| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| 1 Of man [are] arrangements of the heart, And from Jehovah an answer of the tongue. |
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| 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, And Jehovah is pondering the spirits. |
The spirits – Ruach, mind, thoughts, motives. E318
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| 3 Roll unto Jehovah thy works, And established are thy purposes, |
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| 4 All things hath Jehovah wrought for Himself, And also the wicked [worketh] for a day of evil. |
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| 5 An abomination to Jehovah [is] every proud one of heart, Hand to hand he is not acquitted. |
Proud in heart – Pride is an inordinate and excessive amount of self-esteem and self-conceit. R5704:1, R5001:1
Those who feel haughty toward others and are not sympathetic; who despise others. R5000:6
Pride is very deceitful and frequently cloaks itself with humility. R5000:2
No kind of pride would be more detestable in God's sight than pride of the truth. It is not our Plan. R5001:1
Worldly pride challenges faith in God and obedience to him. R4898:5
Certain conduct which sometimes seems to be pride is not pride; as those, lacking self-esteem, who have much approbativeness. R5000:3
Sometimes manifest by elders in attempts to override the liberties of the congregation and hold power in their own hands. R5001:4
Applies also to the angels. R5000:6
An abomination – Not a creature in the universe has anything to be proud of, has nothing of his own creation, has only been a recipient of favor, blessing. R4898:2, R5704:1
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| 6 In kindness and truth pardoned is iniquity, And in the fear of Jehovah Turn thou aside from evil. |
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| 7 When a man's ways please Jehovah, even his enemies, He causeth to be at peace with him. |
Enemies to be at peace – At the proper time, in the future. Now, whoever will live godly will suffer persecution. Q528:3
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| 8 Better [is] a little with righteousness, Than abundance of increase without justice. |
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| 9 The heart of man deviseth his way, And Jehovah establisheth his step. |
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| 10 An oath [is] on the lips of a king, In judgment his mouth trespasseth not. |
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| 11 A just beam and balances [are] Jehovah's, His work [are] all the stones of the bag. |
A just weight – We should apprehend the principle of divine justice, and deal justly and keep judgment. R3635:5
He who fails to appreciate justice must proportionately fail to appreciate mercy; for mercy is merely the difference between love and justice. R3635:5
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| 12 An abomination to kings [is] doing wickedness, For by righteousness is a throne established. |
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| 13 The delight of kings [are] righteous lips, And whoso is speaking uprightly he loveth, |
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| 14 The fury of a king [is] messengers of death, And a wise man pacifieth it. |
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| 15 In the light of a king's face [is] life, And his good-will [is] as a cloud of the latter rain. |
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| 16 To get wisdom how much better than gold, And to get understanding to be chosen than silver! |
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| 17 A highway of the upright [is], 'Turn from evil,' Whoso is preserving his soul is watching his way. |
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| 18 Before destruction [is] pride, And before stumbling a haughty spirit.' |
Pride – Of wealth; sectarian pride; family pride; personal pride. R2459:6
Pride has been a general guide for the world which has accomplished much harm. R5723:4
Alas for the power of pride; the proud cannot see their difficulties. R5068:3
Humility is important because the other graces of the holy Spirit cannot be cultivated without it. R4787:1
If you find a humble one with ability, encourage him in its exercise; but if he be not humble-minded, encourage him not, even though he have the ability, for the higher you push him the greater will be his fall. R1629:3
Illustrated by King Uzziah. He forgot that he was merely the Lord's representative and that his first duty was to obey the divine commands. (2 Chron. 26:8-21) R4786:2
Before destruction – Contrary to the Universalist theory. R3083:2
The greater the blessing, the more serious would be the loss by destruction. R3385:6
An haughty spirit – Society's real danger is not from anarchists, but from friends of law and order who, in putting down enemies of the law, will tend toward haughty austerity. R991:3
Ruach, mind, will, disposition. E318
A domineering, self-satisfied disposition tends to undermine the character. R3385:6
Before a fall – "Thou wilt save the humble people, but wilt bring down high looks." (Psa. 18:27) R3337:2
We have a standing never previously granted to any, and the higher the standing the more serious the fall. R3385:6, R1629:3
