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Wednesday 10/29/25
Thru the Bible: Proverbs 19
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A contentious wife is like a continual dripping!
Proverbs 19:1-29,
“(1) Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.”
By this time I should not have to tell you, but when you have a comparative proverb, the opposite is always implied even if it remains unstated.
So in this case it insinuates that the person “who is crooked in speech and is a fool” is wealthy!
The wisdom offered being clear – that integrity is of very high value even when compared to great material wealth. Furthermore that wealth is not real wealth, if it is possessed by someone who lacks it!
The next two verses I believe make a better and more enduring impact if taken together.
“(2) Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way. (3) When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.””
This statement could be retold a thousand ways and it would not lose its potency.
The meaning of the key word of the first line is very broad. I kept the translation of “desire” since it places the focus in a different place than I have traditionally considered. The word could also be translated as “zeal” and since “zeal” is associated with drive and what drives more people than not are their dreams, “desire” is still a noteworthy rendering.
Nevertheless, I think we should address both possibilities since dreams are not the only thing people are zealous about. Primary among other zealous issues are beliefs and wealth and Paul the New Testament and Solomon in Proverbs both are addressed.
Paul in writing to the believers in Rome.
“(1) Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. (2) For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (3) For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. (4) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” – Romans 12:1-4
1 Timothy 6:9, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.”
Proverbs 23:4, “Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!”
Proverbs 28:20, “A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”
Now regarding desires…
Religion has often taken a stance of obstinate abstinence regarding pleasures in this life as if they were the problem, and that is a betrayal of God and of common sense regarding what was proposed for mankind by God our Creator.
The logic behind this goes out of its way to miss the glaringly obvious.
Mankind would not even possess desire nor the potential for the enjoyment of pleasure if God had not created us with the capacity.
This alone should teach us that desire is a good thing. However, without the heart being anchored… tethered really, to the riches we have in relationship with theGiver of these gifts, the near certain substitution of God for earthly pleasures being itself a monstrous one, will lead us away from life and into death.
So this proverb is not so much a statement of this truth, but a statement of wise counsel. If you allow for desires without knowledge of what is truly and intrinsically valuable, you are setting up your heart for a disaster that you run after blindly.
But this is not even the worst part. That is reserved for the uninformed conclusions we make from this happening.
We conclude in our uninformed arrogance that God is to blame! Consider the responses of Adam and Eve in the garden. No personal acceptance of responsibility, but rather a deference to blame!
We can even arrive at the deranged opinion that our misstep is God’s fault in His letting us be misled in the first place or in His creating such pleasures which derail man from the right path. When in reality the entire affair was our own doing!
Therefore the wisdom of this proverb is found in the words of Christ Who told us to seek first the Kingdom of God and all of these other necessary and temporary things will be added to us besides. That we must be wary of the deception of “other desires”. Man cannot serve two masters!
“(4) Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.”
This proverbs is a little less clear in meaning due to the very broad semantic range of the word translated here in both places as “friend”. The KJV uses the word “neighbor” for the second occurrence which might be more in step with Solomon’s intent.
This is not to imply that a friend could not be this shallow, but there again, could such a person be truly called a friend if all it takes to drive them away is your financial status?
So it is my humble opinion that both words would be far better translated with more general words like “people” or “neighbor”. Let me be clear that there is absolutely nothing in the text to incline the meaning of this word in one direction or another, but I believe common sense does!
“(5) A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.”
This proverb is all but perfectly repeated in verse 9 with only a minor addition. This obviously does NOT mean it will always occur in this life, but in the end, no one gets away with anything that has not been placed under the redeeming blood of Christ!
“(6) Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
(7) All a poor man’s brothers hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but does not have them.”
Now this is a much more complex verse than it would appear on the surface.
In the ancient Hebrew texts this is a rare three-lined proverb. The overwhelming pattern is one or two-lines.
In this second segment of the greater book of Proverbs which is entitled “The Proverbs of Solomon” and includes chapters 10:1-22:16 – there are 375 individual proverbs, of which 374 are of the two-line variety. This is the sole example of a three line proverb in this segment.
To make matters worse, this three-line is an odd fit for the passage and makes it a little difficult and awkward.
As you know, each line in an individual proverb relates to the other so as to compare, contrast, reveal and deepen the meaning of the entire saying.
So when you add an additional line, it takes the proverb to a whole new level and depth.
Interestingly, when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek by the elders following the Babylonian exile, they represented verse 7 here as three separate two-line proverbs. where this one verse is in the Hebrew text.
I suspect that this difference was made necessary by the resulting proverb once translated into the Greek. The elders of the Septuagint were no dummies and were devoted to the accurate transmission of the Hebrew scriptures into the Greek. So it is quite possible that their dividing this verse up was necessary for clarity.
The second proverb in the Greek text is separate and self contained and the third has some correlation to the stray third line in the Hebrew Masoretic text.
Assuming the Septuagint points to an original two-line Hebrew proverb, Franz Delitzsch proposed two Hebrew texts possibly lying behind the Greek.
