Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Reflections on Proverbs 13

 Proverbs 13 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. Children with good sense accept correction from their parents, but stubborn children ignore it completely.
  2. You will be well rewarded for saying something kind, but all some people think about is how to be cruel and mean.
  3. Keep what you know to yourself, and you will be safe; talk too much, and you are done for.
  4. No matter how much you want, laziness won't help a bit, but hard work will reward you with more than enough.
  5. A good person hates deceit, but those who are evil cause shame and disgrace.
  6. Live right, and you are safe! But sin will destroy you.
  7. Some who have nothing may pretend to be rich, and some who have everything may pretend to be poor.
  8. The rich may have to pay a ransom, but the poor don't have that problem.
  9. The lamp of a good person keeps on shining; the lamp of an evil person soon goes out.
  10. Too much pride causes trouble. Be sensible and take advice.
  11. Money wrongly gotten will disappear bit by bit; money earned little by little will grow and grow.
  12. Not getting what you want can make you feel sick, but a wish that comes true is a life-giving tree.
  13. If you reject God's teaching, you will pay the price; if you obey his commands, you will be rewarded.
  14. Sensible instruction is a life-giving fountain that helps you escape all deadly traps.
  15. Sound judgment is praised, but people without good sense are on the way to disaster.
  16. If you have good sense, you will act sensibly, but fools act like fools.
  17. Whoever delivers your message can make things better or worse for you.
  18. All who refuse correction will be poor and disgraced; all who accept correction will be praised.
  19. It's a good feeling to get what you want, but only a stupid fool hates to turn from evil.
  20. Wise friends make you wise, but you hurt yourself by going around with fools.
  21. You are in for trouble if you sin, but you will be rewarded if you live right.
  22. If you obey God, you will have something to leave your grandchildren. If you don't obey God, those who live right will get what you leave.
  23. Even when the land of the poor produces good crops, they get cheated out of what they grow.
  24. If you love your children, you will correct them; if you don't love them, you won't correct them.
  25. If you live right, you will have plenty to eat; if you don't live right, you will go away empty.

Solomon continues in chapter 13 with his wise sayings, contrasting the wise and the foolish. As mentioned before, he uses the terms wise and righteous interchangeably, as well as foolish and evil or wicked. Again, if the beginning of wisdom is respect for God, it follows that wisdom leads to righteousness and lack of wisdom to wickedness.

Throughout these wise sayings, Solomon has some common themes which occur from chapter to chapter, though the emphases on these themes will vary chapter to chapter. In chapter 13 the greatest emphases is on the willingness to listen to instruction and on righteousness, or acting rightly. Lesser attention is given to wealth and to guarding the mouth.
  • Instruction - The one who spurns instruction and rebuke will pay the price of poverty and disgrace among other things. Such a one is arrogant, thinking they know better than the instruction of the wise. The heart that motivates one to refuse counsel along with the ignorance that results from lack of counsel leads the foolish person down a road of destruction.
  • Righteousness/Wisdom - Righteousness is a religious term, it refers to the desire to do what is right. Solomon uses the term interchangeably with the term wise. The wise person and the righteous person are one and the same. The righteous person, desiring to do right may not always succeed in doing what is right, but he does not like doing wrong. As Solomon says, for instance, "The righteous hate lying." Though an occasion may occur when he does lie, he doesn't like it. By contrast, though, the unrighteous, or wicked person, cannot turn from doing wrong. As Solomon says, "fools hate to turn from evil."
  • Wealth - Solomon had only three sayings in this chapter on wealth as related to wisdom. The wise man who has wealth, he says, does not act as though he is wealthy, though the fool will act as if he is wealthy even when he is not. Furthermore, only wealth obtained through honest labor will last. The fool who obtains riches will be held captive by it while the wise hold their wealth lightly.
  • The Mouth - A wise person will guard his mouth, but doing so involves more than saying what is right. Often it involves saying nothing at all. Speaking wisely, says Solomon, will lead to good things, while keeping one's mouth shut will avoid ruin.

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