Proverbs 14: Look where the road ends | Bible study
Things are not always what they look like. A road can look fine and end badly, and a smile can hide a sad heart. Wise people who love and respect God stop and think about where each step leads, and they are kind to poor people because God made them.
Proverbs 14:1
A wise woman makes her home and family strong. A foolish woman wrecks her own home, bit by bit, with her own hands.
The wisest of women builds up her household,
House here means the household: the family, its relationships and its well-being. A wise woman makes all of that stronger by the way she lives day after day.
but folly pulls it down with her own two hands.
The contrast. No enemy is needed to wreck a home; a foolish person does it herself, piece by piece, through her own choices. The phrase 'her own hands' stresses that the damage is self-inflicted.
חכם · chakam · wise, skilled
The Hebrew is literally 'the wisdom of women'. It recalls 9:1, where Wisdom herself builds her house.
בנה · banah · build
To build a house, and also to build up a family. Hebrew uses the same verb for both (Ruth 4:11).
בית · bayit · house, household
Both the building and the family that lives in it.
אולת · ivvelet · folly
The Hebrew is the abstract noun folly, not 'a foolish woman'. Folly is pictured as a person, the opposite of Wisdom.
הרס · haras · demolish
To pull down a wall or a building. A strong word for deliberate demolition.
The Hebrew reads 'the wisdom of women builds her house, but folly tears it down with her hands'. NASB turns the two abstract nouns into two women. The sense is the same either way: wisdom builds a home and folly wrecks it.
Proverbs 14:2
If you live in an honest way, you show that you respect God. If you live in a sneaky way, you show that you do not care about Him.
Whoever walks a straight line is someone who fears the LORD,
How a person lives shows what he thinks of God. An honest, straight life is the visible evidence of reverence for the LORD.
but the one whose paths are crooked holds Him in contempt.
The contrast. A twisting, dishonest life is not morally neutral. Whatever the person says about God, the way he lives says God does not matter.
ישר · yosher · straightness
The noun from yashar, straight. A life with no bends in it.
ירא · yare · fear, revere
The verb behind yir'ah, the fear of the LORD in 1:7.
לוז · luz · turn aside, twist
To bend away from the straight line. The same word describes crooked paths in 2:15.
דרך · derek · road, way of life
A road, and so the course of a life.
בזה · bazah · treat as worthless
To count something as of no value. The opposite of fearing.
Proverbs 14:3
A fool's proud talk is like a stick that comes back and hits him. Wise people's words keep them safe.
In the mouth of a fool there is a rod of pride,
The fool's proud talk is like a stick. It lashes out at others, and in the end it comes down on the fool himself, because arrogant words bring punishment.
but the lips of the wise keep them safe.
The contrast. Wise people's words guard them like a watchman. Careful speech keeps a person out of the trouble that careless speech creates.
פה · peh · mouth
The mouth stands for what a person says.
אויל · evil · stubborn fool
The fool of 1:7, who has decided not to be taught.
חטר · choter · shoot, switch
A thin branch or shoot. The word occurs only here and in Isaiah 11:1, where it is the shoot from the stump of Jesse.
שפה · saphah · lip, speech
Lips stand for speech.
שמר · shamar · guard, keep
To keep watch over, as a guard does.
The Hebrew has 'a rod of pride' (ga'avah). NASB follows a proposed change of one letter that gives 'for his back' (gevoh). With the Hebrew as it stands the picture is a fool's mouth sprouting arrogance like a branch; with the change, his own talk earns him a beating.
Proverbs 14:4
With no oxen, the barn stays clean. But strong oxen pull the plough and bring in lots of food. Good things take work and make a bit of mess.
Where there are no cattle, the feeding trough stays clean,
No oxen means no mess, no feed to haul and nothing to clean. It looks tidy and cheap. The saying grants that advantage before showing what it costs.
but a big harvest comes through the strength of an ox.
The other side. The same animal that dirties the stall pulls the plow that produces the crop. Anything productive brings cost and mess with it, and the person who refuses the mess also gives up the harvest.
אלף · eleph · cattle, oxen
Plow animals. The plural alaphim is used here.
אבוס · evus · feeding trough
The trough the animals are fed from.
בר · bar · clean, empty
Bar can mean clean or pure. Another word spelled the same way means grain, which makes the line sound like a pun.
