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Proverbs 19

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Integrity vs. Foolishness 1–3

1
Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool. ​
2
Also, that the soul be without knowledge is not good; And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. ​
3
The foolishness of man subverteth his way; And his heart fretteth against Jehovah. ​

The Deceitfulness of Wealth and Friends 4–9

4
Wealth addeth many friends; But the poor is separated from his friend.
5
A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall not escape. ​
6
Many will entreat the favor of the liberal man; And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
7
All the brethren of the poor do hate him: How much more do his friends go far from him! He pursueth them with words, but they are gone. ​
8
He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: He that keepeth understanding shall find good. ​
9
A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall perish.

Character and Authority 10–15

10
Delicate living is not seemly for a fool; Much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
11
The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression. ​
12
The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; But his favor is as dew upon the grass. ​
13
A foolish son is the calamity of his father; And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
14
House and riches are an inheritance from fathers; But a prudent wife is from Jehovah. ​
15
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.

Discipline, Generosity, and Obedience 16–19

16
He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul; But he that is careless of his ways shall die. ​
17
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah, And his good deed will he pay him again. ​
18
Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope; And set not thy heart on his destruction. ​
19
A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty; For if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again.

Counsel and Divine Sovereignty 20–24

20
Hear counsel, and receive instruction, That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
21
There are many devices in a man’s heart; But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand. ​
22
That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness; And a poor man is better than a liar. ​
23
The fear of Jehovahtendethto life; And hethat hath itshall abide satisfied; He shall not be visited with evil. ​
24
The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. ​

Dealing with Fools and Scorners 25–29

25
Smite a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge. ​
26
He that doeth violence to his father, and chaseth away his mother, Is a son that causeth shame and bringeth reproach.
27
Cease, my son, to hear instruction Onlyto err from the words of knowledge. ​
28
A worthless witness mocketh at justice; And the mouth of the wicked swalloweth iniquity.
29
Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And stripes for the back of fools. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Proverbs 19

Verse 1

walketh in his integrity — The verse sets the walk against the lips: the poor man's integrity (tom, completeness) is weighed against the one 'perverse in his lips' who 'is a fool'. Prov 28:6 gives the same comparison with riches in view: 'Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.'

Verse 2

that the soul be without knowledge — 'Soul' is nephesh, the whole person, who is 'not good' without knowledge. 'Sinneth' is chata, to miss, so the hurried foot misses its way. Prov 21:5 says of 'every one that is hasty' that it is 'only to want', and Hosea 4:6 says 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge'.

Verse 3

perverteth his way — Calaph, to wrench or twist, is the verb of 'wickedness overthroweth the sinner' (Prov 13:6) and 'God overthroweth the wicked' (Prov 21:12). Folly twists the man's way, and his heart then 'fretteth' (za'ap, to boil up in anger; Uzziah is 'wroth' in 2 Chr 26:19) against the LORD.

Verse 5

shall not be unpunished — Literally 'shall not be held innocent', the verb of 'the LORD will not hold him guiltless' (Ex 20:7). 'Speaketh lies' is yapiach kezavim, one who breathes out lies, as in Prov 6:19 and 14:25. The law sets the penalty: 'Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother' (Deut 19:19). Verse 9 repeats the line.

Verse 7

do hate him — The verb is the one in 'The poor is hated even of his own neighbour' (Prov 14:20). Here the 'brethren' hate and the 'friends' (merea) 'go far' (rachaq), as in Job 19:13, 'He hath put my brethren far from me'. The last line shows the poor man pursuing them with words, and they are 'wanting to him', with nothing to give.

Verse 8

getteth wisdom — The Hebrew word rendered 'wisdom' is lev, heart, so literally he 'getteth a heart'. Qanah, to get, is the verb of 'Get wisdom, get understanding' (Prov 4:5). To love one's own soul (nephesh) is to guard it; the opposite is in Prov 8:36, 'he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul'.