The time of trouble toward which Christendom is hastening. R2459:6
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| 19 Better is humility of spirit with the poor, Than to apportion spoil with the proud. |
An humble spirit – Ruach, mind, disposition. E318
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| 20 The wise in any matter findeth good, And whoso is trusting in Jehovah, O his happiness. |
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| 21 To the wise in heart is called, 'Intelligent,' And sweetness of lips increaseth learning. |
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| 22 A fountain of life [is] understanding to its possessors, The instruction of fools is folly. |
Understanding – Not merely of the head, but of the heart especially. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." (Rom. 10:10) "Out of the heart are the issues of life." (Prov. 4:23) R2038:2
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| 23 The heart of the wise causeth his mouth to act wisely, And by his lips he increaseth learning, |
Teacheth his mouth – To speak "words of truth and soberness." (Acts 26:25) R2038:2
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| 24 Sayings of pleasantness [are] a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul, and healing to the bone. |
Pleasant words – Of wisdom, of counsel, of loving-kindness. R2038:3
Health to the bones – In that they refresh and comfort and stimulate courage, and thus fortify the soul and strengthen it to noble deeds. R2038:3
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| 25 There is a way right before a man, And its latter end ways of death. |
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| 26 A labouring man hath laboured for himself, For his mouth hath caused [him] to bend over it. |
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| 27 A worthless man is preparing evil, And on his lips as a burning fire. |
Diggeth up evil – Apparently finding satisfaction in so doing. R2038:4
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| 28 A froward man sendeth forth contention, A tale-bearer is separating a familiar friend. |
A froward man – A bad man whose acts and words tend to produce envy, bitterness, misunderstandings and strife. Q46:T
Whisperer – A busybody or slanderer. Q46:T
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| 29 A violent man enticeth his neighbour, And hath causeth him to go in a way not good. |
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| 30 Consulting his eyes to devise froward things, Moving his lips he hath accomplished evil. |
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| 31 A crown of beauty [are] grey hairs, In the way of righteousness it is found. |
The hoary head – Blessed is the man who sets his house in order and who maintains that order to the end of his days. R3630:1
Crown of glory – When the hallowed influences of ripened Christian graces are manifest to every beholder. R2038:5, R3630:4
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| 32 Better [is] the slow to anger than the mighty, And the ruler over his spirit than he who is taking a city. |
Ruleth his spirit – His own mind or will. R2892:4, R3985:6, R4904:6, R5975:5
Bringing it into full subordination. E112
By changing the allegiance of his will from self to God and overcoming the foes that are entrenched in his mind as a result of the fall. R3629:5,3, R1860:1, R4904:6, R5056:3, R5488:4
We must be taught to rule ourselves, that we may know how to rule others. R12:6*
The little and more numerous battles, keeping the mind cleansed from the secret faults, are principally the ones in which we gain the victories. R4904:6
The greatest power in the universe is the power of the will. OV195:4
God wants all Christians to practice self-denial in respect to sins and everything which would hinder his cause in any degree. F552
Our dealings with ourselves are our chief concern, our chief battle. R3985:6
He that continues to rule his own spirit has not only routed the enemy, sin; but continues to keep him at bay. R3629:3
To rule one's own spirit cannot be done singlehandedly. The wise general will invoke a stronger power, the almighty arm of God. R3629:5
Illustrated by John the Baptist, all of whose aspirations and human ambitions were made subservient to his one mission of introducing Jesus. R1916:1
We have three departments of government: the legislative, which should always be the conscience; the judicial, the judgment; and the executive, the will. R3629:5, R5488:6
Than he – Destructiveness and combativeness, which serve a Christian well if directed against his own blemishes, are out of place when one becomes contentious with the brethren. R5056:3, R4803:5, R3858:3
In overcoming pride and selfishness (by confession of his sin with Bathsheba) David proved himself a greater hero than in his youthful conflict with Goliath. R2017:4
That taketh a city – To take a city one must have the skill and equipment necessary to conquer a nation. R3629:2
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| 33 Into the centre is the lot cast, And from Jehovah [is] all its judgment! |
The lot is cast – Those things which men may regard as mere chance. R2038:5
Is of the LORD – Will be overruled to the accomplishment of his purposes. R2038:5
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