Bible Commentaries
Proverbs 19

Verse 1

Pro 19:1

Proverbs 19:1

"Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool."

"Better a poor man who lives virtuously than a dissembler who is rich.”

Proverbs 19:1. This is very similar to Proverbs 28:6. Pulpit Commentary: “The poor man who lives a guileless, innocent life, content with his lot and using no wrong means to improve his fortunes, is happier and better than the rich man who is hypocritical in his words and deceives others and has won his wealth by such means.” There is often a connection between being poorer and honest and being dishonest and getting rich. The “fool” in this verse is apparently a rich fool.

Verse 2

Pro 19:2

Proverbs 19:2

"Also that the soul be without knowledge is not good; And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth."

"Zeal without knowledge is not a good thing, for a man in a hurry makes a slip.” In both of these verses, it is evident that the Anchor Bible has changed the meaning in order to give a better antithesis. The RSV, more faithful to the text, accepts the second clause of Proverbs 19:2, reading, "He who makes haste with his feet misses the way," but retains the second clause of Proverbs 19:1 as we have it in the ASV. Many of the recent translations take unjustified liberties with the MT; and although their renditions are true enough, in most instances, it should be remembered that the end result of their changes gives us the words of men instead of the Word of God.

Proverbs 19:2. A double contrast: “Soul without knowledge” vs. “hasteth with his feet” and “not good” vs. “sinneth”. It is not good for one to be without knowledge when God has given us minds in which to store and which can use knowledge and many means by which to acquire it. God was pleased that Solomon wanted wisdom (1 Kings 3:9-10). See also Proverbs 19:8. One without knowledge often acts hastily (No sense of caution) and errs as a result.

Verse 3

Pro 19:3

Proverbs 19:3

"The foolishness of man subverteth his way; And his heart fretteth against Jehovah."

"It is a foolish thing for us to fall into difficulty (due to our own stubbornness or foolishness) and then to blame God for our calamities which we have brought upon ourselves.”

Proverbs 19:3. “Clarke”: “They get into straits and difficulties through the perverseness of their ways; and...they fret against God; whereas...they are the causes of their own calamities.” Romans 1:19-32 gives a running account of the way mankind subverted its way: they began with a knowledge of God; there came a time when they did not glorify Him as they should; darkness set in upon their unspiritual hearts; in their conceit they began making idols, and the longer they went the worse representation of God they made; they came to be filled with all kinds of wickedness; God finally gave up on them until Gospel times.

Verse 4

Pro 19:4

Proverbs 19:4

"Wealth addeth many friends; But the poor is separated from his friend."

Our comment on Proverbs 14:20 is applicable here. Deceitful wealth is that which surrounds one with the type of `friends’ the prodigal son found in the `far country,’ but separates him from true friends.

Proverbs 19:4. Compare Proverbs 19:7. People like to identify with someone who will be a credit to them in the eyes of men, not with someone who will discredit them. The poorest of families don’t have very many real friends: those who will claim them, invite them over, etc. (Proverbs 14:20). Sometimes even relatives practically disown extreme poverty cases.

Verse 5

Pro 19:5

Proverbs 19:5

"A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall not escape."

Ideal as these precepts are, it is to be feared that only in the government of God are they strictly honored.

Proverbs 19:5. Another case of Hebrew parallelism in which the latter statement is a restatement of the first. This verse is almost identical to Proverbs 19:9. For the punishment of false witnesses, see Proverbs 21:28; Deuteronomy 19:16-19.

Verse 6

Pro 19:6

Proverbs 19:6

"Many will entreat the favor of a liberal man; And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts."

Any Christian can receive a personal demonstration of how true this is by giving a liberal gift to some institution, political party or to some social welfare group. He will soon have his mailbox stuffed full of appeals from `friends’ far and near.

Proverbs 19:6. They seek his favor for what he can do for them. A saying: “Be an unusual success, and you will have many false friends and true enemies.” This can raise the question: Do people love you or what you can do for them? Let a child show up on the school ground with a sack of candy, and everybody wants some; “you know me,” many will say.

Verse 7

Pro 19:7

Proverbs 19:7

"All the brethren of the poor do hate him: How much more do his friends go far from him."

Once more, as frequently in Proverbs, we have a factual statement of the way it is, and not the way it ought to be. See James 2:14-16.

