Proverbs 13

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Proverbs 13

1 A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.

2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.

3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

5 A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.

6 Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.

7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

8 The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.

9 The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.

11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

13 Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

16 Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.

17 A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.

18 Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.

19 The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.

20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.

22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

25 The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

<html>A wise son… his father’s discipline This is an elliptical verse: a wise son asks for and loves his father’s discipline. Some say: Because of the father’s discipline, he is wise. but a scorner does not listen to rebuke For he does not accept reproof.</html>

Verse 2

<html>From the fruit of man’s mouth he will eat good From the reward of his Torah, he will eat the good in this world and the principal will exist in the world to come. but the desire of the treacherous is violence Heb. ונפש. The desire of the treacherous is violence, as in (Gen. 23:8): “If it is your desire (נפשכם)” and (Ps. 27:12): “Do not give me for the desire of (בנפש) my adversaries.”</html>

Verse 3

<html>one who opens his lips wide Heb. פשק, opens his lips to speak constantly all his desire, from (Ezek. 16:25): “And you spread wide (ותפשקי) your legs,” an expression of wideness.</html>

Verse 4

<html>The soul of the lazy man desires but has nothing His soul desires all good, but has nothing. but the soul of the diligent shall be sated The upright who eat from the toil of their hands. This is its meaning according to its simple interpretation. According to its allegorical meaning, in the future he will see the glory of the Torah scholar and long for it, but he will not achieve it.</html>

Verse 5

<html>The righteous man hates a false word The righteous man hates a false word, but the wicked accepts it. disgraces and embarrasses the people therewith.</html>

Verse 6

<html>but wickedness brings ruin upon the sinner Heb. חטאת, lit. sin. Like חטאת, a sinner, but since he is completely wicked, he calls him חטאת, sin. The meaning is that his wickedness will bring ruin upon the sinner and humble him. Every expression of סלוף means ruin and stumbling, like (below 19:3) “A person’s foolishness ruins (תסלף) his way,” and brings evil upon him.</html>

Verse 7

<html>There is one who feigns riches He shows himself to be rich. Another explanation: There is a man who becomes rich in the end but has nothing in the beginning, and there is one who comes to poverty from great riches. Another explanation: There is one who becomes wealthy by robbing the poor, but in the end he has nothing, and there is one who becomes poor by scattering his money and giving it to the poor, but great wealth is in store for him.</html>

Verse 8

<html>The ransom of a man’s soul is his wealth A man’s wealth is the ransom of his soul, for he performed charity with it. as long as the poor man has not heard a rebuke As long as he does not let the poor man hear a rebuke, i.e., he gives to him and does not embarrass him. Another explanation: The ransom of a man’s soul is his wealth His Torah. but a poor man in the words of Torah, did not hear a rebuke He does not know to turn away from evil, since he is not cautious. The Midrash Aggadah interprets it as speaking of the half-shekel, which Scripture levied on all Israel and made the poor and the rich equal in that respect—so that the poor does not hear a rebuke from the rich, saying to him, “My share is greater than your share in the public sacrifices.”</html>

Verse 9

<html>will ebb away Heb. ידעך, an expression of springing, for the flame springs and is cut off.</html>

Verse 10

<html>Only with wickedness does one cause quarrels Heb. מצה, controversy. but there is wisdom with those who take counsel But wisdom lies with those who behave with counsel.</html>

Verse 11

<html>Wealth gotten by vanity One who makes his study in bundles. shall be diminished For he will forget it little by little.</html>

Verse 12

<html>Hope deferred He relies on his friend and does nothing. makes the heart sick Heb. מחלה, brings sickness to the heart. This מחלה is not a noun like (Ex. 23:25): “And I will remove sickness (מחלה) from your midst,” but like (Lev. 11:6): “bringing up (מעלת) the cud.” but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life lit. but a tree of life is a desire fulfilled. This is inverted; i.e., a desire fulfilled is like a tree of life. The hope that the Holy One, blessed be He, had hoped for Israel and looked forward for them to repent—brought them ultimately to heartsickness when they did not repent. And when His desire is fulfilled—that they comply with His will—it is a tree of life to them.</html>

