Proverbs13chapter 13

Proverbs 13:1

Heareth - The verb of the second clause is inserted in the first, just as in the next verse that of the first is inserted in the second. Stress is laid upon the obstinacy of the scorner who refuses to hear, not only “instruction,” but also the much stronger “rebuke.”

Proverbs 13:2

“A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth,.... Or, "of the mouth"; either another's or his own, since the word his is not in the text; though it is supplied by the Targum, Aben Ezra, the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions, as by us. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "shall eat of the fruits of righteousness". I should choose to translate the whole thus: "a good man shall eat of the fruit of his mouth": so Aben Ezra interprets it, "a good man shall eat"; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it.”

Proverbs 13:5

“A righteous man hateth lying,.... Or, "a word of falsehood" (y); as being contrary to honour, truth, and conscience.”

Proverbs 13:7

“Compare Pro 11:24. There is a seeming wealth behind which there lies a deep spiritual poverty and wretchedness. There is a poverty which makes a person rich for the kingdom of God.”

Proverbs 13:8

“A man's riches ought to avail to the ransom of his soul, not to its destruction. And a treasure is a ransom, if a man use it well; on the other hand it is a snare, if a man know not how to use it. What is a man's money to him but a provision for his journey? Much is a burthen, a little is useful.”

Proverbs 13:8

“The ransom of a man's life are his riches,.... As Benhadad's were to him, when he was in the hands of the king of Israel, 1Ki 20:34; and as the treasures the ten men had in the field were to them, for the sake of which Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, slew them not, Jer 41:”

Proverbs 13:9

“Very beautiful in its poetry is the idea of the light “rejoicing” in its brightness (compare Psa 19:5; Job 38:7). Note also the distinction between the “light” and the “lamp.” The righteous ones have the true light in them. That which belongs to the wicked is only derived and temporary, and even that shall be extinguished before long. Compare a like distinction in Joh 1:8; Joh 5:35.”

Proverbs 13:10

“Only by pride cometh contention,.... Though it comes by other things, yet by this chiefly, and there are no contentions without it: or "truly", "verily", "certainly (d), by pride", &c.”

Proverbs 13:11

“By vanity - literally, “by a breath,” i. e., by a windfall, or sudden stroke of fortune, not by honest labor. The general meaning seems to be that the mere possession of riches is as nothing; they come and go, but the power to gain by skill of hand (“labor”) is everything.”

Proverbs 13:13

“Whoso despiseth the word - The revelation which God has in his mercy given to man - shall be destroyed; for there is no other way of salvation but that which it points out. But he that feareth the commandment - That respects it so as to obey it, walking as this revelation directs - shall be rewarded; shall find it to be his highest interest, and shall be in peace or safety, as the Hebrew word ישלם may be translated.”

Proverbs 13:14

“The law of the wise is a fountain of life - Perhaps it would be better to translate, “The law is to the wise man a fountain of life.” It is the same to him as the “vein of lives,” מקור חיים mekor chaiyim, the great aorta which transmits the blood from the heart to every part of the body.”

Proverbs 13:15

“Hard - The primary meaning of the original word is permanence (compare Deu 21:4; Mic 6:2). This may be applied as here to the hard dry rock, to running streams, or to stagnant pools. In either case, the idea is that of the barren dry soil, or the impassable marsh, in contrast with the fountain of life, carrying joy and refreshment with it.”

Proverbs 13:15

“The way of transgressors is hard - Never was a truer saying; most sinners have more pain and difficulty to get their souls damned, than the righteous have, with all their cross-bearings, to get to the kingdom of heaven.”

Proverbs 13:17

“A wicked messenger - The Septuagint: basileuv yrasuev, a bold king; instead of מלאך malach, a messenger, they had read מלך melech, a king: but they are singular in this rendering; none of the other versions have it so. He that betrays the counsels of his government, or the interests of his country, will sooner or later fall into mischief; but he that faithfully and loyally fulfils his mission, shall produce honor and safety to the commonwealth.”

Proverbs 13:17

“A wicked--or, "unfaithful" messenger falleth into mischief--or, "by mischief," or "evil," and so his errand fails. Contrasted is the character of the faithful, whose faithfulness benefits others.”

Proverbs 13:19

The connection is somewhat obscure. Either, “Satisfied desire is pleasant, therefore it is an abomination to fools to depart from the evil on which their minds are set;” or, “Sweet is the satisfaction of desire, yet the wicked will not depart from the evil which makes that satisfaction impossible.”

Proverbs 13:22

A good man leaveth an inheritance - He files many a prayer in heaven in their behalf, and his good example and advices are remembered and quoted from generation to generation. Besides, whatever property he left was honestly acquired, and well-gotten goods are permanent. The general experience of men shows this to be a common case; and that property ill-gotten seldom reaches to the third generation. This even the heathens observed. Hence: De male quaesitis non gaudet tertius haeres. “The third generation shall not possess the goods that have been unjustly acquired.”

Proverbs 13:23

The contrast is the ever recurring one between honest poverty and dishonest wealth. “The new-plowed field of the poor is much food, but there are those, who, though rich, perish through their disregard of right.”

Proverbs 13:24

“Then the provident guide of the soul has regard to this, that he may circumscribe her pleasures and cut off her desires, that she may not delight herself in them. That father's corrections are profitable, who spares not the rod, that he may render his son's soul obedient to salutary precepts. For he visits with a rod, as we read, I will visit their offences with the rod. And so he who smites the soul of the Israelites with a rod on the cheek, by this Divine punishment instructs her in the discipline of patience.”

Proverbs 13:24

“He that spareth his rod hateth his son - That is, if he hated him, he could not do him a greater disservice than not to correct him when his obstinacy or disobedience requires it. We have met with this subject already, and it is a favourite with Solomon. See Psa 34:10 (note) and Psa 37:3 (note). The Rev. Mr. Holden makes some sensible observations on this passage: “By the neglect of early correction the desires (passions) obtain ascendancy; the temper becomes irascible, peevish, querulous.”

Proverbs 13:25

If you take [this verse] according to the literal sense that "when the just person eats he will fill his soul but the souls of the impious will be in poverty," it will appear false. For the souls of the impious take food with eagerness and strive after "satiety," but the just meanwhile are hungry. Finally, Paul was just, and he said, "Up to this hour we are hungry, and thirsty, and naked, and we are beaten with fists." And again he says, "In hunger and thirst, in many fastings."