma (according to traditional Hebrew interpretation, tzedakah that saves from death is almsgiving). The thought of v. 2 is repeated almost word-for-word in Prov 11:4. In v. 3 are opposed, first, the “soul” of the righteous, that is, the normal, balanced mental state (according to LXX ψυχὴ δικαία) of the righteous — and the “craving” or greed (Heb. gevah, compare Mic 3:7; according to LXX ζωὴ, life, in the sense of means of living) of the wicked; and second, the opposite fate of the one and the other: the Lord does not permit the righteous to hunger (compare Ps 32:19), but on the contrary, the evil and lustful desires of the wicked he does not allow to be satisfied, especially since they are often directed toward the harm of neighbors. Then, in v. 4–5, is expressed the thought that well-being or material scarcity depends on one’s own energy or, conversely, inactivity as a deviation from the universal law of labor (Gen 3:19). In the Vulgate, to v. 4 there is added: qui nititur mendaciis, hic pascit ventos idem autem ipse sequitur aves volantes. The LXX have an addition in v. 5, read in the Slavonic Bible as follows: “will be saved from the heat, a son of understanding, while chaffy is born on the harvest a son of lawlessness,” that is, the prudent, as a result of timely gathering of grain, does not suffer damage from hot winds, whereas the foolish and disorderly man misses the time of harvest, and over-ripe grain in the head is laid waste by heat and wind; in general, here as in the whole v. 4–5, is expressed the thought of the necessity of prudent use of time for success in temporal and spiritual matters. V. 6–7 speak of the good name, the unblemished reputation of the righteous and — the disgrace and ruin of the name of the wicked, both during their lifetime (v. 6) and after the death of the one and the other (v. 7) (compare Ps 111:6; Sir 44:13; note Matt 26:13).

Proverbs 10:8. The wise in heart accepts commands, but a babbling fool comes to ruin. Proverbs 10:9. Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever perverts his ways will be found out. Proverbs 10:10. He who winks with his eye causes trouble, but a babbling fool comes to ruin. They oppose one another in character and consequences of the actions of the wise and the wicked in relation to the teachings of wisdom (v. 8), in behavior or mode of life, opposite in one and the other (v. 9), and in the very manner of speech — deceitful and crooked in the wicked, and direct, though perhaps harsh, in the righteous (v. 10). The latter thought is expressed more clearly than in the Hebrew text in the Greek translation of the LXX in the second half of v. 10: ὁ δὲ ᾿ελέγχων μετὰ παρρησίας είρηνοποιεῖ; Slavonic: “but he who reproves with boldness makes peace”.

Proverbs 10:11. The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Proverbs 10:12. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Proverbs 10:13. In the mouth of one who has understanding is found wisdom, but a rod is for the back of one without sense. Proverbs 10:14. The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. The portrayal of the good and evil, wise and foolish, continues — in relation to their dealings with neighbors and their influence on them, chiefly from the side of speech or the ability and manner of using the word. If in general human speech is compared to waves and streams of waters (Prov 18:4), then the speech of the righteous — for its directness and instructiveness — is called here (v. 11) a fountain of life, while from the mouth of the wicked comes only violence. To this violence and its harmful influence on society is helped by the hatred filling it. On the contrary, “love covers all offenses” (v. 12, compare 1 Pet 4:8; Jas 5:20; 1 Cor 13:4), that is, is lenient toward the mistakes of a neighbor, does not spread ill repute about him (compare Prov 17:9), in general contributes in every way to peace. In v. 13–14 there is a new opposition of wise and foolish: the first is receptive to simple instruction in wisdom; the second requires physical action (v. 13); the first, having understood truth, does not hasten to communicate it to everyone and everyone, on the contrary, observes caution in speech, according with the degree of receptiveness of listeners; the fool, on the contrary, is talkative — to his own destruction (v. 14).

Proverbs 10:15. The wealth of the rich is his fortress; the poverty of the poor is their ruin. Proverbs 10:16. The earnings of the righteous lead to life, but the gain of the wicked to sin. Proverbs 10:17. Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but whoever ignores reproof goes astray. Proverbs 10:18. Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. Proverbs 10:19. When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. Proverbs 10:20. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, the heart of the wicked is of little worth. Proverbs 10:21. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. In these seven verses speech is made principally of earthly goods, their value and the way of acquisition and use. The raising of one’s self-confidence and self-reliance that wealth produces, the significance of wealth and the humbling effect that poverty has on a person (v. 15) — a fact of experience. The Wise One by this saying warns — the rich against the self-reliance born of wealth, and the poor against the idleness that leads to poverty and want. At the same time both wealth and poverty are regarded mainly from the moral point of view: wealth, it is supposed, should be acquired by life wisdom and in morally irreproachable ways and in turn should be used for works of wisdom, love, and piety; conversely, poverty, which is a consequence of laziness and other vices, can, in turn, lead to new vices. That the Wise One regards wealth and poverty mainly from the moral point of view is shown by the following verse — 16th, which directly says that only the acquisitions of the righteous are lasting, while the gains of the wicked lead to sin — as well as v. 17, where the hortatory direction and content of the speech becomes fully evident: there is spoken about the salvation-giving nature of keeping the teaching of wisdom and about the ruinousness of scorning reproof (compare Prov 12:1): one who does not accept reproof not only perishes himself, but through the destructive force of example, ruins others (Matt 15:14). In the following v. 18–21 speech is made chiefly about correct, saving, and incorrect, ruinous use of the gift of speech: cursed is evil-speaking against a neighbor (v. 18), in general vain talk, which inevitably leads to sin (v. 19, compare Prov 13:3; Eccl 10:14; Sir 20:7; Matt 12:35), praised on the contrary is the deliberate word of the righteous (20a) as edifying to many (21a), in opposition to the empty, void word of the wicked (20b, 21b.)

Proverbs 10:22. The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:23. A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes, but a person of understanding delights in wisdom. Proverbs 10:24. What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but what the righteous desire will be granted. Proverbs 10:25. When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever. According to the different disposition of the foolish wicked and the wise righteous (v. 23), their outward fate is also different: for the righteous all prospers, all is given to him without effort, cares, and worries, since the blessing of God rests on his life and works (v. 22, note Ps 126:2 seq.), all his desire is fulfilled (v. 24b); on the contrary, the lot of the wicked — eternal fear for his well-being (v. 24a, note Isa 66:4; Job 3:25), and his end — sudden and complete destruction, with the complete steadfastness of the righteous (v. 25; note Prov 1:27; Job 1:19).

Proverbs 10:26. Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. In this verse is expressed, standing apart here, the thought about the harm of laziness (compare Prov 6:6 seq.; Prov 12:27).

Proverbs 10:27. The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. Proverbs 10:28. The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing. Proverbs 10:29. The way of the Lord is a fortress for the upright, but a terror to evildoers. Proverbs 10:30. The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not remain in the land. Thoughts are repeated not infrequently already expressed about the unequal to the point of opposition fate of the righteous and the wicked (compare Prov 3:2; note Job 8:13; Ps 109:6).

Proverbs 10:31. The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out. Proverbs 10:32. The lips of the righteous know what is welcome, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. Concerning the mouth of the righteous and the wicked and the fruits thereof.