The Triumph Of Truth Over Falsehood And Of Righteousness Over Unrighteousness (Proverbs 14:17-25).
The thought of truth against falsehood undergirds this subsection. It commences with the fact that fools deal foolishly and devise evil schemes, and ends with the thought that they even, by their lies, destroy the reliability of the courts. But they do not in the end succeed. For they are hated and in the end have to bow down to the good. They are in contrast with the true. The shrewd are crowned with true knowledge (Proverbs 14:18); the evil will have to bow down to them (Proverbs 14:19); those who devise good will enjoy true covenant love (Proverbs 14:22); the true witness saves lives (Proverbs 14:25). In contrast are the false. They are evil schemers (Proverbs 14:17); they inherit folly (Proverbs 14:18); they have to bow down to the good and the righteous (Proverbs 14:19); they devise evil (Proverbs 14:22); they utter lies in court and cause deceit where there should only be truth (Proverbs 14:25).
Also prominent is the benefit of righteousness and wisdom. The wise and good devise good and not evil (Proverbs 14:22) and will thus not be hated (Proverbs 14:17); they will be recognised as having true knowledge (Proverbs 14:18); in time to come the evil will bow down to them (Proverbs 14:19); they have many friends (Proverbs 14:20); they will be blessed (Proverbs 14:21); they will enjoy true favour (Proverbs 14:22); they will increase in goods (Proverbs 14:23), which will be a crown to them (Proverbs 14:24); and they will save lives in court (Proverbs 14:25).
In contrast are the foolish. They will deal foolishly (Proverbs 14:17); they will be hated (Proverbs 14:17); they will inherit folly (Proverbs 14:18); in time to come they will bow down to the good (Proverbs 14:19); they are hated by their own neighbour (Proverbs 14:20); They sin because the despise their neighbour (Proverbs 14:21); they wander from the true path (Proverbs 14:22); their ways result in poverty (Proverbs 14:23); their folly is folly (Proverbs 14:24); and they destroy the reliability of the courts (Proverbs 14:25).
The subsection is presented chiastically as follows:
A He who is soon angry (the quick tempered man) commits folly, and a man of wicked devices (an evil schemer) is hated (Proverbs 14:17).
B The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge (Proverbs 14:18).
C The evil bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous (Proverbs 14:19).
D The poor is hated even of his own neighbour, but the rich has many friends (Proverbs 14:20).
E He who despises his neighbour sins (Proverbs 14:21 a)
E But he who has pity on the poor, happy is he (Proverbs 14:21 b).
D Do they not err who devise evil? But mercy and truth will be to those who devise good (Proverbs 14:22).
C In all labour there is profit, but the talk of the lips (idle chatter) tends only to penury (Proverbs 14:23)
B The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools is only folly (Proverbs 14:24).
A A true witness delivers lives, but he who utters lies causes deceit (Proverbs 14:25).
Note that in A the evil schemer is hated, whilst in the parallel the utterer of lies causes deceit (by his schemes). In B the simple inherit folly, whilst the prudent are crowned with knowledge, and in the parallel the folly of fools is only folly, whilst the wise are crowned with riches. In C the evil and the unrighteous bow down before the good and the righteous, whilst in the parallel the righteous grow rich, and the unrighteous become poor. In D the rich man has many friends, whilst in the parallel those who devise good receive compassion and truth. Centrally in E the one who despises his neighbour sins, whilst the one who pities the poor is happy.
‘He who is soon angry (the quick tempered man) will commit folly,
And a man of wicked devices (an evil schemer) is hated.'
The subsection commences with a contrast between two types of ‘fool', the quick tempered man who acts impetuously and in consequence commits folly, and the cool-headed evil schemer who is hated. Quick temper and anger are regularly depicted as resulting in folly. Anger makes men behave foolishly. They lose all sense of proportion (consider Saul in his determination to destroy David). Thus in Proverbs 15:18 a; Proverbs 29:22 a, ‘the angry man stirs up strife', so that there is more hope for a fool than for a man who is hasty with his words (Proverbs 29:20). In contrast the cool-headed appease strife (Proverbs 15:18 b). As Paul warns, ‘be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath' (Ephesians 4:26) for to do so is to ‘give place to the Devil' (Ephesians 4:27).
In contrast is the evil schemer. He is cool-headed and plans his evil schemes carefully and with forethought. He is a destroyer of lives and of happiness, and is deservedly hated. Such a man will go into court and perjure himself (Proverbs 14:26). He is a totally untrustworthy man in whom there is little that is good. And he is hated by both God (Proverbs 6:18) and man.
