Proverbs 18, Friends and Speech

We continue our bicolons of parallelisms: this..., but that....

Proverbs 18:1-2, A fool concentrates on himself 

 An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; 

he defies all sound judgment.

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding 

but delights in airing his own opinions.

A fool concentrates on himself and absorbs nothing -- naturally that leads to isolation. The Septuagint and Masoretic differ slightly on the first verse; it may mean that the unfriendly man looks for a pretext to abandon friends.

The second verse describes a fool happy to expound on anything (the word "mansplaining" come to mind) but who is unwilling to study or learn.

Proverbs 18:3, Contempt and disgrace

 When wickedness comes, so does contempt, 

and with shame comes disgrace.

Other characteristics of wickedness include contempt, shame, ultimately disgrace

Proverbs 18:4, Deep fountain

 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, 

but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

The wise man has deep thoughts and a consistent bubbling brook of good ideas. See Proverbs 20:5 for a slightly different statement.

Proverbs 18:5, Judge rightly

It is not good to be partial to the wicked 

or to deprive the innocent of justice.

Judge evil as evil and good as good.

Proverbs 18:6-8, Gossip and strife

 A fool's lips bring him strife, 

and his mouth invites a beating.

 A fool's mouth is his undoing, 

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; 

they go down to a man's inmost parts.

In a triplet of proverbial statements, we have the evil effect of the tongue: strife and violence, gossip and anxiety. The last verse is repeated in Proverbs 26:22 as one of the proverbs compiled during the reign of Hezekiah.

Proverbs 18:9, Sluggard and destroyer

 One who is slack in his work 

is brother to one who destroys.

Doing little work can be damaging.

Proverbs 18:10,  Strong tower

 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; 

the righteous run to it and are safe.

YHWH protects the righteous.

Proverbs 18:11, Richness and fortifications

 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;

 they imagine it an unscalable wall.

The wealthy rely on their wealth as if it completely protects them. But maybe this is just their imagination?

Proverbs 18:12, Pride

 Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, 

but humility comes before honor.

This is similar to Proverbs 16:18.

Proverbs 18:13, 

 He who answers before listening--

that is his folly and his shame.

Be slow to speak. This proverb is echoed in the New Testament in James 1:19.

Proverbs 18:14,

 A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, 

but a crushed spirit who can bear?

One spiritor outlook can have a strong influence on health. As Alter writes: "[This is] a notion that still seems medically relevant after two and a half millennia."

Proverbs 18:15, Ears of the wise

 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; 

the ears of the wise seek it out.

Both heart (intent) and ears are involved in developing wisdom and knowledge.

Proverbs 18:16, Gifts and bribes?

 A gift opens the way for the giver 

and ushers him into the presence of the great.

Is this good? This may be more of an observation than a recommendation!

Proverbs 18:17, Every side sound right

 The first to present his case seems right, 

till another comes forward and questions him.

This stresses the importance of listening to both sides before making up one's mind.

Proverbs 18:18, Toss a coin!

 Casting the lot settles disputes 

and keeps strong opponents apart.

The Old Testament gave some credence to the casting of lots but here we may simply have a suggestion as to how to resolve a dispute. As Alter writes, "when there is a dispute with no clear way to 

resolve it, something like the toss of a coin can bring it to an end." 

Proverbs 18:19-21, The powerful tongue

 An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, 

and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.

 From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; 

with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.

 The tongue has the power of life and death, 

and those who love it will eat its fruit.

All three of these proverbs suggest the power of speech. An offense can create walls that refuse to come down while good speech can lead to fruitful results. The tongue can do good or do evil; each of us must deal with the consequences of our speech.

One can read too much into verse 21; apparently some in the "Name It, Claim It" Word of Faith ministries use this verse to argue that one can control one's life by making statements (claims) with their tongue. But the "Philosophy 101" understanding of the purpose of Proverbs emphasizes the constructive and destructive effects of one's speech. This is not magic, but good guidance on how one should talk to others.

Proverbs 18:22, A wife

 He who finds a wife finds what is good 

and receives favor from the LORD.

I agree! -- God has been good to me! This proverb seems to merely be an observation. This concept of a precious wife is expanded later, beginning at Proverbs 31:10.

Proverbs 18:23, Voices of poor and rich

 A poor man pleads for mercy, 

but a rich man answers harshly.

Riches lead to callousness. The NIV translation loses the poetic chiasmus -- the Hebrew text is literally

"entreaties 

uses the poor 

but the rich 

answers roughly."

Proverbs 18:24, Close friends

 A man of many companions may come to ruin, 

but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

How relaxing and peaceful it is to be among true friends!

Alter points out that this chapter ends with a verse that circles back to the first verse. As the first verse describes the unfriendly one whose presence causes pain, this last verse extols the value of true friends.