Proverbs 29:19-27

TEXT Proverbs 29:19-27

19.

A servant will not be corrected by words;

For though he understand, he will not give heed.

20.

Seest thou a man that is hasty in words?

There is more hope of a fool than of him.

21.

He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child

Shall have him become a son at last.

22.

An angry man stirreth up strife,

And a wrathful man aboundeth in transgression.

23.

A man's pride shall bring him low;

But he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor.

24.

Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul;

He heareth the adjuration and uttereth nothing.

25.

The fear of man bringeth a snare;

But whoso putteth his trust in Jehovah shall be safe.

26.

Many seek the ruler's favor;

But a man's judgment cometh from Jehovah.

27.

An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous;

And he that is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 29:19-27

1.

What kind of person do you envision in Proverbs 29:19?

2.

Our saying, Think before you ..............., is similar to Proverbs 29:20.

3.

Why would Proverbs 29:21 be so?

4.

Find other passages in the Bible on anger to go along with Proverbs 29:22.

5.

Cite some New Testament passages that say the same as Proverbs 29:23.

6.

What does adjuration mean (Proverbs 29:24)?

7.

Illustrate the first statement of Proverbs 29:25.

8.

What do you understand by Proverbs 29:26?

9.

Is Proverbs 29:27 why people usually change crowds when they become Christians?

PARAPHRASE OF 29:19-27

19.

Sometimes mere words are not enoughdiscipline is needed. For the words may not be heeded.

20.

There is more hope for a fool than for a man of quick temper.

21.

Pamper a servant from childhood, and he will expect you to treat him as a son!

22.

A hot-tempered man starts fights and gets into all kinds of trouble.

23.

Pride ends in a fall, while humility brings honor.

24.

A man who assists a thief must really hate himself! For he knows the consequence but does it anyway.

25.

Fear of man is a dangerous trap, but to trust in God means safety.

26.

Do you want justice? Don-'t fawn on the judge, but ask the Lord for it.

27.

The good hate the badness of the wicked. The wicked hate the goodness of the good.

COMMENTS ON 29:19-27

Proverbs 29:19. Servants were an uneducated group of persons. Personal gain and advancement held no motivation for them. There were likely times when they would sulk. When they got into this mood, it took more than words to get them going again, Bodily punishment was the only language that would get through to them (A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, And a rod for the back of foolsProverbs 26:3), and sometimes not even that worked (A rebuke entereth deeper into one that hath understanding than a hundred stripes into a foolProverbs 17:10). Such sullen, unresponding stubbornness might result in his death or his sale. An observation: Such stubbornness is not limited to slaves of long-ago. There are people who will not respond to words of wisdom, for even though they understand, they prefer the preservation of their ego than giving heed to the wisdom of another.

Proverbs 29:20. Yes, there are some who are hasty of speech. They may be nervous, fidgety people to whom a moment of silence is killing and who speak from the top of their heads instead of the bottom their hearts. Such will have many an apology to make throughout life or suffer the loss of friends. Or some are hasty of speech because of not being aware of the problems that can be caused by such utterances. We have a saying, Think before you speak. Some say, think twice before you speak. A quick-tongued person suffers from this verse's comparison (There is more hope of a fool than of him) as does a conceited man in Proverbs 26:12.

Proverbs 29:21. Delicately bringeth up means to pamper, to spoil, to give one privileges and favors without expecting corresponding responsibilities and obligations. On son, the marginal note reads: The meaning of the word is doubtful, accounting for various translations: ungrateful (Ewald); as a son (American Bible Union); his continuator (Young's Literal). Clarke observes that such persons are generally forgetful of their obligations, assume the rights and privileges of children, and are seldom good for anything. Isn-'t that true of most people who are delicately brought up, pampered, spoiled? Such boys grow up to be men in name only, and such girls grow up to be poor wives.

Proverbs 29:22. Hebrew parallelism again: angry man and wrathful man; stirreth up and aboundeth; and strife and transgression. Proverbs 15:8 says, A wrathful man stirreth up contention; and Proverbs 28:25 says, He that is of a greedy spirit stirreth up strife. One who is angry is stirred up, and this causes him to say things and to do things that stirs up strife in others. This strife is not usually a passing thing, but it causes transgression to abound, Because of this Ephesians 4:26 says, be ye angry, and sin not. In other words, when angry, take care that you do not sin by what you do and say. How can one keep from sinning further when angry? By taking care of oneself instead of the other fellow: Let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Ephesians 4:26)get yourself under control immediately. Let us remember James 1:20: The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Proverbs 29:23. Each individual will have likes and dislikes, spirit, and desires, but just as Proverbs 29:22 shows that such can get out of control by way of anger, this verse shows that such can get out of control by way of pride. Man's pride is when he is puffed up, but such actually leads down instead of up. Humility (being of a lowly spirit) actually leads up instead. Others sense a person's pride and deplore it. So does God. Both are against promoting such. For teaching and instances of this subject, see Proverbs 15:33; Proverbs 16:18; Proverbs 18:12; Isaiah 66:2; Daniel 4:30-31; Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14; Acts 12:23; James 4:6; James 4:10; I. Pet. Proverbs 5:6.

Proverbs 29:24. This is a court scene. The thief is brought in, and the one wronged. The judge has pronounced a curse upon the thief and upon anyone who knows the crime but refuses to divulge the information. He hateth his own soul in that he is bringing a curse upon himself by his action.

Proverbs 29:25. What snare? The snare of the devil (2 Timothy 2:26). Fearing men caused Abraham to deny that Sarah was his wife (Genesis 12:11-13; Genesis 20:2), some of the Jewish rulers who believed on Jesus not to say openly (John 12:42), Peter to deny Jesus (Matthew 26:69-74) and to withdraw himself from some Gentiles (Galatians 2:12), leaders to compromise the truth (1 Samuel 15:24), weak Christians to recant under persecution (Matthew 13:20-21), etc. This is one of the greatest causes of preachers failing to preach the Word of God as they should.

Proverbs 29:26. The last statement of the verse indicates that people try to buy off the king from condemning them in court. They will do everything they can (legitimate and illegitimate) to secure his favorable verdict, but even if they succeed in doing this, they still have God to deal with. Men may have let Jonah on board, but God still prevailed in his case. Ahab may have gotton Naboth's vineyard, but God didn-'t let him enjoy it (1 Kings 21:17-19).

Proverbs 29:27. The just and the unjust live in the same world, both eat to sustain physical life, live in houses, etc., but there the comparison ends, for they have adopted altogether different ways of living. The righteous deplore the ways of the wicked (stealing, lying, cheating, drinking, fighting, hating, immorality, etc.). Jesus commended the church at Ephesus: Thou canst not bear evil men (Revelation 2:2). But the wicked deplore the upright just as much, for their ways are a rebuke to them. The wicked have often persecuted the righteous.

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 29:19-27

1.

Proverbs 29:19 reflects what attitude sometimes encountered even today?

2.

What kind of person is often hasty in his words (Proverbs 29:20)?

3.

What often happens when people are pampered in childhood (Proverbs 29:21)?

4.

What does the New Testament say about man's wrath (Proverbs 29:22)?

5.

Cite other passages of Scripture on pride besides Proverbs 29:23.

6.

Proverbs 29:24 pictures what kind of scene?

7.

Cite Bible instances of Proverbs 29:25.

8.

Whose favor in Proverbs 29:26 should one be seeking?

9.

What is mutual, according to Proverbs 29:27?