Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 15:28
The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
Contrast the studying of the wise before he answers and the hasty babbling of the foolish. The teaching of our Lord Mat 10:19 presents us with a different and higher precept, resting upon different conditions.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 28. The heart of the righteous studieth to answer] His tongue never runs before his wit, he never speaks rashly, and never unadvisedly; because he studies-ponders, his thoughts and his words.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Studieth to answer; he answers or speaks considerately and conscientiously, and therefore profitably, or to the use and edification of the hearers.
The mouth, not the heart; for he is without heart in Scripture account, and he rashly speaks what comes into his mouth, without the direction of his heart or conscience.
Evil things; foolish, and unprofitable, and hurtful speeches.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. (Compare Pro 15:14;Pro 10:11). Caution is the fruitof wisdom; rashness of folly.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The heart of the righteous studieth to answer,…. He thinks before he speaks, meditates what he shall say, what answer to give to men; whether in things civil, natural, or religious; and what to return to the Lord when he is reproved by him; or what to say in prayer to him, or by way of thankfulness for mercies received from him; see Pr 3:6; though our Lord advises his disciples, when summoned before their persecutors, not to meditate beforehand what they should answer, since they should have immediate assistance, Lu 21:14; but this was in extraordinary cases; in common ones the observation of the wise man should be attended to. A Jewish u writer renders the words, “the heart of the righteous meditates wormwood”, or bitter things; see Pr 5:4; as the judgment of God, death, and hell; this sense is mentioned by Aben Ezra, but rejected;
but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things; without any previous thought and consideration, without fear or wit; in great abundance, as water out of a fountain; thus an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things readily and at once, having no concern about the consequences of things, Mt 12:25;
[See comments on Pr 15:2].
u Kabvenaki.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Two proverbs regarding the righteous and the wicked:
28 The heart of the righteous considereth how to answer right,
And the mouth of the godless poureth forth evil.
Instead of , the lxx (Syr. and Targ.) imagines ; Jerome translates, but falsely, obedientiam (from , to bend oneself); Meri thinks on , wormwood, for the heart of the righteous revolves in itself the misery and the vanity of this present life; Hitzig corrects this verse as he does the three preceding: the heart of the righteous thinks on , a plur. of verb , which, except in this correction, does not exist. The proverb, as it stands, is, in fineness of expression and sharpness of the contrast, raised above such manglings. Instead of the righteous, the wise might be named, and instead of the godless, fools (cf. 2b); but the poet places the proverb here under the point of view of duty to neighbours. It is the characteristic of the righteous that he does not give the reins to his tongue; but as Luther has translated: the heart of the righteous considers [ tichtet from dictare , frequently to speak, here carefully to think over] what is to be answered, or rather, since is not used, he thinks thereupon to answer rightly, for that the word is used in this pregnant sense is seen from 23a. The godless, on the contrary, are just as rash with their mouth as the righteous are of a thoughtful heart: their mouth sputters forth ( effutit ) evil, for they do not first lay to heart the question what may be right and just in the case that has arisen.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
28 The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
Here is, 1. A good man proved to be a wise man by this, that he governs his tongue well; he that does so the same is a perfect man, Jam. iii. 2. It is part of the character of a righteous man that being convinced of the account he must give of his words, and of the good and bad influence of them upon others, he makes conscience of speaking truly (it is his heart that answers, that is, he speaks as he thinks, and dares not do otherwise, he speaks the truth in his heart, Ps. xv. 2), and of speaking pertinently and profitably, and therefore he studies to answer, that his speech may be with grace, Neh 2:4; Neh 5:7. 2. A wicked man is proved to be a fool by this, that he never heeds what he says, but his mouth pours out evil things, to the dishonour of God and religion, his own reproach, and the hurt of others. Doubtless that is an evil heart which thus overflows with evil.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Informed Answers
