Proverbschapter 15
33 verses · KJVProverbs book hub →
A.A Soft Answer Turneth Away Wrathvv. 1-17
Proverbs 15:1-2
A soft answer turneth away wrath: A soft answer turns wrath rather than merely surviving it, and the proverb credits the gentle word with real power over an angry man rather than treating gentleness as weakness. Grievous words do the opposite work, stirring anger that a different sentence could have stopped before it started. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge with intention, weighing a word before releasing it, while a fool's mouth simply pours out whatever is inside him.
Proverbs 15:3-4
The eyes of the Lord are in every place: , beholding the evil and the good, a single verse that removes every hidden place a man might imagine for himself. Gill reads it as the ground under every other proverb in the chapter, since a soft answer and a wholesome tongue both matter because they are watched. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, feeding whoever stands near it, while perverseness in the same tongue breaks the spirit it touches.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:3, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:3
"In every place the eyes of the Lord behold the good and the evil." And when we are gathered together with the brethren in one place and celebrate divine sacrifices with a priest of God, we ought to be mindful of modesty and discipline and not toss our prayers about at random with uncouth voices and not cast forth with turbulent loquaciousness our petition. Rather, our petition should be commended to God in modesty, because it is our heart, not our voice, that will be heard.
Cyprian· third century· Treatise IV. On the Lord's Prayer 4patristic
Proverbs 15:3
“The teaching which began with the fear of the Lord Pro 1:7 would not be complete without this assertion of His omni-present knowledge.”
Voices on this verse, 3What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:4, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:4
“A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,.... A tongue that delivers out salutary instructions, wholesome advice and counsel; a "healing tongue" (w), as it may be rendered, which pacifies contending parties, and heals the divisions between them; to have the benefit of such a man's company and conversation is like being in paradise. Such is the tongue of a Gospel minister, which delivers out the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ; sound speech and doctrines, which cannot be condemned; healing truths to wounded consciences, such as peace, pardon, righteousness, and atonement by the blood of Christ.”
Proverbs 15:4
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life - Here again is an allusion to the paradisiacal tree, עץ חיים ets chaiyim, “the tree of lives.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 15:4
“A wholesome tongue--(Compare Margin), pacifying and soothing language. tree of life-- (Pr 3:18; 11:30). perverseness therein--cross, ill-natured language. breach . . . spirit--(compare Isa 65:14, Hebrew), grieves, instead of appeasing.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Proverbs 15:5-7
A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: A fool despises his father's instruction while the man who regards reproof is called prudent, the same choice the book has offered since chapter one now stated in a single line. The house of the righteous holds much treasure, not necessarily money but a stability the wicked man's revenues, however large, still carry trouble inside them. The lips of the wise disperse knowledge freely, scattering it like seed, while the foolish heart keeps nothing worth scattering.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:5, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:5
“Prudence is that quality by which all things are accomplished through skillful industry, in the same way that malice is that quality whereby only evil is perpetrated. Because, therefore, every activity admits prudence and because evils likewise occur in all things, the name of prudence signifies two realities. Whoever uses cleverness and skill for the destruction of others is evil, but one who acts cleverly and shrewdly to avoid the harm that others have in store for him, directly and wisely detecting his own good, possesses a prudence that is worthy of praise.”
Basil of Caesarea· fourth century· HOMILY ON THE BEGINNING OF PROVERBS 11patristic
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:7, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:7
“Not so - The word translated “so” is taken by some in its etymological force as “strong,” “firm,” and the passage is rendered “the heart of the fool disperseth (supplied from the first clause) what is weak and unsteady,” i. e., “falsehood and unwisdom.” The Septuagint takes it as an adjective, “the heart of the fool is unstedfast.” The phrase as it stands in the King James Version is, however, of frequent occurrence Gen 48:18; Exo 10:11; Num 12:7.”
Proverbs 15:8-9
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: , but the prayer of the upright is his delight, a pair that measures worship by the worshipper rather than by the offering itself. Henry reads the contrast against the ritual of Israel's own law: the sacrifice was commanded, yet a wicked man's obedience to the form still offended the God the form was meant to honour. Verse 9 restates the same principle in the widest terms, the way of the wicked an abomination and the man who follows righteousness the one the Lord loves.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:8, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:8
“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination - Even the most sedulous attendance on the ordinances of God, and pert ormance of the ceremonies of religion, is an abomination to the Lord, if the heart be not right with him, and the observance do not flow from a principle of pure devotion. No religious acts will do in place of holiness to the Lord. The prayer of the upright is his delight - What a motive to be upright; and what a motive to the upright to pray! But who is the upright?”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 15:8
“God has such a love for upright good people that, though they are not at the expense of a sacrifice (he himself has provided that), their prayer is a delight to him. Praying graces are his own gift, and the work of his own Spirit in them, with which he is well pleased. He not only answers their prayers, but delights in their addresses to him, and in doing them good.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Proverbs 15:10-12
Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: Correction is grievous to the man who has already forsaken the right way, and the one who hates reproof is warned plainly that he shall die, the proverb naming the stakes rather than softening them. Hell and destruction lie open before the Lord, so how much more the hearts of the children of men, an argument from the greater to the lesser that leaves no human heart hidden from him. The scorner completes the group by refusing correction outright, loving no one who reproves him and never once going near the wise for fear of what he might hear.