תבואה · tevu'ah · produce, yield
What comes in from the field: the crop.
כח · koach · power
Physical power to do work.
שור · shor · a single ox
One head of cattle. A different word from the one in the first line.
Oxen pulled the plow and dragged the threshing sledge. A farmer with a team could work several times the land a man could work by hand, so the ox was the main piece of farm equipment and well worth its feed.
Because bar can mean either clean or grain, some read the first line as 'the trough is empty of grain'. Either way the point is the same: no oxen, no costs, and no harvest.
Proverbs 14:5
A person you can trust will not lie. A person you cannot trust lies as easily as breathing.
A reliable witness does not lie,
This sounds obvious, but it is a statement about character. A person who is faithful through and through will tell the truth in court because that is what he is.
but a false witness breathes out lies.
The contrast. For the false witness lying is as natural as breathing. The saying tells a judge, and anyone else, to weigh the person and not only the testimony.
אמונים · emunim · faithfulness
From the root of amen: firm, dependable. Literally 'a witness of faithfulness'.
עד · ed · witness
Someone who testifies in a legal case. The ninth commandment uses this word (Exodus 20:16).
כזב · kazav · to lie, a lie
The verb in the first line and the noun in the second come from this one root.
שקר · sheqer · falsehood
What is untrue and has no basis. Literally 'a witness of falsehood'.
פוח · puach · breathe out
To blow or breathe out. The lies come out of him as easily as breath.
Israelite courts had no forensic evidence. Cases were settled on the word of witnesses, and two could put a person to death (Deuteronomy 19:15-19), so a lying witness was a deadly weapon.
Proverbs 14:6
Someone who makes fun of everything looks for wisdom and cannot find it. But learning is easy for someone who is willing to be taught.
A mocker looks for wisdom and there is none,
The scoffer may truly want the benefits of wisdom, but he cannot find it, because wisdom comes through being corrected and he sneers at correction. His attitude shuts the door.
but knowledge comes easily to a person of understanding.
The contrast. The one who is already teachable finds that learning is light work. Humility is the condition for learning anything.
לץ · lets · mocker
The person who sneers at correction (9:7-8).
בקש · baqash · search for
To look for something in order to get it.
חכמה · chokmah · skill at living
The skill of living well. He wants it without the discipline that produces it.
דעת · da'at · knowledge
Knowledge gained by experience and relationship.
קלל · qalal · be light
To be light in weight, and so no burden.
נבון · navon · discerning person
From bin, to tell things apart. A person who already has discernment.
Proverbs 14:7
Stay away from a fool. You will not learn anything true from him.
Walk away from a foolish man,
A direct command, rare in this part of the book. Do not stay in a fool's company in the hope of gaining something.
for you will not meet lips that speak knowledge there.
The reason. You will learn nothing true from him, and time spent listening to him dulls your own ability to recognize sense. Company shapes the mind.
הלך · halak · go, walk
Simply go. The command is to put distance between you and him.
כסיל · kesil · dull fool
The thick, self-confident fool who is content as he is.
ידע · yada · know by experience
To know by experience. The Hebrew says 'you have not known': you never found it there.
דעת · da'at · knowledge
The Hebrew phrase is 'lips of knowledge': a mouth that speaks what is true.
The Hebrew is compressed: 'go from before a foolish man, and you have not known lips of knowledge'. Versions differ on whether the second line is a reason (you will find no knowledge there) or a result (stay and you will lose your own sense). NASB takes it as a result.
Proverbs 14:8
Careful people are wise because they think about where they are going. Fools trick themselves, and never see where they really are.
The wisdom of a shrewd person is to understand his own road,
Wisdom here is practical and personal: knowing what you are doing, why, and where it is taking you. The sensible person examines his own life honestly.
but the folly of fools is deception.
The contrast. Fools deceive, and the first person they deceive is themselves. They never look honestly at their own road, so they do not know where they are.
ערום · arum · shrewd
The adjective from ormah (1:4): someone who is not easily fooled.
בין · bin · tell apart
To discern, to see a thing for what it is.
דרך · derek · road, way of life
His own road: the direction his life is actually going.
אולת · ivvelet · folly
The noun related to evil, the stubborn fool.
כסיל · kesil · dull fool
The dull, self-satisfied fool.
