Proverbs 19:1-15

1 ¹Better is a poor person who ²walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.

2 Desire^[a] without knowledge is not good, and whoever ³makes haste with his feet misses his way.

3 When a man's folly ⁴brings his way to ruin, his heart ⁵rages against the LORD.

4 ⁶Wealth brings many new friends, ⁷but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

5 ⁸A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who ⁹breathes out lies will not escape.

6 Many seek the favor of a generous man,^[b] and everyone is a friend to a man who gives ¹⁰gifts.

7 ¹¹All a poor man's brothers hate him; ¹²how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but does not have them.^[c]

8 ¹³Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will ¹⁴discover good.

9 ¹⁵A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who ¹⁶breathes out lies will perish.

10 ¹⁷It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for ¹⁸a slave to rule over princes.

11 ¹⁹Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

12 A king's wrath is like ²⁰the growling of a lion, but his ²¹favor is like ²²dew on the grass.

13 ²³A foolish son is ruin to his father, and ²⁴a wife's quarreling is ²⁵a continual dripping of rain.

14 ²⁶House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is ²⁷from the LORD.

15 ²⁸Slothfulness casts into ²⁹a deep sleep, and ³⁰an idle person will suffer hunger.

Proverbs 19:1-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 8

This chapter gives an account of the introduction of the ark into the temple, 1Ki 8:1-9 of the glory of the Lord filling it, 1Ki 8:10,11 of a speech Solomon made to the people concerning the building of the temple, and how he came to be engaged in it, 1Ki 8:12-21, of a prayer of his he put up on this occasion, requesting, that what supplications soever were made at any time, or on any account, by Israelites or strangers, might be accepted by the Lord, 1Ki 8:22-53, and of his blessing the people of Israel at the close of it, with some useful exhortations, 1Ki 8:54-61, and of the great number of sacrifices offered up by him, and the feast he made for the people, upon which he dismissed them, 1Ki 8:62-66.

Cross References

• 1. Proverbs 28:6
• 2. Proverbs 14:2; Proverbs 20:7; Psalms 26:1, 11
• 3. [Proverbs 21:5; Proverbs 28:20; Proverbs 29:20]
• 4. [Proverbs 11:3]
• 5. [Psalms 37:7; Isaiah 8:21; Revelation 16:11]
• 6. Proverbs 14:20
• 7. Proverbs 14:20
• 8. [Proverbs 12:19; Proverbs 21:28]; See Deuteronomy 19:16-19
• 9. See Proverbs 6:19
• 10. See Proverbs 17:8
• 11. [ver. 4]
• 12. [Psalms 38:11]
• 13. [Proverbs 15:32]
• 14. Proverbs 16:20
• 15. [See ver. 5 above]
• 16. [See ver. 5 above]
• 17. [Proverbs 17:7; Proverbs 26:1]
• 18. Proverbs 30:22; Ecclesiastes 10:6, 7
• 19. See Proverbs 14:29
• 20. Proverbs 20:2; [Proverbs 16:14, 15; Proverbs 28:15]
• 21. Proverbs 14:35
• 22. Psalms 133:3; Hosea 14:5; Micah 5:7
• 23. Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 17:21
• 24. See Proverbs 21:9
• 25. Proverbs 27:15
• 26. [2 Corinthians 12:14]
• 27. Proverbs 18:22
• 28. See Proverbs 6:9-11
• 29. Job 4:13
• 30. [Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 20:4, 13; Proverbs 23:21]

Footnotes

• [a]. Or A soul
• [b]. Or of a noble
• [c]. The meaning of the Hebrew sentence is uncertain