Proverbs16chapter 16

Proverbs 16:1

“The proverbs in Pro 16:1-7 have, more than any other group, an especially religious character impressed upon them. The name of Yahweh as Giver, Guide, Ruler, or Judge, meets us in each of them. Pro 16:1 Better, The plans of the heart belong to man, but the utterance of the tongue is from Yahweh. Thoughts come and go, as it were, spontaneously; but true, well ordered speech is the gift of God. Compare Pro 16:9.”

Proverbs 16:2

“We are blind to our own faults, do not see ourselves as others see us. There is One who tries not the “ways” only, but the “spirits” Heb 4:12: this is the true remedy against self-deceit.”

Proverbs 16:3

“Commit - literally, as in the margin, as a man transfers a burden from his own back to one stronger and better able to bear it. Compare the margin reference. Thy thoughts - i. e., The plans or counsels out of which the works spring.”

Proverbs 16:4

“Only God does what is good, acting from love of goodness for its own sake and not moved by fear or hope of reward. As Solomon says, "The Lord has done all things for his own sake." For the sake of his own goodness he bestows an abundance of goodness upon the worthy and the unworthy, because he can neither be wearied by wrongdoing nor provoked to painful emotion by human wickedness. He always remains what he is, perfect in goodness and unchanging in nature.”

Proverbs 16:4

“The Lord hath made all things for himself - He has so framed and executed every part of his creation, that it manifests his wisdom, power, goodness, and truth. Even the wicked for the day of evil - וגם רשע ליום רעה vegam rasha leyom raah.”

Proverbs 16:5

“Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished - The day of wrath shall come on the wicked, whatever means he may take to avoid it. See Pro 11:21.”

Proverbs 16:6

“The Holy Spirit speaks in the Scriptures, saying, "By alms and by faith sins are cleansed." Surely not those sins which had been contracted before, for they are purged by the blood and sanctification of Christ. Likewise again he says, "As water quenches fire, so do alms quench sin." Here also it is shown and proved that just as with laver of the waters of salvation the fire of Gehenna is extinguished, so by almsgiving and good works the flame of sin is quenched.”

Proverbs 16:6

“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged - This may be misunderstood, as if a man, by showing mercy and acting according to truth, could atone for his own iniquity. The Hebrew text is not ambiguous: בחסד ואמת יכפר עון bechesed veemeth yechapper avon; “By mercy and truth he shall atone for iniquity.” He - God, by his mercy, in sending his son Jesus into the world, - “shall make an atonement for iniquity” according to his truth - the word which he declared by his holy prophets since the world began.”

Proverbs 16:8

“Better is a little with righteousness, etc. And the Lord says, Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God (Matthew V). And again, Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation (Luke VI). It can also be understood …”

Proverbs 16:9

“Deviseth his way - i. e., Thinks it out with anxious care; yet it is the Lord and He only who directs the steps. Compare Pro 16:1.”

Proverbs 16:10

“A divine sentence is in the lips of the king,.... Or "divination" (f), as the word signifies; or what is like to divination, as Aben Ezra and Gersom interpret it (g). What be says is as an oracle, and should be strictly true. Some understand it of the sagacity and penetration of kings, as was in Solomon, and appeared in his judging the two harlots; but such is not to be found in kings in common: rather therefore this expresses and designs what should be, and not what is, in kings.”

Proverbs 16:10

“A divine sentence - קסם kesem, “divination,” as the margin has it. Is the meaning as follows? Though divination were applied to a righteous king’s lips, to induce him to punish the innocent and spare the guilty, yet would not his lips transgress in judgment; so firmly attached is he to God, and so much is he under the Divine care and influence. Whatever judgment such a one pronounces, it may be considered as a decision from God.”

Proverbs 16:11

“A just weight and balance are the Lord's,.... These are of his devising; what he has put into the heart, of men to contrive and make use of, for the benefit of mankind, for the keeping and maintaining truth and justice in commercial affairs; these are of his appointing, commanding, and approving, Lev 19:35; all the weights of the bag are his work; or, "all the stones" (h); greater or smaller, which were formerly used in weighing, and were kept in a bag for that purpose; these are by the Lord's appointment and order.”

Proverbs 16:11

“See Pro 11:1 note. People are not to think that trade lies outside the divine law. God has commanded there also all that belongs to truth and right.”

Proverbs 16:14

“The wrath of a king is as messengers of death,.... Or, "angels of death", as the Targum. As the wrath of Ahasuerus was to Haman; when it is either discovered in the countenance of a king, or expressed by his words, or signified by a messenger; it sometimes has been immediate death to a person, and often as terrible as if a messenger brought the sentence of death; yea, it is as if one messenger after another was sent on such an errand, and therefore the word is in the plural number.”