Verse 13

<html>He who despises a thing will be pledged to it Heb. יחבל. He who despises one of the words of the Torah will ultimately be taken for it as a pledge. but he who reveres a commandment will be rewarded lit. will be paid. He will receive a reward. Midrash Tehillim expounds: “He who despises a thing will be pledged to it” concerning David, who said before the Holy One, blessed be He, “Of what use are the madmen that You created?” He replied, “By your life, you will ultimately need madness.” When he came before Achish to feign madness, “and he let his saliva run down upon his beard, etc.” (I Sam. 21:14).</html>

Verse 14

<html>The instruction of a wise man is a spring of life for he teaches him to turn away from the snares of death.</html>

Verse 15

<html>but the way of the treacherous is harsh It is harsh for him and for others.</html>

Verse 16

<html>Every cunning man acts with forethought He performs his deeds with forethought, like David: “Let them seek for my lord, the king, a young girl, a virgin, etc.” (I Kings 1:2). but a fool exposes [his] stupidity This is Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3): “Let the king appoint, etc.” They knew that he would not marry them all. Therefore, whoever had a daughter concealed her.</html>

Verse 17

<html>A wicked messenger falls into evil like Balaam, to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, said (Num. 22:35): “Go with the men,” but he dealt wickedly to entice Balak to follow his evil counsel; therefore, he fell by the sword. but a faithful emissary brings healing This is Moses, our teacher.</html>

Verse 18

<html>Poverty and disgrace Poverty and disgrace come upon him who spurns discipline.</html>

Verse 19

<html>pleases the soul When a person’s desire comes to him it pleases his soul. Therefore, it is an abomination to a fool to turn away from evil because it pleases him to gratify his desire. fulfilled Heb. נהיה, lit. is. Another explanation: a desire fulfilled The Holy One, blessed be He, desires that Israel do His will, and when His desire is fulfilled, it pleases Him. And it is the abomination of the wicked that they turn away from their evil to gratify their desire.</html>

Verse 20

<html>He who goes with the wise will become wise, but he who befriends the fools Who joins fools to be his friends. will be broken Heb. ירוע, will be shattered.</html>

Verse 21

<html>Evil will pursue the sinners As for a wicked man, his wickedness pursues him to his destruction.</html>

Verse 22

<html>A good man will leave an inheritance of his merit and his property to his sons’ sons, but a sinner does not leave over an inheritance to his sons, for his wealth and his property are laid away for the righteous, as it is written (Esther 8:2): “And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.”</html>

Verse 23

<html>An abundance of food is the result of the plowing of the poor I saw in the great Masorah [on the words רב אכל]: The word רב appears thirty-three times with a “kamatz,” but this one has a short “kamatz,” and it is joined to the word אכל, food, with a “makkaf” (hyphen); and I saw there that אכל is vowelized with a “pattah” (i.e., a “segol” which is a small “pattah”), and it is accented on the first syllable, as in (Gen. 41:35): “all the food (אכל) of the good years.” According to its vowelization, this is its interpretation: Much grain comes to the world through the plowing of the poor people; i.e., much Torah emanates from pupils whose teachers learn from them through their debate concerning the halachah. and some perish And many of them perish from the world because [they have] no propriety, for they do not behave properly; and concerning the grain, some grain suffers because of its owner, who does not separate its tithes and its gifts for the poor as is proper. Our Sages explained in tractate Hagigah (4b) “And some perish without justice,” concerning the messenger of the angel of death, who changes one name for another and causes the death of one whose time has not come. But, if it [this explanation] is so, the end of the verse has nothing to do with its beginning.</html>

Verse 24

<html>He who holds back his rod His end will be that he will hate his son because he will see him getting into mischief. disciplines him early He always chastises him in the morning.</html>

Verse 25

<html>to sate his appetite It always seems to him that he is satisfied. (shall feel want It does not seem to them that they are satisfied.)</html>

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Table of Contents

Proverbs 13

Proverbs 13

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25