Proverbs 19:7. Compare with Proverbs 19:4; Proverbs 14:20. In Proverbs 19:6 everybody wants to be a friend of the well-to-do, the one who gives gifts; but in this verse a man’s friends and relatives even go away from him, not wanting to have anything to do with him. Even the poor man’s words of appeal fall on deaf ears.

Verse 8

Pro 19:8

Proverbs 19:8

"He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: He that keepeth understanding shall find good."

Tate observed that, "In the first line here, the New English Bible is more accurate here than the RSV.” Here are both renditions: "He who gets wisdom loves himself.” "To learn sense is true self-love." Note also, that wisdom should not only be "gotten," it should also be "retained." Those who forsake the right way are guilty of violating this injunction.

Proverbs 19:8. He loves his soul because wisdom is good for the soul (Proverbs 19:2). Proverbs pictures wisdom as something to “get” (Proverbs 4:7). We are to “buy the truth” (Proverbs 23:23). We are to give wisdom an exalted place in our lives (Proverbs 4:8). But this verse also talks about keeping understanding. “Get” it, and then “forget it not” Proverbs 4:5 would tell us.

Verse 9

Pro 19:9

Proverbs 19:9

"A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall perish."

This is almost a verbatim repetition of Proverbs 19:5. See comment there.

Proverbs 19:9. A false witness, in those instances of lying about others, would be breaking the 9th Commandment (Exodus 20:16). God says such must be punished (Proverbs 19:5).

Verse 10

Pro 19:10

Proverbs 19:10

"Delicate living is not seemly for a fool; Much less for a servant to have rule over princes."

A remarkably effective illustration of what is taught here is that of Gideon’s son Abimelech by a concubine. Another Biblical example of the same thing is that of Felix (Acts 23:27-33). "He exercised the authority of a prince, but he had the heart of a slave."

Proverbs 19:10. “Delicate living” is luxurious living. “Seemly” means “fitting for.” Both statements of this verse show

somebody out of place: a fool living luxuriously and a servant ruling over princes. Neither one is in order. Appropriately does Proverbs 30:21-23 say, “For three things the earth doth tremble, And for four, which it cannot bear: For a servant when he is king; And fool when he is filled with food...” History tells us of a man who wanted to guard against falling into the very things of which this verse speaks. He was Agathocles, ruler of Syracuse. He rose from the lowly occupation of a potter and to remind himself of his lowly origin, he ate off cheap earthenware.

Verse 11

Pro 19:11

Proverbs 19:11

"The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression."

Wise men never "carry a chip on their shoulder," never are "easily insulted," and will always ignore, whenever possible, any discourteous action against themselves. Again from James (James 1:19), the New Testament pattern is, "Swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (anger)."

Proverbs 19:11. Proverbs 14:29 says, “He that is slow to anger is of great understanding,” very similar to this verse that credits it to his “discretion”. Proverbs 16:32 credits it to ruling his spirit (self-control). It takes both wisdom and self-control to remain calm and collected and Christian under fire and under pressure. It is this ability that enables him to “pass over a transgression of another”, which is said to be a “glory” to him. To lose one’s temper is not a “glory” to him but a “shame”. When one passes over a transgression, he is like God: “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?” (Micah 7:18).

Verse 12

Pro 19:12

Proverbs 19:12

"The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; But his favor is as dew upon the grass."

The thought here is parallel to Proverbs 15:14-16.

Proverbs 19:12. Numerous passages compare a king’s wrath to a roaring lion: Proverbs 20:2; Proverbs 16:14; Proverbs 28:15. Proverbs 16:25 also compares a king’s favor to refreshing moisture. “Geike”: “The secret of the luxuriant fertility of many parts of Palestine lies in the rich supply of moisture afforded by the sea-winds which blow inland each night and water the face of the whole land...From May till October rain is unknown, the sun shining with unclouded brightness day after day. The heat becomes intense, the ground hard; and vegetation would perish but for the moist west winds that come each night from the sea. The bright skies cause the heat of the day to radiate very quickly into space so that the nights are as cold as day is the reverse...To this coldness of the night air the indispensable watering of all plant-life is due. The winds, loaded with moisture, are robbed of it as they pass over the land, the cold air condensing it into drops of water, which fall in a gracious rain of mist on every thirsty blade...The amount of moisture thus poured on the thirsty vegetation during the night is very great.

