Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 10:28
The hope of the righteous [shall be] gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
Transpose hope and expectation. The expectant waiting of the righteous is joyful at the time, and ends in joy: the eager hope of the wicked comes to nought.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 10:28
The hope of the righteous shall be gladness.
On hopes and disappointments
I. We are not to expect permanence in our acquisitions. On the lot of some men Providence is pleased to bestow a longer continuance of prosperity than on that of others. But as the term of that continuance is hidden from us, all flattering and confident expectations are without foundation. Human life never stands still for any long time. It is by no means a fixed and steady object, like a mountain or rock. Nor is it a still, smooth stream with the same constant tenor. Amid such vicissitudes of time and life, who has any title to reckon upon the future? To faults all are subject, to troubles all are exposed. To look for entire exemption from faults or troubles is to court disappointment. We must not, however, sadden the present hour by dwelling on the thoughts of future disappointment. What is given us, let us cheerfully enjoy, and render thanks to Him who bestows it. Virtue, conjoined with prudence, may reasonably afford the prospect of good days to come.
II. We are not to expect, from our intercourse with others, all that satisfaction which we fondly wish. What the individual either enjoys or suffers by himself, exhibits only an imperfect view of his condition. In the present state of human affairs we are closely interwoven with one another. These associations open a field within which our wishes and expectations find an ample range. Among persons of all characters and descriptions many an expectation must perish, and many a disappointment be endured. All are jealous of the high pretensions of others. Hence the endless mortifications which the vain and self-conceited suffer. Hence the spleen and resentment which is so often breaking forth, disturbing the peace of society and involving it in crimes and miseries. Were expectations more moderate they would be more favourably received. Did we more rarely attempt to push ourselves into notice the world would more readily allow us, nay, sometimes assist us to come forward, in the closer connections which men form of intimate friendship and domestic life there is still more reason for due moderation in our expectations and hopes. For the nearer that men approach to each other, the more numerous the points of contact are in which they touch, the greater indeed will be the pleasure of perfect symphony and agreements of feelings; but, at the same time, if any harsh and repulsive sensations take place, the more grating and pungent will be the pain. From trifling misunderstandings, arising from the most frivolous causes, spring much of the misery of social and domestic life.
III. We are not to expect constant gratitude from those whom we have most obliged and served. Grateful sensations for favours received are very generally felt. When no strong passions counteract these sensations, grateful returns are generally intended, and often are actually made. But then our expectations of proper returns must be kept within moderate bounds. Many circumstances, it is to be remembered, tend to cool the grateful emotion. Time always deadens the memory of benefits. As benefits conferred are sometimes underrated by those who receive them, they are sometimes overvalued by those who confer them. On persons of light and careless minds no moral sentiment makes any deep impression. With the proud spirit, which claims everything as its due, gratitude is in a great measure incompatible. On the other hand–
IV. Whatever course the affairs of the world take, the good man may justly hope to enjoy peace of mind. To the sceptic and the profligate this will be held as a very inconsiderable object of expectation and hope. But surely the peace of an approving conscience is one of the chief ingredients of human happiness, if it be tempered with true humility, and regulated by Christian faith! He, whose study it is to preserve a conscience void of offence towards God and man, will have, in every state of fortune, a ground of hope which may justly be denominated gladness. He has always somewhat to rest upon for comfort.
V. A good man has ground to expect that any external condition into which, in the course of human affairs, he may pass, shall, by means of virtue and wisdom, be rendered, if not perfectly agreeable, yet tolerably easy to him. The inequality of real happiness is not to be measured by the inequality of outward estate. The wise and good man hopes to find, or make, his state tolerable to himself. In some corner of our lot there are always comforts that may be found. And the spirit of man will long sustain his infirmities.
VI. we have ground to expect, from the ordinary course of human affairs, that if we persevere in studying to do our duty towards God and man, we shall meet with the esteem, the love, and confidence of those who are around us. In regard to moral qualifications the world is ready to do justice to character. No man is hurt by hearing his neighbour esteemed a worthy and honourable man. The basis of all lasting reputation is laid in moral worth. Great parts and endowments may sparkle for a while in the public eye. Candour and fairness never fail to attract esteem and trust. The world commonly judges soundly in the end. The good man is likely to possess many friends and well-wishers, and to have few enemies. This subject, in its treatment, has been limited to what the righteous man has to hope for in the ordinary course of the world. But it has to be added that there is a hope laid up for him in heaven. He knows that in due season he shall reap if he faint not. For here, or yonder, his hope is perpetual gladness. (Hugh Blair,D.D.)
