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Proverbs 22

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1 1A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
2 2The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is 3the maker of them all.
3 4The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.
4 The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is 5riches and honor and life.[a]
5 6Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever 7guards his soul will keep far from them.
6 8Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 9The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
8 Whoever 10sows injustice will reap calamity, and 11the rod of his fury will fail.
9 12Whoever has a bountiful[b] eye will be blessed, for he 13shares his bread with the poor.
10 14Drive out a scoffer, 15and strife will go out, and 16quarreling and abuse will cease.
11 He who 17loves purity of heart, and whose 18speech is gracious, 19will have the king as his friend.
12 The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he 20overthrows the words of the traitor.
13 21The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!"
14 The mouth of 22forbidden[c] women is 23a deep pit; 24he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it.
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but 25the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, 26will only come to poverty.

Words of the Wise

17 27Incline your ear, and hear 28the words of the wise, 29and apply your heart to my knowledge,
18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.
19 That your trust may be in the LORD, I have made them known to you today, even to you.
20 Have I not written for you 30thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 to 31make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
22 32Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or 33crush the afflicted at 34the gate,
23 for 35the LORD will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.
24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,
25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
26 Be not one of those who 36give pledges, who put up security for debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay, why should 37your bed be taken from under you?
28 Do not move the ancient 38landmark that your fathers have set.
29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will 39stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
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Proverbs 22 Commentary

Chapter 22

Verse 1 We should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name, than to raise or add unto a great estate. Verse 2 . Divine Providence has so ordered it, that some are rich, and others poor, but all are guilty before God; and at the throne of God's grace the poor are as welcome as the rich. Verse 3 . Faith foresees the evil coming upon sinners, and looks to Jesus Christ as the sure refuge from the storm. Verse 4 . Where the fear of God is, there will be humility. And much is to be enjoyed by it; spiritual riches, and eternal life at last. Verse 5 . The way of sin is vexatious and dangerous. But the way of duty is safe and easy. Verse 6 . Train children, not in the way they would go, that of their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which, if you love them, you would have them go. As soon as possible every child should be led to the knowledge of the Saviour. Verse 7 . This shows how important it is for every man to keep out of debt. As to the things of this life, there is a difference between the rich and the poor; but let the poor remember, it is the Lord that made the difference. Verse 8 . The power which many abuse, will soon fail them. Verse 9 . He that seeks to relieve the wants and miseries of others shall be blessed. Verse 10 . Profane scoffers and revilers disturb the peace. Verse 11 . God will be the Friend of a man in whose spirit there is no guile; this honour have all the saints. Verse 12 . God turns the counsels and designs of treacherous men to their own confusion. Verse 13 . The slothful man talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion within, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him. Verse 14 . The vile sin of licentiousness commonly besots the mind beyond recovery. Verse 15 . Sin is foolishness, it is in the heart, there is an inward inclination to sin: children bring it into the world with them; and it cleaves close to the soul. We all need to be corrected by our heavenly Father. Verse 16 . We are but stewards, and must distribute what God intrusts to our care, according to his will. ( 17-21 ) . To these words, to this knowledge, the ear must be bowed down, and the heart applied by faith and love. To live a life of delight in God and dependence on him, is the foundation of all practical religion. The way to know the certainty of the ( proverbs 22:22-23 ) that robs and oppresses the poor, does so at his peril. And if ( proverbs 22:24-25 ) hearts have so much tinder in them, that it is dangerous to have to do with those that throw about the sparks of their passion. ( proverbs 22:26-27 ) those are not so, who, by folly or other carelessness, waste what they have. Verse 28 . We are taught not to trespass on another man's right. And it is hard to find a truly industrious man. Such a man will rise. Seest thou a man diligent in the business of religion? He is likely to excel. Let us then be diligent in God's work.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 39

  • 1. [Ecclesiastes 7:1]
  • 2. [Proverbs 29:13]
  • 3. Proverbs 14:31; Job 31:15
  • 4. Proverbs 27:12; [Proverbs 14:16]
  • 5. [Proverbs 21:20, 21]
  • 6. Proverbs 15:19
  • 7. Proverbs 21:23; [1 John 5:18]
  • 8. Ephesians 6:4; 2 Timothy 3:15
  • 9. James 2:6
  • 10. Job 4:8; [Hosea 10:13]
  • 11. [Isaiah 14:6; Isaiah 30:31]
  • 12. [Proverbs 19:17; 2 Corinthians 9:6]
  • 13. [Proverbs 19:17; Luke 14:13, 14]
  • 14. [Genesis 21:9, 10]
  • 15. [Proverbs 26:20]
  • 16. Proverbs 26:20
  • 17. [Proverbs 16:13; Psalms 101:6]
  • 18. [Ecclesiastes 10:12]
  • 19. [Proverbs 14:35]
  • 20. Proverbs 21:12; [Proverbs 11:3]
  • 21. Proverbs 26:13
  • 22. See Proverbs 2:16
  • 23. [Proverbs 23:27]
  • 24. Ecclesiastes 7:26
  • 25. See Proverbs 13:24
  • 26. Proverbs 28:22
  • 27. Proverbs 5:1
  • 28. Proverbs 1:6; Proverbs 24:23
  • 29. [Proverbs 23:12]
  • 30. Proverbs 8:6
  • 31. [Luke 1:3, 4]
  • 32. [Exodus 23:6; Zechariah 7:10; Malachi 3:5]
  • 33. See Job 5:4
  • 34. Job 31:21
  • 35. Proverbs 23:11; 1 Samuel 25:39; Psalms 12:5; Psalms 35:10; Psalms 68:5; Psalms 140:12; Jeremiah 51:36
  • 36. See Job 17:3
  • 37. [Proverbs 20:16; Exodus 22:26]
  • 38. Proverbs 23:10; Deuteronomy 19:14; Deuteronomy 27:17; Job 24:2; Hosea 5:10
  • 39. 1 Kings 10:8; See Genesis 41:46

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Or The reward for humility is the fear of the Lord, riches and honor and life
  • [b]. Hebrew good
  • [c]. Hebrew strange

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 10

This chapter contains an account of the queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon to her great satisfaction, 1Ki 10:1-13, of Solomon's merchandise and riches, and the magnificence of his court, 1Ki 10:14-23, of the rich presents sent to him, and of the purchase of chariots and horses, and other things, he made, 1Ki 10:24-29.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Proverbs 22 Commentaries

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.