Proverbs 14

Kommentar zu diesem Kapitel

KI zu diesem Kapitel fragen

Proverbs 14 gathers sayings about the difference between wisdom and folly as it shows up in houses, hearts, words, work, and nations. It contains one of the book's most sobering lines, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death," and some of its most tender: the heart knows its own bitterness, even in laughter the heart may ache, a tranquil heart is life to the body. It insists that how a people treat the poor is how they treat their Maker, and that righteousness exalts a nation.

Kapitelkommentar öffnen

Proverbs 14 opens with a house built by a wise woman and torn down by a foolish one, and it keeps returning to what builds and what destroys. The fool's proud speech brings a rod to his back; the wise are protected by their lips. The empty manger is clean, but the harvest comes through the strength of the ox, a proverb that has consoled everyone who has ever cleaned up after productive work. Then the chapter goes somewhere Proverbs rarely goes, inside the heart. It knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy. Even in laughter it may ache. And in the middle sits the line that the book repeats later because it matters so much: there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. The chapter's closing verses are its heaviest. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life and a refuge for one's children. A patient person has great understanding. A tranquil heart is life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker. Righteousness exalts a nation. Read it slowly, one saying at a time, the way it was written to be read, and let the contrasts do their work.

Wichtige Bibelstellen

Proverbs 14:1-4 Proverbs 14:10-13 Proverbs 14:26-31 Proverbs 14:34 Proverbs 16:25

Historischer und literarischer Kontext

The chapter belongs to the Solomonic collection of two-line proverbs in chapters 10 to 22, teaching material for young Israelites learning to live well in family, trade, court, and kingdom. Its references to the manger and the ox, the witness in court, the king and his subjects, and the poor at the gate reflect an agrarian society governed by elders and a monarch. Its sayings were meant to be memorized and turned over, not read once.

Wie sich das Kapitel entfaltet

Like its neighbors, the chapter is a sequence of contrasts without a strict outline, but themes cluster. Verses 1 to 9 concern the wise and the fool in house, speech, and work, including the empty manger that comes with no oxen. Verses 10 to 15 turn inward to the heart: its private bitterness, laughter that hides ache, the way that seems right, the simple who believe everything. Verses 16 to 25 contrast prudence with rashness, the poor with the rich, and truthful with lying witnesses. Verses 26 to 35 gather the chapter's weightiest sayings on the fear of the LORD, patience, a tranquil heart, the poor and their Maker, refuge in death, and the righteousness that exalts a nation.

Warum dieses Kapitel wichtig ist

Proverbs 14:12 is one of the most quoted verses in the book, repeated word for word in 16:25, and it names the central danger wisdom exists to address: sincere self-confidence on a path that ends in death. The chapter also offers rare psychological realism for its age, acknowledging private grief no one else can share and joy that ends in sorrow. Verse 31, "Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker," grounds social justice in the doctrine of creation, and verse 34 has been quoted about nations for centuries. Verse 26 promises that the fear of the LORD gives security not only to a person but to their children.

Auslegungsfrage im Blick behalten

Verse 20 observes that the poor are hated even by their neighbors while the rich have many friends, and the next verse calls despising a neighbor a sin. Is Proverbs describing how the world works or prescribing how it should? The book does both, often in adjacent lines, and the reader has to notice the shift. Reading verse 20 as diagnosis and verse 21 as instruction is the wisdom the chapter is trying to teach.

Fragen zu diesem Kapitel

  • Verse 12 warns of a way that seems right and ends in death. What makes a wrong path feel right, and what does the chapter offer as a check?
  • Verses 10 and 13 admit that hearts carry bitterness and ache that others cannot see. How should that shape the way you treat people who seem fine?
  • Verse 31 says oppressing the poor taunts their Maker. What follows from that for how a community treats its most vulnerable?

