Chapter 20
Both 20 and 21 continue likewise. Some examples:
3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. ...
So...avoidance is more than acceptable as a strategy to avoid problems. You do not have to "stand your ground", and it is in fact discouraged by this verse. Honor is in avoiding strife, not in fighting and winning.
5 The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. [Pro 20:5 ESV] So many possible interpretations of this verse. Does it mean that a man of understanding can find out what others are really thinking, really planning? As in deciphering the strategic plan of an opposing nation or opposing King, or even an opposing neighbor or business competitor? Or does it mean that the one with understanding can help a King, or man, or business associate to focus on his true path and so help him to accomplish more than he might have otherwise? Or is it to help identify our own faults and problems so that we can become better people? This is one of those verses that is rich in possibilities that might be funneled down to only one by a poor translation because it also interprets.
10 Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD. ... 23 Unequal weights are an abomination to the LORD, and false scales are not good. [Pro 20:10, 23 ESV]
God doesn't like shady business practices. Unequal weights are a way to mislead buyers about what they are getting. Like replacing a metal part with plastic, like making the sheet metal on a car thinner so it's more prone to dents, or making the clear coat thinner making it more prone to chipping. I think all these things we see, these subtle, unrecognizable modifications of existing products so that they are cheaper to manufacture, and yet they sell for the same old price, are the kind of things these verses are about. This is greed. This is abomination.
Noticed this verse 2/20/21:
11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright. [Pro 20:11 ESV] I was drawn to this verse from the first, thinking it said it was really easy to tell good kids from bad kids. But today I read the footnote on the verse in the Thompson's Chain Reference Bible. Here is an alternate translation they give: 11 Even a child can dissemble in his actions, though his conduct seems pure and upright. This gives the verse a very different look than the ESV translation. So looked a little further...I am not crazy about the NIV but here it is anyway: 11 Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright? [Pro 20:11 NIV] Clearly, the NIV has tried to convey the "dissembling" inference. Looking at the interlinear, it seems that the only way to know which version of the word "nakar" to use is from the context - and we don't have any context here in this short little proverb. The word translated either "make known" in the sense of "make it obvious" in the ESV or "can dissemble" in the sense of "disguise the truth" is a primitive root verb in Hebrew - so these meanings are ancient. You know that Solomon knew both definitions of the word. It would seem that he purposely used this ambiguous word in order to make two wise statements at the same time. One statement is saying that we all evaluate children by how they behave, and the other warns us that even little children are well able to deceive for their own purposes. For instance, children can look quite innocent when you come into a room with two kids in it and a broken lamp. If you punish the one who "looks" guilty, there is every possibility that you have rewarded the one most accomplished at disguising guilt. This would be a bad thing! So my previous assumption - that you can always appraise the true character of a child by the behavior of that child is a vast oversimplification. Even children are complicated, and wisdom is required to deal with them, train them, teach them - to bring them up in the way that they should go. I think Solomon's real point here is that we shouldn't jump to conclusions about children.
Possible FB post
2024 - Most translations take the approach I did originally - that you can judge the character even of children, by their pure and upright actions. Not only children, but EVEN children. So this is about adults also, and certainly there is room there for deception in actions. Maybe Solomon's real point is that while actions speak quite loudly, it is wise to look beyond them to motivation, it is smart not to look at actions ONLY. Not even in innocent little children. And he could be saying that there are people who, even as children, intentionally misrepresent themselves as pure and upright to gain favor when those are really in their character.
11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright. ...
Isn't this one interesting. So much for zero tolerance. Behavior matters, in children and in grown ups.
19 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.
[Pro 20:3, 11, 19 ESV]
Second time, I notice vs 9, kind of sitting in there by itself, and very different from the verses around it:
9 Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"? [Pro 20:9 ESV] It "stands out" because it doesn't follow any of the patterns we've seen up to here. And the verses after it go back to the patterns already noted. MSB comments on the meaning of the verse, but not the difference in pattern. I think we're supposed to pick this verse out.
2021 - This verse:
22 Do not say, "I will repay evil"; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you. [Pro 20:22 ESV]
It is just not up to us to seek revenge. We are never to do so.
2021- This verse:
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge. [Pro 19:25 ESV]
You punish a scoffer so that others - followers - will learn. The scoffer is beyond help already. So remember, when you take on a scoffer - live or on social media - it is not for his benefit, but for the benefit of those he is influencing. Remember who your real audience is.
But when you reprove a wise man, it is for his benefit, so that he will become still wiser.