Proverbs 21, The Tongue (Again), Quarrelsome Wives, World Power

More short two line proverbs. From chapter 10 on, we have had over 300 of these. The style of them will change in the next chapter.

Proverbs 21:1, The king's heart

 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; 

he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

Tbe king's thoughts might also be deep waters; if so, YHWH moves them as he wishes. (But this does not make the king right or just! See the hardened heart of Pharaoh in Exodus 7!)

It is Tiglath-Pileser (says Kidner) who is controlled by God in Isaiah 10:6-7, Cyrus in Isaiah 41:2-4 and Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:21-23. This does not necessarily mean that what the king does is righteous (in human terms) but merely that God ultimately controls human events.

Proverbs 21:2, We are all alright

 All a man's ways seem right to him, 

but the LORD weighs the heart.

The worst lies we tell are often those we tell ourselves. It is amazing how many of us rationalize!

See also Proverbs 16:2.

Proverbs 21:3, Justice over sacrifice

To do what is right and just 

is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

True religion is of the heart, not mechanical works. See also verse 27, below.

Proverbs 21:4, On pride

 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, 

the lamp of the wicked, are sin!

Pride and arrogance are always viewed, in this book, as a step to wickedness. The word niyr, translated "lamp" here, apparently refers to plowing or tilling ground. The KJV has "plowing". Alter translates the last line as "the furrow of the wicked is an offense" but Kidner argues that lamp (a metaphor for human hopes or plans) is correct.

Proverbs 21:5-6, Diligent and slow paths to riches

 The plans of the diligent lead to profit 

as surely as haste leads to poverty.

A fortune made by a lying tongue 

is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

A number of proverbs caution against "fast money", against hurrying to "make a killig", or to "get rich quick." The way to success is steady heard work, slowiy building up one's wealth piece by piece. (It is amazing what three percent annual growth does over twenty years!)

Proverbs 21:7, Dragged away

 The violence of the wicked will drag them away, 

for they refuse to do what is right.

The actions of the wicked, even if they temporarily succeed (in verse 5 or 6, above), eventually comes to roost and they are "dragged away."

Proverbs 21:8, Devious vs. upright

 The way of the guilty is devious, 

but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

This is almost a tautology, defining aspect of guilt and innocence.

Proverbs 21:9, Domestic peace

 Better to live on a corner of the roof 

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

This saying is repeated in Proverbs 25:24.

See Proverbs 19:13 for a dripping faucet description of a nagging wife. And also verse 19. One notes the ANE culture in which roofs were flat and people could sit or sleep on them. It is better to be confined to one small corner of the roof than be inside with a quarrelsom wife.

Alter sees here a riddle-like structure: one might ask, "What is worse than living of the corner of the roof?"

Proverbs 21:10, Crave evil

 The wicked man craves evil; 

his neighbor gets no mercy from him.

The wicked person not only stumbles into evil but may indeed crave it, indeed delight in it, giving no grace or mercy to his neighbor.  (On the other hand, instead of wickedness and rigidity, a wise man (Proverbs 19:11) is willing to overlook slights.)

Proverbs 21:11, Types of instruction

 When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; 

when a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.

The simple learn only from punishment but a wise person learns quickly from instruction, without the need of punishment.

Proverbs 21:12, Notice the house of the wicked

 The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked 

and brings the wicked to ruin.

The Hebrew is unclear as to whether the righteous one is "the Righteous One" or a generic "righteous one." Kidner agrees with the NIV here; Alter does not.

If it is God Who is meant by The Righteous One, my reaction is that this is the Proverbs Black-and-White simplicity; in reality such judgment seems to take a long time! I have prayed for justice to come to some powerful brutal world leaders and (as of 2024) I am still praying. It took a long time in the first century for justice to come to the cruel and brutal Herod (Acts 12:21-23.)

Proverbs 21:13, Duty to the poor

 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, 

he too will cry out and not be answered.

One should care for the poor or vulnerable. We all need help at some time.

Proverbs 21:14, Soothing anger

A gift given in secret soothes anger, 

and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.

