| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| 1 A wise son the instruction of a father, And a scorner he hath not heard rebuke. |
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| 2 From the fruit of the mouth a man eateth good, And the soul of the treacherous violence. |
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| 3 Whoso is keeping his mouth, is keeping his soul, Whoso is opening wide his lips ruin to him! |
Keepeth his mouth – All our words are taken by the Lord as an index of our hearts. R1938:1
Shall have destruction – What a fearful responsibility attaches to the tongue that wags in an evil or flippant way, dishonoring God. R1938:1
"By thy words thou wilt be acquitted, and by thy words thou wilt be condemned." (Matt. 12:37) R1937:1
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| 4 The soul of the slothful is desiring, and hath not. And the soul of the diligent is made fat. |
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| 5 A false word the righteous hateth, And the wicked causeth abhorrence, and is confounded. |
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| 6 Righteousness keepeth him who is perfect in the way, And wickedness overthroweth a sin offering. |
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| 7 There is who is making himself rich, and hath nothing, Who is making himself poor, and wealth [is] abundant. |
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| 8 The ransom of a man's life [are] his riches, And the poor hath not heard rebuke. |
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| 9 The light of the righteous rejoiceth, And the lamp of the wicked is extinguished. |
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| 10 A vain man through pride causeth debate, And with the counselled [is] wisdom. |
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| 11 Wealth from vanity becometh little, And whoso is gathering by the hand becometh great. |
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| 12 Hope prolonged is making the heart sick, And a tree of life [is] the coming desire. |
The heart sick – To those who do not exercise proper faith, the trials by the way and the disappointments are most discouraging. R4048:1 Proverbs 13:15
Is hard – Though following the line of least resistance seems easiest, this is only a vain delusion. Q800:4
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| 13 Whoso is despising the Word is destroyed for it, And whoso is fearing the Command is repayed. |
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| 14 The law of the wise [is] a fountain of life, To turn aside from snares of death. |
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| 15 Good understanding giveth grace, And the way of the treacherous [is] hard. |
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| 16 Every prudent one dealeth with knowledge, And a fool spreadeth out folly. |
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| 17 A wicked messenger falleth into evil, And a faithful ambassador is healing. |
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| 18 Whoso is refusing instruction poverty and shame, And whoso is observing reproof is honoured. |
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| 19 A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, And an abomination to fools [is]: Turn from evil. |
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| 20 Whoso is walking with wise men is wise, And a companion of fools suffereth evil. |
With wise men – In every enterprise of life we should seek counsel--the wisdom that cometh from above that is "first pure, then peaceable, easy to entreatment and full of mercy and good fruits." (Jas. 3:17) R4723:4
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| 21 Evil pursueth sinners, And good recompenseth the righteous. |
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| 22 A good man causeth sons' sons to inherit, And laid up for the righteous [is] the sinner's wealth. |
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| 23 Abundance of food the tillage of the poor, And substance is consumed without judgment. |
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| 24 Whoso is sparing his rod is hating his son, And whoso is loving him hath hastened him chastisement. |
That spareth his rod – Neglects to use it when necessary to enforce the rules of love. F524
The homes of the New Creatures should be ruled by love, not the rod. When used, the rod should be wielded by the hand of love, never by the hand of anger. F524
The rod of discipline may be in the form of the denial of a kiss, or the withholding of supper or some other comfort or luxury. F525
"Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." (Psa. 23:4) Q54:4
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| 25 The righteous is eating to the satiety of his soul, And the belly of the wicked lacketh! |
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