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Proverbs 22

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Value of Reputation and Character 1–16

1
Agoodname is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favor rather than silver and gold. ​
2
The rich and the poor meet together: Jehovah is the maker of them all. ​
3
A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
4
The reward of humility and the fear of Jehovah Isriches, and honor, and life. ​
5
Thornsandsnares are in the way of the perverse: He that keepeth his soul shall be far from them.
6
Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it. ​
7
The rich ruleth over the poor; And the borrower is servant to the lender. ​
8
He that soweth iniquity shall reap calamity; And the rod of his wrath shall fail. ​
9
He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; For he giveth of his bread to the poor.
10
Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out; Yea, strife and ignominy will cease. ​
11
He that loveth pureness of heart, Forthe grace of his lips the king will be his friend.
12
The eyes of Jehovah preservehim that hathknowledge; But he overthroweth the words of the treacherous man.
13
The sluggard saith, There is a lion without; I shall be slain in the streets. ​
14
The mouth of strange women is a deep pit; He that is abhorred of Jehovah shall fall therein. ​
15
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; Butthe rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
16
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his gain, Andhe that giveth to the rich, shall come only to want. ​

Introduction to the Words of the Wise 17–21

17
Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, And apply thy heart unto my knowledge. ​
18
For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee, If they be established together upon thy lips.
19
That thy trust may be in Jehovah, I have madethemknown to thee this day, even to thee. ​
20
Have not I written unto thee excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, ​
21
To make thee know the certainty of the words of truth, That thou mayest carry back words of truth to them that send thee? ​

Specific Instructions on Justice and Relationships 22–29

22
Rob not the poor, because he is poor; Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: ​
23
For Jehovah will plead their cause, And despoil of life those that despoil them. ​
24
Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger; And with a wrathful man thou shalt not go:
25
Lest thou learn his ways, And get a snare to thy soul. ​
26
Be thou not one of them that strike hands, Orof them that are sureties for debts. ​
27
If thou hast not wherewith to pay, Why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
28
Remove not the ancient landmark, Which thy fathers have set. ​
29
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; He shall not stand before mean men. ​

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

Study Notes for Proverbs 22

Verse 1

A good name — Shem, a name, stands here for a man's standing, and 'loving favour' is chen, the grace of 'Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD' (Gen 6:8). Both are put above what money buys: 'A good name is better than precious ointment' (Eccl 7:1). 'Rather to be chosen' is bachar, to pick out.

Verse 2

The rich and poor meet together — Pagash, to meet, is the verb of 'The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes' (Prov 29:13). 'Maker' is oseh, the word of Prov 14:31, where oppressing the poor 'reproacheth his Maker'.

Verse 4

By humility and the fear of the LORD — 'By' is eqeb, a heel, so what follows as a consequence, the word of 'in keeping of them there is great reward' (Ps 19:11). 'Humility' (anavah) is the word of 'before honour is humility' (Prov 15:33). Wisdom's hands hold the same gifts: 'Length of days… and in her left hand riches and honour' (Prov 3:16).

Verse 6

Train up a child — Chanak, to dedicate or begin the use of, occurs only here and of dedicating a house (Deut 20:5) and the LORD's house (1 Kgs 8:63; 2 Chr 7:5). 'In the way he should go' is literally 'according to his way'. Deut 6:7 commands teaching 'diligently unto thy children', and Paul 'the nurture and admonition of the Lord' (Eph 6:4).

Verse 7

the borrower is servant to the lender — 'Borrower' and 'lender' both come from lavah, to join, the verb of 'lendeth unto the LORD' (19:17). The debtor's household could be taken: 'the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen' (2 Kgs 4:1). Israel's blessing was the opposite: 'thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow' (Deut 28:12).

Verse 8

soweth iniquity shall reap vanity — Evel, perversity, is sown and aven, nothingness, reaped, as in 'they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same' (Job 4:8). Paul gives it as a law: 'whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap' (Gal 6:7). The 'rod of his anger' fails as 'The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked' (Isa 14:5).

