Bible Commentaries

Here begin the proverbs proper. In this collection they are antithetical, They present a sharp contrast between wisdom and folly in the outworking of such in practical life. Seeing that this is indeed a collection of proverbs, there is no direct connection or system save this underlying purpose of contrast. No exposition is possible save to take each proverb and consider it in its separate value. In the majority of instances this is unnecessary, because they are self-evident expositions of one abiding truth.

Through these chapters, therefore, we shall glance only at such as may be somewhat obscure, or such as have a new element of construction or suggestiveness. In this chapter we take four such, viz., Proverbs 10:10; Proverbs 10:15; Proverbs 10:22-23.

Verse Proverbs 10:10. The contrast here is between the method of deceit which causeth sorrow, the winking of the eye, which deceives others; and that of blunt and perhaps unwise speech which, nevertheless, causes only the fall of him who uses it.

Verse Proverbs 10:15. This is a plain recognition of the power of wealth, and the paralysis of poverty. It is a wholesome corrective to much nonsense talked today about the blessings of poverty. Wealth may become a curse, but poverty is inherently a destruction.

Verse Proverbs 10:22. The antithesis is not so clearly marked here. It is, nevertheless, present to the mind in the contrast between true riches and false.

Verse Proverbs 10:23. The text of the Revised Version here surely catches the true contrast. A man of understanding finds sport in wisdom. That is, he gets out of wisdom the same satisfaction that a fool gets out of wickedness