Proverbs 16

Please see License for Copyright notice and Licensing information.
[ Previous | Next ]

Proverbs 16

1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.

2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.

3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

4 The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

7 When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.

9 A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

10 A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.

11 A just weight and balance are the Lord's: all the weights of the bag are his work.

12 It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.

13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.

14 The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.

15 In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.

16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.

18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

20 He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.

21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.

22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

23 The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

26 He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

27 An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.

28 A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

29 A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.

30 He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass.

31 The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.

32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

<html>The preparations of the heart are man’s He arranges his counsel and his words in his heart. but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord When he comes to answer, the Holy One, blessed be He, causes him to stumble with his words—or if he merits, He prepares a good reply for him.</html>

Verse 2

<html>but the Lord counts the spirits and counts the hearts; who is the good one, and who is the bad one.</html>

Verse 3

<html>Commit your affairs to the Lord גל. Roll and cast your necessities upon Him, and your plans will be established. Another explanation: Commit your affairs to the Lord pray to Him for all your necessities. will be established Will be founded and will endure.</html>

Verse 4

<html>The Lord made everything for His praise Heb. למענהו. He made everything for His praise, as in (Ps. 147:7): “Praise (ענו) the Lord with thanksgiving.” Another explanation: To testify concerning Him. That is to say that His work testifies concerning Him, about His mighty acts. Both are in the Aggadah of Psalms (Midrash Tehillim 19:1). even the wicked man He made, to leave him for the day of evil. All this is for His praise.</html>

Verse 5

<html>hand to hand he will not go unpunished From hand to hand the punishment for his haughtiness will come to him.</html>

Verse 6

<html>and through fear of the Lord turn away from evil Through the fear of the Lord turn away from evil.</html>

Verse 7

<html>When the Lord accepts a person’s ways, He will cause even his enemies to make peace with him He will appease [them] for him that they should make peace with him.</html>

Verse 9

<html>A man’s heart plans his way to walk on the straight way. but the Lord prepares his step as we learned: He who comes to purify himself is granted assistance.</html>

Verse 10

<html>There is magic on a king’s lips On the lips of a wise man sitting in judgment.</html>

Verse 11

<html>The balance and scales of justice are the Lord’s etc. to requite a person according to his deed. משפט is (justice in French, in German Gerechtigkeit, and so in Isaiah 7,) the retribution for a person’s sins with a balance and scales. all the weights in the bag Just as among the weights in the bag, there are large weights and small ones, so is everything according to a person’s deeds.</html>

Verse 12

<html>It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness It is an abominable thing for judges, and it is not proper for them to commit wickedness.</html>

Verse 14

<html>The king’s wrath is like messengers of death, like messengers of death [but not angels of death]. will pacify it Will placate it.</html>

Verse 15

<html>In the light of the King’s countenance is life The one to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, shows a bright countenance—it is life to him. Therefore, a person must straighten his way before Him. and His delight is like a cloud of the late rain Whoever is accepted by Him—His delight is beneficial to him like the cloud that brings the rain.</html>

Verse 19

<html>It is better to be of humble spirit It is better to join the lowly and to be of humble spirit with them than to divide spoils with the haughty.</html>

Verse 20

<html>He who considers a matter One who sets his heart to consider his matters, to weigh his ways, will find good. and he who trusts in the Lord is fortunate When he weighs his ways and sees that a commandment involves danger or monetary loss, but he trusts in the Holy One, blessed be He, and [still] does that good deed. is fortunate They are his fortunes.</html>

Verse 21

<html>The wise-hearted shall be called understanding He who learned wisdom from his teacher. shall be called understanding. Ultimately, he will be understanding in matters and keen in his wisdom, and they will call him understanding. and the sweetness of speech increases learning When a person explains his words to a pupil and makes his words sweet with reasons, he increases learning.</html>

Verse 22

<html>Intelligence is a fountain of life to one who has it lit. a fountain of life is the intelligence of its possessor. And this is the interpretation of the verse: The intelligence of the one who has it is a fountain of life to him. but the chastisement of the fools is folly But the chastisement of the fools comes to them because of folly. And this is the apparent meaning: Folly is chastisement to the fools.</html>

Verse 23

<html>The heart of a wise man gives his mouth intelligence His heart teaches his mouth to speak lucidly.</html>

Verse 24

<html>a honeycomb Heb. צוף דבש, sweet as honey (bresche in O.F.). Pleasant words Words of Torah.</html>

Verse 25

<html>There is a way that is straight in a man’s view.</html>

Verse 26

<html>labors for him It labors for his needs. when his mouth forces him When his mouth forces him and demands food, then his labor stands up for him, for he eats what he has already worked for.</html>

Verse 27

<html>digs up evil In his heart, he plots evil. and on his lips is a kind of searing fire The evil burns on his lips until he expresses it with his mouth and executes it. a kind of searing fire Heb. צרבת burning, as in (Ezek. 21:3): “And all faces shall be scorched (ונצרבו) by it.”</html>

Verse 28

<html>and a grumbler alienates the Lord And through his grumbling, he alienates the Lord of the world from himself.</html>

Verse 30

<html>He winks his eyes Heb. עצה, an expression of winking, and so (Ps. 32:8): “I will wink (איעצה) to you my eye.” bringing evil to pass כלה, as in (Esther 7:7) “that the evil was determined (כלתה) against him by the king.” He causes evil to come to the world.</html>

Verse 31

<html>it will be found in the way of righteousness Through righteousness, they live long.</html>

Verse 32

<html>and one who rules over his spirit He conquers his evil inclination.</html>

Verse 33

<html>The lot is cast in the lap By himself, a person cast lots. but all his judgment to choose for each one his share.</html>

ARC Wiki

Table of Contents

Proverbs 16

Proverbs 16

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25

Verse 26

Verse 27

Verse 28

Verse 30

Verse 31

Verse 32

Verse 33