(The previous post covered three chapters that continued the theme of contrasting the ability to handle emotions with physical effects. Next were specific examples that continued to further this theme...)
Proverbs 19
1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool.
(It was better to have little and walk righteously than to speak evil and be foolish.)
2 Also, that the soul be without knowledge is not good; And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
(A soul without knowledge was not good (right and just). Also, those who made progress without thinking would sin.)
3 The foolishness of man subverteth his way; And his heart fretteth against Jehovah.
4 Wealth addeth many friends; But the poor is separated from his friend.
(If what you have is the cause of you having friends would you want them to be your friends?)
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.
(False witnesses and liars were not getting away with anything, they would be held accountable for every word and deed.)
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.
(The "discretion" of a man caused him to be slow to anger. Discretion meant "insight, understanding." If you know why something bad is happening, you can be slow to anger.)
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.
(A son without understanding was calamity (destruction) to his father. The contentions (strife) of a wife were a continual "dropping.")
14 House and riches are an inheritance from fathers; But a prudent wife is from Jehovah.
(An understanding wife was from God.)
15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.
(Sloth and idleness were resting without working: no progress.)
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.
(When you give to those who cannot give in return, you will be rewarded: Matthew 6.)
18 Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope; and set not thy heart on his destruction.
(Disciplining your children should be for their long term benefit, not their destruction.)
19 A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty; For if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again.
20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
(Hearing counsel and receiving instruction would bring wisdom in the long term.)
21 There are many devices in a man's heart; But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand.
(God's counsel would endure.)
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 Jehovah tendeth to life; And he that hath it shall 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.
25 Smite a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
(Showing those with understanding where they were wrong would give them more understanding.)
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 Only to err from the words of knowledge.
(If you are not going to use the understanding you have to affect your actions and continue to go against these words, why are you hearing understanding in the first place?)
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.
Proverbs 20
1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler; And whosoever erreth thereby is not wise.
(Whoever "erreth" because of alcohol was not wise, they did not make profitable decisions. Erreth meant to "go astray.")
2 The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion: He that provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own life.
3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife; But every fool will be quarrelling.
(Arguments happened when two or more people do not understand each other. If you do not have understanding (a fool) you will often quarrel.)
4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter; Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
(A "sluggard" was one who was lazy. They did not work during times when they had plenty. However, this caused them to beg when they had nothing.)
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; But a man of understanding will draw it out.
(Those who had understanding would seek more understanding.)
6 Most men will proclaim every one his own kindness; But a faithful man who can find?
(It was easy to find a man who bragged of himself but hard to find a man who was faithful.)
7 A righteous man that walketh in his integrity, Blessed are his children after him.
(The cause of walking in integrity was righteousness.)
8 A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment Scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
(A rhetorical question. No one could say they had no sin.)
10 Diverse weights, and diverse measures, Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah.
(Injustice was an abomination to God because God was Just.)
11 Even a child maketh himself known by his doings, Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
(Even children were known by their actions.)
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, Jehovah hath made even both of them.
(God had created both our hearing and seeing: our ability to understand and be aware.)
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
(Be aware of your needs and go towards fulfilling them or you will be in poverty. You cannot be satisfied if you do not know what your needs are.)
14 It is bad, it is bad, saith the buyer; But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
15 There is gold, and abundance of rubies; But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for foreigners.
17 Bread of falsehood is sweet to a man; But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
(A man who gained "bread" wrongly would soon be filled with "gravel": dry, hard, in-nutritious rock.)
18 Every purpose is established by counsel; And by wise guidance make thou war.
("Counsel," or leaders would establish a purpose and facilitate its progress.)
19 He that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets; Therefore company not with him that openeth wide his lips.
20 Whoso curseth his father or his mother, His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
21 An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; But the end thereof shall not be blessed.
(An inheritance should be seen as a blessing from the beginning and treated as such. It should be seen as an opportunity to invest in the future.)
22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil: Wait for Jehovah, and he will save thee.
23 Diverse weights are an abomination to Jehovah; And a false balance is not good.
(Injustice was an abomination to God.)