The hope of the righteous
The righteous here meant are those right with God.
I. Its foundation is good: The righteous is an everlasting foundation (Pro 10:25), therefore not swept away, as too often the hopes of the wicked.
II. the righteous shall never be moved (Pro 10:30). Confidence in this brings gladness to the Christians heart.
III. No removal by death from God. The character they bear is a security against death. Righteousness delivereth from death (Pro 10:2).
IV. The fact that the righteous have an almighty keeper and provider makes their hope one of gladness.The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish (Pro 10:3).
V. Thus we see the labour of the righteous tendeth to life (Pro 10:16). Careful, thoughtful, systematic in whatever employment he chooses, he so works that the labour itself promotes life.
VI. Thus another reason why the hope of the righteous is gladness is the assurance: the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
VII. Thus another reason for his gladness: the lips of the righteous feed many (Pro 10:21). The righteous man, being a student of the Word of God, and treasuring His precepts in the heart, is able to employ his lips in feeding many.
VIII. In the use of his lips to bless others another reason is found for his gladness: The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable (Pro 10:32) The right words are spoken to the helpfulness of others and to the glory of God.
IX. A final reason for the hope of the righteous bringing gladness is found in that his resources are unfailing: The mouth of the righteous man is a well of life (Pro 10:11). He has in himself a living well, and a well as drawn from is life-giving. Such is the assurance of the Master: The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (Joh 6:63). (G. H. Morss.)
The hope of the righteous best
The expectation of the man who has his portion in this life is continually deteriorating; for every hour brings him nearer to the loss of all his treasures. But the good hope through grace is always approaching its realities, and therefore grows with the lapse of time more valuable and more lively. As it is spiritual in its quality, and heavenly in its object, it does not depend on outward things, and is not affected with the decays of nature. Like the Glastonbury thorn, it blossoms in the depth of winter. The hope of the one is a treasure out at interest which is continually augmenting; that of the other resembles stock, the capital of which has been continually invaded, until the last pound is ready to be consumed. (H. G. Salter.)
The hopes of the righteous, and of the wicked
No subject is of so much importance to man as religion. On no subject is it so desirable that right views should be possessed. Yet in religion to what extremes of formalism and folly, absurdity and asceticism, men proceed. Multitudes identify religion with a tiresome routine of forms and ceremonies. And many build their hopes of heaven on the groundwork of austerities. In one direction we see men placing religion in little more than a name, regardless of all the duties and dispositions and devotions of which it consists. In another direction our attention is arrested by people who are so ascetic as to think it sinful to smile. The text contains a powerful corrective of all those false impressions of religion which moody and soured examples of it may have produced.
I. The character depicted. The righteous. Not one who fulfils every requirement of Gods law; nor one strictly honest in dealing with his fellow-men. If sinful man is to be righteous before his Maker, he must be so–
1. By Divine imputation.
2. By spiritual renovation.
3. By habitual practice. We demand a lustrous manifestation of probity as well as piety. Good works are as essential to salvation as a sound creed and a changed heart.
II. The Divine possession of this character. We are justified in describing this hope as Divine, because–
1. It has a Divine Author.
2. A Divine foundation.
3. A Divine tendency.
III. The blessed fruit of this Divine possession. Gladness.
IV. The awful contrast which the text presents. A contrast in character, and in destiny. (E. Dewhirst.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 28. The expectation of the wicked shall perish.] A wicked man is always imposing on himself by the hope of God’s mercy and final happiness; and he continues hoping, till he dies without receiving that mercy which alone would entitle him to that glory.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Shall be gladness; though at present it be mixed with doubts, and fears, and disappointments, yet at last it shall be accomplished, and turned into enjoyment.
