Proverbs 22

1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

2 Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.

3 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

4 Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life.

5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

8 Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.

9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.

10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.

11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.

12 The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

13 The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!”

14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the LORD’s wrath falls into it.

15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

17 Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,

18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.

19 So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today, even you.

20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge,

21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth, so that you bring back truthful reports to those you serve?

Saying 2

22 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court,

23 for the LORD will take up their case and will exact life for life.

Saying 3

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered,

25 or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

Saying 4

26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts;

27 if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Saying 5

28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors.

Saying 6

29 Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.

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Proverbs 22 Commentary

Chapter 22

Verse 1 We should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name, than to raise or add unto a great estate. Verse 2 . Divine Providence has so ordered it, that some are rich, and others poor, but all are guilty before God; and at the throne of God's grace the poor are as welcome as the rich. Verse 3 . Faith foresees the evil coming upon sinners, and looks to Jesus Christ as the sure refuge from the storm. Verse 4 . Where the fear of God is, there will be humility. And much is to be enjoyed by it; spiritual riches, and eternal life at last. Verse 5 . The way of sin is vexatious and dangerous. But the way of duty is safe and easy. Verse 6 . Train children, not in the way they would go, that of their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which, if you love them, you would have them go. As soon as possible every child should be led to the knowledge of the Saviour. Verse 7 . This shows how important it is for every man to keep out of debt. As to the things of this life, there is a difference between the rich and the poor; but let the poor remember, it is the Lord that made the difference. Verse 8 . The power which many abuse, will soon fail them. Verse 9 . He that seeks to relieve the wants and miseries of others shall be blessed. Verse 10 . Profane scoffers and revilers disturb the peace. Verse 11 . God will be the Friend of a man in whose spirit there is no guile; this honour have all the saints. Verse 12 . God turns the counsels and designs of treacherous men to their own confusion. Verse 13 . The slothful man talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion within, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him. Verse 14 . The vile sin of licentiousness commonly besots the mind beyond recovery. Verse 15 . Sin is foolishness, it is in the heart, there is an inward inclination to sin: children bring it into the world with them; and it cleaves close to the soul. We all need to be corrected by our heavenly Father. Verse 16 . We are but stewards, and must distribute what God intrusts to our care, according to his will. ( 17-21 ) . To these words, to this knowledge, the ear must be bowed down, and the heart applied by faith and love. To live a life of delight in God and dependence on him, is the foundation of all practical religion. The way to know the certainty of the ( proverbs 22:22-23 ) that robs and oppresses the poor, does so at his peril. And if ( proverbs 22:24-25 ) hearts have so much tinder in them, that it is dangerous to have to do with those that throw about the sparks of their passion. ( proverbs 22:26-27 ) those are not so, who, by folly or other carelessness, waste what they have. Verse 28 . We are taught not to trespass on another man's right. And it is hard to find a truly industrious man. Such a man will rise. Seest thou a man diligent in the business of religion? He is likely to excel. Let us then be diligent in God's work.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 35

1. Ecclesiastes 7:1
2. S Job 31:15; Proverbs 29:13; Matthew 5:45
3. S Proverbs 14:16
4. Proverbs 27:12
5. S Proverbs 15:33
6. S Proverbs 10:27; Daniel 4:36
7. Proverbs 15:19
8. S Genesis 14:14
9. Ephesians 6:4
10. S Deuteronomy 6:7
11. S Exodus 1:20; S Job 4:8; Galatians 6:7-8
12. Psalms 125:3; Hosea 8:7
13. S Deuteronomy 14:29; 2 Corinthians 9:6
14. S Proverbs 11:25; S Proverbs 19:17; Proverbs 28:27
15. Proverbs 18:6; Proverbs 26:20
16. Proverbs 16:13; Matthew 5:8
17. Proverbs 26:13
18. S Proverbs 2:16; Proverbs 5:3-5; Proverbs 7:5; Proverbs 23:27
19. Ecclesiastes 7:26
20. S Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 23:14; S Proverbs 20:30
21. S Proverbs 1:8
22. S Proverbs 1:6; Proverbs 30:1; Proverbs 31:1; Proverbs 5:1
23. S Proverbs 2:2
24. Ecclesiastes 12:10; Luke 1:3-4; 1 Peter 3:15
25. S Leviticus 25:17; S Job 5:16; Zechariah 7:10
26. S Exodus 23:6; Malachi 3:5
27. S Job 29:16; Psalms 140:12; Psalms 12:5
28. 1 Samuel 25:39; Esther 8:1; S Esther 9:1; Proverbs 23:10-11
29. 1 Corinthians 15:33
30. Proverbs 6:1-5; Proverbs 11:15
31. S Proverbs 11:15; S Proverbs 17:18
32. S Deuteronomy 19:14; Proverbs 23:10
33. S 1 Kings 11:28
34. S Genesis 41:46
35. S Genesis 39:4

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 10

This chapter contains an account of the queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon to her great satisfaction, 1Ki 10:1-13, of Solomon's merchandise and riches, and the magnificence of his court, 1Ki 10:14-23, of the rich presents sent to him, and of the purchase of chariots and horses, and other things, he made, 1Ki 10:24-29.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible