Proverbs 10

These are the wise sayings of Solomon. A wise son makes his father glad, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

1The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

NoteChapter 10 begins a new section of the book. Chapters 1–9 are long connected poems; from here on Proverbs becomes a collection of short, self-contained sayings, almost all of them two lines that set one thing against its opposite. They are not arranged by subject, so the topic can change completely from one verse to the next. "The proverbs of Solomon" is a heading over the collection that follows, not part of the saying in verse 1. Naming the father in one line and the mother in the other is a standard Hebrew poetic pairing meaning the parents together, not two different reactions.

2Riches gained by doing wrong are worth nothing, but doing what is right rescues a person from death.

2Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

NoteThe word translated "righteousness" (Hebrew tsedaqah) covers straight dealing between people (honesty, fairness, generosity) as much as inner goodness; in later centuries it came to be used for giving to the poor. "Treasures of wickedness" means wealth obtained by fraud, theft or violence. The paired categories "righteous" and "wicked" run through the whole chapter.

3The LORD will not let a person who does right go hungry, but he pushes away what the wicked crave.

3The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.

Note"Soul" here translates nephesh, which in Hebrew means the appetite, the throat, the living self, the line is about literal hunger, not about a spirit. The second half is uncertain: the Hebrew word can mean "craving" (hence "he thwarts what the wicked crave") or "substance, property" (hence the KJV's "casteth away the substance of the wicked").

4A person who works with a lazy hand becomes poor, but hard-working hands bring wealth.

4He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

5A son who gathers the crops in summer is wise, but a son who sleeps through harvest time brings shame.

5He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

NoteGrain was cut and gathered in a short window in the early summer heat and had to be brought in before it was lost. A whole year's food depended on those few weeks, so sleeping through them was not general idleness but a ruinous failure at the one moment that counted.

6Blessings rest on the head of the person who does right, but the mouth of the wicked hides violence.

6Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

NoteThe second line is ambiguous in Hebrew and can be read either way: the wicked man's mouth conceals the violence he intends, or violence covers his mouth, overwhelms and silences him. The identical line reappears in verse 11.

7People remember a good person with thanks, but the name of the wicked rots away.

7The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

NoteWhere ordinary people left no written records, a person continued to exist in the memory and repetition of their name. "Blessed" is concrete: a good person's name went on being spoken in blessings, "may you be like so-and-so", while a bad name decayed, the verb being the one used of a corpse rotting.

8A person who is wise at heart takes in commands, but a fool who talks on and on falls into ruin.

8The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.

Note"Heart" in Hebrew means the mind: the place where a person thinks, weighs and decides, not where they feel. A "wise heart" is sound judgment. KJV's "prating" is old English for babbling; the Hebrew is literally "a fool of lips."

9Whoever lives an honest life walks safely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

9He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

10Whoever winks the eye to signal a trick causes pain, and a fool who talks on and on falls into ruin.

10He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.

NoteWinking was a recognized gesture of conspiracy, a sly signal to an accomplice while the victim was still watching, unaware. The second line here simply repeats verse 8; the ancient Greek translation has a different line at this point ("but he who reproves openly makes peace"), so what the second half originally read is disputed.

11The mouth of a person who does right is a spring of life, but the mouth of the wicked hides violence.

11The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

NoteA well or spring meant running water in a dry country, a source that keeps producing and keeps people and animals alive, as opposed to a cistern that holds only what is poured into it.

12Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love covers over every wrong.

12Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

Note"Cover" here does not mean hiding a crime from justice. It is the opposite of exposing: passing over an offense rather than publishing it and keeping the quarrel alive.

13Wisdom is found on the lips of a person who understands, but a stick is for the back of one who has no sense.

13In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

NoteBeating with a rod was ordinary discipline for children and servants in this society, and Proverbs uses it throughout as the standard image for correction applied to someone who will not take it any other way.

14Wise people store up knowledge, but when a fool opens his mouth, ruin is close by.

14Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

15A rich man's wealth is like a walled city that keeps him safe; poverty is what ruins the poor.

15The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

NoteWalled, fortified towns were where people took shelter when raiders or an army came; those with no access to one had no protection at all. The line is an observation of how wealth and poverty actually functioned, stated without comment.

