Proverbs 12:8

8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom, but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.

Proverbs 12:8 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 12:8

A man shall be commended according to his wisdom
Not according to his birth and pedigree; not according to his riches and wealth; not according to the places of honour and trust he may be in; but according to his wisdom, which he discovers in his words and actions, in his life and conversation: not according to the wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and devilish; not according to the wisdom of the world, which comes to nought, either natural or civil; especially that which lies in sophistry and subtlety, in wicked craft and cunning, whereby men trick, overreach, and defraud one another; but according to that which is spiritual and evangelical; which lies in the knowledge of Christ, and of God in Christ, and of those things which belong to salvation; the beginning of which is the fear of the Lord, and which comes from above, and is pure and peaceable. A man possessed of this is commended by all wise and good men, and by the Lord himself; as the wise man is by Christ, ( Matthew 7:24 Matthew 7:25 ) ; who builds his house on a rock; for which reason it stands, as in the preceding verse; but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised;
and which appears by the perverse words he speaks against God and Christ; against his people, ways, and worship, as antichrist and his followers do; and by his perverse actions, which are contrary to the light of nature, to the law of God, and Gospel of Christ: and such vile persons are contemned in the eyes of all good men, and are had in abhorrence by the Lord himself; for such who despise him are lightly esteemed; see ( Proverbs 18:3 ) .

Proverbs 12:8 In-Context

6 The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
7 God shall overthrow the wicked, and they shall not be any longer, but the house of the righteous shall remain.
8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom, but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.
9 He that despises himself and becomes a slave is better than he that honours himself and lacks bread.
10 The righteous is merciful even unto his beast, but the piety of the wicked is cruel.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010