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Proverbs 10

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The Way of the Wise and Foolish Son 1–7

1
The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. ​
2
Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. ​
3
The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked. ​
4
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. ​
5
He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.
6
Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
7
The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot. ​

Wisdom and the Discipline of Speech 8–14

8
The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.
9
He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
10
He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall. ​
11
The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
12
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. ​
13
In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
14
Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

Wealth, Diligence, and Lasting Security 15–21

15
The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty. ​
16
The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
17
He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.
18
He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
19
In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. ​
20
The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
21
The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

The Blessings of the LORD and Final Justice 22–32

22
The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. ​
23
It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
24
The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
25
As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. ​
26
As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him. ​
27
The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. ​
28
The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
29
The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
30
The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
31
The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
32
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Proverbs 10

Verse 1

The proverbs of Solomon — A new heading, as in Prov 1:1; the collection of single-verse sayings runs on to 22:16, and 25:1 adds 'proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah… copied out'. He 'spake three thousand proverbs' (1 Kings 4:32). 'Heaviness' is tugah, grief of spirit, found in Proverbs only in 10:1; 14:13; 17:21, and once in Ps 119:28. The first half returns in 15:20.

Verse 2

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing — 'Profit' is ya'al, to be of use; it is found in Proverbs only here and in 11:4, where the second line is repeated word for word: 'Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.' Ezekiel pictures it: silver and gold 'shall not be able to deliver them' (Ezek 7:19).

Verse 3

not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish — 'Suffer' and 'famish' are one Hebrew verb, ra'ev, to be hungry: the LORD does not let the nephesh, the whole person, go hungry. David says the same from experience (Ps 37:25). 'Substance' is havvah, which the wicked lose; the word elsewhere means ruin or calamity.

Verse 4

a slack hand — Remiyyah, slackness or deceit, rendered 'slothful' in 12:24 and 'idle' in 19:15. 'Maketh rich' is ashar, the verb used of the LORD's blessing in v.22; the diligent hand (charuts) and the blessing of the LORD are set side by side in the same chapter.

Verse 7

the memory of the just is blessed — 'Memory' is zeker, remembrance, and 'blessed' is berakah, the same word as 'Blessings' in v.6. Ps 112:6 says 'the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance'. 'Shall rot' is raqab, to decay as by worm-eating; it is found only here in Proverbs. Compare Mark 14:9, 'for a memorial of her'.

Verse 10

He that winketh with the eye — Qarats, to pinch or blink the eyes as a sign of malice: the froward man of 6:13 'winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet', and Ps 35:19 names enemies who 'wink with the eye'. The second half repeats v.8. 'Prating' is literally 'of lips' (saphah), a fool known by his lips.

Verse 12

love covereth all sins — Kasah, to cover; it is also the verb of 'covereth the mouth' (vv.6, 11) and 'hideth hatred' (v.18). 'Sins' is pesha', transgressions. Prov 17:9 gives the sense, 'He that covereth a transgression seeketh love'. Peter takes up the line: 'charity shall cover the multitude of sins' (1 Pet 4:8).

Verse 15

his strong city — Prov 18:11 repeats the first line and adds 'as an high wall in his own conceit'. 'Destruction' is mechittah, ruin or terror, the word of vv.14 and 29. 'The poor' is dal, the weak or dangling, also in 22:22, 'Rob not the poor, because he is poor'. Ps 52:7 names the man who 'made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches'.

Verse 19

In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin — 'Sin' is pesha', transgression, as in v.12; 'wanteth' is chadal, to cease. 'Refraineth' is chasak, to hold back, the verb of 17:27, 'He that hath knowledge spareth his words'. Eccl 5:3 has the same observation: 'a fool's voice is known by multitude of words'.

Verse 22

The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich — Ashar, to make rich, as in v.4 for the diligent hand. 'Sorrow' is etseb, painful toil, the word of 'the bread of sorrows' in Ps 127:2 and of Gen 3:16. 'Addeth' is yasaph, the verb of v.27, 'The fear of the LORD prolongeth days'. Moses says it is the LORD who 'giveth thee power to get wealth' (Deut 8:18).

Verse 25

As the whirlwind passeth — Suphah, the storm wind of 1:27, 'your destruction cometh as a whirlwind', and of the whirlwind in Isa 17:13, where the nations are 'chased as the chaff of the mountains… and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind'. 'Everlasting foundation' is yesod olam, a foundation for ever; the house on the rock in Matt 7:24–25 stands when the winds blow.

Verse 26

so is the sluggard to them that send him — Atsel, the sluggard of 6:6, 'Go to the ant, thou sluggard'. He is sent as a messenger, and the sending fails: 25:13 gives the counterpart, 'a faithful messenger to them that send him', and 26:6 the fool's, 'He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet'.

Verse 27

The fear of the LORD prolongeth days — 'Prolongeth' is yasaph, to add, the verb of 'addeth no sorrow' in v.22. Prov 3:2 and 9:11 promise the same, 'length of days… shall they add to thee'. 'Shortened' is qatsar, cut short. Ps 91:16 gives the LORD's own word, 'With long life will I satisfy him'.

Verse 32

know what is acceptable — Ratson, delight or favour, the word of 16:13, 'Righteous lips are the delight of kings', and of 11:1, a just weight is the LORD's 'delight'. 'Frowardness' is tahpukah, perversity, the word for the 'froward tongue' in v.31. Vv.6 and 11 said 'violence covereth the mouth of the wicked'; v.32 closes on that mouth.