Bible Commentaries

Proverbs 19. A shrewd turn of sarcasm in Proverbs 19:3 suggests the attitude of practical wisdom towards that questioning of the moral government of the world which we find in Job.

Proverbs 19:1. fool: read "rich," as in Proverbs 28:6.

Proverbs 19:2 a. Both RV and RVm are unsound grammatically. The lit. rendering shows that the clause is defective, "Also without knowledge of the soul . . . is not good." Some verb expressing action is required.

Proverbs 19:2 b. sinneth: read mg. The idea is "more haste less speed."

Proverbs 19:7 c is defective and untranslateable. RVm approaches the lit. rendering, which is "he who pursues words, they are not." It is clearly part of a lost couplet.

Proverbs 19:8. wisdom: lit. "heart" (mg.), cf. Psalms 90:12.

Proverbs 19:12. The reference to the royal anger (cf. Proverbs 20:2) suits such conspicuous wrath as is depicted in Esther in the Persian period better than the earlier period of the Jewish monarchy.

Proverbs 19:13 b. cf. Proverbs 27:15.

Proverbs 19:15. deep sleep: the word is generally used for the sleep of a trance (Genesis 2:21*), or supernatural sleep. The faculties are benumbed through disuse.

Proverbs 19:16 b. RVm gives the lit. sense; RV is a paraphrase. Read "the word" for "his ways" (cf. Proverbs 13:13).

Proverbs 19:19. Many explanations and emendations have been proposed, but none are satisfactory. Frankenberg's may be nearest to the original sense, "A man who is fined is very angry, but if he shew contempt (of court) he has to pay more."

Proverbs 19:22. The want of connexion between the clauses and the words the RV has had to supply, show the hopeless state of the text. The only possible way of establishing a connexion is by the interpretation that a poor man who desires to show kindness but cannot, is better than a rich man who pretends that he is unable to do so. But this forces too much into the text. The LXX has "Almsgiving is fruit to a man, and a righteous poor man is better than a rich liar." The connexion lies in the later identification of righteousness with almsgiving.