HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  who become surety for debts.

  27If you have nothing with which to pay,

  why should your bed be taken from under you?

  28Do not remove the ancient landmark

  that your ancestors set up.

  29Do you see those who are skillful in their work?

  They will serve kings;

  they will not serve common people.

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  a Heb strange

  b Cn Compare Gk: Heb Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise

  22.1–16 A series of contrasts between the wise way and the fool’s way.

  22.1 Good name, “reputation.” See note on 10.7.

  22.2 See 29.13; Job 31.15. The same grammatical frame appears in 20.12.

  22.3 The instruction on the simpleton who meets the Strange Woman in ch. 7 develops this point.

  22.4 Fear of the LORD, an ongoing concern for the sages, praised here, as in 10.27; 14.27; 19.23, for its beneficial consequences. See note on 1.7.

  22.7 The simple observation in v. 7a provides an analogy to make a teaching point in v. 7b.

  22.8 Sow, reap, a proverbial word pair (Ps 126.5; Jer 12.13; Hos 8.7; 10.12).

  22.13 Sluggards make ludicrous excuses for their behavior (26.13).

  22.14 Loose woman. The Hebrew reads “strange woman,” i.e., the repository of all the dangers the sages contrast with the figure of Woman Wisdom. See note on 2.16–19. Deep pit, the land of the dead is evoked here, as this major collection ends with the same imagery that shaped chs. 1–9.

  22.17–24.22 The sayings of the wise. This section departs from the proverb collections of 10.1–22.16, as it makes a free adaptation from the popular Egyptian wisdom text Instruction of Amenemope. Many of the topics treated seem especially suited to educating young civil servants for their roles in court life (22.29; 23.1–3, 6–8; 23.20–21, 29–35), although typical wisdom themes (e.g., the poor, family relationships, fools and kings) also appear. Although inspired by the Egyptian work, sentiments have been thoroughly reworked according to the sages’ Yahwistic theology and the order of topics has been altered.

  22.17 The words of the wise. The title of the book’s third collection (see 1.1; 10.1; 24.23; 25.1; 30.1; 31.1) has been restored from the Septuagint. Notice the use of direct address as the text reverts to the instruction style (cf. 23.19, 26).

  22.20 Thirty sayings. The original Amenemope contained thirty “houses,” or chapters.

  22.22 At the gate, the place where legal matters were decided.

  22.28 The moving of boundary markers was also a concern for Amenemope (see note on 22.17–24.22), but see 23.10–11; 25.25; Deut 19.14; 27.17; Isa 5.8–10 for the Hebrew context. Such standing stones established legal ownership of land, the source of life.

  PROVERBS 23

  1When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

  observe carefully whata is before you,

  2and put a knife to your throat

  if you have a big appetite.

  3Do not desire the ruler’sb delicacies,

  for they are deceptive food.

  4Do not wear yourself out to get rich;

  be wise enough to desist.

  5When your eyes light upon it, it is gone;

  for suddenly it takes wings to itself,

  flying like an eagle toward heaven.

  6Do not eat the bread of the stingy;

  do not desire their delicacies;

  7for like a hair in the throat, so are they.c

  “Eat and drink!” they say to you;

  but they do not mean it.

  8You will vomit up the little you have eaten,

  and you will waste your pleasant words.

  9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

  who will only despise the wisdom of your words.

  10Do not remove an ancient landmark

  or encroach on the fields of orphans,

  11for their redeemer is strong;

  he will plead their cause against you.

  12Apply your mind to instruction

  and your ear to words of knowledge.

  13Do not withhold discipline from your children;

  if you beat them with a rod, they will not die.

  14If you beat them with the rod,

  you will save their lives from Sheol.

  15My child, if your heart is wise,

  my heart too will be glad.

  16My soul will rejoice

  when your lips speak what is right.

  17Do not let your heart envy sinners,

  but always continue in the fear of the LORD.

  18Surely there is a future,

  and your hope will not be cut off.

  19Hear, my child, and be wise,

  and direct your mind in the way.

  20Do not be among winebibbers,

  or among gluttonous eaters of meat;

  21for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

  and drowsiness will clothe them with rags.

  22Listen to your father who begot you,

  and do not despise your mother when she is old.

  23Buy truth, and do not sell it;

  buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

  24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

  he who begets a wise son will be glad in him.

  25Let your father and mother be glad;

  let her who bore you rejoice.

  26My child, give me your heart,

  and let your eyes observed my ways.

  27For a prostitute is a deep pit;

  an adulteresse is a narrow well.

  28She lies in wait like a robber

  and increases the number of the faithless.