Voices on this verse, 3What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:10, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:10
“The instruction of the wicked leads away from life, etc. The doctrine is evil of those who desert the path of truth; about whom the Lord says, Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least …”
Bede· eighth century· Commentary on Proverbspatristic
Proverbs 15:10
“Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way,.... The right way, the way of God; the way of his commandments: the Vulgate Latin version is, "the way of life"; the same with the way of righteousness, which apostates, having known and walked in, turn aside from; see 2Pe 2:15. And such deserve severe correction, the chastisement of a cruel one, correction in wrath and hot displeasure; which, when they have, is very disagreeable to them; they behave under it like a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, and yet they are but dealt righteously with.”
Proverbs 15:10
“Of all sinners, reproofs are worst resented by apostates. It is certain that those who will not be reproved will be ruined: He that hates reproof, and hardens his heart against it, is joined to his idols; let him alone. He shall die, and perish for ever, in his sins, since he would not be parted from his sins.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:11, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:11
“Hell and destruction are before the Lord,.... Or "the grave" (a), which is the pit of destruction; where bodies being put, putrefy, and are destroyed by worms: this is known by the Lord, even the grave of everyone from the beginning; the graves of Adam, Abel, Abraham; he knows where their dust lies, and will raise it up again at the last day.”
Proverbs 15:11
“Hell and destruction - שאול ואבדון sheol vaabaddon. Hades, the invisible world, the place of separate spirits till the resurrection: and Abaddon, the place of torment; are ever under the eye and control of the Lord.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 15:13-15
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: A merry heart shows itself on the face, a cheerful countenance, while sorrow works from the inside to break the spirit that carries it. The heart of understanding actively seeks knowledge, hungry for it, while a fool's mouth is satisfied to feed on foolishness instead. The days of the afflicted are named evil without disguise, yet the same chapter insists that a merry heart turns even those days into a continual feast, the state of the heart outweighing the state of the circumstances.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:13, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:13
“By sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken - Every kind of sorrow worketh death, but that which is the offspring of true repentance. This alone is healthful to the soul. The indulgence of a disposition to sighing tends to destroy life. Every deep sigh throws off a portion of the vital energy.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:14, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:14
“A wise man not satisfied with his wisdom, but still seeking the increase of it; the more he has the more he would have: The heart of him that has understanding, rejoices so in the knowledge it has attained to that it is still coveting more, and in the use of the means of knowledge is still labouring for more, growing in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:15, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:15
“All the days of the afflicted are evil,.... And some are afflicted all their days, from their youth up; so that not only the days of old age are evil days, in which they have no pleasure, but even the days of their youth; all their days, as Jacob says, "few and evil have the days of the years of my life been", Gen 47:9; because they had been filled up with affliction and trouble of one sort or another.”
Proverbs 15:15
“Afflicted - The affliction meant here is less that of outward circumstances than of a troubled and downcast spirit. Life to the cheerful is as one perpetual banquet, whether he be poor or rich. That which disturbs the feast is anxiety, the taking (anxious) thought” of Mat 6:34.”
Proverbs 15:16-17
Better is little with the fear of the Lord: than great treasure and trouble with it, a comparison the book repeats in different words because it will not let wealth stand as the measure of a good life. The famous verse follows in the same key: better a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred with it, a plain vegetable meal outweighing a feast because of who sits at the table rather than what is served. Bridges reads both verses as one lesson doubled, contentment measured by relationship and by the fear of the Lord rather than by the size of the portion.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:16, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:16
“Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, etc. As it is in the psalm: Better is a little that the righteous person has than the riches of many wicked (Ps. XXXVI (Psalm 37 in this reader's Bible)). It is better, therefore, to lack wealth or even daily sustenance …”
Bede· eighth century· Commentary on Proverbspatristic
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:17, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:17
“A dinner of herbs - The meals of the poor and the abstemious. The “stalled ox,” like the “fatted calf” of Luk 15:23, would indicate a stately magnificence.”
