Posted on 02/18/2014 6:52:23 AM PST by OneVike
Proverb 18 (NKJV)
The Name of the LORD Is a Strong Tower
01 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire;
00 He rages against all wise judgment.
02 A fool has no delight in understanding,
00 But in expressing his own heart.
03 When the wicked comes, contempt comes also;
00 And with dishonor comes reproach.
04 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;
00 The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.
05 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,
00 Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
06 A fool's lips enter into contention,
00 And his mouth calls for blows.
07 A fool's mouth is his destruction,
00 And his lips are the snare of his soul.
08 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
00 And they go down into the inmost body.
09 He who is slothful in his work
00 Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
00 The righteous run to it and are safe.
11 The rich man's wealth is his strong city,
00 And like a high wall in his own esteem.
12 Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
00 And before honor is humility.
13 He who answers a matter before he hears it,
00 It is folly and shame to him.
14 The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness,
00 But who can bear a broken spirit?
15 The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge,
00 And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man's gift makes room for him,
00 And brings him before great men.
17 The first one to plead his cause seems right,
00 Until his neighbor comes and examines him.
18 Casting lots causes contentions to cease,
00 And keeps the mighty apart.
19 A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city,
00 And contentions are like the bars of a castle.
20 A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth;
00 From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
00 And those who love it will eat its fruit.
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
00 And obtains favor from the LORD.
23 The poor man uses entreaties,
00 But the rich answers roughly.
24 A man who has friends must himself be friendly,
00 But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
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 to know which Proverb to 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.
.
Proverbs, chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
1One who is alienated seeks a pretext,
with all persistence picks a quarrel.
2Fools take no delight in understanding,
but only in displaying what they think.*
3With wickedness comes contempt,
and with disgrace, scorn.
4The words of one’s mouth are deep waters,
the spring of wisdom, a running brook.* a
5It is not good to favor the guilty,
nor to reject the claim of the just.b
6The lips of fools walk into a fight,
and their mouths are asking for a beating.*
7The mouths of fools are their ruin;
their lips are a deadly snare.c
8The words of a talebearer are like dainty morsels:
they sink into one’s inmost being.d
9Those slack in their work
are kin to the destroyer.
10* The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the just run to it and are safe.
11The wealth of the rich is their strong city;e
they fancy it a high wall.
12Before disaster the heart is haughty,f
but before honor is humility.
13Whoever answers before listening,g
theirs is folly and shame.*
14One’s spirit supports one when ill,
but a broken spirit who can bear?*
15The heart of the intelligent acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.*
16Gifts clear the way for people,
winning access to the great.h
17Those who plead the case first seem to be in the right;
then the opponent comes and cross-examines them.*
18The lot puts an end to disputes,
and decides a controversy between the mighty.*
19A brother offended is more unyielding than a stronghold;
such strife is more daunting than castle gates.*
20With the fruit of one’s mouth one’s belly is filled,
with the produce of one’s lips one is sated.* i
21Death and life are in the power of the tongue;j
those who choose one shall eat its fruit.*
22To find a wife is to find happiness,
a favor granted by the LORD.k
23The poor implore,
but the rich answer harshly.
24There are friends who bring ruin,
but there are true friends more loyal than a brother.l
* [18:2] One grows in wisdom by listening to others, but fools take delight in expounding the contents of their minds.
* [18:4] Words express a person’s thoughts (“deep waters”), which in turn become accessible to others. Cf. 20:5a.
* [18:6] The bold personification of lips and mouth is similar to Ps 73:9, “They set their mouths against the heavens, their tongues roam the earth.” Careless words can lead one into serious trouble.
* [18:10–11] Contrast this judgment with the observation in 10:15.
* [18:13] To speak without first listening is characteristic of a fool; cf. 10:14; Sir 11:8.
* [18:14] The paradox is that something as slight as a column of air offers protection against the encroachment of death. If it is stilled, nothing, no matter how powerful, can substitute for it.
* [18:15] “Knowledge” here refers to what one knows, not knowledge in itself. The mind acquires and stores it, the ear strains toward it.
* [18:17] A persuasive speech in court can easily make one forget there is another side to the question. When the other party speaks, people realize they made a premature judgment. The experience at court is a lesson for daily life: there are two sides to every question.
* [18:19] The Greek version, followed by several ancient versions, has the opposite meaning: “A brother helped by a brother is like a strong and lofty city; it is strong like a well-founded palace.” The Greek is secondary as is shown by the need to supply the phrase “by a brother”; further, the parallelism is inadequate. The Hebrew is to be preferred.
* [18:20] Fruit from the earth is our ordinary sustenance, but “the fruit of one’s lips,” i.e., our words, also affect our well-being. If our words and our deeds are right, then we are blessed, our “belly is filled.”
* [18:21] This enigmatic saying has provoked many interpretations, e.g., judicious speech brings a reward; those who love the tongue in the sense of rattling on must face the consequences of their loquacity. This translation interprets the verb “love” in colon B in its occasional sense of “choose” (e.g., 12:1; 20:13; Dt 4:37) and interprets its pronominal object as referring to both death and life in colon A. Death and life are set before every person (cf. Dt 30:15–20) and we have the power to choose either one by the quality of our deeds. Words (= “the tongue”) are regarded here as the defining actions of human beings.
c. [18:7] Prv 10:14; 12:13; 13:3; Eccl 10:12.
f. [18:12] Prv 11:2; 16:18; Sir 10:15.
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.