The reconstructed text would begin with “the friend of many is repaid with harm” and end with either:
(1) “the one who pursues words [=rumors] will not escape”
or
(2) “chasing words which are not [=nothing]” (Delitzsch, Proverbs I, 15; Proverbs II, 25).
The first option best reflects the Greek, while the second option reflects the existing Hebrew.
There is much to this and I ramble on about it a little on the website, but for us now, we will attempt to keep it as simple as possible.
Let me encourage you though, that when we run into things like this, we need not lose heart. If it were important to clearly delineate these stanzas, God would have seen to their preservation. So, we can safely conclude that the additional “wise sayings” which are available due to the discrepancy only offer more value to the lines.
Now at first glance you may think that Solomon really is trying to force this point, since he just said something very similar in verse 4.
The word translated as “brother” here is a very broad term and could mean nothing more than those of the same race – meaning, in this case, the poor man’s fellow Israelite.
The truth is while the word may not be so narrow as to be exclusively regarding literal “brothers”, it certainly does not exclude them either. And such is not a hard thing to concede to, to consider that a relative might act this way. But a friend?
Perhaps we will get some relief from the word “hate”. While hate is a possible word choice, when it is used relationally among humans, it can also mean to dislike or be unfriendly. Such greatly impacts the meaning and I believe it better fits the possibilities.
You see, nothing in the wording or grammar here indicates a reason for the poor man’s poverty, so whatever emotion he is eliciting from both brother and friend, it cannot be due to destructive habits like gambling or substance abuse. There is nothing whatsoever which would indicate a reason to hate this man in his poverty other than his being poor. Not a solid reason for hatred from anyone, especially a friend or brother.
The word “friend” used in this verse is an altogether different word than the word translated “friend” in verse 4. One possible translation is “companion”. Such a person may not be so much a “friend” as a co-worker or “neighbor” and that would make more sense.
Then we have the last line which seems so utterly out of place – and it may be, but if we are to conclude that this IS in fact a three-lined proverb, we must wrestle with its impact on the overall meaning of the proverb.
That third line again says this, “He pursues them with words, but does not have them.”
This could be saying that the poor man pursues his friends and family or brethren with words, but has no words which will gather them to his side (either for aid, comfort or simple companionship).
OR
This could be saying that the poor man pursues his friends and family or brethren only to discover that in reality, he has none, for they have all forsaken him.
This is the way the NIV presents the verse.
“The poor are shunned by all their relatives— how much more do their friends avoid them! Though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.”
Taken these ways, it paints the picture of people who are very self serving and unloving. It fails to make much sense as to why some would be considered friends, so I still believe “co-worker” or “neighbor” is a better fit. Wasn’t it just two weeks ago in Proverbs 17:17 that we read, “a friend loves at all times”? So the actions of these people could hardly place them as the poor man’s actual friends.
“(8) Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will discover good.
(9) A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.”
“(10) It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over princes.”
“(11) Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”
“(12) A king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.”
In the ancient Near East, dew was primarily used to represent divine blessing, fertility, and refreshment. In an arid climate where rainfall was seasonal and unpredictable, the nightly formation of dew was a crucial source of moisture for crops and livestock. This made it a powerful symbol of divine favor and provision.
“(13) A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
(14) House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.”
This corresponds to last week’s proverb which stated “he who finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” – Proverbs 18:22.
“(15) Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger. (16) Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life; he who despises his ways will die.”
These two could be taken in concert together though that is not necessarily the way Solomon intended since they can easily stand on their own. However, the second verse derives a fair amount of force if taken together with the first.
If one is slothful in diligence in regard to the words of God they will grow callous with time and in the end suffer hunger to hear from Him at all.
“(17) Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his deed.”
“(18) Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.”
Some translations understand this as casual lending a translation of “while there is still hope”. Both are deeply instructional! At some point there is always hope, so don’t wait until tomorrow to set straight what can be set straight today!
“(19) A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.”
“(20) Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”
“(21) Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”
This seems to correspond to Proverbs 16:9 which says, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.”
“(22) What is desired in a man is steadfast love, and a poor man is better than a liar.”
Another and perhaps clearer rendering of this verse is found in the NIV which translates it like this – “What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.”
The meaning is a little hidden, but not greatly. The idea is that what is universally desired in others is faithfulness, and since community is so necessary for human existence, you would be far better off to be poor than unfaithful even in your words.
“(23) The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
(24) The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth.
(25) Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.”
While this is true on its own of course, it further teaches that a simpleton is in a far better position to obtain wisdom than a scoffer.
“(26) He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach.”
This is such a hateful scene that I find it despicable and very hard to read. There is a little more to it than a surface reading can show in that “Father” and “mother” here appear as separate, but in reality they represent a stereotypical word pair in the book of Proverbs. So rather than describing separate crimes against each individual parent. Both crimes are actually perpetrated against them both.
In the ancient world a “son” was far more likely than a daughter to behave as stated. Such behavior may reflect a son who wanted to take over his father’s lands prematurely.
“(27) Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
(28) A worthless witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
(29) Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and beating for the backs of fools.”
Blessings!
Tri