B.Before Honor Goeth Humilityvv. 18-33
Proverbs 15:18-19
A wrathful man stirreth up strife: A wrathful man stirs up strife while the man slow to anger appeases it, the same contrast between haste and patience the book has already drawn more than once. The way of the slothful is like a hedge of thorns, every step catching on an obstacle his own laziness invented, while the way of the righteous is made plain, cleared by the same diligence the sluggard refuses. Gill notes that the thorn hedge is the sluggard's own excuse turned into a picture, since his path is genuinely harder only because he has never bothered to clear it.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:19, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:19
In this number are those whom Wisdom calls the "slothful ones," who bestrew their "way" with "thorns"; who think it a moral loss to be anxious about keeping the commandments; who erase from their own minds the Apostolic teaching, and instead of eating the bread of their own honest earning fix on that of others, and make their idleness itself into an art of living. From this number, too, come the Dreamers, who put more faith in the illusions of their dreams than in the Gospel teaching, and style their own phantasies "revelations."
Gregory of Nyssa· fourth century· On Virginity, Chapter XXIIIpatristic
Proverbs 15:19
“The slothful goes on his journey, and for him the path is thick set with thorns, briars, fences, through which he cannot force his way. For the “righteous” (better, upright), the same path is as the broad raised causeway of the king’s highway. Compare Isa 40:3.”
Proverbs 15:20-21
A wise son maketh a glad father: A wise son makes a glad father, while a foolish man despises his mother, the same family portrait the book returns to from its opening chapters. Folly is joy to the man destitute of wisdom, comfortable because he has nothing better to compare it with, while a man of understanding walks uprightly by a standard folly cannot see. The verse pair measures a household by its children's wisdom as plainly as later proverbs measure it by its master's greed.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:20, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:20
“A wise son maketh a glad father,.... See Gill on Pro 10:1; but a foolish man despiseth his mother; that bore him and brought him up, and perhaps was too indulgent to him; which aggravates his sin and her sorrow; See Gill on Pro 10:1; or causes her to be despised by others, as Jarchi interprets it; such a man's sin, which is great folly, and shows him to be a foolish man, is highly resented by the Lord, and will be severely punished; see Pro 30:”
Proverbs 15:20
To “despise” a mother is to cause her the deepest grief, and is therefore not unfitly contrasted with “making a glad father.”
Proverbs 15:22-23
Without counsel purposes are disappointed: , but in the multitude of counsellors they are established, a proverb about planning rather than about crowds, since the counsellors' value is their honesty, not their number by itself. A man has joy in the right answer of his own mouth, and a word spoken in due season is named good without qualification, timing counted as part of the word's own worth. Henry ties the two verses together as one lesson: wisdom gathers counsel before speaking and then speaks it at the right moment.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:22, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:22
“But in the multitude of counsellors - See note on Pro 11:13 (note). But רב יועצים rob yoatsim might be translated, chief or master of the council, the prime minister.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:23, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:23
“Probably, a special reference to debates in council Pro 15:22. They bring before us the special characteristic of the East, the delight in ready, improvised answers, solving difficulties, turning aside anger. Compare the effect on the scribe Mar 12:28.”
Proverbs 15:24
The way of life is above to the wise: , that he may depart from hell beneath, a verse the older commentators read as more than a metaphor for present success. Gill and Delitzsch both hear in it an early statement of the two destinies, an upward way and a downward one, offered to the same man at the same moment. The wise man's whole business, on this reading, is choosing which way he is already walking.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:24, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:24
“The way of life is above to the wise - There is a treble antithesis here: 1. The way of the wise, and that of the fool. 2. The one is above, the other below. 3. The one is of life, the other is of death.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 15:25
The Lord will destroy the house of the proud: , tearing down what pride built the way flattery and folly tear down houses elsewhere in the book, but he will establish the border of the widow, the one person in Israel with no one else to defend her boundary line. The verse pairs judgment on the strong with protection of the weak in a single breath. Bridges reads it as proof that the Lord's justice and his mercy are never really two different actions.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:25, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:25
“The widow - Here, as elsewhere Deu 10:18; Psa 68:5, the widow, as the most extreme type of desolation, stands as the representative of a class safer in their poverty under the protection of the Lord, than the proud in the haughtiness of their strength.”
