Desire Needs a Direction and a Means

The first half has no verb in Hebrew: “A wise son: a father’s instruction”, as if the son simply is the product of the discipline. The King James supplies “heareth”. “Rebuke” is ge’arah, the strong rebuke of Psalm 104:7, where at God’s rebuke the waters fled.

“Soul” is nefesh in its sense of appetite: what the treacherous hunger for is violence, chamas, the “wine of violence” of 4:17. The first half repeats 12:14. One man lives on what his words produce; the other’s appetite is for harm.

“Keepeth his mouth” is notser piv, guards it, the prayer of Psalm 141:3, “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” “Openeth wide” is a rare verb for spreading apart, lips flung open with nothing held back.

“Desireth” is mit’avah, to crave, the word of Numbers 11:4, when the people “fell a lusting” for meat and the place was named Kibroth-hattaavah, the graves of craving. The sluggard craves and has nothing; the diligent is “made fat”, the fattening of 11:25.

“Lying” is devar sheqer, a word of falsehood. “Is loathsome” is yav’ish, makes a stench, the verb Jacob uses when Simeon and Levi “made me to stink among the inhabitants of the land” (Genesis 34:30). The liar stinks and then is ashamed.

The abstract nouns act like people: righteousness stands guard, and wickedness knocks down, the overthrowing verb of 12:7. “Him that is upright in the way” is literally “integrity of way”, tom derekh, and “the sinner” is literally “sin”, so the line reads like one quality guarding another.

Both verbs are reflexive: one man acts rich, the other acts poor. Paul describes his own life in the terms of the second: “as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (2 Corinthians 6:10). Appearances run both ways.

“Ransom” is kofer, the payment of 6:35. When Ishmael murdered Gedaliah’s guests, ten men bought their lives by telling him of hidden stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey (Jeremiah 41:8). “Rebuke” is ge’arah again, here a threat: no one troubles to threaten the poor.

“Rejoiceth” pictures a light burning bright and cheerful. A lamp was kept burning through the night in a lived-in house, so a lamp put out meant a house gone dark or dead. The phrase returns at 20:20 and 24:20, and Job 18:5–6 uses it of the wicked man’s tent.

“Pride” is zadon, the presumption of 11:2. The Hebrew says pride produces “only strife”, as though strife were its whole output. “Well advised” is no’atsim, those who consult, who take counsel together before acting.

“Vanity” is hevel, vapour, the word of Ecclesiastes and of Abel’s name. The Greek and Latin read a slightly different word, “gotten hastily”, which many follow. “By labour” is literally “by the hand”, little by little, handful by handful.

“Deferred” is memushshakhah, drawn out, stretched like a cord or a bowstring, from mashakh, to draw. The tree of life appears for the third of its four times (3:18, 11:30). Longing stretched too far makes the heart sick; longing met is life itself.

“Shall be destroyed” is yechavel lo, “shall be in pledge to it”, from chaval, to take a pledge, as a lender takes a cloak (Exodus 22:26). Despising the word puts a man in pawn to it; it will collect. “Rewarded” is yeshullam, paid in full, as in 11:31.

14:27 repeats the verse almost word for word, putting “the fear of the LORD” where this line has “the law of the wise”. “The snares of death” is the phrase of Psalm 18:5, “the snares of death prevented me”. The fountain is placed just where the traps are laid.

“Hard” is eitan, a word normally meaning enduring or perennial, used of a stream that never runs dry (Amos 5:24, “a mighty stream”). The phrase is puzzling, and many follow the Greek, “the way of the treacherous is their ruin”; the King James took eitan as rough, stony ground.

“Dealeth with knowledge” is literally “acts with knowledge”. “Layeth open” is yifros, spreads out, the verb for spreading a garment on the ground to collect spoil (Judges 8:25). The fool spreads out his folly for everyone to see, like goods on a stall.

“Messenger” is mal’akh, the same word used for an angel, a sent one. “Ambassador” is tsir, an envoy, as in Isaiah 18:2, “sendeth ambassadors by the sea”. The faithful envoy is marpe, healing (4:22); a whole negotiation can recover through one reliable carrier.

“Refuseth” is pore’a, from para, to let go or neglect, the verb of 1:25, 4:15 and 8:33. “Regardeth” is shomer, guards. Poverty and shame come as a pair, and honour stands alone against them.

“The desire accomplished” uses ta’avah, the craving of verse 4, now fulfilled. “Sweet” is te’erav, the sweetness of the sleep in 3:24. “Abomination” is the word for what the LORD loathes, here turned round: what fools find disgusting is leaving evil.

The Hebrew plays on sound: ro’eh kesilim yeroa, “the friend of fools will be harmed”, ro’eh and yeroa almost echoing each other. “Walketh with” is holekh et, the ongoing company of a fellow traveller, day after day on the same road.

“Pursueth” is teradef, chases. In 11:19 a man pursued evil; here evil pursues him, the chase turned round. “Repayed” is yeshallem, the repaying of 11:31. The righteous are not chasing good; good is sent after them.

An inheritance to grandchildren is land kept in the family, as Naboth refused to sell “the inheritance of my fathers” (1 Kings 21:3). “Laid up” is tsafun, stored as treasure, the verb of 2:1. Job 27:16–17 has the same turn: the wicked heap up silver, “but the just shall put it on”.

“Tillage” is nir, newly broken ground, fallow land ploughed for the first time; Jeremiah 4:3 and Hosea 10:12 say “break up your fallow ground”. The poor man has done the hard first ploughing, and still loses the crop. “Judgment” is mishpat, justice.

“Betimes” is shicharo, “seeks him early”, the shachar of 1:28 and 8:17; in 1611 “betimes” meant early, in good time. “Spareth” is chosekh, holds back, the verb of 10:19, “refraineth his lips”. The father who holds back correction is said to hate.

“Soul” is nefesh again, the appetite of verse 4, now satisfied. “Shall want” is techsar, lack, the verb of Psalm 34:10, “they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing”. The chapter ends on two stomachs, one full and one empty.