There are different views of bribes -- and different forms of gifts. Kidner says that the Hebrew word translated "gift" here is a neutral one while the word translated "bribe" is negative.

Proverbs 21:15, The importance of justice

 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous 

but terror to evildoers.

Earthly justice is important for societal peace.

Proverbs 21:16, Straying off the path,

 A man who strays from the path of understanding 

comes to rest in the company of the dead.

Wander off the trail and you might end up dropping into Sheol. Freedom may lead to despair.

Proverbs 21:17, Materialism,

 He who loves pleasure will become poor; 

whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.

Uh-oh.  This is primarily an attack on materialism and hedonism -- a strong message for the world and culture I live in. In the ANE, wine to drink and oil to rub on the body and head were wondrous luxuries.

Proverbs 21:18, Ransom

 The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

and the unfaithful for the upright.

Alter: "The idea is that whatever disasters might have overtaken the good person will fall instead on the wicked."

Proverbs 21:19, Better the deseert

 Better to live in a desert 

than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.

See verse 9, where it is a corner of a roof instead of the desert that is the option chosen by the husband of an angry and quarrelsome wife. The messages of the two verses are the same.

A home should always be, for both adults and children, a safe place, a place of security. It is tragic when it is not. At one point late in my career, I realized that I was rarely hungry at work but suddenly ravenous just as I stepped in the door at home. Examining this, I realized that I was too stressed at work to really eat but stepping in the doorway of my home, safe and secure with Jan, took all my stress away and as my body relaxed, an appetite returned. 

Proverbs 21:20, Delayed gratification

 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, 

but a foolish man devours all he has.

A path to real success usually involves delayed gratification and self-control, postponing some joys for the future.

Proverbs 21:21, The reward of love and righteousness

 He who pursues righteousness and love 

finds life, prosperity and honor.

A major them of Proverbs: righteousness leads to prosperity. Our favorite Hebrew word, hesed, appears in the first line and Kidner gives, as an example of this proverb, the characters of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz in the book of Ruth.

Proverbs 21:22, The strength of the wise man

 A wise man attacks the city of the mighty 

and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

Wisdom can prevail where simple strength might not.

Proverbs 21:23, Guard the tongue

 He who guards his mouth and his tongue 

keeps himself from calamity.

We should always be careful and thoughtful what we say. (Some of us talk more than others and so this is a hard lesson.)

Proverbs 21:24, On pride

 The proud and arrogant man--"Mocker" is his name; 

he behaves with overweening pride.

See verse 4 and the comment there.

Proverbs 21:25-26, The sluggard and the generous

 The sluggard's craving will be the death of him, 

because his hands refuse to work.

 All day long he craves for more, 

but the righteous give without sparing.

In an earlier proverb (Proverbs 20:4), the sluggard refused to plant so he had no crops to harvest. Here the sluggard refuses to work, but craves results without working for it. In contrast, the righteous have no need to desire anything and are happy to give things away. Kidner titles these two verses, "The tyranny of desire."

Proverbs 21:27, True religion

 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable--
how much more so when brought with evil intent!

The message here is similar to verse 3, above. God sees the heart and intent, so a religious act done with evil intent is detestable.

Proverbs 21:28, Lying

 A false witness will perish, 

and whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever.

It is not good to lie, especially in courts of justice. (I wish more of our politicians and media stars believed that.)

Proverbs 21:29, Examine yourself,

 A wicked man puts up a bold front, 

but an upright man gives thought to his ways.

The examined life is not worth living. I must pause and think about my motives, instead of simply doubling down on my claims.

Proverbs 21:30-31, Horses or victory?

 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan 

that can succeed against the LORD.

 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, 

but victory rests with the LORD.

The idea of the first two lines (verse 30) is restated in a different form in verse 31. As Alter says, in that verse there is a deliberately surprising conclusion -- even if the horses and chariots are ready, the real outcome is up to YHWH.

There will be a greater change in the poetic form of the sayings in the next chapter.