  29Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

  Who has strife? Who has complaining?

  Who has wounds without cause?

  Who has redness of eyes?

  30Those who linger late over wine,

  those who keep trying mixed wines.

  31Do not look at wine when it is red,

  when it sparkles in the cup

  and goes down smoothly.

  32At the last it bites like a serpent,

  and stings like an adder.

  33Your eyes will see strange things,

  and your mind utter perverse things.

  34You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

  like one who lies on the top of a mast.f

  35“They struck me,” you will say,g “but I was not hurt;

  they beat me, but I did not feel it.

  When shall I awake?

  I will seek another drink.”

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  a Or who

  b Heb his

  c Meaning of Heb uncertain

  d Another reading is delight in

  e Heb an alien woman

  f Meaning of Heb uncertain

  g Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb lacks you will say

  23.1–8 Words of caution for those who associate with their social betters.

  23.1 What is before you. The Hebrew reading, who is before you (see text note b), might well attest to the sages’ concern for circumspect behavior in exalted company.

  23.4–5 See Eccl 2 for similar reflections on the fleeting nature of material pleasures.

  23.10 See 22.28; Job 24.2–3; Deut 27.19.

  23.11 Redeemer, a blood relative charged with prosecuting legal wrongs; the sages may be thinking here of God, often pictured as redeemer to orphans and widows (see Ex 22.22–24; Job 19.25).

  23.12 Mind (lit. “heart”), ear, a traditional word pair in 18.15; 22.17; Deut 29.4. Apply your mind occurs also in 22.17; Eccl 1.13, 17; 8.9.

  23.13–14 See 4.10; 15.10; 19.18; 22.15. Public stoning was provided as a last resort for parents who could not control their children (Deut 21.18–21).

  23.17 Similar sentiments are found in two wisdom psalms, Pss 37; 73; see also Prov 3.31; 24.1; 24.19, 21.

  23.18 See Ps
1, where long life belongs to those who study (cf. Prov 24.14); in Job 27.8, God cuts off the hope of the godless.

  23.21 Drunkards (26.9–10) and gluttons (28.7) are favorite targets of the sages, but see Lemuel’s mother’s advice for a change in a different context (31.4–7).

  23.23 Buy, lit. “acquire.” Like the Lord (8.22), the sages must acquire wisdom.

  23.24–25 See 10.1; 13.1; 15.20; 19.13; 28.7; 29.3.

  23.27–28 See 22.14, where the loose (lit. “strange”) woman’s mouth is a deep pit. In the instructional poems, it is not the prostitute but the adulteress who is the real problem (2.16–19; 6.26; ch. 7); v. 27a may be the result of a scribal error, as the Hebrew word for “prostitute” differs from “stranger” by only one consonant. In 1.11–12 male sinners lie in wait and lead the ignorant down to the Pit (Death; see note on 1.12).

  23.29–30 Perhaps a disintegrated fragment of a popular old riddle; the answer here, though, is no surprise.

  23.32 Serpent, adder. See Pss 58.4; 91.13.

  23.33–35 A dead-on caricature of the drunkard’s behavior.

  23.33 Strange things. The feminine plural noun could as easily be translated “strange women.”

  PROVERBS 24

  1Do not envy the wicked,

  nor desire to be with them;

  2for their minds devise violence,

  and their lips talk of mischief.

  3By wisdom a house is built,

  and by understanding it is established;

  4by knowledge the rooms are filled

  with all precious and pleasant riches.

  5Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones,a

  and those who have knowledge than those who have strength;

  6for by wise guidance you can wage your war,

  and in abundance of counselors there is victory.

  7Wisdom is too high for fools;

  in the gate they do not open their mouths.

  8Whoever plans to do evil

  will be called a mischief-maker.

  9The devising of folly is sin,

  and the scoffer is an abomination to all.

  10If you faint in the day of adversity,

  your strength being small;

  11if you hold back from rescuing those taken away to death,

  those who go staggering to the slaughter;

  12if you say, “Look, we did not know this”—

  does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

  Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it?

  And will he not repay all according to their deeds?

  13My child, eat honey, for it is good,

  and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

  14Know that wisdom is such to your soul;

  if you find it, you will find a future,

  and your hope will not be cut off.

  15Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against the home of the righteous;

  do no violence to the place where the righteous live;

  16for though they fall seven times, they will rise again;

  but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

  17Do not rejoice when your enemies fall,

  and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble,

  18or else the LORD will see it and be displeased,

  and turn away his anger from them.

  19Do not fret because of evildoers.

  Do not envy the wicked;

  20for the evil have no future;

  the lamp of the wicked will go out.