Shall perish; shall be utterly frustrated, and so end in sorrow.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. gladnessin confidence ofrealizing it.
expectation . . . perishindisappointment.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The hope of the righteous [shall be] gladness,…. Or, “[is] gladness” w; it is now attended with joy; he has a pleasure in the exercise of the grace of hope as to future things; he rejoices in hope of the glory of God, and is enabled to hold fast the rejoicing of his hope firm unto the end, Ro 5:2; and the issue of his hope will be an abundant entrance into the joy of his Lord; a being brought into his presence, in which is fulness of joy; he is not ashamed of his hope now, and he will not be disappointed hereafter;
but the expectation of the wicked shall perish; his hope and expectation, either of riches, and honour, and pleasure in this world, or of a long life in it; or of happiness in the other, and of escaping the wrath of God, and the vengeance of eternal fire; all which, being grounded on a wrong bottom, shall be frustrated; see Job 8:13.
w “Est”, Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
28 The expectation of the righteous is gladness
And the hope of the godless comes to nothing.
as well as proceed on the fundamental idea of a strained earnest looking back upon something, the same fundamental idea which in another view gives the meaning of strength ( , Arab. hayl ; kuwwat , kawiyy , cf. , Arab. jdl , plectere , and , strong and strength). The substantival clause 28a denotes nothing more than: it is gladness (cf. Pro 3:17, all their steps are gladness), but which is equivalent to, it is that in its issue, in gaudium desinit . Hitzig’s remark that is the chief idea for hope and fear, is not confirmed by the usage of the language; it always signifies joyful, not anxious, expectation; cf. the interchange of the same two synonyms Pro 13:7, and , Psa 112:10, instead of (here and Job 8:13). While the expectation of the one terminates in the joy of the fulfilment, the hope of the other ( , R. , to separate) perishes, i.e., comes to nothing.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 10:28
HOPES REALISED AND DISAPPOINTED
I. The righteous mans present possessionHope. We saw in treating Pro. 10:24 that the righteous man possesses God-begotten desires, and that he has good ground for believing that these desires will be granted, therefore he expects their fulfilment, and desire and expectation constitute his hope. Hope is a fortune in itself. It gives a present gladness, and therefore a present power. It is in itself a tower of strength. Nothing upholds us so surely in present difficulties as the hope of a brighter future. If in the hour of darkness a man can say to his soul, Why art thou cast down, and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God (Psa. 42:5), he holds in possession a sheet-anchor which will prevent him from making shipwreck upon the rocks of despair and infidelity. The hope of the righteous is a present salvation. We are saved by hope (Rom. 8:24). It is an anchor of the soul (Heb. 6:19).
II. The righteous mans future inheritancegladness. If the hope of an expected good gives gladness, how much more its realisation! A man is glad when the title deeds of an estate are handed over to him even if he cannot at once enter upon its possession, how much more glad is he when he enters into the full enjoyment of his inheritance. The righteous mans hope is a more certain guarantee of his future inheritance of gladness than the most indisputable deed ever written upon parchment. It is as we saw before (see on Pro. 10:24) an earnest of its own fulfilment. The hope begotten in the heart of a child, by the inspiration of his fathers character and genius, that he may one day be like his parent, is a hope that the father himself will not disappoint. Love for his child and a regard for his own honour will impel him to do all that lies within his reach to satisfy the desireto fulfil the expectationof his child. If, in addition, he was able to promise the child that his hope should be realised, nothing could acquit him of his obligation to perform his promise except inability. The Eternal Father has by His spirit and by His promise begotten such a hope within His children and begotten them unto the hope (1Pe. 1:3). This is the hope of the righteous, and the character and the omnipotence of Him who gave it birth is a sure pledge that it shall be gladness. Closely connected with it are the hopes of the coming of Gods kingdom, and of the adoption of the body (Rom. 8:23), noticed in considering the desire of the righteous.
III. The doom of the expectation of the ungodly man. If the wicked man has fears concerning the future (see on Pro. 10:24), he has also vague hopes concerning it, although his desires and expectations are chiefly in relation to the present world. As to his desires of a state of happiness after death, they are not strong enough to lead him to comply with the conditions of entering upon it. Any expectation of this nature can be based upon nothing outside himself, and it must therefore perish. His expectation of the results of his own earthborn and devilish schemes will also perish. He may apparently bring them to a successful issue, but the end will show that it is not so. If he succeeds in gaining wealth or power, he will not get what he expected out of them. Any expectation which he forms as to the overthrow of the good will meet with the same doom. Pharaoh expected to be able to retain the Hebrews in bondage, but his expectation was broken to shivers upon the shield of Eternal Omnipotence. The chief priests and scribes expected to stamp out the name and the influence of the Nazarene by crucifying Him, but the result contradicted their expectations. In these instances may be seen a reflection of the doom of every expectation which is out of harmony with righteousness.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Christian! make sure the ground of your hope (2Pe. 1:10). Then set out its gladness as becomes an heir of glory. Let not a drooping spirit tell the world the scantiness of your hope. But show that you can live upon its gladness until you enter into its perfect and everlasting fruition. Doubtfulness leaves believers and infidels nearly upon the same level.Bridges.
