The big picture
Households, witnesses, workers, and rulers all appear in sayings about judging a path well. Wisdom builds and checks; folly boasts and believes too quickly. A clean feeding trough can mean there is no ox to do useful work. Laughter can conceal grief. The poor are often rejected, but contempt for them is named as sin against their maker. The chapter widens from personal choices to a nation's honour, joining patience, mercy, truth, and reverence for the Lord.
In this chapter
- A Clean Trough Does Not Prove Wisdom Proverbs 14:1-7
A wise woman builds her household, while foolish conduct tears it down.
- A Plausible Path Can End in Death Proverbs 14:8-14
Careful people seek to understand their course, while folly deceives.
- Caution and Mercy Are Better Than Loud Confidence Proverbs 14:15-21
The inexperienced believe every report, but the careful check where a step will lead.
- Useful Work and True Witness Support a People Proverbs 14:22-28
Those who plan evil go wrong, while plans for good meet mercy and truth.
- Patience and Mercy Honour the Maker Proverbs 14:29-35
Slow anger shows understanding, while a quick temper displays folly.
Central truth
Wisdom looks past appearances, weighs a path's end, and joins patient judgement with mercy towards the poor and reverence for their maker.
Scripture beside the summary
Proverbs · King James Version · 35Proverbs 14:1-7
A Clean Trough Does Not Prove Wisdom
A wise woman builds her household, while foolish conduct tears it down. Upright walking expresses reverence for the Lord; crooked ways show contempt. Proud speech strikes back against the fool, while wise lips protect. A trough without oxen stays clean, but strong oxen produce a larger harvest. Useful work brings costs and disorder. Truthful witnesses do not lie. Mockers fail to gain wisdom, while understanding opens the way to knowledge. The learner is told to leave company whose words show no insight. Surface neatness and bold talk are not sufficient guides.
In everyday life
A dairy manager points to the muddy milking area while a visitor praises the spotless unused barn next door. The working floor needs cleaning because animals are being fed and milked there. She sets the wash routine without wishing away the herd. Productive care includes manageable mess. Proverbs uses an ox's work to expose a misleading judgement of appearances.
Notice
Proverbs 14:4 An empty trough is clean because no ox uses it. The saying counts the value of productive strength alongside the work needed to maintain it.
Proverbs 14:1-7
King James Version1Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
2He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.
3In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
4Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
5A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
6A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
7Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.
Proverbs 14:8-14
A Plausible Path Can End in Death
Careful people seek to understand their course, while folly deceives. Fools make light of sin, but upright people find goodwill. Each heart knows its own grief and joy in ways an outsider cannot fully share. Wicked houses fall; upright homes flourish. A route that seems right can still lead to death. Laughter does not prove the absence of sorrow, and pleasure can end in heaviness. The inwardly faithless receive the fruit of their own ways. Good people find a different satisfaction through the lives they have chosen to form.
In everyday life
A reunion guest keeps smiling through dinner while carrying news of a serious loss she has not yet shared. A cousin notices her quiet pause and asks privately rather than declaring that everyone looks happy. The smile has not told the whole truth. He makes room for her answer. Proverbs also warns that a plausible path can conceal a deadly end.
Notice
Proverbs 14:13 Laughter and sorrow can exist in the same heart. A visible mood is not a complete account of what a person carries or where pleasure will end.
Proverbs 14:8-14
King James Version8The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.
9Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.
10The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
11The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
12There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
13Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
14The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
Proverbs 14:15-21
Caution and Mercy Are Better Than Loud Confidence
The inexperienced believe every report, but the careful check where a step will lead. Wisdom fears danger and turns from evil; folly rages with confidence. Quick anger produces foolish acts, and scheming earns hatred. The unthinking inherit folly while the careful gain knowledge. Evil will bow before good. The sayings then face an ugly social fact: wealth draws friends, while even neighbours reject the poor. That rejection is not approved. Despising a neighbour is sin, and mercy towards poor people is called a blessed way.
In everyday life
A village volunteer reads a dramatic appeal for money and checks the household's actual needs before sharing it. She discovers that a quiet family has been overlooked while a wealthy sponsor receives all the attention. She takes food to the overlooked door without repeating the rumour. Careful judgement becomes mercy. Proverbs names contempt for a poor neighbour as sin.
Notice
Proverbs 14:21 The saying judges contempt after observing how poor people are shunned. Describing a common social pattern does not mean approving it.
Proverbs 14:15-21
King James Version15The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
16A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.
17He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
18The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
19The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.
21He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Proverbs 14:22-28
Useful Work and True Witness Support a People
Those who plan evil go wrong, while plans for good meet mercy and truth. Labour brings profit where empty talk leaves want. Wise wealth can be an honour, but money does not turn folly into wisdom. A true witness rescues lives; a liar deceives. Reverence for the Lord gives strong confidence and refuge for children, like a spring that helps people escape death's traps. The last saying looks at kings: a large people gives a ruler honour, while an empty realm ruins him. Power depends on the lives gathered under it.
In everyday life
A food-cooperative organiser stops a long meeting to assign the packing jobs already agreed. One member checks the delivery record accurately, another opens the storeroom, and the boxes begin to fill. Good intentions become a service only when words lead to reliable work. The households receiving food sustain the cooperative in turn. Proverbs also grounds refuge in reverence for God.
Notice
Proverbs 14:28 A king's honour depends on having people, not only a title. The saying makes the population essential to the ruler's strength and standing.
Proverbs 14:22-28
King James Version22Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.
23In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
24The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.
25A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
26In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
27The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
28In the multitude of people is the king’s honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
Proverbs 14:29-35
Patience and Mercy Honour the Maker
Slow anger shows understanding, while a quick temper displays folly. A calm heart sustains the body, but envy corrodes it. Oppressing the poor insults their maker; kindness towards them honours him. Wickedness drives its maker away, while the upright have hope even at death. Wisdom rests within understanding, unlike folly that exposes itself. Right conduct raises a nation's standing, and sin brings public disgrace. A ruler favours a wise servant and resents shameful service. The closing contrasts join private restraint, treatment of the weak, and the health of public life.
In everyday life
A factory supervisor sees a low-paid cleaner blamed for a delay caused elsewhere. He checks the timing before anger takes over, corrects the accusation, and arranges the missed break. The worker's limited status does not make unfair treatment acceptable. Patience changes the action taken. Proverbs says mercy to the poor honours the God who made them.
Notice
Proverbs 14:31 Treatment of the poor reaches beyond the immediate person to their maker. The saying gives their dignity a ground that wealth or social approval cannot remove.
Proverbs 14:29-35
King James Version29He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
30A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
31He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
32The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
33Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
34Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
35The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Proverbs 14:1 begins with “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.”
Where the chapter turns
Proverbs 14:22 forms a natural hinge: “Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.”
The final note
Proverbs 14:35 leaves the reader with “The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words heart, wise, folly, fools, poor, wicked help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- crib
- A feeding trough or manger used for animals.
- penury
- Severe lack of money or other needed resources.
- backslider
- Someone who turns away inwardly from a formerly faithful path.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