24 A man's goings are of Jehovah; How then can man understand his way?
25 It is a snare to a man rashly to say, It is holy, And after vows to make inquiry.
(You ought to know why something was holy before you stated it was holy.)
26 A wise king winnoweth the wicked, And bringeth the threshing -wheel over them.
27 The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, Searching all his innermost parts.
28 Kindness and truth preserve the king; And his throne is upholden by kindness.
29 The glory of young men is their strength; And the beauty of old men is the hoary head.
30 Stripes that wound cleanse away evil; And strokes reach the innermost parts.
Proverbs 21
1 The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever he will.
(God could turn a king's heart because God knew the causes of a king's heart. Kings would do whatever it took to remain in "power," and their actions would be planted in their heart. God knew what the kings would do (effect) and how to "turneth" their heart because He knew their thought process (cause).
The belief that kings were more difficult for God to control than people who were not kings was proof of valuing the physical (including physical power) instead of the spiritual causes presented in the first twenty chapters of this book.)
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes; But Jehovah weigheth the hearts.
(Man (in the flesh) saw his actions as right but God saw the effects of these actions (causes) in the heart. God could also direct the actions of a person in pride because they were completely predictable and on the wrong side of Justice, which allowed God to respond to them through Justice.)
3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.
(Doing Right and Just actions was better than giving up something to God. God wanted all of us to be like Him: Right and Just.)
4 A high look, and a proud heart, Even the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; But every one that is hasty hasteth only to want.
(The thoughts of the diligent were focused on profitability. Those who acted quickly and without thought were focused on what they could have now.)
6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue Is a vapor driven to and fro by them that seek death.
7 The violence of the wicked shall sweep them away, Because they refuse to do justice.
(The wicked refused to act justly.)
8 The way of him that is laden with guilt is exceeding crooked; But as for the pure, his work is right.
(The "pure" was used as the contrast of those with "guilt." Guilt was removed by confession and repentance, something the "pure" would have done.)
9 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, Than with a contentious woman in a wide house.
10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: His neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes.
11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise; And when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
12 The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked, How the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.
(The righteous were willing to consider anything, even the house of the wicked.)
13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, He also shall cry, but shall not be heard.
14 A gift in secret pacifieth anger; And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.
15 It is joy to the righteous to do justice; But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
(The righteous saw just actions as a joy while the workers of iniquity saw them as destruction.)
16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding Shall rest in the assembly of the dead.
(Without understanding (the why) we remained in death.)
17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
(Loving things that were short term would only last short term.)
18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous; And the treacherous cometh in the stead of the upright.
19 It is better to dwell in a desert land, Than with a contentious and fretful woman.
20 There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise; But a foolish man swalloweth it up.
(A fool did not recognize the treasure of wisdom, because a fool was a man without understanding.)
21 He that followeth after righteousness and kindness Findeth life, righteousness, and honor.
(Being led by righteousness and kindness brought life, righteousness, and honor.)
22 A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, And bringeth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue Keepeth his soul from troubles.
(Those who kept (guard) their mouth and tongue (words) did so by guarding the place where their words come from, their soul.)
24 The proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name; He worketh in the arrogance of pride.
25 The desire of the sluggard killeth him; For his hands refuse to labor.
26 There is that coveteth greedily all the day long; But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.
(Some made gaining now a cause, some made giving now a cause.)
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination: How much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind!
28 A false witness shall perish; But the man that heareth shall speak so as to endure.
29 A wicked man hardeneth his face; But as for the upright, he establisheth his ways.
(The upright were bold in their path. They knew where they were going because they knew why and how they were getting there.)
30 There is no wisdom nor understanding Nor counsel against Jehovah.
(There was no wisdom, understanding, or counsel against God…these three all came from God.)
31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle; But victory is of Jehovah.
(This post covered three chapters that progressed the theme by showing the benefits of managing the causes (actions and words) that resulted in what was planted in your heart, not only for our own benefit, but for the benefit of others.)
Day 192
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