Proverbs 13 Study Notes

13:1 Here is another call to listen to the father’s instruction.

13:2-4 These three verses play on the Hebrew multipurpose word nephesh (“soul, self, appetite, throat, or mouth”; see note at v. 19). Treacherous people (see note at 2:20-22) will not receive good things and in fact have no appetite (nephesh) for them. Instead, their treachery will backfire as violence (4:17), that is, fierceness, ruthlessness, or malice. In 13:3 the wise man protects his life (nephesh). In v. 4 nephesh as “mouth” is implied. The slacker . . . has nothing for his mouth, but the mouth of the diligent is fully satisfied.

13:5 Bring disgust is literally “stink” (Gn 34:30; Ex 5:21).

13:6 Undermines is literally “overturns,” but it implies being frustrated or subverted (Ex 23:8; Dt 16:19; Jb 12:19) and brought to ruin (Pr 19:3; 21:12; 22:12).

13:7 One person pretends to have the blessings reserved for the wise and righteous and demands social status that he does not deserve. The other covers up his blessings—perhaps so he does not have to share with the needy—and does not give God the glory.

13:8 No one should trust in riches (11:28), and you cannot buy eternal life (Ps 49:5-9). However, it is an accurate observation that a rich man can pay a ransom to save his earthly life. The poor person does not have to worry because no robber would typically bother with him. Another possible meaning is that the rich man is able to respond to the rebuke (another meaning of threat) of those whom he has wronged and is willing to give all his money to make his life right. However, if a poor person is rebuked for his guilt, he is forced to ignore the rebuke and endure the guilt.

13:9 On lamp, see note at 20:20.

13:10 Arrogance here contrasts with those who take advice, so an arrogant person is viewed as a “know-it-all.”

13:11 The Hebrew word for fraud here is hevel, the word translated “futility” in Ecclesiastes. It is literally “breath” or “vapor,” something with no substance. Here it means “ill-gotten” or “rashly” (10:2; 12:11). The same word is used to say that wealth is a “vanishing mist” (21:6) and beauty is “fleeting” (31:30).

13:12 If a person’s hope is constantly delayed, he becomes frustrated and loses heart. On tree of life, see 3:18; 11:30; 15:4.

13:13 To have contempt for instruction is to despise the Lord’s word. Such a person is always condemned (Nm 15:31; 2Sm 12:9; 2Ch 36:16; cp. 1Sm 2:17). Pay the penalty is literally “pledge collateral to it”; in other words, be in debt to it.

13:14 Note the singular and plural nouns: there is only one fountain of life, but there are many snares of death.

13:15 Good sense is literally “insight of good” (see “insight” in note at 1:3). Sensible people can advance by winning the favor of God and men, while the treacherous cannot improve the way they go.

13:16 A fool does not act according to knowledge but (literally) spreads out his stupidity “like a peddler who openly spreads his wares before the gaze of all men” (Crawford Howell Toy).

13:17 Accurate news and effective diplomacy benefited the officials and communities served by a good courier.

13:18 Proverbs strongly recommends the virtue of being correctable (cp. v. 13).

13:19 The Hebrew word for taste is nephesh (see note at vv. 2-4). The desires of the righteous will be fulfilled (v. 25; 10:24; 11:23) because they fear God and turn from evil (3:7; 14:16). Fools (Hb kesiyl) refuse to turn from evil because good disgusts them (29:27); therefore, their desires will not be fulfilled.

13:20 Derek Kidner entitles this proverb “Education by Friendship.” Choosing one’s friends is a very important matter.

13:21 Rather than saying sinners reap disaster, this proverb emphatically has disaster chasing them down until it catches them.

13:22 The Hebrew word for wealth can stand for “strength” as well. The sinner’s possessions along with all his capabilities and resources are granted to the righteous.

13:23 The field that went uncultivated could refer to the marginal lands the poor were forced to live on, or to the fields that were supposed to be left fallow on the Sabbatical Year for the sake of the poor (Ex 23:10-11; Lv 25:1-7). In the latter case, the lack of justice was the failure to observe the command (Lv 26:34-35,43; 2Ch 36:21).

13:24 Parents who love their children seek diligently to apply the best and most appropriate method of discipline (Heb 12:5-11). In some cases that is the rod (22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15), which is appropriate punishment for the fool (10:3; 26:3). Only a parent who hates his child would withhold discipline and permit him to remain a fool, knowing that foolishness leads to misery, shame, and ultimately death.

13:25 Rather than promoting moderation, this proverb teaches that God satisfies all the needs of the righteous, but denies the needs of the wicked.