מרמה · mirmah · deception, fraud
Trickery. It covers both cheating others and fooling oneself.
Proverbs 14:9
Fools laugh about doing wrong and never say sorry. People who do right fix what they did wrong, so they stay friends.
Fools make a joke of guilt,
The fool laughs off wrongdoing and the need to put it right. Because he will not admit guilt, he never makes amends, and the damage between him and others stays.
but among the upright there is acceptance.
The contrast. Straight people own their faults and make them good, so favor exists among them: with each other and with God. Taking guilt seriously is what keeps relationships whole.
אויל · evil · stubborn fool
The plural of the fool who refuses correction.
ליץ · lits · scoff
The verb behind lets, the scoffer.
אשם · asham · guilt, guilt offering
Guilt, and also the offering that made amends for it (Leviticus 5 and 6), which included paying back what was owed.
ישר · yashar · straight
People whose lives run straight.
רצון · ratson · favor, acceptance
Favor or acceptance. It is the regular word for God accepting a person or a sacrifice.
A difficult line. The verb is singular and 'fools' is plural, so the Hebrew can be read 'fools mock at guilt' or 'guilt mocks fools'. Asham can also mean the guilt offering, giving 'fools mock at making amends'. Versions vary accordingly.
Proverbs 14:10
Only you know just how sad you feel inside. And nobody else can fully feel your happiness either.
The heart knows the bitterness of its own soul,
Only you know exactly how your own sorrow feels. No one else, however close, can get fully inside it.
and no outsider can enter into its joy.
A step further: the same is true of joy. The deepest things a person feels cannot be completely shared. This warns against judging others by what shows, since you cannot see what they carry.
לב · lev · heart, inner self
The inner person: mind, will and feeling together.
ידע · yada · know by experience
Knowledge from the inside, by living it.
מרה · morrah · bitterness
From mar, bitter. The Hebrew says 'the bitterness of its soul (nephesh)'.
זר · zar · outsider
Anyone outside. Here it means any other person at all.
ערב · arav · mix in, mingle
To mingle with. Another person cannot mix himself into your joy.
שמחה · simchah · gladness
Gladness. It returns in verse 13, where it ends in grief.
Proverbs 14:11
The strong house of bad people will be knocked down. But the little tent of people who do right will do well, like a plant in flower.
The house of the wicked will be wiped out,
The wicked seem solidly established: they have a house, a permanent building. It will not last.
but the tent of the upright will blossom.
The contrast is sharpened by the two dwellings. A tent is flimsy next to a house, yet the tent is the one that thrives, like a plant coming into flower. What looks secure is not, and what looks fragile is.
בית · bayit · house, household
The building and the family line in it.
רשע · rasha · guilty, wicked
The person in the wrong before God and others.
שמד · shamad · wipe out
To exterminate, to destroy completely.
אהל · ohel · tent
A movable dwelling of cloth and poles, far less solid than a house.
ישר · yashar · straight
The straight ones of verse 9.
פרח · parach · bud, blossom
To sprout and flower. A plant picture applied to a home.
Proverbs 14:12
A road can look right to you and still end in death. Do not just look at how it starts. Ask where it ends.
There is a road that looks straight to a person,
A person can be sincerely convinced that his course is right. The feeling of being right proves nothing, because he is judging by how the road looks from where he stands.
but where it ends up is the roads of death.
The contrast is between the look of the road and its destination. A road must be judged by where it comes out, and that takes a guide beyond your own impression. The saying is repeated word for word in 16:25.
דרך · derek · road, way of life
A course of life. The singular road of the first line becomes plural 'roads of death' in the second.
ישר · yashar · straight
The word used for the upright in verses 9 and 11. The road looks like their road and is not.
אחרית · acharit · the after part, outcome
What comes afterward. Proverbs asks constantly about the acharit of a choice.
מות · mavet · death
The final ruin that folly leads to.
Proverbs 14:13
Someone can be laughing and still hurt inside. And a happy time can end in sadness.
Even while laughing the heart can ache,
A laughing face does not prove a glad heart. People laugh while carrying real pain, and the laughter does not remove it.
and joy can end in sorrow.
A step further: even real gladness does not last and may turn to grief. Like verse 12, this looks at the end and not at the moment. The surface of a life is not the whole of it.
שחוק · sechoq · laughter
Laughing, merriment.
