Verses 1-6
v1 One man eats dry bread in a calm and quiet place.
But that man’s meal is better than the food at a party where there are arguments.
v2 A wise servant will gain authority over an evil son.
This servant will share the family’s wealth with the son’s brothers.
v3 Hot fire tests gold and silver.
But God tests a person’s heart.
v4 An evil man will listen to evil talk.
A man who tells lies will listen to lies.
v5 If you insult poor people, then you hate God. This is because God made these people.
Do not be glad when other people suffer. God will punish you for this.
v6 An old person is proud of his grandchildren.
A child is proud of his parents.
Commentary
Dry bread is not a good meal. We might prefer the rich food at a party. But a quiet place is better than a place where people argue.
A party can be noisy and unpleasant. Any arguments will upset people and spoil the meal. The man would be happier if he stayed at home. For this man, dry bread is better than special food at a party.
If possible, we should not argue.
An evil son deserves to be a servant. A wise servant deserves to be a son.
If the evil son does not change his ways, he will lose his inheritance. (An inheritance is the family’s money and possessions. Normally, a child receives an inheritance when his parents die.) The wise servant will receive a share of the inheritance instead of the evil son.
See John 8:39, Acts 13:42-46, and Galatians 3:26-29. A member of Abraham’s family ought to be a child of God. Each person who is a member of Abraham’s family deserves this. It is like that person’s inheritance. But if that person refuses to follow Jesus, then that person loses his inheritance. Instead, everyone who is not from this family can become a child of God. Everyone who follows Jesus is a child of God.
The hottest fire cleans gold and silver. The fire burns waste materials. This is how the gold and silver become pure. In the same way, God tests our hearts. He wants us to be free from evil thoughts and desires. See Isaiah 6:6-7 and Malachi 3:2-4.
Some people do not like honest words. They want to listen to evil plans. Then they copy the evil plans, and they do evil things themselves.
See Proverbs 14:31. God cares about poor people. He does not want them to suffer. He wants us to help them.
This is how God wants families to behave. Grandparents should be proud of their grandchildren. Children should be proud of their parents. However, evil behavior prevents this. See Proverbs 10:1. If we are evil, then we bring troubles to our families.
Verses 7-14
v7 A fool should not speak proud words.
A ruler who lies is worse.
v8 A bribe (secret gift) works like magic.
If you give bribes (secret gifts), then you will always succeed.
v9 When someone makes a mistake, say nothing. Then, you will bring love into the situation.
If you tell other people about someone’s mistake, then you will cause friends to turn into enemies.
v10 A wise man will learn when you correct him.
The wise man learns more than if you whip a fool, even 100 times.
v11 An evil man always refuses to obey the law.
Send a cruel policeman to catch him!
v12 A mother bear is very dangerous if you take her young bears away.
However, it is better to meet her, than to meet a foolish fool.
v13 A man may do evil things to people who help him.
That man will always suffer for his evil actions.
v14 An argument is like the start of a flood.
Stop the argument, while you can.
Commentary
Solomon uses humor here. A fool (an evil person) should be careful about his words. His words will cause trouble. Instead, he should say nothing. Certainly, he should not try to speak in a clever way. (Of course, a fool would not obey Solomon’s advice.)
However, some things are much worse than a fool who tries to impress people with his proud words. For example, people will not respect a ruler who lies.
Again, Solomon uses humor. He does not want us to give bribes (secret gifts). Solomon teaches that bribes are terrible. Bribes encourage people to do evil things. See Proverbs 15:27.
A bribe (secret gift) is like magic because it changes people. Suddenly, people forget to do the right thing. Instead, they do something else, because of the bribe.
We should always do the right thing. So we should never give bribes. And we should refuse to accept bribes.
Sometimes we do not need to point out a mistake. We should forgive other people, and help them not to repeat their errors. See Matthew 18:21-22.
By ‘fool’, Solomon means someone who hates wisdom. Because of his attitude, he will not learn from a punishment. You could whip the fool 100 times, and he would still do evil things.
A wise man does not need a punishment, when he makes a mistake. A few words are enough to correct a wise man. This is because a wise man always wants to do the right thing.
This evil man refuses to change his behavior. Even punishment will not stop his evil behavior. A ruler will send an official to put the evil man in prison.
Bears are very dangerous animals. Even when a bear is content, you are in danger. This bear is a very angry bear, which you must avoid. The bear could kill you.
A fool is someone who hates wisdom. He loves evil things and he hates God. A ‘foolish fool’ is even worse. You must avoid him. It is safer to meet the angry bear.
There are some people, whom nobody can control. They are very evil people. We should realize this. We can pray for them. But we might be in danger if we try to help them. God can change their hearts - but we cannot do this.
It is evil to hurt people who help you. But some evil people do this.
As we help other people, we should realize this. The people that we help may not be honest. They might be cruel or unfair. As Christians, we serve God, rather than other people. We help them because we love God. God rewards us.
If we are in difficulties, then we should obtain advice and help. We should not remain in a situation that is too difficult for us.
When people argue, they might become angry. If they become angry, then they might fight. If they fight, then they will hate each other. A simple argument might cause serious troubles.
It is easier to stop an argument when it begins. Later, this might be impossible. We should not allow our arguments to become serious problems.
Verses 15-20
v15 One judge frees guilty men. Another judge punishes innocent men.
God hates evil judges.
v16 A fool wastes his money.
