Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 10:9

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

9. known ] i.e. found out. Comp. 1Ti 5:24; 1Ti 3:9. Some, however, render, “shall be punished,” shall be taught by bitter experience his folly, comparing Jer 31:19, where the same Heb. word is rendered, “I was instructed.”

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Shall be known – literally, shall be made to know (see Jer 31:19; Jdg 8:16 margin) in the sense of exposed.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Pro 10:9

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely.

Upright walking sure walking

I. Describe the practice itself. To walk doth signify our usual course of dealing, or the constant tenor of our practice. Uprightly means in perfection, or with integrity; it denotes sincerity and purity of intention. He that walketh uprightly imports one who is constantly disposed in his designs and dealings to bear a principal regard to the rules of his duty and the dictates of his conscience.

II. Proof of the security.

1. An upright walker is secure of easily finding his way. If we will but open our eyes, the plain, straight, obvious road, the way of the just, is right in view before us. The ways of iniquity and vanity, ill designs and bad means of executing designs, are very unintelligible, very obscure, abstruse, and intricate. The ways of truth are graven in very legible characters by the finger of God upon our hearts and consciences. An upright man doth hardly need any conduct beside his own honesty. If ever such a man is at a loss as to his course, he hath always at hand a most sure guide to conduct or direct him.

2. The upright walker doth tread upon firm ground. He builds upon solid, safe, approved and well-tried principles.

3. The upright person doth walk steadily. His integrity is an excellent ballast, holding him tight and well poised in his deportment.

4. The way of uprightness is the surest for dispatch, and the shortest cut toward the execution or attainment of any good purpose.

5. The way of uprightness is in itself very safe, free of danger, tending to no mischief.

6. The way of uprightness is fair and pleasant.

7. He that walketh uprightly is secure as to his honour and credit. By pure integrity, a man first maintaineth a due respect and esteem unto himself, then preserveth an entire reputation with others.

8. The particular methods of acting which uprightness disposeth to observe do yield great security from troubles and crosses in their transactions.

9. An upright waller hath perfect security as to the final result of affairs, that he shall not be quite baffled in his expectations and desires.

10. It is an infinite advantage of upright dealing that at the last issue, when all things shall be most accurately tried and impartially decided, a man is assured to be fully justified in it, and plentifully rewarded for it. Upright simplicity is the deepest wisdom, and perverse craft the merest shallowness. He who is true and just to others is most faithful and friendly to himself, whoever doth abuse his neighbour is his own greatest foe. (I. Barrow, D.D.)

The path of duty the path of safety

I. It is so because omnipotence guards the traveller (Psa 34:14).

II. It is so, however perilous it may sometimes appear. Moses, at the Red Sea, felt it perilous, but onwards he went, and was safe. Joshua, at the Jordan, felt it perilous. He proceeded, and was safe. David confronting Goliath; Daniel, in the lions den, kept on and were safe (see Isa 33:15). (Homilist.)

Of the security of a virtuos course

An important maxim: in the practice of virtue there is safety. Much higher praise than this may be bestowed upon it. Let the evidence for immorality be reckoned uncertain, still it remains the truth, that, for this life, a virtuous course is the safest and the wisest. Uprightness is the same as integrity or sincerity. It implies a freedom from guile and the faithful discharge of every known duty. An upright man allows himself in nothing that is inconsistent with truth and right. He hates alike all sin, and practises every part of virtue, from an unfeigned attachment to it established in his soul. This is what is most essential is the character of an upright man. He is governed by no sinister ends or indirect views in the discharge of his duties.

1. Uprightness of character comprehends in it right conduct with respect to God. Such a man, in his religion, is that which he appears to be to his fellow-creatures. His religious acts are emanations from a heart full of piety.

2. Implies faithfulness in all our transactions with ourselves. The upright man endeavours to be faithful to himself in all that he thinks and does, and to divest his mind of all unreasonable biases. He wishes to know nothing but what is true, and to practise nothing but what is right.

3. Includes candour, fairness, and honesty in all our transactions with our fellow-creatures. An upright man may be depended on in all his professions and engagement. All his gains are gains of virtuous industry. He maintains a strict regard to veracity in his words, and to honour in his dealings.

Such a man walks surely.

1. Consider the safety which such a person enjoys with respect to the happiness of the present life. Think of the troubles that men bring on themselves by deviating from integrity. The path of uprightness is straight and broad. He that walks in it walks in the light, and may go on with resolution and confidence, inviting rather than avoiding the inspection of his fellow-creatures.

2. Upright conduct is commonly the most sure way to obtain success in our worldly concerns. The most sure way, but not always the shortest. Universal experience has proved that honesty is the best policy. An upright man must commend himself by degrees to all that know him. He has always the greatest credit, and the most unembarrassed affairs. The disadvantages under which he labours are counterbalanced by many great advantages. Though his gains may be small, they are always sweet. He has with him an easy conscience, the blessing of God, and security against numberless grievous evils.

