Proverbs 20:14

14 “Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer, but on the way out, he gloats.

Proverbs 20:14 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 20:14

[It is] naught, [it is] naught, saith the buyer
When he comes to the shop of the seller, or to market to buy goods, he undervalues them, says they are not so good as they should be, nor so cheap as he can buy them at; but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth;
after he has brought the seller to as low a price as he can, and has bought the goods, and gone away with them, and got home among his friends; then he boasts what a bargain he has bought, how good the commodity is, how he has been too many for the seller, and has outwitted him; and so glories in his frauds and tricks, and rejoices in his boasting, and all such rejoicing is evil, ( James 4:16 ) . Jarchi applies this to a man that is a hard student in the law, and through much difficulty gets the knowledge of it, when he is ready to pronounce himself unhappy; but when he is got full fraught with wisdom, then he rejoices at it, and glories in it.

Proverbs 20:14 In-Context

12 Ears that hear and eyes that see— the LORD has made them both.

13 Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.

14 “Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer, but on the way out, he gloats.

15 There is an abundance of gold and rubies, but lips of knowledge are a rare treasure.

16 Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.