Chapter Eighteen

1–10. Warnings against unmerciful disposition, passion for disputes, and other manifestations of inhumane and reckless attitude. 11–17. Seven proverbs teaching chiefly reliance on God and humility as the paths leading to true wisdom. 18–22. Warnings against passion for lawsuits and abuses of the gift of speech. 23–25. On various kinds of love.

Proverbs 18:1. One who is willful seeks pleasure and rebels against all that is wise. Proverbs 18:2. The fool does not love knowledge, but only desires to display his own mind. Proverbs 18:3. With the coming of a wicked person comes contempt, and with shame comes reproach. Proverbs 18:4. The words from a person’s mouth are deep waters; a fountain of wisdom is a flowing stream. Proverbs 18:5. It is not good to show partiality to a wicked person, to deprive a righteous person of justice in court. Proverbs 18:6. A fool’s mouth brings strife, and his words invite blows. Proverbs 18:7. A fool’s tongue is his ruin, and his lips are a snare for his own soul. Proverbs 18:8. [Laziness brings on decline, and slack hands result in poverty.] Proverbs 18:9. The words of a gossip are like delicacies, and they go down into the innermost depths of the belly. Proverbs 18:10. One who is slack in his work is a brother to the destroyer. Egoistic self-centeredness of a willful person is condemned, depriving him of the ability to hear and apply any useful advice (vv. 1–2), with a remark on the shame of wickedness in general (v. 3). Then a profound view is established of the inner nature of human speech, especially of the wise person: his speech, before being uttered, is shaped in the depths of his soul, similar to water hidden in the bowels of the earth; the depth and thoughtfulness of its content, the abundance of valuable thoughts, and the life-giving quality of the wise person’s speech—such are the points of comparison with flowing water (v. 4. See Prov 20:5; Eccl 7:24). From the individual maxims here, first of all, all partiality in court is condemned (v. 5): Moses himself made the elimination of this evil his goal among biblical Israel (Lev 19:15; Deut 10:17). Then—against abuses of the gift of speech, characteristic of the foolish and reckless (vv. 6–7), against slander, idleness, and wastefulness (8–10).

Proverbs 18:11. The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous run into it and are safe. Proverbs 18:12. A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination. Proverbs 18:13. Before a fall the heart of a person is haughty, and humility comes before honor. Proverbs 18:14. Whoever gives an answer before hearing the question is foolish and brings shame upon himself. Proverbs 18:15. The spirit of a person sustains his infirmities; but who can bear a broken spirit? Proverbs 18:16. The heart of a discerning person acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. Proverbs 18:17. A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a present hidden in the bosom turns away great wrath. On the one hand, an unshakeable fortress in the name of Jehovah is indicated as the sure refuge for those who trust in Him (v. 11); on the other hand, the deceptiveness and illusory nature of the rich man’s hopes for the help of wealth (v. 12); if in Prov 10:15 we spoke of the haughty pride that possession of wealth inspires in a person—in contrast to the oppressed spirit of the pauper, then here (v. 12; Heb. 11) it speaks of the worthlessness of a rich man’s hopes as a matter of experience (the Russian translation correctly conveys it—Synodal and Archbishop Macarius—Hebrew bemaskito—\”in his imagination.\” The accepted text of the LXX and Vulgate do not sustain this meaning). V. 13 see Prov 16:18 and Prov 15:33. The characteristic sign of a fool indicated in v. 14—the manner of answering without hearing the question—was considered among ancient Hebrew sages as very typical of a foolish and uneducated person, whereas the opposite quality was recognized as a sign of the learned and wise (Sir 11:8; Mishnah, Avot, V, 7). By v. 15 a person’s spirit can be both a source of strength and courage for his whole being, but also—in despondency—a source of weakness (in Hebrew the first half of the verse has ruach, \”spirit,\” masculine, and in the second half—feminine). V. 16 (Heb. 15) contains an indication that the teaching of wisdom, first and foremost the Torah itself, was always taught orally, and the extent of the student’s learning depended on the degree of his attention (cf. Prov 15:31; Avot VI, 5). V. 17 marks a typical feature of Eastern customs, according to which one cannot present oneself to a superior without a gift or win a case in court (cf. Prov 19:8).

Proverbs 18:18. In a lawsuit, the first to speak seems right, until the other comes forward and examines him. Proverbs 18:19. A drawing of lots settles disputes and decides between strong opponents. Proverbs 18:20. An angry brother is more unapproachable than a strong city, and disputes are like the bars of a fortress. Proverbs 18:21. From the fruit of a person’s mouth his belly is filled; the yield of his lips satisfies him. Proverbs 18:22. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. V. 18 contains, apparently, counsel to a judge—not to be deceived by the testimony of one of the disputing parties (cf. Avot I, 8–9). By v. 19 in disputes and lawsuits, when there is no other way out, drawing lots was a decisive means (cf. Prov 16:33). The meaning of v. 20 (Heb., LXX, Vulg.—v. 19) is rendered differently in Hebrew and Russian (Synodal and Archbishop Macarius)—“a brother made bitter (“by betrayal,” according to Archbishop Macarius) is more unapproachable than a strong city,” than in the LXX (ἀδελφός ὕπο ἀδελφοῦ βοηθούμενος, ὡς πόλις ὀχυρὰ καὶ ὑψηλή), in the Vulgate (frater qui adjuvatur a fratre, quasi civitas firma et alta), and in Church Slavonic: “a brother aided by a brother, as a firm and high city.” Although the image of a fortified city more usually signifies something protecting and providing sure refuge to those who seek it, and therefore the sense given by the LXX, Vulgate, and Church Slavonic could be accepted, yet the context of this passage—vv. 18–19, cf. the second half of v. 20—speaks in favor of the Hebrew-Russian reading. V. 21 see Prov 12:14. V. 22. On the important significance of the tongue, sometimes beneficial, sometimes fatal (cf. Sir 38:20-22), the Apostle James speaks in a similar way, but much more extensively (Jas 3:5-9).

Proverbs 18:23. Whoever finds [a good] wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.—[Whoever sends away a good wife sends away good fortune, and whoever maintains an adulteress is foolish and wicked.] Proverbs 18:24. The poor speaks with pleas, while the rich answers harshly. Proverbs 18:25. Whoever wishes to have friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. The Wise One speaks here of various kinds of love and affection, and, first of all, recognizes as a great gift of God and happiness for a person the possession of a good wife (v. 23, cf. Prov 31:10 ff., Sir 26:1 ff.); then, intending to express negatively the duty of love and mercy toward the needy, depicts the humbly pleading figure of the poor on the one hand, and the rude arrogance and hardhearted cruelty of the rich man on the other (v. 24, see Prov 14:21); finally, he speaks of ideal friendship, capable of surpassing the strength of brotherly love (v. 25).