Proverbs 14:3

In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. IN THE MOUTH OF THE FOOLISH (IS) A ROD OF PRIDE: BUT THE LIPS OF THE WISE SHALL PRESERVE THEM - (cf. , "The foot of pride.") The fool's "rod of pride" is his tongue, wherewith he assails and strikes others. But it recoils on himself. The instrument of punishment is called a "rod," not a sword; to imply the contumely with which the proud shall be visited. The plural, "lips," in the Hebrew is joined with the verb singular. The lips-i.e, each one of the lips-of the wise preserveth them severally....

Verse Proverbs 14:3. _THE MOUTH OF THE FOOLISH_ IS _A ROD OF PRIDE_] The reproofs of such a person are _ill-judged_ and _ill-timed_, and generally are conveyed in _such language_ as renders them not only ineffectual, but displeasing, and even _irritating_....

A ROD OF PRIDE - i. e., The pride shown in his speech is as a rod with which he strikes down others and himself....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 14:1 EVERY WISE WOMAN BUILDETH HER HOUSE. Wise women order well their household matters and their families; they have an important influence, and exercise it beneficially. Γυναικὸς ἐσθλῆς ἐστὶ σώζειν οἰκίαν_._ "A good wife is the saving of a house." The versions render as above. A different pointing of the word translated "wise" (_chakhmoth_)_ _will give "wisdom" (_chokhmoth_)_, _which it seems best to read here, as the parallel to the abstract term "folly" in the second member. So we have, "Wisdom hath builded her house" (Proverbs 9:1; comp. Proverbs 1:20). Thus: "The wi

IN THE MOUTH OF THE FOOLISH [IS] A ROD OF PRIDE,.... A proud tongue, or a tongue speaking proud and haughty things; with which foolish or wicked men smite others and wound and hurt their reputation and credit, and in the issue hurt themselves also; their tongue is not only a rod to others, but a scourge to themselves, or is the cause of evil coming upon them; such was the tongue of Pharaoh, as Jarchi on the place observes, Exodus 5:2; and of those the psalmist speaks of, Psalms 73:9; and particularly of antichrist, whose mouth is opened in blasphemies against God, and his tabernacle, and his saints, Revelation 13:5; BUT THE LIPS OF THE WISE SHALL PRESERVE THEM; from speaking such pr

CHAPTER 14 THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH: THE RICH AND THE POOR The contrast now concerns the wise and the foolish, the rich and the poor. Let us see some of these contrasts. “In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise shall preserve them” Proverbs 14:3. The foolish shoots forth his foolishness like a branch. Separation from the foolish man is commanded in the seventh verse. The wise cannot have fellowship with the foolish, as the believer is not to be yoked to the unbeliever. Fools make a mock at sin Proverbs 14:9). The word “sin” in the original means “trespass offering.” That is exactly what the foolish man does, including the religious fool; he denies both sin and the blessed provision God has made to deliver from the guilt and power of sin. But among the righteous, says

PROVERBS 14. In this, as in each of the preceding Chapter s in this section, aphorisms on the moral government of the world come first in number. There are rather more in this chapter of a political and social character, while a group that might be called psychological appears for the first time (_e.g._ Proverbs 14:10; Proverbs 14:13, and in part Proverbs 14:30). The contrast between wisdom and folly, simplicity and prudence, also yields a fairly numerous group. PROVERBS 14:1. MT cannot be translated. Proverbs 14:1 a is p

MOUTH. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of Cause), App-6, for what is spoken by it. OF PRIDE. Genitive of Possession, "pride's sceptre". See App-17 (3). On the one side, we have "pride", prating, and punishment; on the other side, prudence, piety, and preservation. LIPS. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of Cause), App-6, for what is spoken by them. PRESERVE. guard....

_a rod of pride_ This may mean either that he smites with his proud words as with a rod (comp. Isaiah 11:4, where however the Heb. word is different); or (preserving better the antithesis between the two clauses of the verse) that his own mouth furnishes "a rod for his pride" (R.V. marg.); his own words cause his humiliation. Instead of "rod," however, we may render "shoot" (R.V. marg.): proud words spring out of his mouth like a sucker or branch (comp. Isaiah 11:1, the only other place in which the same Heb. word occurs)....

IN THE MOUTH OF THE FOOLISH— Fools often bring upon themselves, by their ungoverned tongues, the correction due to their crimes, their pride, and arrogance....