Proverbs
Chapter 22
A good reputation is more valuable than great riches; good grace is better than silver or gold.
Rich and poor share a commonality: the Lord has created them all.
The discreet man anticipates disgrace and hides, while the ignorant keep going at their own risk.
The reward of humility is fearing the Lord, along with wealth, honor, and life.
The way of the wicked is full of thorns and traps; he who values his life will stay away.
Teach a child the way he should go, and he will not stray from it during his lifetime.
The wealthy man dominates the poor, and the borrower becomes the moneylender’s servant.
Whoever sows injustice will reap disaster; the wicked’s power will be broken.
The kindhearted man will be blessed because he shares his bread with the poor.
Remove the mocker, and the conflict will stop; fighting and insults will come to an end.
Someone who values a pure heart and speaks wisely will find a friend in the king.
The Lord’s gaze guards the wise and exposes the lies of the deceiver.
The lazy man says: “There is a lion outside, he will kill me in the street.”
The adulterous woman’s mouth is a deep trap; he whom the Lord wishes to punish will fall into it.
The child’s heart is naturally foolish; education’s influence will fix it.
When you oppress the poor, you cause them to grow stronger; when you give to the rich, you waste everything.
THIRD COLLECTION
Listen carefully to the words of the wise and focus on understanding them,
because it will bring you joy to keep them deep inside and always have them ready on your lips.
I now want to teach you so that you will trust the Lord.
Have I not written for you thirty sayings of advice and knowledge
so that you may recognize the truth and be able to answer rightly him who sent you?
Do not take from the poor man just because he is poor, or condemn those in misfortune,
because the Lord will intercede for them and will take away the lives of their oppressors.
Do not befriend the angry man or be a companion to one filled with rage;
for fear that you will adopt their ways and lose your life among them.
Don’t be one of those who take on a commitment and act as a guarantor for debts,
if you cannot pay, they will take away the very bed where you sleep.
Do not alter the historic boundaries set by your ancestors.
Do you see a clever man at work? He will serve kings; he will not remain in the service of unknown people.
Commentaries
Second Collection – Proverbs of Solomon.
The core and oldest part of the book begins with the title “Proverbs of Solomon.” In reality, scholars place this section shortly after the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC). Babylon had already entered Jewish territory, and violence increased daily. During this crisis, a group of wise men compiled a series of sayings and proverbs, some moral and others legislative, aiming to encourage the community and teach that the righteous—those who believe in the Lord and truly love him—will not suffer violence or death. Throughout this section, wisdom calls for conversion and justice, as well as the experience of poverty.
Second Collection.
Wealth, honor, and life are the three essential pillars that wisdom believes a person must have to live well. But neither wealth, nor honor, nor life are gained through cheating or dishonesty; they are the result of “respect for God” (4), which means following divine rules, especially justice.
Second Collection.
The wise man is, above all, someone whose life is honest and pure; in contrast, the way of the wicked is described as traps and snares—also quarrelsome and insolent—so it is wise to stay away from them and teach the boy to live a good life. The king values a righteous life. Most people desire to gain the king’s favor; that favor is earned through a virtuous life and blameless conduct.
Second Collection.
Wisdom goes hand in hand with diligence; the diligent person takes advantage of everything in life; on the contrary, the lazy person will always find and even invent any excuse to remain in that attitude. The young, tender, and inexperienced heart easily follows this tendency; hence, the need to educate and correct it.
Second Collection.
It is worthwhile to adopt this proverb as a guiding principle in life. It is easy to exploit and oppress the poor because they are defenseless; their needs, hardships, and the urgency of survival for themselves and their families make it simple to take advantage of them. This is a daily reality in the communities where we live. However, those who oppress and exploit are almost always doomed to serve others and pass their wealth on to even worse exploiters; hence the wise man’s observation: “The poor are oppressed to enrich themselves, the rich are given to debase themselves.” It is best to stand with the poor and fight together for genuine and lasting justice; this may not generate wealth, but it at least offers the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting God’s plan.
Third and Fourth Collections.
The teacher of wisdom states that he will share a wealth of knowledge through thirty sayings, based on his experiences and direct observations of life and human behavior. There could be more or fewer than thirty; the key point is that this collection encompasses a variety of sayings that address numerous themes in human life. Neither this section nor any other in wisdom literature is a treatise on the systematic study of knowledge or a theory of how we know things; instead, it is an ancient method of educating children and young people in general, where simple “secrets” are shared to explain certain aspects of the human soul or to warn against specific wrong behaviors.
The observer recognizes that life must have a particular order and harmony, and that everything should be approached with common sense and prudence. While discovering the benefits of living an orderly life, one also sees the drawbacks of merely following instincts or being misled by other models of behavior that lead nowhere good. The father or elders of the community share this knowledge, gained from experience, with the younger generation; they correct and earnestly request that such correction be accepted willingly, because only those who love correction do so, and only those who feel loved recognize that correction is a good thing, a sign of support and even solidarity. This effort is also carried out by the wise men, who elevated the wisdom of the people to the highest levels of the court, making it a possession mostly exclusive to the aristocracy and those who can afford to pay for a good teacher. In this way, the role of wisdom in God’s plan was distorted, and the primary focus of justice was called into question.