Verse 28 is similar to verse 2 in describing the utterances of the wicked but also emphasizes that the righteous recognize the importance of prior faithful study to assure correct answers, 1Pe 3:15; 2Ti 2:15.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 15:28. Studieth, i.e., considers.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 15:28
STUDYING TO ANSWER
I. Every righteous man is a student. The aim of study in any department of knowledge is, first to gain possession of certain facts, and then to make the knowledge of practical service in life. If a man intends to be a builder he must first be a student. He must first gain certain theoretical knowledge, and then make use of it. And so with every profession or callingeach requires thought before any work is entered upon. Every righteous man is a man with a professionhe is a professor of righteousnesshe gains a knowledge of righteous precepts with the view of reducing them to righteous practice. A knowledge of what is right and true in the abstract will be of little use to himself or to any other man unless the knowledge influences his words and deeds. The proverb before us sets forth the righteous man as a student of his speech. His aim is to speak the word in due season, spoken of in Pro. 15:23, and to do this he must be a student of the human heart
1. He must study the workings of his own heart. This is a study peculiar to the righteous man. Many men study themselves and others as frameworks of bone and muscle, who never bestow a thought upon the soul, of which the body is but the raiment. Other men watch the operations of the mental powers and tabulate all the movements of the mind as they are brought to light by internal consciousness. But the godly man goes deeper. He ponders his thoughts and feelings in the light of moral truth and righteousnesshe weighs his words in the balance in which he knows that God will weigh them.
2. He must study other mens hearts. He desires that his words should not only be harmless but beneficial to others; he desires to answer wisely questions relating to God, and man, and immortality; he sets his speech in order before he opens his mouth upon any of these weighty matters, and he considers the circumstances and dispositions of those to whom he speaks that like one of old, his doctrine may drop as the rain, his speech distil as the dew, when he publishes the name of the Lord (Deu. 32:2-3). Before his thoughts become words he submits them to the revision of his conscience and his judgment, and asks himself if they are such as he can hope God will bless to the edification of others.
II. All men who do not thus study their thoughts and words are the authors of much mischief. They are those who have never made what they think a matter of conscience, and consequently their words are the outcome of an unsanctified heart. As is the fountain, so must be the stream. For the words of such a man to be other than evil is an impossibility. How can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things (Mat. 12:34-35).
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
The tongue is the hearts messenger. So often as it speaks before the heart dictates, the messenger runs without his errand. He that will not speak idly, must think what he speaks; he that will not speak falsely, must speak what he thinks.Adams.
What is before said (Pro. 15:2, and chap. Pro. 12:23) of the wise and the foolish, is said here of the righteous and the wicked: and what is before said of the utterance of wisdom and folly, is here said of the utterance of good and evil. We have repeatedly seen how Solomon identifies these in his statements. Wickedness is folly; goodness is wisdom.Wardlaw.
Mouth, all agency. Religion is so much like politeness, that a polite man winnows (Pro. 15:7) his acts till they look sometimes like religion; but watch men where the guise of kindness fails them, viz., their aim to be polite, and their mouth pours out evils. There is a recklessness of act that only a religious purity can essentially restrain.Miller.
The wicked, speaking so much, cannot but speak evil things (chap. Pro. 10:19. Not his heart, as in the case of the righteous, but his mouth takes the lead.Fausset.
I. It is not easy at the first to apprehend the right, because error at the first ken standeth usually in mens light, and hindereth them from seeing the truth, whereof they may better inform themselves by serious deliberation. II. When the mind hath time and liberty to ponder upon, and will to weigh the point to be spoken unto, it findeth out good arguments for good causes, and digesteth the same in so apt a manner as may best persuade the hearts of the hearers. III. A meditating heart affecteth itself for that which it provideth for others to hear, and such men speak not only truly and pertinently, but faithfully also, and conscionably: their souls having first feeling of that within, which after their mouths are to deliver out.Dod.
