Proverbs 12:8

8 A man is commended according to his wisdom; but he that is of a perverted heart shall be despised.

Proverbs 12:8 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 12:8

A man shall be commended according to his wisdom
Not according to his birth and pedigree; not according to his riches and wealth; not according to the places of honour and trust he may be in; but according to his wisdom, which he discovers in his words and actions, in his life and conversation: not according to the wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and devilish; not according to the wisdom of the world, which comes to nought, either natural or civil; especially that which lies in sophistry and subtlety, in wicked craft and cunning, whereby men trick, overreach, and defraud one another; but according to that which is spiritual and evangelical; which lies in the knowledge of Christ, and of God in Christ, and of those things which belong to salvation; the beginning of which is the fear of the Lord, and which comes from above, and is pure and peaceable. A man possessed of this is commended by all wise and good men, and by the Lord himself; as the wise man is by Christ, ( Matthew 7:24 Matthew 7:25 ) ; who builds his house on a rock; for which reason it stands, as in the preceding verse; but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised;
and which appears by the perverse words he speaks against God and Christ; against his people, ways, and worship, as antichrist and his followers do; and by his perverse actions, which are contrary to the light of nature, to the law of God, and Gospel of Christ: and such vile persons are contemned in the eyes of all good men, and are had in abhorrence by the Lord himself; for such who despise him are lightly esteemed; see ( Proverbs 18:3 ) .

Proverbs 12:8 In-Context

6 The words of the wicked are a lying-in-wait for blood; but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
7 Overthrow the wicked, and they are no [more]; but the house of the righteous shall stand.
8 A man is commended according to his wisdom; but he that is of a perverted heart shall be despised.
9 Better is he that is lightly esteemed, and hath a servant, than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.
10 A righteous man is concerned for the life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Sachal: see Note k, ch. 1.3.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.