‘The naive inherit folly,
But the shrewd are crowned with knowledge.'
Here we learn where the folly of the naive often comes from. They inherit it. It is passed on from generation to generation. All too often they learn it from their parents, or their relatives. We all need to remember this, that our faults are picked up and carried into practise by our children. They mirror our behaviour.
In contrast are the shrewd. They are crowned with knowledge (the knowledge of God). Their knowledge of God decorates their brow and is seen by all. It brings them honour and esteem. This idea was stressed in the Prologue. Compare Proverbs 1:9; Proverbs 4:9. In the parallel Proverbs 14:24 they are crowned with riches (which they have built up through hard labour - Proverbs 14:23), the riches which come from wisdom, whilst all that folly produces is folly.
‘The evil bow down before the good,
And the wicked, at the gates of the righteous.'
And it is because the shrewd are crowned with knowledge that the evil bow down before them. They recognise their quality. Even though they may not admit it, evil men have respect for the truly good. We have here a reminder that good will triumph in the end.
And this is especially so in respect of justice (at least ideally). ‘The gates' of a city were the places where the courts sat, and judgment was given. Thus those appointed to judge are generally those who have gained the respect of the people by their reliability and honesty, and the unrighteous have to bow down to them. Paradoxically unrighteous people do not want to be judged by unrighteous men (unless they are in a position to bribe them). It is the men who have become well off through their own labours, rather than those who just talk (Proverbs 14:23), in whom men tend to put their trust. They have proved themselves by their actions. Interestingly the idea is that the unrighteous recognise those who are like themselves and do not want to be governed by them.
‘The poor is hated even of his own neighbour,
But the rich has many who love him.'
In Proverbs 14:17 it was the evil schemer who was hated. Here it is the poor. ‘The poor' can have a number of meanings. It can signify the destitute, many of whom have become destitute though slothfulness (Proverbs 6:6-11; Proverbs 10:4). It can signify the subsistence farmer, who struggles to supply his family with food. It can signify those who labour for others as employees in order to supply their families with food (compare Jeremiah 39:20). And it can signify the relatively poor, who have sufficient for survival and no more. But it is probably not ‘the deserving poor' who are in mind here. It is probably rather speaking of the poor who are poor because of their slothfulness and neglect, which has been the regular significance of the poor in Proverbs up to this point (Proverbs 6:6-11; Proverbs 10:4; etc.). These are ‘the poor' in context also, for Proverbs 14:23 refers to those who are in poverty because they do nothing but talk.
And in that case we can see why their own neighbours despise them. They see them for what they are. For they see the thorns growing on their strips of land and impinging on their own strips of land. And they see what a burden they are on the community. Furthermore they may well fear how they will behave, for it is such men who in the Prologue cause harm to their fellows.
In contrast the man who has worked hard (Proverbs 14:23) and become well-to-do is respected by all (his riches are a crown on his head - Proverbs 14:24). His family flourish. He has many friends. They recognise his worth and rejoice at how well he is doing. This interpretation ties in with the parallel proverb which contrasts the evil with the good (Proverbs 14:22), and with Proverbs 14:23-24 which again demonstrate that ‘the rich' are the wise (Proverbs 14:24) and the hard working (Proverbs 14:23), whilst the poor are the slothful who do nothing but chat (Proverbs 14:23).
It is, of course possible to interpret this proverb as simply cynically meaning that people hate poor neighbours and love rich ones. But in that case we would have to take it tongue in cheek and put ‘who love him' in inverted commas. For the fact is that the opposite would probably be the case. The rich may be fawned on, but they are usually not loved by those who are worse off, whereas neighbours tend to have sympathy for those who have become poor through misfortune. Once, however, it means the wise and good who have become well-to-do by hard work, as opposed to the slothful poor who have become poor through laziness, it begins to make sense, especially in Solomonic terms. It is true that at first sight the following proverb might be seen as supporting the second interpretation, but the word for ‘poor' there is a different one referring more to the lowly than to the destitute (compare Proverbs 3:34; Proverbs 16:19). Thus there is a different emphasis.
‘He who despises his neighbour sins,
But he who has pity on (shows favour to) the poor (lowly), happy is he.'
This verse parallels Proverbs 14:20 in its references to neighbours and the poor. But the meaning of ‘poor' (a different word from Proverbs 14:20) is probably somewhat wider here. More in mind are those of lowly status. The point here is that it is wrong to despise your neighbour, however high or low he might be, for God commanded, ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself' (Leviticus 19:18) and ‘you shall not hate your brother in your heart' (Leviticus 19:17). As a consequence the one who despises his neighbour, whether high or low, transgresses the commandments of God.