לב · lev · heart, inner self
The inner person, hidden under the laughter.
כאב · ka'av · be in pain
To hurt, in body or mind.
אחרית · acharit · the after part, outcome
The same word as verse 12. Both sayings turn on how things finish.
תוגה · tugah · sorrow
Heaviness of heart. In 10:1 it is what a foolish son brings his mother.
Proverbs 14:14
Someone who turns from what is right gets back what he has done, more than he wants. A good person is glad with what his own life brings back.
The one whose heart has turned back will get his fill of his own ways,
The person who inwardly turns away from what is right will be fed the results of his own conduct until he has had more than enough. His reward is simply what his way of life produces.
and a good man will be filled from what he does.
The same rule works in the other direction. A good person also receives the outcome of his conduct, and for him it is satisfying. Each gets a full meal of his own life.
סוג לב · sug lev · turned back in heart
Sug means to draw back or turn away. The turning has happened inside, in the lev, before it shows outside.
שבע · saba · be full, glutted
To eat until full. The same verb as 1:31, where people are stuffed with their own schemes.
דרך · derek · road, way of life
His roads: the conduct he chose.
טוב · tov · good
Good in character and in what he does for others.
The second line is short in Hebrew: 'and from upon him, a good man'. NASB supplies 'will be satisfied with his'. Many scholars read a slightly different word, 'from his deeds'. Either way the verb of the first line carries over: he too is filled with his own conduct.
Proverbs 14:15
A person who has not learned to think believes anything he is told. A careful person looks where he is about to step.
The gullible person believes every word,
The naive person accepts whatever he is told. He does not test claims, so anyone with a confident story can lead him.
but the shrewd person thinks about where he is stepping.
The contrast. The sensible person does not act on a claim until he has looked at where acting on it will put him. He checks each step, the way you watch your feet on rough ground.
פתי · peti · open, gullible
From a root meaning to be open. Open to everything, so led by anyone.
אמן · aman · trust, rely on
The root of amen. To treat something as firm enough to lean on.
ערום · arum · shrewd
The shrewd person of verse 8, again examining before acting.
בין · bin · tell apart
The same verb as 'understand' in verse 8. There he discerns his road; here, each step on it.
אשור · ashur · step
A footstep. The picture is of placing each foot deliberately.
Proverbs 14:16
A wise person sees danger, takes care, and turns away from wrong. A fool charges ahead, sure that nothing can hurt him.
A wise person is afraid and turns away from harm,
Wisdom includes a healthy fear. The wise person sees danger or evil ahead, takes it seriously and changes course. This caution is a strength.
but a fool charges ahead and feels safe.
The contrast. The fool pushes past every warning and is completely confident while doing it. His sense of safety is the dangerous part, because it stops him from turning aside.
חכם · chakam · wise, skilled
The person skilled at living.
ירא · yare · fear, revere
The Hebrew simply says 'fears'. It is the verb of verse 2, so fear of the LORD may be in view as well as ordinary caution.
סור · sur · turn aside
To leave the road you were on. It returns in verse 27.
רע · ra · bad, harmful
Both moral evil and harm or disaster. Both senses fit here.
כסיל · kesil · dull fool
The dull, self-confident fool.
בטח · batach · trust, feel secure
To feel safe. Usually a good word (trusting God); here it is confidence with nothing under it.
The word NASB gives as 'arrogant' is a form of the verb avar that can mean to overstep or to flare up in anger, so versions offer 'arrogant', 'reckless' or 'hotheaded'. All agree on the picture: a fool who does not hold back.
Proverbs 14:17
Someone who gets angry fast does silly things. And someone who makes sneaky plans is hated.
A short-tempered person does foolish things,
Someone who flares up quickly acts before thinking, and what he does in that moment is folly. His fault is out in the open and does damage, mostly to himself.
and a man who schemes is hated.
A second, different fault set beside the first. The schemer is cold and calculating, the opposite of the hothead, but he is worse off: people may excuse a temper, but they hate a plotter.
קצר אפים · qetsar appayim · short of nostrils
Literally 'short of nostrils'. Hebrew pictures anger as hard breathing through the nose. Its opposite appears in verse 29.
אולת · ivvelet · folly
The Hebrew says he 'does folly'.
מזמה · mezimmah · plans, schemes
In 1:4 this word was a good thing, foresight. The same ability to plan, turned to bad ends, is scheming.