The proverb means literallyThe hope of the righteous (itself) turns to joy. Faith is the begining of felicity. The expectation or assurance of the impenitent man, even if he finds it well placed, perishes as of its very nature. The world passes away and the desire thereof. The lost may have had all he wished, but his very wishes perish at the last day (1Jn. 2:17).Miller.
All the hopes of the wicked shall not bring him to heaven; all the fears of the righteous shall not bring him to hell.Bunyan.
It would be better for hope and expectation to change places. Even the expectant waiting of the righteous is joyful at the time, and ends in joy; the eager hope of the wicked comes to nought (comp. Job. 8:13).Plumptre.
The wicked cannot choose but fear, and, therefore, Eliphaz says of a wicked man, the sound of fear is in his ears (Job. 15:21). And in Isaiah (Pro. 20:17) they are compared to the troubled sea, which cannot rest. And because where fear is, it is some ease to think, if not to hope, that the evil feared may not fall upon them; this ease is taken away, for the fear shall come. Come it shall, as it were of itself without sending for, because it is most due unto them. An instance of this is given in those who lived at the time of the building of the Tower of Babel, and who saying Let us build it lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth, it followeth soon after, and the Lord scattered them upon the face of all the earth. On the other side, the righteous having tasted of goodness cannot choose but desire it; and because where desire is, it is some trouble to think, if not to doubt, that the good desired may not be accomplished, this trouble is taken away, for He shall give who can give whatsoever Himself will, whatsoever they can desire.Jermin.
Attachment to futurity has a remarkable influence on the operation of the human mind. The present, whatever it be, seldom engages our attention so much as what is to come. The present is apt to be considered an evanescent scene, just about to pass away; and in the midst of wishes and desires, of hopes and fears, which all respect futurity, we may be said to dwell. As on these the life of man is so much suspended, it becomes a material part of wisdom and duty to attend to any regulations by which they may be properly conducted. The anticipations of the righteous, conducted by prudence, and regulated by piety, mislead him not from his duty, and afford him satisfaction in the end. While the expectation of the wicked, arising from fantastic imaginary prospects, delude him for a while and terminate in misery. Let us consider, what we may, and what we may not, reasonably expect from the world.
I. We must not expect the uninterrupted continuance of any measure of health, prosperity, or comfort, which we now enjoy.
II. We are not to expect, from our intercourse with others, all that satisfaction which we fondly wish. Such is the power which the sophistry of self-love exercises over us, that almost everyone may be assured that he measures himself by a deceitful scale; that he places the point of his own merit at a higher degree than others will admit that it reaches. Were expectations more moderate, they would be more favourably received. If you look for a friend in whose temper there is not to be found the least inequality, who upon no occasion is to be hurt or offended by any frailties you discover, whose feelings are to harmonise in every trifle with yours, whose countenance is always to reflect the image of your own, you look for a pleasing phantom, which is never, or at most, very rarely, to be found; and if disappointment sour your mind, you have your own folly to blame. You ought to have considered that you live in a region of human infirmity, where everyone has imperfections and failings.
