Proverbs 10:9-32

9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.
10 Whoever winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
13 Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.
14 The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.
15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
16 The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.
17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.
19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.
22 The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.
23 A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes, but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.
24 What the wicked dread will overtake them; what the righteous desire will be granted.
25 When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.
26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them.
27 The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
28 The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
29 The way of the LORD is a refuge for the blameless, but it is the ruin of those who do evil.
30 The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land.
31 From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced.
32 The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.

Proverbs 10:9-32 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 10

From this chapter to the "twenty fifth" are various proverbial sentences, without any very apparent connection or coherence with each other; describing righteous and wicked men; setting forth their different temper, conduct, and actions, and the fruits and effects of them. It should be observed, that frequently in the preceding chapters two persons are represented as women; one goes by the name of "Wisdom", the other is called the "foolish" woman and a "harlot"; the former is clearly to be understood of Christ; and the latter, being opposed to him, must be antichrist, the whore of Rome, and mother of harlots: now in the following part of this book two sorts of persons are spoken of; the one as wise, righteous, good and the other as foolish, wicked, &c. who are no other than the followers of Christ and antichrist; which observation is a key to the whole book.

Cross References 39

  • 1. S Psalms 25:21; Isaiah 33:15
  • 2. S Psalms 37:24; Psalms 23:4
  • 3. Proverbs 28:18
  • 4. S Psalms 35:19
  • 5. ver 27; Psalms 37:30; S Proverbs 3:18; S Proverbs 4:23; Proverbs 11:30; Proverbs 13:12,14,19; Proverbs 14:27; Proverbs 15:4; Proverbs 16:22
  • 6. S ver 6
  • 7. Proverbs 17:9; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; 1 Peter 4:8
  • 8. ver 31; S Psalms 37:30; Proverbs 15:7
  • 9. S Deuteronomy 25:2; Proverbs 14:3; Proverbs 26:3
  • 10. Proverbs 11:13; Proverbs 12:23
  • 11. S ver 6; S Psalms 59:12; S Proverbs 14:3; Proverbs 18:6,7; S Matthew 12:37
  • 12. Proverbs 18:11
  • 13. Proverbs 19:7
  • 14. S Deuteronomy 30:15
  • 15. Proverbs 11:18-19; Proverbs 15:6; S Romans 6:23
  • 16. Proverbs 6:23; Proverbs 15:5
  • 17. S Psalms 31:18
  • 18. S Job 1:22; S Job 6:24; Proverbs 17:28; S Proverbs 20:25; Proverbs 21:23; Ecclesiastes 5:3; James 1:19; James 3:2-12
  • 19. Proverbs 5:22-23; Isaiah 5:13; Jeremiah 5:4; Hos 4:1,6,14
  • 20. S Psalms 128:2
  • 21. S Genesis 13:2; S Genesis 49:25; S Deuteronomy 8:18; Genesis 24:35; Psalms 37:22
  • 22. S 2 Chronicles 25:9
  • 23. S Proverbs 2:14; Proverbs 15:21
  • 24. Isaiah 65:7; Isaiah 66:4
  • 25. S Genesis 42:36
  • 26. S Psalms 37:4; Psalms 145:17-19; Ezekiel 11:8; Matthew 5:6; 1 John 5:14-15
  • 27. S Psalms 20:8; Psalms 15:5
  • 28. Proverbs 12:3,7; Matthew 7:24-27
  • 29. Isaiah 65:5
  • 30. Proverbs 13:17; Proverbs 25:13; Proverbs 26:6
  • 31. S ver 11; Deuteronomy 11:9; Proverbs 9:10-11; Proverbs 19:23; Proverbs 22:4
  • 32. S Job 15:32
  • 33. Esther 7:10; S Job 8:13; Psalms 112:10; Proverbs 11:7
  • 34. Proverbs 21:15; Hosea 14:9
  • 35. Ps 37:9,28-29; S Proverbs 2:20-22
  • 36. S ver 13; S Proverbs 15:2; Proverbs 31:26; Psalms 37:30
  • 37. S Psalms 52:4
  • 38. Ecclesiastes 10:12
  • 39. S Psalms 59:7
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