Mit Kontext studieren

Nutze dies als Kapitel-Leitfaden und gehe dann tiefer in den Text selbst. Ziel ist es, die Beobachtung zu verlangsamen, die Struktur wahrzunehmen und bessere Fragen zu stellen, bevor man vorschnell zu Schlussfolgerungen kommt.

Zu Notizen hinzufügen
1 Chachmot nashim buildeth her bais, but the foolish pulleth it down with her hands. 2 He that walketh in his yashar feareth Hashem, but he that is devious in his drakhim despiseth Him. 3 In the peh [(mouth)] of the fool is a rod of ga'avah [(pride)], but the sfatayim [(lips)] of the chachamim shall be shomer over them and preserve them. 4 Where no oxen are, the evus [(feeding trough)] is clean, but much increase is by the ko'ach of the shor [(ox)]. 5 An ed emunim will not lie, but an ed sheker will utter lies. 6 A scoffer seeketh chochmah, and findeth it not, but da'as cometh easily unto him that is discerning. 7 Go from the presence of an ish kesil, when thou perceivest not in him the sfatayim [(lips)] of da'as [(knowledge)]. 8 The chochmah of the prudent is to understand his derech, but the folly of kesilim is mirmah [(deceit)]. 9 Fools mock at guilt, but among the yesharim [(upright ones)] there is ratzon [(favor)]. 10 The lev knoweth its own bitterness, and a zar [(stranger)] doth not share its simchah. 11 The bais of the resha'im shall be shmad, but the ohel of the yesharim shall flourish. 12 There is a derech [(road)] which seemeth yashar [(right)] unto an ish, but the acharit [(latter end, future)] thereof are the drakhim of mavet. 13 Even in sekhok [(laughter)] the lev is sad, and the acharit [(latter end)] of that simchah is grief. 14 The sug [(backslider, faithless one)] in lev is filled with his own drakhim [(roads)], but an ish tov shall be satisfied from above himself. 15 The naive believeth every davar, but the prudent looketh with care to his steps. 16 A chacham feareth, and departeth from rah, but the kesil throweth off restraint and is arrogantly reckless. 17 He that is quick-tempered dealeth folly, and an ish mezimot [(a man of crafty schemes)] is hated. 18 The naive inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with da'as. 19 The ra'im will bow before the tov'im, and the resha'im at the she'arim of the tzaddik. 20 The poor is hated even by his own re'a [(neighbor)], but the oisher hath many friends. 21 He that despiseth his re'a sinneth, but he that is kind to the anayim [(needy ones)], happy is he. 22 Do they not go astray that plot rah? But chesed and emes shall be to them that plan tov. 23 In all hard work there is profit, but idle chatter of the sfatayim [(lips)] tendeth only to makhsor [(poverty, want)]. 24 The ateret chachamim is their riches, but the foolishness of kesilim is folly. 25 An ed emes [(true witness)] saveth nefashot [(souls, lives)], but a lying witness is a betrayer. 26 In the Yirat Hashem is strong confidence, and his banim shall have a place of refuge. 27 The Yirat Hashem is a makor chayyim [(fountain of life)] to turn one away from the snares of mavet. 28 In the multitude of people is the glory of a melech, but in the lack of subjects is the ruin of the prince. 29 He that is slow to wrath is of rav tevunah [(great understanding)], but he that is angrily impulsive exalteth folly. 30 A lev marpeh [(sound mind)] is life to the basar, but kinah [(envy)] is the rottenness of the atzmot [(bones)]. 31 He that oppresseth the dal [(poor)] showeth contempt for his Oseh [(Maker)], but he that honoreth Him is kind to the evyon [(needy)]. 32 The reshah is banished in his ra'ah, but the tzaddik hath refuge in his mot [(death)]. 33 In the lev of the discerning reposes chochmah, but that which is in kesilim is made known. 34 Tzedakah exalteth a nation, but chattat [(sin)] is a reproach to any people. 35 The ratzon melech [(kingʼs favor)] is toward an eved maskil [(a wise servant)], but his wrath is against him that bringeth shame.

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