III. We are not to expect constant gratitude from those whom we have obliged and served. I am far from saying that gratitude is a rare virtue, but our expectations of proper returns must be kept within moderate bounds. We must not imagine that gratitude is to produce unlimited compliance with every desire we indulge, or that those whom we have obliged will altogether desert their own interest for the sake of their benefactors. I shall next show what a good man may reasonably expect from human life. I. Whatever course the affairs of the world may take, he may justly hope to enjoy peace of mind. This to the sceptic and the profligate will be held as a very inconsiderable object of hope. But, assuredly, the peace of an approving conscience is one of the chief ingredients of human happiness; provided always that this self-approbation be tempered with due humility and regulated by Christian faith. II. He has ground to expect that any external condition into which he may pass shall, by means of virtue and wisdom, be rendered if not perfectly agreeable, yet tolerably easy to him. The inequality of real happiness is not to be measured by the inequality of outward estate. A wise and good man is never left without resources by which to make his state tolerable. Seldom or never do all good things forsake a man at once. What is very severe of any kind, seldom lasts long. Time and continuance reconcile us to many things that were at first insuportable. III. We have ground to expect that, if we persevere in studying to do our duty towards God and man, we shall meet with the esteem and love of those around us. The world, as I have before observed, is seldom disposed to give a favourable reception to claims based on superior talents and merits. But, with respect to moral qualifications, the world is more ready to do justice to character. Unaffected piety commands respect. Candour never fails to attract esteem and trust. Kindness conciliates love and creates warm friendships. I have considered only what the righteous man has to hope for in the ordinary course of the world. ButIV. He has before him a much higher object of hope, even the hope which is laid up for him in heaven; the assured expectation of a better life in a higher and better world Put the case of a servant of God being overwhelmed with all the disappointments which the world can bring upon him, here is an expectation which will always be gladness.Blair.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
28. Shall be gladness Shall be fulfilled, and so produce gladness. Compare Pro 11:7; Job 8:13; Job 11:20; Psa 112:10; Psalms 119; Rom 8:24; Rom 5:2; Rom 12:12; Rom 15:13; 2Th 2:16 ; 1Jn 3:2-3.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Righteous Have A Joyful Hope, Are Secure In YHWH And Are Firmly Established. They Speak Wisely And Acceptably, Hate False Practises, And Walk Humbly And With Integrity. The Unrighteous Have No Solid Grounds For Hope, Are Without Security, Perverse Of Mouth And Tongue, Embrace False Practises, And Walk Arrogantly And Perversely ( Pro 10:28 to Pro 11:3 ).
In this subsection we have a cameo of the lives of both the righteous and the unrighteous. The righteous look forward to a life of joyfulness (Pro 10:28), walk securely (Pro 10:29) and are firmly founded (Pro 10:30). They speak with the wisdom given to them by God (Pro 10:31), and speak acceptably (Pro 10:32), refuse to indulge in false business practises (Pro 11:1), and walk in humility and in integrity (Pro 11:2-3).
In contrast are the unrighteous. They have no solid grounds for hope (Pro 10:28), have no genuine grounds for security and are ever at the mercy of the winds of fortune (Pro 10:29-30). They speak perversely and with false wisdom (Pro 10:31-32), indulge in false business practises (Pro 11:1), walk arrogantly only to be humiliated (Pro 11:2), and will find that their unreliability and perverseness will destroy them (Pro 11:3).
The subsection may be presented chiastically as follows:
A The hope of the righteous will be (result in) joyfulness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish’ (Pro 10:28).
B The way of YHWH is a fortress to the upright, but is frightening to the workers of iniquity (Pro 10:29).
C The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land (or ‘earth’ (Pro 10:30).
D The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the tongue of the perverse will be cut out (Pro 10:31).
D The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse (Pro 10:32).
C A false balance is an abomination to YHWH, but a true weight is his delight (Pro 11:1).
B When pride comes, then comes shame, but with the humble is wisdom (Pro 11:2).
A The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous will destroy them (Pro 11:3).
Note that in A the hope of the righteous results in joyfulness, (because the way of YHWH leads to joyfulness), but the hope of the unrighteous perishes, and in the parallel the integrity of the upright guides them (in the way that leads to joyfulness), whilst the perverseness of the treacherous destroys them. In B the way of YHWH upholds the upright, but frightens, or is ruinous for, workers of iniquity, and in the parallel the humble (and therefore upright) are upheld by God’s wisdom, whilst the proud, who resist God’s wisdom, come to shame. In C the righteous are firmly established and will never be removed, whilst the wicked will be removed, and in the parallel those who use false balances are an abomination to YHWH (and will therefore be cast out or cut off; compare Lev 18:27; Lev 18:29; Deu 18:12) whilst YHWH delights in those who use true weights (and He will therefore not cast them out. Their position is secure). The same words ‘abomination’ and ‘delight’ are found in Pro 11:20, where we read, ‘those who are perverse in heart, (and are thus of those who use false balances), are an abomination to YHWH, but such as are perfect in their way (and are thus of those who use true weights) are His delight’. Centrally in D the mouth and lips of the righteous are contrasted with the tongue and mouth of the perverse.