Dew seemed to the Israelites a mysterious gift of Heaven, as indeed it is. That the skies should be stayed from yielding it was a special sign of Divine wrath...The favor of an Oriental monarch could not be more beneficially conceived than by saying that while his wrath is like the roaring of a lion, his favor is as the dew upon the grass.”

Verse 13

Pro 19:13

Proverbs 19:13

"A foolish son is the calamity of his father; And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping."

"A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping." "A foolish son can bring a flood of troubles to his father; and a nagging wife is like water that won’t stop dripping.”

Proverbs 19:13. A man is in a bad way when his children are no good and his wife is a constant nagger. Concerning “calamity” “Pulpit Commentary” says, “Calamity in the Hebrew is in the plural number, as if to mark the many and continued sorrows which a bad son brings upon his father, how he causes evil after evil to harass and distress;” and of the contentions of a wife it says, “The flat roofs of Eastern houses, formed of planks loosely joined and covered with a coating of clay or plaster, were always subject to leakage in heavy rains. The irritating altercations and bickering of a cross-grained wife are compared to this continuous drip of water.” A Scotch saying: “A leaky house and a scolding wife are two bad companions.” Other passages on the foolish son: Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 15:20; Proverbs 17:21; Proverbs 17:25. Other passages on the contentious wife: Proverbs 21:9; Proverbs 27:15.

Verse 14

Pro 19:14

Proverbs 19:14

"House and riches are an inheritance from fathers; But a prudent wife is from Jehovah."

Only God can give any man the kind of wife that the Lord gave to this writer. For more than sixty-two years, she has exhibited all of the elements of true Christianity with a loving devotion to her husband and constant service to God in the work of the Church. This opinion is shared by all who know Thelma Bradford Coffman. This writer feels that remarks of this kind are demanded by any intelligent comment on this verse. It would be wrong for this writer to comment on this verse without this testimony regarding what God did for him.

Proverbs 19:14. We may get material inheritances from our parents (2 Corinthians 12:14), but a wise wife is a gift from God (Proverbs 18:22). This saying is a bold contrast to Proverbs 19:13 : in this verse many blessings come to us because of our families (“inheritance from fathers” and a “prudent wife”).

Verse 15

Pro 19:15

Proverbs 19:15

"Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And the idle soul shall suffer hunger."

"Laziness is the undoing of the worthless; idlers must starve." No Biblical ethic stands any higher than "the work ethic." "If a man will not work," the New Testament declares, "neither shall he eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The same commandment of the Decalogue that says, "Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy," also says, "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work."

"Shout it, ye lords of creation;

And ring it, ye bells of the kirk;

The gospel of God and salvation

Is surely the gospel of work!

- Henry Van Dyke

Proverbs 19:15. Slothfulness, idleness, excessive sleep, and poverty are connected in this and other passages in Proverbs (Proverbs 6:9-11; Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 20:13; Proverbs 23:21). Two apt sayings: “Idleness is a living man’s tomb” and “Sloth is the mother of poverty”.

Verse 16

Pro 19:16

Proverbs 19:16

"He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul; But he that is careless in his ways shall die."

"Keep God’s laws, and you will live longer; if you ignore them, you will die.” The death here mentioned is certain, whether or not it may be referred to the cessation of one’s mortality or to his consignment to eternal punishment in the Second Death, or to both.

Proverbs 19:16. A double contrast: “He that keepeth the commandment” vs. “he that is careless of his ways” and “keepeth his soul” vs. “shall die”. One who is obedient to God is careful about his ways, and God blesses him with the salvation of his soul, but one who is disobedient to God is careless about his ways, and the wages of sin is and has always been death (Genesis 2:17; Isaiah 1:19-20; Romans 6:21; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:6; Philippians 3:19; James 1:15.

Verse 17

Pro 19:17

Proverbs 19:17

"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah, And his good deed will he pay him again."

Who should hesitate to lend unto God? Assistance and help that are provided for the poor are exactly that. The great distinction of Christianity is its love and concern for the poor; and no man is a genuine Christian who does not exhibit that quality of character.

Proverbs 19:17. The wording implies “giving to the poor”. To “pity” is to feel for, to make their burden your burden, to be touched enough about their situation to stop what you are doing and help them. This we are taught to do: Luke 11:41; Luke 12:33; Galatians 6:10; 1 John 3:17; James 1:27; Matthew 25:35-36. Cornelius (Acts 10:2; Acts 10:4; and Dorcas (Acts 9:36) were alms givers. Give to the poor, and God has promised to pick up the debt (Luke 14:12-14). Notice the message of Proverbs 28:27.

