Posted on 02/14/2014 9:56:39 AM PST by OneVike
Proverb 14 (NKJV)
The Ways of Life and Death
01 The wise woman builds her house,
00 But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.
02 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD,
00 But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.
03 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride,
00 But the lips of the wise will preserve them.
04 Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;
00 But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.
05 A faithful witness does not lie,
00 But a false witness will utter lies.
06 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,
00 But knowledge is easy to him who understands.
07 Go from the presence of a foolish man,
00 When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.
00 A young man devoid of understanding,
08 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way,
00 But the folly of fools is deceit.
09 Fools mock at sin,
00 But among the upright there is favor.
10 The heart knows its own bitterness,
00 And a stranger does not share its joy.
11 The house of the wicked will be overthrown,
00 But the tent of the upright will flourish.
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
00 But its end is the way of death.
13 Even in laughter the heart may sorrow,
00 And the end of mirth may be grief.
14 The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways,
00 But a good man will be satisfied from above.
15 The simple believes every word,
00But the prudent considers well his steps.
16 A wise man fears and departs from evil,
00 But a fool rages and is self-confident.
17 A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
00 And a man of wicked intentions is hated.
18The simple inherit folly,
00 But the prudent are crowned with knowledge
19 The evil will bow before the good,
00 And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20 The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor,
00 But the rich has many friends.
21 He who despises his neighbor sins;
00 But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.
22 Do they not go astray who devise evil?
00 But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.
23 In all labor there is profit,
00 But idle chatter[2] leads only to poverty.
24 The crown of the wise is their riches,
00 But the foolishness of fools is folly.
25 A true witness delivers souls,
00 But a deceitful witness speaks lies.
26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence,
00 And His children will have a place of refuge.
27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
00 To turn one away from the snares of death.
28 In a multitude of people is a king's honor,
00 But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.
29 He who is slow to wrath has great understanding,
00 But he who is impulsive exalts folly.
30 A sound heart is life to the body,
00 But envy is rottenness to the bones.
31 He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,
00 But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.
32 The wicked is banished in his wickedness,
00 But the righteous has a refuge in his death.
33 Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding,
00 But what is in the heart of fools is made known.
34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
00 But sin is a reproach to any people.
35 The king's favor is toward a wise servant,
00 But his wrath is against him who causes shame.
The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs by Solomon is to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.
Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.
One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings.
We the people are to blame, because we ignored God';s guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.
Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. Today is the 14th, so Proverb 14 should be read. In the Months that have less than 31 days, I just double so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.
Check out today’s Psalm. It is really good.
Psalm 14
1 The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
3 They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.
4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call on the LORD?
5 There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You shame the counsel of the poor,
But the LORD is his refuge.
7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.
Proverbs, chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
1Wisdom builds her house,
but Folly tears hers down with her own hands.*
2Those who walk uprightly fear the LORD,
but those who are devious in their ways spurn him.
3In the mouth of the fool is a rod for pride,
but the lips of the wise preserve them.
4Where there are no oxen, the crib is clean;
but abundant crops come through the strength of the bull.*
5A trustworthy witness does not lie,
but one who spouts lies makes a lying witness.* a
6The scoffer seeks wisdom in vain,
but knowledge is easy for the intelligent.
7Go from the face of the fool;
you get no knowledge from such lips.
8The wisdom of the shrewd enlightens their way,
but the folly of fools is deceit.*
9The wicked scorn a guilt offering,
but the upright find acceptance.
10The heart knows its own bitterness,
and its joy no stranger shares.*
11The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent of the upright will flourish.* b
12Sometimes a way seems right,
but the end of it leads to death!c
13Even in laughter the heart may be sad,
and the end of joy may be sorrow.
14From their own ways turncoats are sated,
from their own actions, the loyal.
15The naive believe everything,
but the shrewd watch their steps.*
16The wise person is cautious and turns from evil;
the fool is reckless and gets embroiled.
17The quick-tempered make fools of themselves,
and schemers are hated.
18The simple have folly as an adornment,
but the shrewd wear knowledge as a crown.*
19The malicious bow down before the good,
and the wicked, at the gates of the just.
20Even by their neighbors the poor are despised,
but a rich person’s friends are many.d
21Whoever despises the hungry comes up short,
but happy the one who is kind to the poor!*
22Do not those who plan evil go astray?
But those who plan good win steadfast loyalty.
23In all labor there is profit,
but mere talk tends only to loss.
24The crown of the wise is wealth;
the diadem of fools is folly.
25The truthful witness saves lives,
but whoever utters lies is a betrayer.
26The fear of the LORD is a strong defense,
a refuge even for one’s children.
27The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
turning one from the snares of death.
28A multitude of subjects is the glory of the king;
but if his people are few, a prince is ruined.
29Long-suffering results in great wisdom;
a short temper raises folly high.* e
30A tranquil mind gives life to the body,
but jealousy rots the bones.
31Those who oppress the poor revile their Maker,
but those who are kind to the needy honor him.f
32The wicked are overthrown by their wickedness,
but the just find a refuge in their integrity.
33Wisdom can remain silent in the discerning heart,
but among fools she must make herself known.* g
34Justice exalts a nation,
but sin is a people’s disgrace.*
35The king favors the skillful servant,
but the shameless one incurs his wrath.
* [14:1] The relationship between Wisdom, personified as a woman, and building a house is a constant theme. As elsewhere, the book here warns against the wrong woman and praises the right woman.
* [14:4] If one has no animals, one does not have the burden of keeping the crib full, but without them one will have no crops to fill the barn. Colon B reverses the sense of colon A and also reverses the consonants of bar (“clean”) to rab (“abundant”).
* [14:5] On discerning the truthfulness of witnesses; see 12:17.
* [14:8] Wisdom enables the shrewd to know their path is right but folly leads fools on the wrong path (“deceit”), which calls down retribution.
* [14:10] The heart in Proverbs is where a person’s sense impressions are stored and reflected upon. It is thus one’s most personal and individual part. One’s sorrows and joys (= the full range of emotions) cannot be shared fully with another. Verse 13 expresses the same individuality of the human person.
* [14:11] The traditional fixed pair “house” and “tent” is used to express the paradox that a house can be less secure than a tent if there is no justice.
* [14:15] The naive gullibly rely on others’ words whereas the shrewd watch their own steps.
* [14:18] The inner quality of a person, simple or wise, will eventually be revealed.
* [14:21] The paradox is that anyone who spurns the hungry will lack something, but anyone who shows mercy (presumably by giving to the poor) will gain prosperity.
* [14:29] A series of puns on short and long; lit., “long of nostrils (idiom for “patient”), large in wisdom, / short in breath (idiom for “impatient”), makes folly tall.”
* [14:33] Wisdom can remain silent in a wise person as a welcome friend. But it must speak out among fools, for the dissonance is so strong.
* [14:34] The rare noun “disgrace” occurs elsewhere only in Lv 20:17. In measuring the greatness of a nation, one is tempted to consider territory, wealth, history, but the most important criterion is its relationship to God (“justice”).
b. [14:11] Prv 3:33; 12:7; 15:25.
d. [14:20] Prv 19:4, 7; Sir 6:8, 12.
How about these in reference to the current occupant of the WH?
**2Those who walk uprightly fear the LORD,
but those who are devious in their ways spurn him.
3In the mouth of the fool is a rod for pride,
but the lips of the wise preserve them.**
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.