שנא · sane · hate
The same form appears in verse 20, where the poor man is hated.
Proverbs 14:18
People who never learn to think end up with nothing but foolishness. Careful people wear what they know like a crown.
The gullible come into folly as their inheritance,
If the naive stay as they are, folly is what they end up owning, as surely as an heir receives an estate. Staying uncommitted is not a neutral position; it has a result.
but the shrewd wear knowledge as a crown.
The contrast. Those who think before acting gain knowledge, and it sits on them like a crown: it is their honor and everyone can see it. This closes the group that began in verse 15 with the same two people.
פתי · peti · open, gullible
The plural of the word in verse 15.
נחל · nachal · receive as a possession
To take possession of a family portion. Folly becomes their permanent property.
אולת · ivvelet · folly
The folly of verses 1, 8 and 17.
ערום · arum · shrewd
Third appearance in the chapter, after verses 8 and 15.
כתר · katar · surround, crown
To encircle. Related to keter, the word for a royal crown in Esther.
דעת · da'at · knowledge
What the shrewd gain by examining things, as verse 15 described.
Proverbs 14:19
One day bad people will bow down to good people. They will stand at the door of those who do right, asking for help.
Bad people will bow low before the good,
The present order, where evil people often hold the power, will be reversed. In the end the wicked will have to humble themselves before those they looked down on.
and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
The picture gets more specific: the wicked stand at the righteous person's door like someone waiting to ask a favor. They become dependent on the people they once despised.
רע · ra · bad, harmful
Here used of people: those who are bad and do harm.
שחח · shachach · bow low
To be bent down low, in submission or humiliation.
טוב · tov · good
The good people of verse 14.
רשע · rasha · guilty, wicked
The guilty, set against the tsaddiq.
שער · sha'ar · gate
The entrance to a house or estate, where a petitioner waits.
צדיק · tsaddiq · in the right
The person who is right with God and deals rightly with others.
Proverbs 14:20
Even the neighbours stay away from a poor person. But a rich person has lots of friends.
A poor man is disliked even by his neighbor,
A plain observation about how people behave. Even those closest to a poor man avoid him, because he has nothing to offer and may need something.
but the rich man has many who love him.
The contrast. Money attracts a crowd of friends. The saying does not approve of this; it reports it, and the next verse gives the verdict.
רש · rash · poor, destitute
A person who lacks the means to live. The first of four words for the poor in this chapter.
שנא · sane · hate
Hebrew 'hate' includes being shunned and unwanted, not only active hostility.
רע · rea · neighbor, companion
The person next to you: friend, associate, fellow citizen.
אהב · ahav · love
The Hebrew says 'the lovers of the rich are many'. The love is aimed at the wealth.
עשיר · ashir · wealthy person
The person who has plenty.
Proverbs 14:21
It is wrong to look down on your neighbour. God is good to the person who is kind to the poor.
Whoever looks down on his neighbor is sinning,
This judges the behavior verse 20 described. Shunning a neighbor because he is poor is common, and it is sin.
but how happy is the one who is kind to the lowly.
The contrast. The person who shows favor to the afflicted is the one truly well off. God's blessing rests on him, whatever the crowd around the rich man thinks.
בוז · buz · hold in contempt
To look down on. The verb used of fools despising wisdom in 1:7.
רע · rea · neighbor, companion
The same word as verse 20, tying the two sayings together.
חטא · chata · miss the mark, sin
To miss the mark. The verb behind chatta, sinner.
חנן · chanan · show favor
To show favor that is not owed. The root of chen, grace. It returns in verse 31.
עני · ani · afflicted, lowly
A person pressed down by circumstances. A different word from the poor man of verse 20.
אשרי · ashrei · how happy
The opening word of Psalm 1. An exclamation: how fortunate that person is.
Proverbs 14:22
People who plan bad things lose their way. People who plan good things find love, and friends who stick by them.
Do those who plot harm not lose their way?
A question that expects the answer yes. People who work out plans to hurt others wander off the road themselves. Their plotting misleads them first.
But loyal love and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.
The contrast. People who put the same careful effort into planning good for others meet with steadfast love and faithfulness. They receive from God and from people what they planned to give.
חרש · charash · plow, engrave, devise
The verb for plowing and for a craftsman's cutting. Used of planning, it means working something out with care. It is used for both groups.