16The work of a person who does right leads to life; what the wicked earn leads to sin.

16The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.

Note"Labour" here means what the labor earns, wages, gain. The Hebrew word translated "sin" in the second line also means the penalty for sin, so the line can be read either as "leads to sin" or "leads to punishment"; both senses sit in the one word.

17Whoever holds on to correction is on the path of life, but whoever refuses to be corrected wanders off it.

17He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.

18Whoever hides hatred behind lying lips, and whoever spreads talk that damages another person, is a fool.

18He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

NoteCirculating a damaging report was more than gossip in a small settlement, where a person's standing determined whether others would trade with them, marry into their family, or accept their word in a dispute.

19Where there are many words, sin is sure to be there, but the person who holds back his lips is wise.

19In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

20The tongue of a person who does right is like the finest silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little.

20The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.

NoteBefore coins existed, silver was weighed out as payment. "Choice" or refined silver had been purified of other metals and was the most valuable form of it. The comparison is to money, not to jewelry.

21The words of those who do right feed many people, but fools die because they lack sense.

21The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

NoteThe verb translated "feed" is the one used of a shepherd pasturing a flock, leading animals to grazing and keeping them alive. In the second line the Hebrew literally says fools die for lack of "heart," which as in verse 8 means mind or judgment.

22It is the blessing of the LORD that makes a person rich, and he adds no pain along with it.

22The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

NoteThe Hebrew word behind "sorrow" also means painful toil. The second line accordingly reads either "he adds no pain along with it" or "and toil adds nothing to it": that is, the wealth comes from the blessing rather than from grinding work. Both readings are defended.

23Doing wrong is like a game to a fool, but a person who understands has wisdom.

23It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

Note"Sport" means play or laughter, something done for amusement. The word rendered "mischief" means deliberately schemed wrongdoing, often something shameful or sexual; it is not childish naughtiness.

24What the wicked person dreads will come upon him, but what the person who does right wants will be given to him.

24The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

25When the storm wind sweeps past, the wicked are gone, but the person who does right stands like a foundation that lasts forever.

25As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.

NoteThe whirlwind is the sudden violent storm that sweeps through and flattens whatever is not anchored. The contrast is architectural: the wicked are blown off, while the righteous is the foundation, the part of a building still standing when everything above it has been stripped away. The Hebrew can equally be read as "is founded forever."

26Vinegar sets the teeth on edge and smoke stings the eyes; that is what a lazy person is to those who send him on an errand.

26As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

NoteVinegar is soured wine, the cheap drink of laborers; on the teeth it is the sensation of biting into something acid. Houses had open cooking fires and no chimney, so smoke in the eyes was a daily irritation everyone had felt. "Those that send him" are people who dispatch a messenger, the only means of moving news or business, and are left waiting.

27Deep respect for the LORD adds years to a person's life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short.

27The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

Note"Fear of the LORD" translates a Hebrew phrase meaning awe and serious regard, the attitude taken toward something vastly greater than oneself. It is this book's standard term for that whole posture, and does not mean being frightened.

28What those who do right hope for ends in joy, but what the wicked expect comes to nothing.

28The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

29The way of the LORD is a place of safety for those who live honestly, but it means ruin for those who do evil.

29The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

NoteThe word behind "strength" means a stronghold or refuge, a fortified place to run into. "The way of the LORD" is ambiguous and can mean either the way the LORD himself acts or the way of life he lays down for people.

30Those who do right will never be shaken loose, but the wicked will not go on living in the land.

30The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.

Note"The earth" translates a word that also, and here more likely, means "the land", the territory of Israel, held as a family inheritance handed down through generations. Being removed from it meant losing the ground a family's whole existence rested on.

31The mouth of a person who does right brings out wisdom, but a twisted tongue will be cut off.

31The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.

Note"Froward," in the King James wording, is old English for twisted or perverse. The verb in "cut out" is the one regularly used of cutting a person off from the community; applied to a tongue it is a deliberately harsh image, and translations differ between "cut out" and "cut off."

32The lips of those who do right know what is fitting to say, but the mouth of the wicked says what is twisted.

32The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.

Note"Acceptable" translates a word for what pleases or is favorably received, used elsewhere of an offering being accepted. Here it means words that fit the moment and the person hearing them.