Proverbs 15:25
“The most desolate who have God's aid have more permanent good than the self-reliant sinner (Pr 2:22; 12:7). border--or, "boundary for possessions" (Ps 78:54).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Proverbs 15:26-27
The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: even before they become words or deeds, while the words of the pure are pleasant to him, the standard reaching back past speech to the thinking that produces it. The man greedy of gain troubles his own house, since greed corrodes the household closest to it before it damages anyone farther away, and the man who hates gifts, meaning bribes, shall live. Wesley reads the pairing as a warning that corruption always costs the corrupt man his own peace first.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:26, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:26
“If every evil word is an abomination to the Lord your God, how great an abomination must be supposed the evil word of denial and the evil word of publicly proclaiming another god and the evil oath by the fortune of people, something that has no existence.”
Origen of Alexandria· third century· EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM 7patristic
Proverbs 15:26
“Some prefer the margin, and render, words of pleasantness are pure. Gracious words are to God as a pure acceptable offering, the similitude being taken from the Levitical ritual, and the word “pure” in half ceremonial sense (compare Mal 1:11).”
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:27, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:27
“Gifts - There is a special application to the office of the judge. The Aramaic Targum paraphrases the first words of this passage as: “he who gathers the mammon of unrighteousness,” using the words with special reference to wealth obtained by unjust judgments. May we infer that Christ’s adoption of that phrase Luk 16:9 had a point of contact with this proverb, through the version then popularly used in the synagogues of Palestine?”
Proverbs 15:28-30
The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, weighing a reply before it is given, while the mouth of the wicked simply pours out evil things the moment they occur to him. The Lord is far from the wicked in exactly the sense that matters, unwilling to hear them, but he hears the prayer of the righteous without delay. The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones fat, the chapter's recurring picture of good news working an actual, physical good on the body that receives it.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:29, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:29
“He will draw nigh to those in a way of mercy who draw nigh to him in a way of duty: He hears the prayer of the righteous, accepts it, is well pleased with it, and will grant an answer of peace to it. It is the prayer of a righteous man that avails much, Jam. v. 16 . He is nigh to them, a present help, in all that they call upon him for.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:30, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:30
“The light of the eyes rejoices the soul, etc. It rightly delights the human mind, when it recognizes, by the Lord's revelation, that it has perceived the light of heavenly mysteries. Which another translation more clearly says, The eye seeing good things delights the heart, …”
Bede· eighth century· Commentary on Proverbspatristic
Proverbs 15:31-32
The ear that heareth the reproof of life: The ear that hears the reproof of life abides among the wise, correction treated as an entrance ticket rather than an insult. The man who refuses instruction despises his own soul, doing himself the injury he thinks he is avoiding, while the man who hears reproof gets understanding in direct exchange for the humility it cost him. Gill reads the pair as the chapter's own definition of wisdom, not the absence of correction but the willingness to receive it.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 15:31, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:31
“The ear that hears the corrections of life, etc. The disciple who obediently listens to the corrections of teachers often progresses to the very seat of honor. Finally, Paul, who humbly submitted to the correction of his Creator, subsequently reached the seat of apostolic dignity.”
Bede· eighth century· Commentary on Proverbspatristic
Proverbs 15:31
“The reproof of life - i. e., The reproof that leads to, or gives life, rather than that which comes from life and its experience.”
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:32, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:32
“We are not harsh toward the impenitent. They are wicked to themselves, for those that spurn instruction hate themselves. Yet even in such cases we should seek in every way that healing come to those who are so completely perverted as not even to be conscious of their own ills and drunk with a drunkenness more fatal than that from wine, the drunkenness that comes from the darkness of evil.”
Origen of Alexandria· third century· ON PRAYER 28:7patristic
Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom: , the chapter's collection landing again on the motto that opened the book at 1:7, humility named here as its companion rather than its opposite. Before honour is humility states the order plainly: humility comes first, and whatever honour follows is not the thing a wise man aimed at directly. Bridges reads the closing verse as the whole chapter's summary, every soft answer and every merry heart finally resting on the same fear of the Lord.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 15:33, in their own words.
Proverbs 15:33
“The fear of the Lord - See note on Pro 1:7. Much is spoken concerning this fear; 1. It is the beginning of wisdom. 2. It is also the beginning of knowledge. 3. It is the instruction of wisdom. Wisdom derives its most important lessons from the fear of God. He who fears God much, is well taught. And before honor is humility - That is, few persons ever arrive at honor who are not humble; and those who from low life have risen to places of trust and confidence, have been remarkable for humility.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Where the chapter sits
Proverbs 15 falls in Solomon's proverbs proper (chapters 10–24). Short antithetical and synonymous couplets; the core of the book's gnomic register. Ch 22:17–24:34 labeled ''words of the wise''.
Before it: Sayings of Solomon: long discourses, chapters 1–9. After it: Hezekiah's men: Solomon's proverbs copied, chapters 25–29.