Verse 18

Pro 19:18

Proverbs 19:18

"Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope; And set not thy heart on his destruction."

This passage stresses the value of parental discipline of children while there is still time to direct the child in the right way. One of the great sorrows of 20th Century America is the widespread neglect of this duty, the results of which threaten the total ruin of our civilization. "Proverbs 19:18 b (the second line) may set a limit to discipline"; and in keeping with that interpretation, we have this: "But be careful not to flog him to death.” Even the New Testament strongly suggests that there is a limit beyond which discipline should not go. "Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath" (Ephesians 6:4). Harris, however interpreted Proverbs 19:18 b here thus; "Don’t avoid chastening and thus bring about thy son’s death.”

Proverbs 19:18. Correction administered in time without which the child’s mischief becomes meanness, and the character becomes set in wickedness. Other passages teaching parental correction: Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 23:13-14; Proverbs 29:17. A German saying: “It is better that the child weep than the father.” “Clarke”: “It is better that the child may be caused to cry, when the correction may be healthful to his soul, than that the parent should cry afterwards, when the child is grown to man’s estate, and his evil habits are sealed for life.” Non-chastening parents finally give up on their children and seem content to await the inevitable (whatever may result in life for them, which in Old Testament days would have been death by stoning: Deuteronomy 21:18-21). But this verse would condemn such parents.

Verse 19

Pro 19:19

Proverbs 19:19

"A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty; For if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again."

"The sense of this proverb seems to be that the connection between unseemly anger and punishment is so invariable that any effort to save such a man from the disastrous consequences, which he brings upon himself by his anger, would do little good; because it wouldn’t be long till he would again need deliverance.”

Proverbs 19:19. A man given to wrath always turns to it when things don’t go as he would have them. It is a sign of a character-weakness: the inability to cope with either one’s situation or one’s limitations. A man who loses his temper is like a man who gets drunk: it won’t be the last time. “Pulpit Commentary”: “While his disposition is unchanged, all your efforts will be useless, and the help which you have given him will only make him think that he may continue to indulge his anger with impunity.”

Verse 20

Pro 19:20

Proverbs 19:20

"Hear counsel, and receive instruction, That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end."

"There is a contrast here between two periods of a man’s life, the earlier part which has been undisciplined, and that which is yet future, on behalf of which the appeal to Hear instruction is directed.”

Proverbs 19:20. One’s wisdom is constituted of what one gains on his own and of what others seek to share. The more one has, the more apt he is to listen to what others would impart to him, and the less wisdom one has, the less apt he is to regard the good advice of others. “Pulpit Commentary”: “Wisdom gathered and digested in youth is seen in the prudence and intelligence of manhood and of old age.”

Verse 21

Pro 19:21

Proverbs 19:21

"There are many devices in a man’s heart; But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand."

In the run of a lifetime, a man hears all kinds of philosophies and all kinds of theories and teachings; but it is only the word of the Lord that shall stand the test of time and eternity. "Heaven and earth shall pass away," the Lord says, "But my word shall not pass away."

Proverbs 19:21. It is not what man wants that always comes to pass but what God decrees (or allows). See Psalms 33:10-11; Proverbs 16:1-2; Isaiah 14:26-27; Isaiah 46:10; Hebrews 6:17. God “worketh all things after the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). Men in a human council meeting thought they could stop Christianity (Acts 4:17), but they passed away, and the Word of God is still living, active, and powerful. Herod of Acts 12 took up against the church, killed James, and intended to kill Peter, but before the chapter was ended, he was dead, and in contrast to him Acts 12:24 says, “But the word of God grew and multiplied.”

Verse 22

Pro 19:22

Proverbs 19:22

"That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness; And a poor man is better than a liar."

This is the kind of proverb that sends the scholars seeking for some kind of `an emendation’ or `various reading.’ The two legs of this biped seem to have no connection whatever. This rendition attempts to pair two desirable things thus: "What is desirable in a person is loyalty, and it is better to be poor than a liar." Another: "Mercy is a fruit to a man, and a poor man is better than a rich liar.”

