Proverbs16chapter 16

Proverbs 16:10-12

A divine verdict is on the lips of a king: “A divine verdict is on the lips of a king,” and “his mouth must not betray justice.” “Honest scales and balances are from the LORD,” so honest trade answers to the same standard as royal judgment. “Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, for a throne is established through righteousness”.

all the weights in the bag: The weights in the bag were stones of different sizes kept in a pouch, John Gill explains, and he ties their honesty to Leviticus 19:35. Albert Barnes draws the lesson that trade stands inside the divine law. Honest scales belong to the LORD.

a throne is established through righteousness: The verse follows the claim of verse 10 that a divine verdict rests on the lips of a king. The older writers read these royal proverbs as a picture of what a king under God's law ought to be. His throne stands on righteousness.

Proverbs 16:13-15

Righteous lips are a king’s delight: “Righteous lips are a king’s delight, and he who speaks honestly is beloved,” a courtier's proverb that measures royal favor by honesty over flattery. When the king's face brightens there is life, and “his favor is like a rain cloud in spring,” the rain tied to a good harvest.

a messenger of death: The Targum renders the phrase angels of death, John Gill notes, and he reads the plural as one messenger sent after another. Albert Barnes sets the swift punishment of eastern courts against the king as he ought to be. A wise man will pacify it.

like a rain cloud in spring: The spring rain fell in March or April, just before the harvest, Albert Barnes explains. The cloud that brought it screened people from the scorching sun and brought plenty, a fit picture of the highest favor. When the face of a king brightens, there is life.

Proverbs 16:16-17

How much better to acquire wisdom than gold!: “How much better to acquire wisdom than gold!” restates the comparison chapter 8 made at length, now in the shorter form of the sayings. “The highway of the upright leads away from evil,” a road to keep to, and “he who guards his way protects his life”.

The highway of the upright: The upright man's way is pictured as a built highway, a road a man keeps to day after day. John Gill reads the verse as holiness protecting the life of the man who guards his way. Staying on the road keeps him safe.

Proverbs 16:18-19

Pride goes before destruction: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” is one of the book's most quoted lines. Verse 19 follows at once: “It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble than to divide the spoil with the proud.”

better to be lowly in spirit: The verse follows the warning that pride goes before destruction. It ranks the company of the humble above a share of the spoil, even when the proud have truly won it. Charles Bridges reads the pair as pride measured by what it costs.

Proverbs 16:20-21

Whoever heeds instruction will find success: “Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD,” naming the two as if the second explains the first. “The wise in heart are called discerning,” and “pleasant speech promotes instruction,” since a pleasant teacher keeps students a harsh one would lose.

The wise in heart are called discerning: The wise in heart earn the name discerning from those who watch them. A pleasant teacher keeps students a harsh one would lose, and Henry reads verses 20 and 21 as wisdom in manner as well as knowledge. Pleasant speech promotes instruction.

Proverbs 16:22-24

Understanding is a fountain of life: “Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.” “The heart of the wise man instructs his mouth,” training his speech, “and adds persuasiveness to his lips”. “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

instructs his mouth and adds persuasiveness: The speech of the wise man is trained from within before a word is spoken. His lips gain persuasiveness over time. Verse 24 then names what that training yields, pleasant words that heal the bones.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb: Adam Clarke notes that honey still in the honeycomb is sweeter than honey pressed out of it. Pleasant words follow the wise heart of verse 23 and come to the lips fresh from it. They sweeten the soul and heal the bones.

There is a way that seems right to a man: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” repeats 14:12 word for word. Franz Delitzsch notes that the collection allows such repeats on purpose, since sayings meant to be memorized gain by returning to their hardest lessons.

Proverbs 16:26-27

A worker’s appetite works for him: “A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward,” a plain observation about the honest motive behind ordinary labor. “A worthless man digs up evil” from the same drive, “and his speech is like a scorching fire” that burns whoever stands near it.

A worthless man digs up evil: Albert Barnes names the worthless man as the man of Belial, a name that heads verses 27 to 30 as one portrait. He digs an evil pit for others to fall into, Barnes explains, comparing Psalm 7:15. His speech burns like a scorching fire.

Proverbs 16:28-30

A perverse man spreads dissension: “A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends,” the damage the talebearer does elsewhere in the book, done here to whole relationships. “A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good,” corruption pictured as an invitation.

A violent man entices his neighbor: The violent man works by persuasion, enticing his neighbor before he leads him astray. Corruption comes here as an invitation. Verses 28 to 30 draw one portrait of a man who spreads harm among neighbors and close friends.

He who winks his eye devises perversity: John Gill offers two readings of the closed eye, a man shutting out distraction to plot, or shutting his eyes against the light of Scripture. The pursed lips finish the picture. Each gesture shows a man bent on evil.

Gray hair is a crown of glory: The hoary head is a crown of glory, but the verse qualifies its own praise: if it be found in the way of righteousness. Age by itself earns nothing in the book's own accounting. Henry reads the verse as a correction to any culture that honours old age automatically.

He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior: “He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.” Even a conqueror's achievement measures smaller than the self-control an ordinary man can practice. The verse makes a man's own spirit the first battlefield.

The lot is cast into the lap: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” closes the chapter on the claim that opened it. The book of Esther enacts this providence without naming God, as Haman's own lot, the pur, falls on a day that became Israel's deliverance.