This is because the fool does not want to get wisdom.
v17 A friend will always love you.
A brother was born to help you with your troubles.
v18 When a neighbor receives money on loan,
an unwise man promises to pay.
v19 If you like to argue, then you love evil behavior.
A proud man has a high gate. It will fall down.
v20 A man who has an evil heart will not be successful.
A man who lies will have many troubles.
Commentary
Judges should make fair decisions. We all must be honest.
A judge should not accept a bribe (secret gift). He should not follow his own feelings and emotions. He should listen to the evidence. He should try to make the right decision.
A judge is evil if he does not punish guilty men. A judge is evil if he punishes innocent men. This is always true, even if the judge has reasons for his unfair actions.
Solomon uses humor here. By ‘fool’, he means a person who hates wisdom.
The fool wastes his money. He might buy ordinary things or even sensible things. However, Solomon says that the fool wastes his money. The fool did not get the one thing that he needed. Wisdom is the only thing that a fool really needs. A fool wastes everything until he gets wisdom.
Wisdom is precious. It is worth more than gold (Proverbs 8:10). We cannot buy wisdom, but we can learn to be wise.
A real friend does not forget you if you become poor. He helps you when you have troubles.
A brother or sister should be a true friend. Solomon uses humor here. He says that your brother was born to help you. Even his birth was God’s plan. God knew that you would need help one day.
The unwise man agrees to pay money that his neighbor owes. He is unwise because he cannot trust his neighbor. If the neighbor refuses to pay, then the unwise man will suffer. See Proverbs 6:1-5.
There will be results from our actions.
Some people like to argue. These people will cause problems. They will cause hate and anger.
A proud man might build a high gate to protect himself from other people. Or, he might build the gate to show that he is important. God hates proud people (Proverbs 16:5). He wants us to be humble.
Solomon uses humor here. The proud man’s gate is too high. It is not safe. Perhaps it trembles when the proud man opens it. It is too heavy. It will fall down.
This gate is like the proud man himself. He will fail. He will lose everything. God will make him humble. (Proverbs 16:18)
The first man has an evil heart. This means that his desires are evil. He cannot be successful, because God will punish him.
The second man tells lies. And he will suffer because of his lies. They will cause many troubles for him.
Verses 21-25
v21 If your son is a fool, then you will be sad.
The father of a fool is never joyful.
v22 Happiness is like a medicine.
If you are sad, then you will become weak.
v23 An evil man receives a bribe (secret gift).
Then a judge makes the wrong decision.
v24 A wise man looks carefully to choose the right way.
A fool stares into the distance.
v25 A foolish son brings trouble to his father.
A foolish son causes pain to his own mother.
Commentary
A fool hates God and hates wisdom. By ‘fool’, Solomon means someone who is evil. Because the son is evil, the father suffers. The father might suffer because the son makes evil plans against his father. Or the father might be sad because he sees his son’s evil actions.
People might become wealthy if they do evil things. Their evil deeds might make them famous or important. But, in the end, an evil person will suffer because of his evil actions. And other people will suffer too.
Happiness is like a medicine for our spirits and for our bodies. We feel stronger and healthier when we are content. Our emotions are powerful, so we should try to control them. We can be content even when we are poor. This is because God has forgiven us. If we have God’s gift of wisdom, then our troubles will not upset us. Instead, we shall trust God to help us. See Philippians 4:11-12, Hebrews 13:5, and 1 Timothy 6:6-8.
The people might not know why a judge makes a wrong decision. They might think that he made a mistake. The truth is often that someone is evil. Perhaps a policeman, or a lawyer, or the judge himself, received a bribe (secret gift). Bribes are evil because they cause the law to be unfair. See also verse 15.
Life is like a journey. The wise man is like a traveler who chooses the right route. This is because the wise man is aiming to get to heaven. So the wise man is careful to choose the correct path. He thinks carefully about his decisions because he is wise.
The fool hates wisdom. He does not think carefully about what he should aim at. So, he stares into the distance. He is like a stupid traveler who does not even want to find the right path.
This son refuses to learn to be wise. So, the son acts foolishly. He upsets his parents. And they suffer because of him.
Verses 26-28
v26 Do not punish an innocent man!
Do not whip honest officials!
v27 A man who has knowledge chooses his words carefully.
A wise man keeps his temper under control.
v28 A fool should say nothing.
Then people will think that he is wise.
Commentary
This verse is good advice for any person who has authority.
When there is bad news, many people would blame innocent people. Many rulers do not want to hear about troubles. Sometimes people hate an honest adviser. (See 1 Kings 22.)
However, someone with authority needs to know the truth, even if the truth is bad news. He needs honest advisers. He should not blame innocent people.
Ordinary people also need to know the truth. We should ask honest people for advice. We cannot trust the advice of someone who is not honest.
A wise man thinks carefully. He does not suddenly become angry. Other people might think that he is slow. They are wrong because it might take a long time to make a good decision.
This verse is good advice for a fool. Solomon is using humor here because a fool hates wisdom and good advice.
Actually, Solomon is pretending that he is advising a fool. He does this because he has a good lesson to teach us all.
A fool’s words are all evil and foolish. So he should be silent. Then he can say nothing that is evil. Then everybody will think that he is a wise man.
The lesson for everyone is this. We should not speak too much. We should be careful about our words. We should think before we speak. Then we shall be able to use wise words.
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