Proverbs 19:22. This verse states that which we desire in people, and heading the list is “kindness”. We like people who are kind; we like to be around them; their influence upon us is good. We appreciate their thoughtfulness; we appreciate their willingness to be helpful. We are comfortable and at-home in their presence. An unkind person is just the opposite of the above. The Bible says, “Be ye kind” (Ephesians 4:32); “Love...is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Concerning the second statement of the verse, this chapter has already shown that people go from and do not want to claim close connections with the extremely poor (Proverbs 19:4; Proverbs 19:7), yet they prefer a poor man to a liar (compare Proverbs 19:1). A man who will lie to others will lie to you. He is one you cannot trust, for he is not conscientious before God and with men. He makes a poor friend.

Verse 23

Pro 19:23

Proverbs 19:23

"The fear of Jehovah tendeth to life; And he that hath it shall abide satisfied; He shall not be visited with evil."

The affirmation here is that "satisfaction" is found only in the fear and service of God. On the tomb of William Rockefeller, Tarrytown Cemetery, N.Y., there is a quotation from Augustine: "Our souls, O God, were made for Thee, and never shall they rest until they rest in Thee." No matter how eagerly men seek soul-satisfaction anywhere else, they shall never find it. Only in Jesus Christ is there to be found that abundant life that comes from God.

Proverbs 19:23. This verse departs from Proverbs’ customary two-line verses. Notice the three lines here. “Tendeth” shows the usual or general results of fearing Jehovah. It means, other things being equal, that one who fears God will live longer—not only longer, but he will reap more satisfaction from living than those who lack it, the reason being that he will have fewer hardships because of not being visited with evil from God. The “fear of Jehovah” takes us back to the first real saying in Proverbs: “The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).

Verse 24

Pro 19:24

Proverbs 19:24

"The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again."

We have here a classical example of hyperbole. Can anyone imagine a man so lazy that, when he is eating, he will not even lift his hand from the dish to his mouth? "The scene here is a meal and the example extremely comical.”; Proverbs 26:15 repeats this. This must be classified as a humorous proverb.

Proverbs 19:24. Proverbs has much to say about lazy people: they spend much time sleeping (Proverbs 6:9; Proverbs 24:30-34; Proverbs 20:4; Proverbs 26:13). This verse “out-lazies” the others as it pictures a man putting his hand into the dish to get something to eat and then being too lazy to lift it to his mouth (Proverbs 26:15). When one is too lazy to feed himself, he is as lazy as he can get. Yet, all of life becomes a burden to the ambitionless person, the person with no purpose, no motivation. Arabic proverb: “He dies of hunger under the date tree.”

Verse 25

Pro 19:25

Proverbs 19:25

"When you strike an insolent fellow, a fool may learn a lesson; but when you admonish an intelligent man, it will add to his knowledge.” The contrast here is between a fool who does not learn unless he receives a blow, and the wise man who will heed a proper admonition. "Here we get a glimpse of the only language that a fool understands.”

Proverbs 19:25. A scoffer is out of order whether he scoff at God or is plagued with the spirit of scoffing at people. He should be dealt with (the younger the better). The verse implies that even if he doesn’t profit by it, the onlooking who might have taken up his ways will be affected for good (compare Deuteronomy 13:10-11). Reproving a wise person definitely aids him, for he wishes to increase his learning, and he is wise enough to see the rightness of the rebuke (last part of Proverbs 9:9). Proverbs 21:11 is very similar to this verse in both of its statements: “When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise; And when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.”

Verse 26

Pro 19:26

Proverbs 19:26

"He that doeth violence to his father, and chaseth away his mother, Is a son that causeth shame and bringeth reproach."

It is sad indeed that there should ever be such a son; but in our society today, there are many such sons, large numbers of whom have even murdered their parents. The text here offers no explanation of how such things come about; but a large number of such reprobate children reflect the failure of their parents to discipline them. Parents who rear an undisciplined child rear an animal, not a normal human being, and are kindling the fires of their own private hell.

Proverbs 19:26. The language suggests that the “son” is a grown son, not a child. It is speaking of gross mistreatment of aged parents. While our present society has many instances of this in comparison to Bible days, this verse indicates that there were some bad offspring in Bible days. Remember that parents are to be honored, not thus dishonored. Such conduct causes “shame” to his suffering parents and “reproach” against his own name in the community. Proverbs 17:2 also speaks of a “son that causeth shame.”

