> [[proverbs-18|← Previous]] | [[proverbs-00|TOC]] | [[proverbs-20|Next →]] --- # Proverbs, Chapter 19 ## Chapter 19 1 Better to be poor and walk in integrity ^proverbs-19-1 than rich and crooked in one’s ways. 2 Desire without knowledge is not good; ^proverbs-19-2 and whoever acts hastily, blunders. 3 Their own folly leads people astray; ^proverbs-19-3 in their hearts they rage against the LORD. 4 Wealth adds many friends, ^proverbs-19-4 but the poor are left friendless. 5 The false witness will not go unpunished, ^proverbs-19-5 and whoever utters lies will not escape. 6 Many curry favor with a noble; ^proverbs-19-6 everybody is a friend of a gift giver. 7 All the kin of the poor despise them; ^proverbs-19-7 how much more do their friends shun them! 8 Those who gain sense truly love themselves; ^proverbs-19-8 those who preserve understanding will find success. 9 The false witness will not go unpunished, ^proverbs-19-9 and whoever utters lies will perish. 10 Luxury is not befitting a fool; ^proverbs-19-10 much less should a slave rule over princes. 11 It is good sense to be slow to anger, ^proverbs-19-11 and an honor to overlook an offense. 12 The king’s wrath is like the roar of a lion, ^proverbs-19-12 but his favor, like dew on the grass. 13 The foolish son is ruin to his father, ^proverbs-19-13 and a quarrelsome wife is water constantly dripping. 14 Home and possessions are an inheritance from parents, ^proverbs-19-14 but a prudent wife is from the LORD. 15 Laziness brings on deep sleep, ^proverbs-19-15 and the sluggard goes hungry. 16 Those who keep commands keep their lives, ^proverbs-19-16 but those who despise these ways will die. 17 Whoever cares for the poor lends to the LORD, ^proverbs-19-17 who will pay back the sum in full. 18 Discipline your son, for there is hope; ^proverbs-19-18 but do not be intent on his death. 19 A wrathful person bears the penalty; ^proverbs-19-19 after one rescue, you will have it to do again. 20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, ^proverbs-19-20 that you may eventually become wise. 21 Many are the plans of the human heart, ^proverbs-19-21 but it is the decision of the LORD that endures. 22 What is desired of a person is fidelity; ^proverbs-19-22 rather be poor than a liar. 23 The fear of the LORD leads to life; ^proverbs-19-23 one eats and sleeps free from any harm. 24 The sluggard buries a hand in the dish; ^proverbs-19-24 not even lifting it to the mouth. 25 Beat a scoffer and the naive learn a lesson; ^proverbs-19-25 rebuke the intelligent and they gain knowledge. 26 Whoever mistreats a father or drives away a mother, ^proverbs-19-26 is a shameless and disgraceful child. 27 My son, stop attending to correction; ^proverbs-19-27 start straying from words of knowledge. 28 An unprincipled witness scoffs at justice, ^proverbs-19-28 and the mouth of the wicked pours out iniquity. 29 Rods are prepared for scoffers, ^proverbs-19-29 and blows for the backs of fools. \* (19:2) When not guided by wisdom, appetite—or desire—is not good. “Running feet” (so the Hebrew) miss the mark, i.e., do not reach their destination. \* (19:3) One’s own folly destroys one’s life. It is an indication of that folly that one blames God rather than oneself. \* (19:5) The punishment fits the crime: those who abuse the legal system will be punished by the same system. They will not be acquitted. \* (19:7) Closely related to vv. [4] and [6]. An observation, not without sympathy, on the social isolation of poor people. \* (19:8) Wisdom benefits the one who practices it. \* (19:11) The paradox is that one obtains one thing by giving up another. \* (19:12) An observation on the exercise of royal power. Both images suggest royal attitudes are beyond human control. Colon A is a variant of [20:2a] and colon B of [16:15b]. \* (19:13) One of many sayings about domestic happiness. The perspective is male; the two greatest pains to a father is a malicious son and an unsuitable wife. The immediately following saying is on the noble wife, perhaps to make a positive statement about women. \* (19:18) The pain of disciplining the young cannot be compared with the danger no discipline may bring. The chief reason for disciplining the young is their capacity to change; excluded thereby are revenge and punishment. \* (19:22) The proverb has been read in two ways: (1) “Desire (greed) is a shame to a person,” which assumes the rare Hebrew word for “shame” is being used; (2) “What is desired in a person is fidelity.” The second interpretation is preferable. The context may be the court: better to forego money (a bribe) than perjure oneself. \* (19:26) Children who disgrace the family equivalently plunder their father’s wealth and expel their mother from the home. \* (19:27) The meaning was disputed even in antiquity. The interpretation that most respects the syntax is to take it as ironic advice as in [22:6]: to stop (listening) is to go (wandering). a. (19:1) [Prv 28:6]. b. (19:4) [Prv 14:20]; [[sirach-13|Sir 13]]:20 – [23]. c. (19:5) [Dt 19:16] – [20]; [Dn 13:61]. d. (19:12) [Prv 20:2]. e. (19:13) [Prv 10:1]; [17:25]. f. (19:14) [Prv 18:22]. g. (19:15) [Prv 6:9] – [10]. h. (19:16) [Prv 13:13]; [16:17]. i. (19:17) [Prv 14:21]; [22:9]; [28:27]. j. (19:18) [Prv 13:24]; [23:13] – [14]. k. (19:21) [Prv 16:9]. l. (19:24) [Prv 26:15]. m. (19:25) [Prv 17:10]; [21:11]. n. (19:26) [Sir 3:16]. o. (19:29) [Prv 26:3]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[proverbs-18|← Previous]] | [[proverbs-00|TOC]] | [[proverbs-20|Next →]]