Verse 11

pass over a transgression — Abar is to cross over, and pesha, transgression, is rebellion; the two stand together of God in 'passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage' (Mic 7:18). 'Deferreth his anger' is literally 'lengthens his nose' (arak aph), the idea of 'slow to wrath' in Prov 14:29. 'Glory' is tiph'arah, adornment.

Verse 12

as the roaring of a lion — Naham, roaring, is the word in 'The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion' (Prov 20:2). His 'favour' is ratson, as in Prov 14:9, and is 'as dew upon the grass', the image of Hos 14:5, 'I will be as the dew unto Israel'. Prov 16:15 gives the pair again: 'his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.'

Verse 14

a prudent wife is from the LORD — 'House and riches' pass down as an inheritance (nachalah) from fathers, but a maskeleth, a wife of understanding, comes from the LORD: 'Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD' (Prov 18:22). Isaac's wife was given so: 'The thing proceedeth from the LORD' (Gen 24:50).

Verse 16

keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul — One verb, shamar, to guard, stands twice: guarding the commandment (mitsvah) is guarding oneself, as in 'keep thy soul diligently' (Deut 4:9). 'Despiseth' is bazah, as in Prov 14:2. Christ answered the lawyer on the same ground: 'this do, and thou shalt live' (Luke 10:28).

Verse 17

lendeth unto the LORD — Lavah is to join, hence to lend. He that 'hath pity' (chanan, the verb of 'hath mercy' in Prov 14:21) has the LORD as his debtor, and 'that which he hath given' (gemul, a deed) 'will he pay him again'. Heb 6:10 says 'God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love'.

Verse 18

while there is hope — Tiqvah is hope, literally a cord, the word for the 'line of scarlet thread' in Josh 2:18. 'Chasten' (yasar) is correction. The last word of the line comes from the verb muth, to die, though the KJV renders it 'crying'; Prov 23:14 says of the rod that it 'shalt deliver his soul from hell'.

Verse 21

the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand — 'Devices' (machashavah) are the plans of the heart. Etsah, counsel, is the word of 'The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever' (Ps 33:11), where the LORD 'maketh the devices of the people of none effect'. Prov 16:9: 'A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.'

Verse 22

is his kindness — 'Desire' (ta'avah) is longing, and 'kindness' is chesed, the word rendered 'mercy' in 'his mercy endureth for ever' (Ps 136:1). The 'liar' is kazab, the word for 'lies' in vv.5 and 9: as in v.1, a poor man is set above one whose word cannot be trusted.

Verse 23

tendeth to life — The fear of the LORD 'is a fountain of life' (Prov 14:27). 'Abide' is lun, to lodge for the night, the verb of 'shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty' (Ps 91:1); the one who has this fear lodges satisfied and is not 'visited' (paqad) with evil.

Verse 24

hideth his hand in his bosom — The word for 'bosom', tsallachath, is a 'dish' in 2 Kings 21:13 ('as a man wipeth a dish'), so the hand may be hidden in the dish. Prov 26:15 repeats the picture: 'it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth'. 'Slothful' is atsel, the sluggard.

Verse 25

Smite a scorner — The luts is the mocker of Prov 14:9. The simple 'will beware' (aram, to grow shrewd): 'When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise' (Prov 21:11). The second line uses bin, to understand, twice, for the man who needs only a reproof: 'rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee' (Prov 9:8).

Verse 27

Cease, my son, to hear — Chadal is to leave off. The 'instruction' (musar) meant is the kind that 'causeth to err' (shagah, to stray, as in 'he shall go astray', Prov 5:23) from 'the words of knowledge', which the father elsewhere tells him to hear (Prov 23:12). Christ says, 'Take heed what ye hear' (Mark 4:24).

Verse 29

Judgments are prepared — Shefatim are sentences carried out, and 'prepared' (kun) means set firm and ready. 'Stripes for the back of fools' is the same line as 'a rod for the fool's back' (Prov 26:3) and 'a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding' (Prov 10:13). The 'scorners' are the luts of v.25.