The answer, which I conceive the heart of the righteous to study, is the answer of obedience unto Gods commandmentsthe answer of thankfulness for His favours and mercies received. For, as St. Gregory speaketh, to answer to God is to render to His precedent gifts the duties of our service. Now, this study is the study of the whole life of a righteous man. Whatsoever he goes about, he knows that he must answer to God for it, and therefore he considereth before he doth it, that it be answerable unto Gods law.Jermin.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(28) The heart of the righteous studieth to answeri.e., aright, knowing how much good and evil is caused by words. (Comp. Jas. 3:5, sqq.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
28. Studieth Meditates to answer. He does not answer an inquiry without thought, because he is solicitous to speak only what is correct and useful.
Poureth out evil things Belches forth malignity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 28. The heart of the righteous studieth to answer,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 15:28 The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
Ver. 28. The heart of the righteous studieth to answer. ] His tongue runs not before his wit, but he weighs his words before he utters them (as carrying a pair of balance between his lips), and dips his words in his mind ere men see what colour they are of, as Plutarch saith Phocion did. a He hath his heart, not at his mouth, but at his right hand, saith Solomon, to make use of when he sees his time. Melanchthon, when some hard question was proposed to him, would take three days’ deliberation to answer it. And, in his answer to Staphylus, he ingenuously confesseth, or rather complaineth, Quos fugiamus habemus, quos sequamur nondum intelligimus; We know whom we are to flee from (meaning the Papists), but whom to follow we as yet know not. Such divisions there were amongst themselves, and such lack of light at the beginning of the Reformation, that it was an ingenuous thing to be a right reformed catholic. A young man, one Vincentius Victor, as Chemnitius relates it, when learned Augustine demurred, and would not determine the point concerning the original of a rational soul, censured boldly the father’s unresolvedness, and vaunted that he would undertake to prove by demonstration that souls are created de novo by God; for which peremptory rashness the father returned the young man a sober reprehension, a mild answer, as the Hebrew word b here used imports. Not so sharp as that of Basil to the emperor’s cook, who yet well enough deserved it; for when the fellow would needs be pouring forth what he thought of such and such deep points of divinity which he understood not, Basil rounded him up with, S : – It is for thee, man, to look well to thy porridge pot, and not to meddle with these disputes.
a .
b , significat respondere, humiliare, negotiari.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
evil. Hebrew. ra’a. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 15:28
Pro 15:28
“The heart of the righteous studieth to answer; But the mouth of the evil poureth out evil things.”
“This contrasts the thoughtfulness that precedes the studious answer of the wise man with the hasty babbling of the foolish. “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one” (Col 4:6). In these words Paul cautioned Christians that their answers also should be preceded with thoughtfulness.
Pro 15:28. Clarke: His tongue never runs before his wit; he never speaks rashly, and never unadvisedly; because he studies-ponders-his thoughts and his words. A wise person is slow to speak (Jas 1:19) so as to tell the exact truth and to say what should be said. The chief priests and elders deliberated in answering Jesus (they studied before answering), but it was not righteous (Mat 21:23-27). The mouth of wicked poureth out evil things suggests that they speak with ease, giving no forethought to what they are about to say. And, oh, the wrong things that get said in this way!
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
heart: Pro 15:2, Pro 16:23, 1Ki 3:23-28, Ecc 5:2, Ecc 5:6, 1Pe 3:15
the mouth: Pro 10:19, Pro 13:16, Pro 29:11, Pro 29:20, Ecc 10:12-14, Mat 12:34, Tit 1:10, Tit 1:11, Jam 3:6-8, 2Pe 2:18
Reciprocal: Psa 109:2 – the mouth Pro 10:32 – but Pro 14:33 – General Pro 16:22 – the instruction Pro 17:27 – spareth Mat 12:35 – good man Mat 15:18 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 15:28. The heart of the righteous studieth to answer He answers, or speaks, considerately and conscientiously, and therefore profitably, to the edification of the hearers; but the mouth of the wicked Not the heart, for they are without heart, in the Scripture account, and speak rashly whatever comes into their minds, without the direction of their hearts or consciences; poureth out evil things Foolish, unprofitable, and hurtful speeches.