Pro 10:28
The hope of the righteous will be (result in) joyfulness,
But the expectation of the wicked will perish.’
In Pro 10:23 the fool obtained his laughter from his ill-doing, but it was a laughter which was short-lived until what he feared came upon him (Pro 10:24). But here the hope of the righteous is long lasting joyfulness and exuberance, for, unlike in the case of the evildoer, it will not perish. He has much to look forward to which is solid and permanent. His joy is of heart and soul and expresses itself exuberantly (Isa 55:12; contrast Jer 50:11 where the exuberance of the unrighteous is temporary). Indeed, his joy is in God Whose wisdom he follows. As a consequence, in New Testament terms, he enjoys ‘joy unspeakable and full of glory’ (1Pe 1:8). In contrast is the expectation of the evildoer which is short-lived, for he has no real hope. Any hope he has will perish.
Pro 10:29
‘The way of YHWH is a fortress to the upright,
(or ‘YHWH is a stronghold to him whose way is upright’).
But is frightening (or ‘ruinous’) to the workers of iniquity.’
How we view this will depend on whether we take ‘way’ as the subject of the sentence, or ‘YHWH’. Either is possible from the Hebrew text, and in the end both come to the same conclusion, security and peace for those who look to YHWH.
On the first view the stress is on ‘the way of YHWH’. It is being made clear that the way that Solomon is inculcating is not just some idealistic or philosophical way, it is the way of YHWH. This ‘way of YHWH’ is the way of God’s wisdom, the way of His truth, the way of His Torah, for Solomon’s knowledge of wisdom teaching was firmly founded in the Torah of Moses (1Ki 3:14). This is brought home in Pro 2:5-9 where Solomon stresses that what he is bringing them is God’s wisdom given to men and that through it He is a ‘shield to those who walk uprightly’. In the Prologue this way is variously termed as ‘the path(s) of uprightness’ (Pro 2:13; Pro 4:18), ‘the path(s) of life’ (Pro 2:19; Pro 5:6), ‘the paths of the righteous’ (Pro 2:20), ‘the way of wisdom’ (Pro 4:11), ‘the way of life’ (Pro 6:23), ‘the way of righteousness’ (Pro 8:20), and ‘the way of understanding’ (Pro 9:6). In Pro 10:17 it is ‘the way of life’. Those who walk in the way of YHWH (those who are straight and upright) are as safe as if they were in a strong fortress. While they walk in obedience to Him they have nothing to fear. And that way leads to a wholesome and fulfilled life. In contrast are the ‘workers of iniquity, for they hate that way, and ‘are frightened of it’ or alternatively ‘find it ruinous’. Either way they hate it.
If YHWH is the subject of the sentence, which is very possible, then YHWH Himself is the Fortress of the Righteous, He Himself is their Security so that they have nothing to fear, whilst the unrighteous, far from feeling secure are rightly frightened of Him, not with the reverent fear of a man towards his father, but in the way of being terrified of a stern Judge. They have no relationship with God except as the accused.
Pro 10:30
‘The righteous will never be removed,
But the wicked will not dwell in the land (or ‘earth’).
And because the upright are in the way of YHWH, which is their fortress, they know that they will never be moved. They have a permanent place under God’s Kingly Rule in the land which He has given them (compare Pro 2:21). This is in contrast to the unrighteous who will have no permanent place in the land (or in the earth) (Pro 2:21). They will be cast out as an abomination. The warning of being cast out of the land was firmly given in Lev 26:33; Deu 28:64-67.
The promise is general not specific. Some of the righteous were removed from the land (Daniel 1). But they nevertheless found that their refuge was with YHWH. What was being promised was their secure future. Not all the unrighteous were cast of the land, but they were nevertheless finally removed from it by death. They had no lasting hope.
Pro 10:31
‘The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
But the tongue of the perverse shall be cut out.
As so often in Scripture, what men are is revealed by what they say. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom and godliness, he encourages what is true and right, but the tongue of the unrighteous speaks perversely, because he is perverse, and it is thus fitted only to be cut out. The cutting out of the tongue was possibly a punishment often inflicted on someone who was seen to have spoken falsely against authority. But the idea here is that their ability to speak perverse things will be removed. At the Judgment they will have nothing to say.
