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Living Under Rulers
Contrasting Wisdom and Folly
v1
Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to produce an evil odor; so does a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.
v2
A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart at his left.
v3
Yes also when the fool walks by the way, his understanding fails him, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
v4
If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, don’t leave your place; for gentleness lays great offenses to rest.
Unfairness in the World
v5
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, the sort of error which proceeds from the ruler.
v6
Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place.
v7
I have seen servants on horses, and princes walking like servants on the earth.
You Reap What You Sow
v8
He who digs a pit may fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
v9
Whoever carves out stones may be injured by them. Whoever splits wood may be endangered by it.
v10
If the ax is blunt, and one doesn’t sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but skill brings success.
v11
If the snake bites before it is charmed, then is there no profit for the charmer’s tongue.
The Consequences of Folly
v12
The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but a fool is swallowed by his own lips.
v13
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
v14
A fool also multiplies words. Man doesn’t know what will be; and that which will be after him, who can tell him?
v15
The labor of fools wearies every one of them; for he doesn’t know how to go to the city.
Life Under a King
v16
Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your princes eat in the morning!
v17
Happy are you, land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
v18
By slothfulness the roof sinks in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaks.
v19
A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes the life glad; and money is the answer for all things.
v20
Don’t curse the king, no, not in your thoughts; and don’t curse the rich in your bedroom: for a bird of the sky may carry your voice, and that which has wings may tell the matter.
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My Notes
Here we have a chapter that feels right at home in the book of Proverbs. Where before we had chapters that felt quite dismal, here we have wise saying that teach us how to live. Before, this book would repetitively conclude that this too is vanity, but not here, in this chapter. In fact, hevel, or vanity is not mentioned once in this whole chapter!
It is difficult to find wisdom in this life, for the world is filled with folly and even a little folly outweighs much wisdom (v1). Furthermore, this world is filled with great paradoxes and perplexities. We even see times when folly is actually exalted (v6). Why even be wise if it leads to bad outcomes1? The author doesn’t really answer that question in this chapter. He continually holds that it is better to be wise than to be a fool. But, even then, things don’t always work out for the wise.
How can this be? Why is it that so often fools prosper, while the wise get left behind? To this, we actually do have a glimpse of an answer from the author: this sort of error proceeds from the ruler (v5). When fools rule, it brings errors, and injustices into this world.
Footnotes
Footnotes
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Or even if it doesn’t reliably lead to good outcomes. ↩