The whole shape of Proverbs→Key words
The Hebrew words this chapter turns on, by how often it uses them. Each one opens its word study.
| Word | What it means | Verses |
|---|---|---|
| יְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh9 times, as יְהוָ֑ה, יְ֭הוָה | LORD | 3, 8, 9, 11 and 5 more |
| לֵבlêb9 times, as וְלֵ֖ב, לֵ֣ב, לֵ֝ב | heart | 7, 13, 14, 15 and 4 more |
| טוֹבṭôwb6 times, as וטוֹבִֽים׃, וְטֽוֹב־, טוֹב־ | pleasant | 3, 15, 16, 17 and 2 more |
| חָכָםchâkâm5 times, as חֲ֭כָמִים, חֲ֝כָמִ֗ים, חָ֭כָם | wise | 2, 7, 12, 20 and 1 more |
| רַעraʻ5 times, as רָעִ֥ים, רָ֭ע, רָעִ֑ים | bad | 3, 10, 15, 26 and 1 more |
| רָשָׁעrâshâʻ5 times, as רָשָׁ֣ע, רְ֭שָׁעִים, רָשָׁ֑ע | wicked | 6, 8, 9, 28 and 1 more |
Cross references
The 8 chapters this one speaks with, most first. Open a row for the verses it shares.
Proverbs 105 verses
Proverbs 15:20
Proverbs 10:1The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.Proverbs 15:1
Proverbs 10:12Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.Proverbs 15:10
Proverbs 10:17He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.Proverbs 15:6
Proverbs 10:22The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.Proverbs 15:21
Proverbs 10:23It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.- Read Proverbs 10 →
Proverbs 125 verses
Proverbs 15:10
Proverbs 12:1Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.Proverbs 15:25
Proverbs 12:7The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.Proverbs 15:4
Proverbs 12:18There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.Proverbs 15:2
Proverbs 12:23A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.Proverbs 15:13
Proverbs 12:25Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.- Read Proverbs 12 →
Proverbs 254 verses
Proverbs 15:23
Proverbs 25:11A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.Proverbs 15:31
Proverbs 25:12As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.Proverbs 15:1
Proverbs 25:15By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.Proverbs 15:30
Proverbs 25:25As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.- Read Proverbs 25 →
Proverbs 214 verses
Proverbs 15:17
Proverbs 21:19It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.Proverbs 15:6
Proverbs 21:20There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.Proverbs 15:9
Proverbs 21:21He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.Proverbs 15:8
Proverbs 21:27The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?- Read Proverbs 21 →
The rest of the chapters this one speaks with, 4 of them, for a reader following a thread past the four above
- Proverbs 133 verses
- Proverbs 13 verses
- Proverbs 183 verses
- Proverbs 162 verses
Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.
Featured studies
Pages of this site that take up something in this chapter. Each one opens on its own.
The world behind itThe place, the time and the people around this chapter, for a reader who wants the setting.
The world behind this chapter
Proverbs 15The history
"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD" cuts against the assumption of the whole ancient world. Everywhere around Israel, offerings were a transaction: the god was fed and housed, and in return he was expected to perform. This line says the offering can be rejected outright because of the man carrying it, and that "the prayer of the upright is his delight," with no animal mentioned at all.
"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith" compares the two ends of the Israelite menu. Ordinary meals were bread, olives, and whatever greens were in season; meat appeared at festivals and for guests. A stall-fed ox was the top of the range, an animal kept in and fattened, killed only for something enormous.
"A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance… he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast" is spoken to people for whom a feast was a rare, dated, remembered event. Saying that a settled heart is like having one every day was a large claim.
"Hell and destruction are before the LORD" uses Sheol, the grave, the place Israel pictured as the deepest and least reachable spot in the universe. If God sees to the bottom of that, the proverb says, he certainly sees the hearts of men.
What it meant to them
The opening line, "a soft answer turneth away wrath", was survival advice in villages where a quarrel between two families could run for a generation and end in blood.
Running through the chapter is a claim that would have unsettled the first hearers: God is auditing the inside, not the paperwork. The right animal on the altar with the wrong life behind it was worse than nothing.
Sources cited
- John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
Connections
Where this chapter reaches into the rest of Scripture, with the verse each connection stands on.
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Proverbs 15. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on 13 works. Open for the list.
This page draws on Adam Clarke; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Basil of Caesarea, HOMILY ON THE BEGINNING OF PROVERBS 11; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Cyprian, Treatise IV. On the Lord's Prayer 4; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity, Chapter XXIII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871); John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry and Origen of Alexandria.