Some would argue that in order to balance the two halves the ‘neighbour' must signify a ‘lowly neighbour' and ‘the lowly' must also signify a ‘lowly neighbour', but that is to ignore the breadth of God's Law which commands us to love all neighbours, and to show kindness to all lowly people. The emphasis is on the contrast between despising and showing favour, not on the similarity of the recipients. Note how in the next proverb erring does not balance mercy and truth.
In contrast the one who follows God's Law and ‘has pity on (or shows favour to) the lowly' (compare Deuteronomy 15:11) will be blessed (God will act towards him in favour). We note that the proverb carefully avoids speaking of a ‘poor neighbour', and if it stood by itself we would not imply it in the first clause. Here, however, ‘having pity on and showing favour to the lowly' appears to indicate all lowly people, not just those who can be seen as neighbours. It would include ‘the stranger who lives among you' (Leviticus 19:33-34). But whatever may be the case, we must not miss the main point which is that we must not despise our neighbour and should have deep concern for the lowly if we would be blessed by God.
‘Do they not err who devise evil?
But mercy and truth will be to those who devise good.'
The words in the first clause cover all types of evil, both physical and moral. Evil basically means anything harmful. And the point is that to devise harm against others in any way is to err, to wander from the straight and true path. Those who ‘devise evil' are the ‘evil schemers' of Proverbs 14:17 who are ‘hated', and no wonder, for they plan to cheat, slander, inconvenience or do violence to their neighbours. Their thoughts are wrapped up in themselves.
In contrast are those who ‘devise good'. They plan for the wellbeing of their fellowman. They think of others. They devise for their neighbours what they would want their neighbours to devise for them (compare Matthew 7:12). And their neighbours will reciprocate, and so will God. Thus they themselves will be treated with compassion and faithfulness by men, and covenant love and faithfulness by God (they will be blessed as in Proverbs 14:21). Even the unrighteous will bow down before them and see them as worthy (Proverbs 14:19). They will win the hearts of all.
‘In all labour there is profit (or plenteousness),
But the talk of the lips (tends) only to penury (or want, need).'
In Proverbs 14:20-21 there has been an emphasis on the poor, and we are now presented with the explanation of that poverty which is typical of Proverbs. In Proverbs 14:22 mention was made of ‘covenant love and faithfulness' and this is exemplified in the profit that comes from labour. It is God Who supplies the rain and the sun which cause the crops to grow (compare Proverbs 3:9-10).
The point here is that toil is never wasted, it always results in some benefit. There is always gain from it. And hard toil results in plenty. In contrast those who spend all their time chatting (especially about all that they have done, instead of doing it) will end up in poverty and need. Once again the thought is that the wise prosper and the fool becomes poor. That is why the ‘evil' (the unrighteous) will bow down before the good (the righteous). It is because the good have prospered and the evil tend to be poor (Proverbs 14:19).
‘The crown of the wise is their riches,
But the folly of fools is only folly.'
The hard worker who becomes wealthy and the one who does nothing but talk (Proverbs 14:23) are now described in terms of the wise and the foolish. To the wise their comparative riches are a crown, just as in the parallel their ‘knowledge' of God is a crown (Proverbs 14:18). They reveal their status and wisdom, for they testify to their diligence and righteousness (compare Proverbs 1:9; Proverbs 4:9; Proverbs 12:4). In contrast fools are just fools. There is nothing more to be said. They have no status. Their status is that of a fool.
A true witness delivers lives,
But he who utters lies causes deceit.'
The subsection, which began with the thought of the evil schemer (Proverbs 14:17), now closes with an affirmation of the importance of truth, especially in relation to bearing witness in court where lives may truly be at stake. In a society where cases were decided mainly on the evidence of witnesses a true witness could make the difference between life and death for an innocent party. His true testimony might thus save a life. Unlike the evil schemer (Proverbs 14:17), he ‘devises good' because he himself is true, and he will thus himself receive truth and favour (see Proverbs 14:22).
How different is the false witness. He blurs the truth by his lies and replaces truth with falsehood. He makes deceit flourish. By that means he causes falsehood to triumph and may destroy lives. (Consider the false witnesses who bore testimony against Jesus). He is a man of wicked devices (Proverbs 14:17) who is hated by all who know the truth about him.