Proverbs – Bite-Sized Exegesis

Principles For Reading Hebrew Parallelism in English

To get the most out of Hebrew poetry when reading it in English: (1) look for subtle comparison and contrast, not bland repetition; (2) look for layered parallels; (3) look for movement in the parallels. Want to know more? Read this article.

Proverbs 10:29 – Bite-Sized Exegesis

The way of the LORD is a refuge for the man of integrity, but it is ruin for troublemakers.

Studying the Bible: To Love It is To Know It

To really know someone or something one must first love that someone or something. This applies both to human relationships and to Bible study.

Bite-Sized Exegesis – Proverbs 10:26

As someone who used to employ people, one of the most soul-destroyingly irritating things is the lazy underling. But really, we are all in a sense God’s employees. So what kind of diligence is God looking for from us?

Bite-Sized Exegesis – Proverbs 10:25

“When the storm wind has passed a wicked man is no more; but a righteous man is an everlasting foundation.”

Bite-Sized Exegesis – Proverbs 10:24

Fear of death is what drives the wickedness of the wicked, but there is no escape from it. Hope for God’s justice is what motivates the righteousness of the righteous, and it is inescapable.

How to Read Proverbs Effectively in English

If you do these things, reading either chapter-by-chapter or verse-by-verse, you will be on your way to a far more effective and enriching reading of the book of Proverbs than, I suspect, most people usually experience.

Bite-Sized Exegesis – Proverbs 10:23

Foolish and wise people do different things for fun: the fool thinks doing mean and destructive things is a joke, while the wise person actively delights in gaining wisdom.

Bite-Sized Exegesis – Proverbs 10:21

What a righteous person says is food for the souls of all those around them, while a fool cannot even feed his own soul. Taken with Proverbs 10:20, a progression appear: a wicked person’s thoughts might be worthless, but a fool is completely thoughtless.

Bite-Sized Exegesis – Proverbs 10:22

Whether you fear God or not, your hard work is not guaranteed to provide for your needs, let alone make you wealthy. God, who honors hard work, causes it to rain on the just and the unjust alike. It is the fool who says, “God did not make me wealthy. I made myself wealthy through hard work.”