Verse 27

Pro 19:27

Proverbs 19:27

"Cease, my son, to hear instruction Only to err from the words of knowledge."

"There are many deceivers in the world. They make it their business to clothe error with the appearance of truth, and to weaken and discourage those motives to holiness that are set before us in God’s word. The exhortation here speaks to us as children, warning us to beware of their devices and insinuations.”

Proverbs 19:27. It does no good to be exposed to good instruction if it is not going to be followed. There are those who seem to be listening to what you are telling them, but they are only being polite or do not wish to engage in open disagreement, for when they go their way they have not been changed by what they have heard. In time Christian teachers will cease instructing people if they will not be obedient (Acts 18:5-6).

Verse 28

Pro 19:28

Proverbs 19:28

"A worthless witness mocketh at justice; And the mouth of the wicked swalloweth iniquity."

"The scene of the first clause here is a court of justice (Exodus 20:16; Leviticus 5:1); and the second clause, from the parallelism, is to be so understood. The wicked witness inflicts injury by false statements; and the iniquity refers not to the harm done to his own soul, but to the legal rights of others.”

Proverbs 19:28. A “worthless witness” would include both a false witness (speaking lies) and one who refused to witness (would not tell what he knew). To do either is to mock rather than further justice. Justice dictates that the verdict be built upon the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. One the latter part of the verse: “Mischief is the object of his passionate desire: it is a real enjoyment to him to produce calamity; he swallows it eagerly as if it were a sweet fruit (Job 20:12; Isaiah 28:4); he “drinketh it in like water” (Job 15:16)—(“Lange”).

Verse 29

Pro 19:29

Proverbs 19:29

"Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And stripes for the back of fools."

"The judgments and `stripes’ mentioned here do not refer to punishments meted out by a court of justice; but they always refer to the judgments of God, although inflicted by human instrumentality.” Regardless of the laws of men, it is God who condemns scoffers and also that class of wicked men called, invariably in Proverbs, `fools.’

Proverbs 19:29. Another Hebrew parallelism: “judgments” and “stripes” go together as do “scoffers” and “fools”. The verse is picturing an adult rather than a child, the “judgments” and “stripes” being public punishments. A child may be “foolish” (Proverbs 22:15), but he is not a full-fledged “fool”, but if one grows up, and his foolishness continues, and it is the recognized course of his life, then he is indeed a “fool”. Other passages on such punishments: Proverbs 10:13; Proverbs 26:3.

Proverbs of Solomon - Proverbs 19:1-29

Open It

1. What have you been especially zealous about at one time in your life?

2. When do you think parents should or should not bail their children out of trouble?

Explore It

3. What do these proverbs say about wealth and poverty? (Proverbs 19:1-29)

4. What do these proverbs say about wisdom? (Proverbs 19:1-29)

5. Why do we need knowledge? (Proverbs 19:2)

6. What’s the danger of haste? (Proverbs 19:2)

7. What does wealth bring? (Proverbs 19:4)

8. What is the fate of a false witness? (Proverbs 19:5; Proverbs 19:9)

9. What happens to the person who gets wisdom and understanding? (Proverbs 19:8)

10. What uncommon act brings a person "glory"? (Proverbs 19:11)

11. What affects family relationships? (Proverbs 19:13-14)

12. What is the problem with laziness? (Proverbs 19:15; Proverbs 19:24)

13. What is the value of listening to and obeying instructions? (Proverbs 19:16; Proverbs 19:20; Proverbs 19:27)

14. Why should we be careful about how we help a person with a short temper? (Proverbs 19:19)

15. What do we really want? (Proverbs 19:22)

16. To what does the fear of the Lord lead? (Proverbs 19:23)

Get It

17. Why are people lazy?

18. What are the benefits of wisdom?

19. What is zeal without knowledge?

20. What is dangerous about zeal without knowledge?

21. In what area of life do you need to temper your zeal with greater knowledge?

22. Why do people resist listening to and obeying instructions?

23. How should we guard our own life?

24. When would it be unwise to bail someone out?

25. Why is it so hard to overlook an offense?

26. How does the fear of the Lord lead to life?

27. What does it mean to fear the Lord?

28. In what way does every person desire unfailing love?

Apply It

29. What is one thing you can do to gain some wisdom?

30. What emotionally-charged subject can you learn more about this week?

31. How can you be a more prudent or loving wife or husband?