תעה · ta'ah · wander, stray
To wander off the road, as a lost animal does.
חסד · chesed · loyal love
Committed, faithful love that keeps its obligations.
אמת · emet · faithfulness, truth
Reliability. Chesed and emet are a fixed pair, used of God in Exodus 34:6.
Proverbs 14:23
All hard work brings you something. But if you only talk about it, you end up poor.
In every kind of hard work there is something gained,
All real effort produces something, even when the work is painful. The gain may be small, but labor never leaves you with nothing.
but talk that is only talk leads to nothing but want.
The contrast is between doing and talking about doing. Plans and big words that stay on the lips produce nothing, and the talker ends up short.
עצב · etsev · painful toil
Toil that hurts. Related to the word for Adam's painful toil in Genesis 3:17.
מותר · motar · surplus, gain
What is left over: a surplus beyond what you started with.
דבר שפתים · devar sephatayim · word of lips
Literally 'a word of the lips': something that gets no further than the mouth.
מחסור · machsor · lack, want
From a root meaning to lack. Not having what you need.
Proverbs 14:24
For wise people, the good things they have earned are like a crown. Fools get nothing for their foolishness but more foolishness.
The crown of the wise is their wealth,
When wise people gain wealth it is an honor to them, like a crown. It is the visible result of how they lived, and they know how to use it well.
but the folly of fools is just folly.
The contrast. Folly produces nothing except more of itself. The line deliberately goes nowhere: the fool starts with folly and ends with folly, with nothing to show for it.
עטרה · atarah · crown, wreath
A crown or wreath of honor.
חכם · chakam · wise, skilled
People skilled at living.
עשר · osher · wealth
Wealth. Proverbs treats it as a possible result of wisdom, never as proof of it.
אולת · ivvelet · folly
Used twice in this one line. The repetition is the point.
כסיל · kesil · dull fool
The dull fools of verse 8.
Following the old Greek translation, some versions change 'their riches' to 'their shrewdness' and the first 'folly' to 'garland', so that each line has a matching ornament. NASB keeps the Hebrew as it stands.
Proverbs 14:25
Someone who tells the truth to a judge can save a life. Someone who tells lies there is a cheat.
A truthful witness rescues lives,
In a court where testimony decided the case, honest evidence could save an innocent person from death. Telling the truth is an act of rescue.
but one who breathes out lies is deceit itself.
The contrast. The liar is a fraud who puts lives in danger. Verse 5 said what each witness is like; this verse says what each one does to other people.
אמת · emet · faithfulness, truth
Literally 'a witness of truth'. The emet of verse 22.
עד · ed · witness
The court witness of verse 5.
נצל · natsal · snatch away, rescue
To pull someone out of danger.
נפש · nephesh · soul, life
Plural here: the lives of the people on trial.
פוח · puach · breathe out
The same phrase, 'breathes out lies', as in verse 5.
מרמה · mirmah · deception, fraud
The Hebrew is the noun: the liar is called 'deceit'. The word of verse 8.
Proverbs 14:26
A person who respects God has a strong, safe place to stand. And his children will be safe there too.
In the fear of the LORD a person has a strong place to trust,
Fearing God does not make a person timid. It is like a fortress: the one who takes God seriously has something solid to rest his whole weight on.
and his children will have a shelter.
A step further: the security extends to the next generation. Children raised by a God-fearing parent grow up inside that protection and can run to it themselves.
יראה · yir'ah · reverent awe
Taking God with full seriousness (1:7).
יהוה · YHWH · God's covenant name
God's personal name, given to Israel.
מבטח עז · mivtach oz · stronghold of trust
Mivtach is the thing you trust in; oz is strength. Contrast the fool of verse 16, who trusts (batach) in nothing.
בן · ben · son, child
The Hebrew is 'his sons', meaning the children of the one who fears.
מחסה · machseh · shelter
A place to shelter from storm or attack. Related to the verb in verse 32.
Proverbs 14:27
Respecting God is like a spring of fresh water that gives life. It keeps you out of the traps that would kill you.
The fear of the LORD is a spring of life,
In a dry land a spring means life for everything around it. Reverence for God is that kind of source: life keeps coming out of it.
turning a person away from the traps of death.