  21My child, fear the LORD and the king,

  and do not disobey either of them;b

  22for disaster comes from them suddenly,

  and who knows the ruin that both can bring?

  Further Sayings of the Wise

  23These also are sayings of the wise:

  Partiality in judging is not good.

  24Whoever says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”

  will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations;

  25but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,

  and a good blessing will come upon them.

  26One who gives an honest answer

  gives a kiss on the lips.

  27Prepare your work outside,

  get everything ready for you in the field;

  and after that build your house.

  28Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,

  and do not deceive with your lips.

  29Do not say, “I will do to others as they have done to me;

  I will pay them back for what they have done.”

  30I passed by the field of one who was lazy,

  by the vineyard of a stupid person;

  31and see, it was all overgrown with thorns;

  the ground was covered with nettles,

  and its stone wall was broken down.

  32Then I saw and considered it;

  I looked and received instruction.

  33A little sleep, a little slumber,

  a little folding of the hands to rest,

  34and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

  and want, like an armed warrior.

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  a Gk Compare Syr Tg: Heb A wise man is strength

  b Gk: Heb do not associate with those who change

  24.3a Woman Wisdom builds her house in 9.1 and the “Woman of Worth” (or the capable wife) performs similar tasks on the human level in 31.26–27. See also 1 Kings 10.4 (2 Chr 9.3); Acts 7.10 for other examples of wisdom building “households.”

  24.5–6 Intelligence trumps brute strength.

  24.10–12 Pretending ignorance of others’ suffering carries no weight with God. Weighs the heart. See 21.2; note on 16.2.

  24.13 Honey, honeycomb, traditional word pair for exemplary sweetness and desirability (Ps 19.10). Too much of a good thing can become bad, however (25.16, 27; 27.7), or dangerous (5.3).

  24.14 See note on 23.18.

  24.15 See the instruction of 1.10–19.

  24.20 The same view expressed in 13.9 (cf. 21.4), but Job questions it in Job 21.17.

  24.21–22 Fear the LORD and the king. Both can be equally dangerous!

  24.23–34 Further sayings of the wise.

  24.23a These also are the sayings of the wise, lit. “also these (belong) to the wise ones,” a title linking this short collection with 22.17–22.

  24.23b–25 An admonition against partiality in judging; see 18.5; 28.21; 31.5; Lev 19.15; Deut 1.17; 16.19.

  24.26 A delightfully pithy saying.

  24.29 See Mt 6.12, 14–15.

  24.30–34 An example story warning against laziness. The tradition is aware that not all poverty is the victim’s fault (see 28.15; 29.7; Pss 10.2; 37.14).

  24.33–34 Same as 6.10–11.

  PROVERBS 25

  Further Wise Sayings of Solomon

  1These are other proverbs of Solomon that the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah copied.

  2It is the glory of God to conceal things,

  but the glory of kings is to search things out.

  3Like the heavens for height, like the earth for depth,

  so the mind of kings is unsearchable.

  4Take away the dross from the silver,

  and the smith has material for a vessel;

  5take away the wicked from the presence of the king,

  and his throne will be established in righteousness.

  6Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence

  or stand in the place of the great;

  7for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”

  than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

  What your eyes have seen

  8do not hastily bring into court;

  fora what will you do in the end,

  when your neighbor puts you to shame?

  9Argue your case with your neighbor directly,

  and do not disclose another’s secret;

  10or el
se someone who hears you will bring shame upon you,

  and your ill repute will have no end.

  11A word fitly spoken

  is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

  12Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold

  is a wise rebuke to a listening ear.

  13Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

  are faithful messengers to those who send them;

  they refresh the spirit of their masters.

  14Like clouds and wind without rain

  is one who boasts of a gift never given.

  15With patience a ruler may be persuaded,

  and a soft tongue can break bones.

  16If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,

  or else, having too much, you will vomit it.

  17Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,

  otherwise the neighbor will become weary of you and hate you.

  18Like a war club, a sword, or a sharp arrow

  is one who bears false witness against a neighbor.

  19Like a bad tooth or a lame foot

  is trust in a faithless person in time of trouble.

  20Like vinegar on a woundb

  is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

  Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,

  sorrow gnaws at the human heart.c

  21If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat;

  and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;

  22for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,

  and the LORD will reward you.

  23The north wind produces rain,

  and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

  24It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

  than in a house shared with a contentious wife.

  25Like cold water to a thirsty soul,

  so is good news from a far country.

  26Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain

  are the righteous who give way before the wicked.

  27It is not good to eat much honey,

  or to seek honor on top of honor.

  28Like a city breached, without walls,