Proverbs 16:14

“While Pro 16:13 depicts the king as he ought to be, this verse reminds us of the terrible rapidity with which, in the despotic monarchies of the East, punishment, even death, follows royal displeasure.”

Proverbs 16:15

“The “latter rain” is that which falls in March or April just before the harvest. The “cloud” which brings it, immediately screening people from the scorching sun, and bringing plenty and blessing, is a fit type of the highest favor.”

Proverbs 16:18

“Pride goeth before destruction - Here pride is personified: it walks along, and has destruction in its train. And a haughty spirit before a fall - Another personification. A haughty spirit marches on, and ruin comes after. In this verse we find the following Masoretic note in most Hebrew Bibles. חצי הספר chatsi hassepher: “the middle of the book.” This verse is the middle verse; and the first clause makes the middle of the words of the book of Proverbs.”

Proverbs 16:20

“Good as it is to “handle a matter wisely,” it is far better to “trust in the Lord.” The former is really impossible except through the latter.”

Proverbs 16:22

“Understanding is a well-spring of life - מקור חיים mekor chaiyim; another allusion to the artery that carries the blood from the heart to distribute it to all the extremities of the body.”

Proverbs 16:24

“Pleasant words are as a honey-comb - The honey of which is sweeter than that which has been expressed from it, and has a much finer flavour before it has come in contact with the atmospheric air.”

Proverbs 16:25

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. The same is said in Pro 14:12, and is here repeated because of the excellence, importance, and usefulness of the observation, and to excite an attention to it; that men may be more diligent to look into their ways, and be more cautious where and how they walk, and be more considerate and thoughtful of the issue of them. See Gill on Pro 14:12.”

Proverbs 16:26

“He that laboreth - literally, as in the margin, i. e., “The desire of the laborer labors for him” (or, helps him in his work), “for his mouth urges him on.” Hunger of some kind is the spring of all hearty labor. Without that the man would sit down and take his ease. So also, unless there is a hunger in the soul, craving to be fed, there can be no true labor after righteousness and wisdom (compare Mat 5:6).”

Proverbs 16:27

“The four verses speak of the same thing, and the well-known opprobrious name, the “man of Belial,” stands at the head as stigmatizing the man who delights in causing the mischief of which they treat. Diggeth up evil - i. e., Digs an evil pit for others to fall into. Compare Psa 7:15. Pro 16:30 The physiognomy of the man of Belial, the half-closed eyes that never look you straight in the face, the restlessness or cunning of which biting the lips is the surest indication. Compare Pro 6:13.”

Proverbs 16:30

“He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things,.... Or "perverse" or "contrary things" (r); he shuts his eyes, that his thoughts might not be disturbed and distracted by visible objects, but might be more free and composed, and intent upon the things he is meditating and devising; or he shuts his eyes against light, against Scripture evidence, which he does not care to come to, lest his principles and practices should be reproved; he shuts his eyes, and will not look into the Scriptures, that he may form and devise schemes of doctrine and worship contrary to them.”

Proverbs 16:31

“Omit “if.” Literally, “it (i. e., the hoary head) is found in the way of righteousness,” comes as the reward of righteousness.”

Proverbs 16:32

“If you are angry, be angry with yourselves, because you are roused, and you will not sin. For he who is angry with himself, because he has been so easily roused, ceases to be angry with another. But he who wishes to prove his anger is righteous only gets the more inflamed and quickly falls into sin. "Better is he," as Solomon says, "that restrains his anger than he that takes a city," for anger leads astray even brave men.”

Proverbs 16:32

“He that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city - It is much easier to subdue an enemy without than one within. There have been many kings who had conquered nations, and yet were slaves to their own passions. Alexander, who conquered the world, was a slave to intemperate anger, and in a fit of it slew Clytus, the best and most intimate of all his friends, and one whom he loved beyond all others. The spirit of this maxim is so self-evident, that most nations have formed similar proverbs.”

Proverbs 16:33

“Disposing - Better, the judgment or sentence which depends upon the lot. The lots were thrown into the gathered folds of a robe, and then drawn out. Where everything seemed the merest chance, there the faithful Israelite teacher recognized the guidance of a higher will. Compare the case of Achan Jos 7:18, and of Jonathan 1Sa 14:37-42. The process here described would seem to have been employed ordinarily in trials where the judges could not decide on the facts before them (compare Pro 18:18).”