Verse 10

Cast out the scorner — Garash, to drive out, is the verb of 'Cast out this bondwoman and her son' (Gen 21:10), which Paul quotes in Gal 4:30. With the scorner (luts) gone, 'contention', 'strife and reproach' go as well; 'shall cease' is shabat, to desist.

Verse 13

There is a lion without — The slothful man's excuse is a lion 'without', outside in the open street. Prov 26:13 gives it again: 'There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.' Prov 15:19 names what the excuse amounts to: 'The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.'

Verse 14

a deep pit — Shuchah is a pit, the 'deep ditch' of Prov 23:27, where the strange woman is 'a narrow pit'. Her mouth is the lure: 'her mouth is smoother than oil' (Prov 5:3). 'Abhorred of the LORD' is zaam, to be indignant, as in 'God is angry with the wicked every day' (Ps 7:11).

Verse 16

shall surely come to want — Machsor, want, is the word in 'He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack' (Prov 28:27) and in 'every one that is hasty only to want' (Prov 21:5). The one who oppresses the poor (ashaq) to enlarge his riches, and the one who gives to the rich, both end in the want the poor man suffers.

Verse 17

Bow down thine ear — These 'words of the wise' address the reader directly, with 'thee' here and 'My son' in 23:15. Natah, to stretch out, is the verb of 'incline thine ear unto my sayings' (Prov 4:20). To 'apply' the heart is shith, to set it, on 'my knowledge' (daath).

Verse 19

That thy trust may be in the LORD — 'Trust' is mibtach, the word of 'strong confidence' in the fear of the LORD (Prov 14:26) and of 'whose hope the LORD is' (Jer 17:7). The purpose of the teaching is stated before the teaching begins: 'I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.'

Verse 20

excellent things — Shalish is elsewhere rendered 'captains' (Ex 15:4) and 'lord' (2 Kgs 7:2); the KJV takes it here as 'excellent things'. They are written 'in counsels and knowledge': moetsah is a plan or counsel, and daath, knowledge, is the word of 'my knowledge' in v.17.

Verse 21

the certainty of the words of truth — Qoshet, certainty, is found only here and in Ps 60:4, 'displayed because of the truth'. Luke states the same aim for his Gospel, 'That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed' (Luke 1:4), and Peter asks for the second half: 'be ready always to give an answer' (1 Pet 3:15).

Verse 22

Rob not the poor — Gazal, to tear off, is the verb of those who 'pluck off their skin from off them' (Mic 3:2). The 'gate' is where cases were heard: 'they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right' (Amos 5:12). The law says the same: 'Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause' (Ex 23:6).

Verse 23

will plead their cause — 'Plead' and 'cause' share one root, riv: the LORD takes up their suit himself, as in 'their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee' (Prov 23:11). 'Spoil' and 'spoiled' are both qaba, to rob, the verb of 'Will a man rob God?' (Mal 3:8). The penalty matches the offence: soul for goods.

Verse 25

learn his ways — The 'his' is the angry man of v.24, with whom he is told to 'make no friendship'. Alaph is to learn, and in its causative form to teach. The 'snare' (moqesh) is a noose. 'Evil communications corrupt good manners' (1 Cor 15:33); 'a companion of fools shall be destroyed' (Prov 13:20).

Verse 26

strike hands — Taqa kaph is to clap the palm, the gesture that sealed a pledge: 'A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend' (Prov 17:18). 'Surety' is arab, to give security. 'He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it' (Prov 11:15), and v.27 names the cost: 'thy bed from under thee'.

Verse 28

ancient landmark — Gevul is a boundary, and 'ancient' is olam, of long standing. The law put a curse on moving it: 'Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance' (Deut 19:14); 'Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark' (Deut 27:17). Prov 23:10 adds 'the fields of the fatherless'.

Verse 29

diligent in his business — Mahir is quick, skilful: Ezra is 'a ready scribe in the law of Moses' (Ezra 7:6), and the psalmist's tongue is 'the pen of a ready writer' (Ps 45:1). 'Business' is melachah, work. Such a man 'shall stand before kings' (yatsab, to take his place), not before 'mean men' (chashok, dark, obscure).