Pro 10:32
‘The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable (delightful),
But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.’
This proverb parallels Pro 10:31. The lips of the righteous produce wisdom because they know what is acceptable in the divine economy. They know what is acceptable to God, and that is what they speak. In contrast is the mouth of the wicked. That only knows what is perverse. It may have much worldly wisdom, but it has no true wisdom, for it fails to take God into account, often deliberately. Indeed it may deliberately speak against what is acceptable to God.
Pro 11:1
‘A false balance is an abomination to YHWH,
But a true weight is his delight.’
There is a verbal connection of this proverb with the previous one in the use of the word ‘acceptable/delight’ (rason). In both cases YHWH shows favour because of what is fully acceptable in His eyes, whether it be true lips or true weights. The false balances speak to YHWH about their owner as loudly as the false tongue. Note how naturally Solomon includes the words ‘to YHWH’ . A general wisdom teacher would have omitted it. But to Solomon all judgments had to be made in the light of YHWH.
There is a similar verbal connection with Pro 11:20 where the same words ‘abomination’ and ‘delight’ are found. There we read that, ‘those who are perverse in heart, (and are thus of those who use false balances), are an abomination to YHWH, but such as are perfect in their way (and are thus of those who use true weights) are His delight’. So the use of false balances and true weights are seen as revealing the hearts and moral worth of the users. This was recognised in the Torah which declared, ‘just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin shall you have. I am YHWH your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt’ (Lev 19:36), and again, ‘you shall not have in your bag differing weights, a great and a small, you shall not have in your house differing measures, a great and a small, a perfect and just weight shall you have —’ (Deu 25:13-15)
So whilst at first sight this proverb might appear out of place, as a statement of business practise, a moment’s consideration reveals that it is not. Solomon knew that YHWH was not concerned about weights and balances as such (accuracy was very difficult to obtain). What He was concerned about was the attitude of heart and mind that lay behind their use or misuse. Whereas in the previous proverb ‘the lips’ and ‘the mouth’ represented people, so here ‘the balance’ and ‘the weight’ represent people. So we could paraphrase this proverb as, ‘those who use a false balance are an abomination to YHWH, but those who use a true weight are His delight’. For the false balance represents the unrighteous who use false methods in business. They may do it by surreptitiously holding down the balances with their finger suggesting that they were giving due weight when they were not, or by deliberately having one pan heavier than the other, or by twisting the crossbow so as to affect the measurement. Or they may do it by deliberately using false or inaccurate weights. Compare the words of the Egyptian wisdom teacher Amenemope, ‘Do not lean on the scales or falsify the weights, do not damage the fractions of the measure’. Whichever way it was their balances, and therefore themselves, were an abomination to YHWH. The true weight represented those who sought to be scrupulously honest. They were seeking to utilise what they saw as an honest weight. Such people, and their weights, were a delight to YHWH.
We must remember that in those days weights were not exact. They would often be stones selected depending on their size, and then suitably shaped and marked as providing the approximate weight. Many such weights have been discovered, and they were rarely exactly the correct weight. Indeed in many cases there would have been no exact standard to measure them by. But there was nothing wrong in there being variances if an attempt was being made to use them genuinely (the owner would often genuinely have seen them as being of the correct weight). What constituted the crime was the misuse of them. So a man might knowingly have two differing weights marked the same, using one when buying and the other when selling, to his own advantage (Deu 25:13). Or he might knowingly use a lighter weight so as to make a large profit (compare Amo 8:5). It was such that was an abomination to YHWH.
In the same way the manufacturer of a set of balances would have great difficulty in ensuring that they balanced exactly. There would almost always be some slight deviation, and this as been demonstrated to have been up to as much as 6 per cent. The main issue was how the merchant dealt with that deviation when he knew of it (or even caused it by bending the crossbow). It was the dishonest merchant not the honest manufacturer who made them into ‘false balances’, by not taking account of the discrepancy, although there would, of course, have been deliberately dishonest manufacturers. But the final determinant of their honesty or dishonesty was the user. He could take into account discrepancies, or use them to his own advantage.
