Proverbs 21:9-19

9 Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.^[a]

10 A wicked person desires evil; he has no consideration^[b] for his neighbor.

11 When a mocker is punished, the inexperienced become wiser; when one teaches a wise man, he acquires knowledge.^[c]

12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked; He brings the wicked to ruin.

13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call out and not be answered.^[d]

14 A secret gift soothes anger, and a covert bribe,^[e] fierce rage.^[f]

15 Justice executed is a joy to the righteous but a terror to those who practice iniquity.^[g]

16 The man who strays from the way of wisdom will come to rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.^[h]

17 The one who loves pleasure will become a poor man; whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.^[i]

18 The wicked are a ransom for the righteous, and the treacherous, for^[j] the upright.^[k]

19 Better to live in a wilderness than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.^[l]

Proverbs 21:9-19 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 9

This chapter relates a second vision Solomon had at Gibeon, in which he received an answer to his prayer in the preceding chapter, 1Ki 9:1-9 that passed between him and Hiram king of Tyre, 1Ki 9:10-14, the places that Solomon built or repaired, 1Ki 9:15-19, the Canaanitish people that became bondmen to him, and the officers he had among the children of Israel, 1Ki 9:20-23 the removal of Pharaoh's daughter to the house built for her, 1Ki 9:24. Solomon's attention to religious services, 1Ki 9:25 and the navy of ships he employed, which brought him in great riches, 1Ki 9:26-28.

Footnotes

• [a]. Pr 15:16-17; 17:1; 21:19; 25:24
• [b]. Or favor
• [c]. Pr 19:25
• [d]. Pr 14:31; 17:5; 19:17
• [e]. Lit a bribe in the bosom
• [f]. Pr 17:8; 18:16; 19:6
• [g]. Pr 10:29
• [h]. Pr 2:18; 9:18
• [i]. Ec 2:1-3,10-11
• [j]. Or in place of
• [k]. Pr 11:8
• [l]. Pr 15:16-17; 17:1; 21:9; 25:24