This says how it gives life. The fear of the LORD makes you step aside from the things that would catch and kill you. In 13:14 the same sentence is said of the teaching of the wise.
יראה · yir'ah · reverent awe
Repeated from verse 26. The fortress is also a spring.
מקור · maqor · spring, source
A spring of flowing water, as opposed to a cistern that only stores rain.
חיים · chayyim · life
Life in its fullness, not bare survival.
סור · sur · turn aside
The verb of verse 16, where the wise person fears and turns from evil.
מוקש · moqesh · trap, bait
A trap set for birds or animals. Death is pictured as a hunter.
מות · mavet · death
The end of the road in verse 12.
Most of Israel's water came from seasonal rain stored in cisterns. A spring that flowed all year was rare and precious, and towns were built beside them.
Proverbs 14:28
A king is great when he has lots of people who are doing well. A ruler with no people has nothing left.
A large population is a king's splendor,
A king's greatness is measured by the people he rules, not by his palace or treasure. A numerous, thriving people shows that he governs well.
but with no people a ruler is ruined.
The contrast. A ruler whose people shrink away through war, oppression or flight has nothing left to rule. His power depends on those under him, so their welfare is his own.
רב · rov · abundance
A great number.
עם · am · a people
A people as a community. The second line uses a different word, le'om, which returns in verse 34.
מלך · melek · king
The king, who returns in verse 35.
הדרה · hadarah · splendor
Majesty, the outward display of greatness.
אפס · ephes · end, nothing
Zero, the point where something runs out.
מחתה · mechittah · ruin, terror
Destruction, and the dismay that comes with it.
Proverbs 14:29
A person who is slow to get angry understands a lot. A person who gets angry fast shows everyone how foolish he is.
A patient person has great understanding,
Being slow to get angry is a sign of intelligence. The patient person has time to see the whole situation before he reacts.
but a short-tempered one holds folly up high.
The contrast. The person who flares up puts his folly on display for everyone, as if lifting it up to be seen. His temper advertises his lack of sense.
ארך אפים · erek appayim · long of nostrils
Literally 'long of nostrils': it takes a long time for his anger to heat up. God describes Himself this way in Exodus 34:6.
תבונה · tevunah · understanding
From bin. The capacity to see how things fit together.
קצר רוח · qetsar ruach · short of spirit
Literally 'short of spirit'. A different phrase from verse 17, with the same meaning.
רום · rum · lift up
To raise high. The same verb in verse 34 is what righteousness does for a nation.
אולת · ivvelet · folly
Its last appearance in the chapter. Verse 17 said the hothead does folly; here he parades it.
Proverbs 14:30
A calm heart keeps your whole body well. But always wanting what others have makes you sick deep inside, like rot in your bones.
A calm heart gives life to the body,
The state of the inner person affects physical health. A mind at rest, not churning with resentment or craving, keeps the whole body well.
but envy rots the bones.
The contrast. Jealousy eats a person from the inside, like decay in the bones, the frame that holds the body up. The one it harms most is the one who feels it.
מרפא · marpe · healing, calm
The word means healing, and also calmness. A heart that is itself healthy and so brings health.
לב · lev · heart, inner self
The inner person, which governs the body.
חיים · chayyim · life
The same word as the spring of life in verse 27.
בשר · basar · flesh
Flesh, the physical body.
קנאה · qin'ah · envy, burning zeal
A hot, consuming passion. It can mean zeal or envy; here it is resentment of what others have.
רקב · raqav · decay
Decay, as in worm-eaten wood. Also used in 12:4.
Proverbs 14:31
If you are mean to poor people, you insult God who made them. If you are kind to people in need, you honour God.
Whoever exploits a poor person insults the One who made him,
The poor man is God's workmanship. To cheat or crush him is to show contempt for the craftsman by abusing what He made. God takes it personally.
but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
The contrast. Kindness to someone in need is counted as honor paid to God Himself. This gives the deepest reason for verse 21: the poor carry their Maker's claim on them.
עשק · ashaq · exploit, extort
To use power to squeeze someone: withholding wages, cheating, extorting.
דל · dal · weak, poor
From a root meaning low or thin. The person with no resources and no influence.
חרף · charaph · insult, defy
To insult or defy. The word used of Goliath defying Israel's armies (1 Samuel 17).