The word ‘abomination’ connects the verse back to Pro 10:30. Removal from the land was regularly seen in terms of the practising of abominations (compare Lev 18:27; Lev 18:29; Deu 18:9-12). So here the deliberate use of false balances is seen as so morally abhorrent that it justifies removal from the land, whereas the one who uses a true weight can be sure of his permanent acceptability.
Pro 11:2
‘When pride comes, then comes shame,
But with the humble (lowly) is wisdom.’
The unrighteous, the fool and the scorner (Pro 21:24) is now thought of in terms of pride and arrogance (compare Deu 17:12), whilst the righteous and wise is equated with the humble and the lowly (compare Mic 6:8). The proud and arrogant have a high opinion of themselves, and are high in their own estimation. They continually want their own way, and they are unwilling to be corrected (see Pro 13:18). But they await the judgment of YHWH and of men. For poverty and shame comes to him who refuses to be corrected (Pro 13:18). They will soon find themselves called on to give place and will be shamed (Luk 14:9). It is those who are of a humble and contrite spirit who are pleasing to YHWH (Isa 57:15), and will never be put to shame. Those who are proud and arrogant in their attitude towards God and man will soon be brought to shame, they will be dragged down from their high perch, for pride comes before a fall (Pro 16:18; Hos 5:5). They will then truly discover that the way of YHWH is ruinous to the unrighteous (Pro 10:29). They will be shamed and humbled.
In contrast the humble (the wise and righteous and upright) show wisdom. They already see themselves as humble and lowly before God and men, and they take the lowest place (Luk 14:10). They have thus nowhere to fall. They are secure in YHWH (Pro 10:29).
Pro 11:3
‘The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the perverseness of the treacherous will destroy them.’
The righteous and the unrighteous have now become the upright and the treacherous. The upright (the straight) will be guided by their integrity and loyalty to YHWH. Because they are true of heart it will prevent them from going astray. They thus have hope and look forward to the future with gladness (Pro 10:28). In contrast are the treacherous, those who are not straight and upright, for their very perverseness (twistedness, distortedness) will destroy them. As Pro 10:28 puts it, ‘The expectation of the unrighteous will perish’. The term rendered ‘treacherous’, includes the idea of deceitfulness and its use may well have in mind the false balances spoken of in Pro 10:1.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
v. 28. The hope of the righteous shall be gladness,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 10:28 The hope of the righteous [shall be] gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
Ver. 28. The hope of the righteous shall be gladness. ] The righteous doth not so fear God, Pro 10:2 ; Pro 10:7 but that he hopes in him also; – see Psa 130:4-5 : – and that with such a hope as “maketh not ashamed.” Deo confisi nunquam confusi: “The righteous hath hope in his death”; Pro 14:32 his motto is, Cum expiro, spero; – My hope lasts beyond life.
But the expectations of the wicked.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The hope of the righteous, &c. Illustrations: Abraham (Rom 4:18-20); Joseph (Psa 105:17-21); Hezekiah (Psalm 126); Daniel (Pro 6:10).
hope. Hebrew. yahal = an unlikely hope.
expectation = confidence. Hebrew. tikvah = a likely hope. Illustrations: Goliath (1Sa 17:44, 1Sa 17:51); Athaliah (2Ki 11:1-16); Sennacherib (2Ki 19:23, 2Ki 19:37; 2Ch 32:21); Herod (Mat 2:16).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 10:28
Pro 10:28
“The hope of the righteous shall be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked shall perish.”
Contrasting with the futile hopes of the wicked that shall come to naught, “The patient expectation of the righteous is joyful, because it has full confidence of its being fulfilled.
Pro 10:28. Several times does this chapter state this same truth. The righteous have much to hope for, and God does not disappoint them. The hopes of the wicked will be dashed to the ground as they perish. Psa 112:10 and Pro 11:7 also speak of the expectation of the wicked perishing. Sin, then, is a losing game. Dont play it!
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
hope: Psa 16:9, Psa 73:24-26, Rom 5:2, Rom 12:12, Rom 15:13, 2Th 2:16
but: Pro 11:7, Pro 14:32, Job 8:13, Job 11:20, Psa 112:10, Luk 16:23-26
Reciprocal: Job 8:15 – it shall not stand Job 18:14 – confidence Pro 11:23 – expectation Ecc 9:6 – their love Phi 1:20 – earnest