Chapter Fourteen

1–7. On wisdom and foolishness in general. 8–19. A more detailed portrayal of the wise and foolish, mainly from the aspect of the difference in their life’s lot. 20–27. On riches and poverty in their causal connection with wisdom. 28–35. A parallel portrayal of the wise and foolish, rich and poor, finally, of masters and servants.

Proverbs 14:1. The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Proverbs 14:2. Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly, but whoever despises him is devious in their ways. Proverbs 14:3. A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride, but the lips of the wise protect them. Proverbs 14:4. Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests. Proverbs 14:5. An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies. Proverbs 14:6. The scoffer seeks wisdom, but finds none, yet knowledge comes easily to the discerning. Proverbs 14:7. Stay away from a fool, for you will not find knowledge on their lips. A concrete expression of wisdom is the wise, home-building wife, and likewise a concrete example of folly is the senseless wife, destroying her house and all its prosperity with her own hands (v. 1, cf. Prov 12:4). Next, are contrasted the fear of God, which leads a person in straight paths, and bold neglect of the memory of God, conjoined with walking in crooked paths (v. 2), the pride of speech among the foolish and the modesty of speech among the wise (v. 3, cf. Prov 12:6), the true witness and the false one (v. 5, cf. Exod 23:1; Prov 12:17), the inaccessibility of wisdom to people devoid of the fear of God, and its complete accessibility to those filled with the fear of God and pure in heart (v. 6); hence also the counsel to avoid the fool, from whom there is nothing to learn (v. 7). Standing outside the apparent connection with the general thought of this section is the economic note of v. 4, which seems to have the purpose of teaching a person not to overestimate the significance of wealth (cf. Prov 10:15; Prov 13:8), but to proportion his efforts to increase his property with the extension of tools of production and generally of life’s means.

Proverbs 14:8. The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception. Proverbs 14:9. Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright. Proverbs 14:10. Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy. Proverbs 14:11. The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. Proverbs 14:12. There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:13. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief. Proverbs 14:14. The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good person rewarded for theirs. Proverbs 14:15. The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps. Proverbs 14:16. The wise fear the Lord and shun evil, but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure. Proverbs 14:17. Those who are quick-tempered do foolish things, and those who devise wicked schemes are hated. Proverbs 14:18. The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. Proverbs 14:19. The evil bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. Here the internal and external properties and relationships of the wise—godly and foolish—wicked are set forth without distinction and without strict differentiation. Contrasted are the wise man’s knowledge of his path and the fool’s wandering on the life’s path (v. 8), the blasphemous attitude of the latter to the idea of sin and atoning sacrifice and goodwill in all such actions of the righteous (v. 9), the character of the way of the righteous and wicked and the ultimate fate of the one and the other (vv. 11–12; 14–19). Incidentally, there are inserted remarks: 1) on the inaccessibility of man’s inner world, his joys and sorrows, to an outside witness or observer (v. 10), and 2) an unhappy, almost pessimistic observation that all joy and happiness contains the seed of sorrow and misfortune (v. 13).

Proverbs 14:20. The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends. Proverbs 14:21. It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy. Proverbs 14:22. Do not those who plot evil go astray? [Do not those who plan good receive love and faithfulness?] But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness. Proverbs 14:23. All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:24. The wealth of the wise is their crown, but the folly of fools yields folly. Proverbs 14:25. A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceptive. Proverbs 14:26. Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge. Proverbs 14:27. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death. From two verses—20 and 21—in the first is pointed out a frequent, though morally abnormal, phenomenon—friendship only for the sake of gain; in the second is expounded the moral view on this point. There follow maxims: on the destruction caused by plotting evil against one’s neighbor and on the benefit of goodwill (v. 22), on the profit of labor and the harm of idle talk (v. 23), on wealth as the portion of the wise and poverty overtaking the foolish (v. 24), on the saving effect of true testimony and the destructiveness of false testimony (v. 25); finally, in connection with the latter and with the content of the entire section, is spoken of the fear of God as the source of all good in life and of life itself (vv. 26–27).

Proverbs 14:28. A large population is a king’s glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined. Proverbs 14:29. Those who are patient have great understanding, but those who are quick-tempered display folly. Proverbs 14:30. A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:31. Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 14:32. When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God. Proverbs 14:33. Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning and even among fools she lets herself be known. Proverbs 14:34. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Proverbs 14:35. A king’s favor rests on a wise servant, but his wrath falls on a shameful one. The content of this section partly touches on the realm of state life; the benefits to a king of numerous subjects are indicated and the misfortune in their small number (v. 28); the fundamental law of the rise and fall of nations is set forth—righteousness (v. 34); the king is presented as an ideal force, as it were the conscience of the people, administering justice to reward good deeds and punish wickedness (v. 35). On the other hand, and principally, the significance and benefit of personal virtue and the evil of its opposite—wickedness—are emphasized; contrasted are: long-suffering and quickness to anger (v. 29), gentleness and envy (v. 30), the final destruction of the wicked and the hope of salvation for a godly person (v. 32). Particular importance is recognized for acts of mercy; herein is expressed the thought, clearly repeated in the Gospel (Matt 25:36), that God regards and attributes to Himself the kindness or unkindness of man toward his neighbor (v. 31, cf. Prov 17:5).