עשה · asah · make
The ordinary verb to make. God is 'the one who made him'; see also 17:5 and 22:2.
חנן · chanan · show favor
The verb of verse 21.
אביון · evyon · in want
A person in need who has to ask for help. The fourth word for the poor in this chapter.
Proverbs 14:32
When trouble comes, the wrong things a bad person did knock him down. But a person who does right has a safe place, even when he dies.
The wicked person is knocked down by his own evil,
When disaster comes, the wicked has nothing to hold on to. The harm he did is the very thing that pushes him over.
but the righteous has a shelter even in his death.
The contrast. The righteous person still has somewhere to take refuge at the worst moment of all, death itself. His security does not run out when his life does.
רשע · rasha · guilty, wicked
The guilty person of verses 11 and 19.
דחה · dachah · push down
To shove so that someone falls.
רעה · ra'ah · evil, calamity
The word means both the evil a person does and the disaster that comes on him. Both may be meant.
צדיק · tsaddiq · in the right
The person in the right with God.
חסה · chasah · take shelter
The Hebrew is a verb: he takes refuge. In the Psalms it is the regular word for sheltering in God. Related to the shelter of verse 26.
The Hebrew says 'in his death'. The old Greek translation read a very similar word, 'in his integrity', and some versions follow it. The Hebrew as it stands is one of the few places in Proverbs that speaks of hope reaching into death.
Proverbs 14:33
Wisdom rests quietly inside a person who understands. Fools blurt out whatever is inside them.
Wisdom settles quietly in the heart of a discerning person,
Wisdom is at home in a discerning person. It rests there without needing to announce itself.
but among fools it gets made known.
A hard line. The likeliest sense is a contrast: whatever fools have inside does not stay inside but is blurted out, as 12:23 says. Others take it to mean that wisdom shows up clearly even among fools, because it stands out against them.
חכמה · chokmah · skill at living
The subject of both lines in Hebrew.
נוח · nuach · settle, rest
To settle down and remain. The root of Noah's name.
לב · lev · heart, inner self
The inner person, where wisdom lives.
נבון · navon · discerning person
The discerning person of verse 6.
כסיל · kesil · dull fool
The dull fools, in the plural.
ידע · yada · know by experience
A passive form of yada: it becomes known.
The Hebrew of the second line is 'and in the midst of fools it is made known'. The Greek and Syriac translations add 'not': wisdom is not known among fools. English versions divide between these readings.
Proverbs 14:34
Doing what is right makes a country great. Doing wrong brings shame on any people.
Doing what is right lifts a nation up,
What makes a country great is whether it deals rightly, not its army or its wealth. The standard applied to individuals all through this book applies to nations too.
but sin is a shame to any people.
The contrast. Wrongdoing disgraces a people and brings it low. The saying is about any nation, not only Israel.
צדקה · tsedaqah · right conduct
Doing what is right toward God and neighbor.
רום · rum · lift up
The verb of verse 29. The hothead lifts up folly; righteousness lifts up a nation.
גוי · goy · nation
The usual word for a nation, including the nations outside Israel.
חטאת · chatta't · sin
From chata, to miss the mark. The noun for an act of sin.
חסד · chesed · shame
Not the chesed that means loyal love. This is a rare word spelled the same way, meaning shame, as in Leviticus 20:17.
לאם · le'om · a people
A poetic word for a people. Plural here: peoples.
Proverbs 14:35
A king is pleased with a helper who does his work wisely. He is angry with one who brings him shame.
A king is pleased with a servant who acts with skill,
A capable, sensible official earns the king's goodwill. Competence and good judgment get noticed and rewarded.
but his fury falls on the one who brings shame.
The contrast. An official whose conduct embarrasses the king feels his anger. Since the king had power of life and death, the practical point is that how you do your work decides how you stand with those over you.
רצון · ratson · favor, acceptance
The word of verse 9. There it was found among the upright; here it comes from the king (melek), the same word as verse 28.
עבד · eved · servant, official
Anyone in another's service, from a slave to a royal minister.
שכל · sakal · act with insight
The form is maskil: one who acts with practical insight and so succeeds. The root of 'wise behavior' in 1:3.
עברה · evrah · overflowing fury
Anger that spills over its banks.
בוש · bosh · cause shame
The form means one who causes shame. The same pair, maskil and mevish, is contrasted in 10:5.