Proverbs29chapter 29

Proverbs 29:1

He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy, pictures stubbornness as a slow process ending in a sudden collapse, since repeated correction refused finally leaves no remedy left to try. The bench reads the stiffened neck as the same figure the Old Testament uses of Israel's own history, a people warned again and again before judgment fell without further warning.

Proverbs 29:2-4

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn, opens a governance cluster the chapter returns to throughout, a ruler's character setting the public mood beneath him. Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father, but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance, applies the same principle at the scale of one household and one son's choices. The king by judgment establisheth the land, but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it, names the single practice, bribery, that turns a throne from a foundation into a ruin.

Proverbs 29:5-7

A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet warns that praise offered dishonestly is a trap laid for the one who receives it, not a kindness. In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare, but the righteous doth sing and rejoice, sets the same figure against its opposite outcome, sin's own consequences catching the sinner while the righteous walk free of them. The righteous considereth the cause of the poor, but the wicked regardeth not to know it, closes the cluster on the difference a heart for justice makes, one man taking the trouble to understand and the other refusing even to look.

Proverbs 29:8-10

Scornful men bring a city into a snare, but wise men turn away wrath, sets mockery and calm speech against each other as forces that shape a whole community, not only a private conversation. If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest, warns that some arguments cannot be won because the other side is not arguing in good faith either way. The bloodthirsty hate the upright, but the just seek his soul, closes the group with the plainest form of the conflict, violence set against the very life that righteousness would preserve.

Proverbs 29:11-13

A fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards, contrasts a man who says everything he thinks with one who holds his words for the right time. If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked, states a principle of leadership the chapter has already applied to kings, that a court takes its character from what its ruler is willing to believe. The poor and the deceitful man meet together, the Lord lighteneth both their eyes, closes the cluster on a shared humanity the bench reads plainly, God giving sight to rich and poor, honest and deceitful alike, as their maker rather than their judge in that moment.

Proverbs 29:14-16

The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever, promises permanence to the very quality bribery destroyed earlier in the chapter, faithful judgment for those with nothing to offer in return. The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame, restates the book's discipline teaching plainly, correction now sparing shame later. When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth, but the righteous shall see their fall, closes the group with the same assurance the earlier verses gave a nation's righteous remnant, wickedness in the majority not having the last word.

Proverbs 29:17-18

Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul, promises the same reward for discipline the previous verses assumed, rest and delight rather than the shame of a child left uncorrected. Where there is no vision, the people perish, but he that keepeth the law, happy is he, is often read as a call to organizational planning, but the philology points elsewhere: vision here is prophetic revelation, the word already used elsewhere of a seer's sight, and perish renders a word for casting off restraint rather than dying out. Read this way the verse pairs revelation with law, a people without a living word from God losing the restraint that word supplies, and the one who keeps the law left happy in its place.

Proverbs 29:19-21

A servant will not be corrected by words, for though he understand he will not answer, observes that some resistance is willful rather than a failure to comprehend, understanding present but obedience withheld. Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him, ranks reckless speech below plain foolishness, since a fool may yet be taught while a hasty tongue outruns correction every time. He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length, closes the cluster with a warning against indulgence the bench reads as a caution to any household, not servants only.

Proverbs 29:22-24

An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression, ties anger to a multiplying effect, one outburst producing more sin than the anger itself. A man's pride shall bring him low, but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit, restates the book's constant reversal, pride ending in a fall it did not see coming and humility upheld by the very quality it refused to claim for itself. Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul, he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not, closes the group on complicity, a silent accomplice sharing the guilt of the crime he will not name.

Proverbs 29:25-27

The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe, sets two fears against each other and finds only one of them worth having, man's opinion trapping where God's protection secures. Many seek the ruler's favour, but every man's judgment cometh from the Lord, redirects the chapter's governance thread one final time toward the true court every case is finally heard in. An unjust man is an abomination to the just, and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked, closes the book's sentence literature on a mutual verdict neither side softens, the bench reading the symmetry as proof that righteousness and wickedness cannot ultimately approve of each other.