3. Consider the security which an upright conduct gives with respect to another world. It must be possible that there should be a future state. We may well secure the best condition and greatest safety in it. And the practice of religious goodness is the proper means to be used for this purpose. The happiness of every successive period of our human life is made to depend, in great measure, on our conduct in the preceding periods. All we observe of the government of the Deity leads us to believe that He must approve righteousness and hate wickedness. To act righteously is to act like God. And there are many reasons which prove that the neglect of virtue may be followed by a dreadful punishment hereafter–e.g., the presages of conscience. These reasons the Christian religion confirms. And should all that reason and Christianity teach us on this point prove a delusion, still a good man will lose nothing, and a bad man will get nothing. Inferences:

(1) How much we are bound in prudence to walk uprightly! Even if we regard only our present interest.

(2) In view of another state of existence the prudence of a virtuous course is greater than can be expressed.

(3) All that has been said is true, though there should be the greatest uncertainty with respect to the principles of religion.

(4) With what serenity of mind a good man may proceed through life. Whatever is true or fame, he has the consciousness of being on the safe side, and there is, in all cues, a particular satisfaction attending such a consciousness. (R. Price, D. D.)

Uprightness a mans greatest security

The supreme aim of men is to secure that which they esteem their chief interest, and to pursue it upon the surest grounds. Mans ultimate end is happiness.

I. Explain the words of the text. Walking signifies the course of our lives. Walking honestly or deceitfully, walking in light, in darkness, anal the like, is nothing else but living righteously or wickedly, behaving a mans self honestly or deceitfully in the world. Uprightly signifies in perfection, or with integrity; it denotes honesty and sincerity of intention. Ha who lives uprightly is he who in the general course of his life beam a constant regard to God and His commandments. To walk surely is to be in a safe condition; to be out of danger of falling into any extreme calamity. The sum of the wise mans assertion is this: He that in the whole course of his life acts sincerely and justly, with a continual respect to the reason of things, and to the law of God; that carries on all his undertakings by fair and equitable means, avoiding all frauds and deceits, all base and unworthy practices–this man takes the wisest and surest course to succeed in all his designs, respecting either his present or his future happiness.

II. Prove the truth of the assertion.

1. The upright man begins to act, or sets out, upon the best and surest grounds. To the undertaking and prosecuting any design upon good grounds, it is requisite–

(1) That the reasons upon which a man undertakes it, be firm and stable, and such as will not change.

(2) That he be well assured that the way he intends to go will lead him right to the end.

(3) That he be sure not to mistake the way.

2. In the continuance and whole course of his affairs he has the greatest probability not to fall into any considerable disappointment or calamity. And this for two reasons.

(1) Because the way of uprightness is in itself freest from danger, and according to the natural constitution of things, least liable to misfortunes and disappointments.

(2) Because it is guarded and protected by she peculiar favour and providence of God.

3. In the end and last issue of things the upright man has the utmost security, whatever disappointments he may before meet withal, that his designs shall then be crowned with the most perfect success. It is the event and final issue of things that determines the wisdom or folly of any action. The upright man will at the end appear to have chosen the wiser course–

(1) Upon account of that peace of conscience which will attend him at the hour of death;

(2) of the happiness which will attend him after death–a state of joy unspeakable and full of glory. What the upright man has done shall then be vindicated and approved, and what he has suffered shall be abundantly made good. (S. Clarke, D.D.)

The centre of gravity

The term upright, as applied to character, seems eminently direct and simple; yet in its origin it is as thoroughly figurative a word as any can be. It is a physical law declared applicable to a moral subject. When a mans position is physically upright, he can stand easily or bear much. He is not soon wearied; he is not easily broken down. But if his limbs are uneven, or his posture bent, he is readily crushed by the weight of another; he is soon exhausted even by his own. There is a similar law in the moral department. There is an attitude of soul which corresponds to the erect position of the body, and is called uprightness. The least deviation from the line of righteousness will take your strength away, and leave you at the mercy of the meanest foe. There is evidence enough around us that righteousness presides over the government of the world. Although men are not righteous, yet righteousness is in the long run the sweetest way to success even among men. As an upright pillar can bear a greater weight than a leaning one, so moral rectitude is strong and obliquity weak. A true witness will bear an amount of cross-questioning which is sufficient to weigh twenty false witnesses down. Truth stands longer and bears more among men than falsehood. This law, operating in the world, is a glory to God in the highest. It visibly identifies the moral Governor of mankind with the Maker of the world. (W. Arnot, D.D.)

The safety of religion

The term walk signifies a course of conduct. To walk uprightly is to pursue a course of uprightness, or integrity. He who pursues such a course walks safely. God is righteous. Being such, He must regard the righteous with approbation and complacency.

I. What sentiments are safe, or what may we safely believe?

1. It is safe to believe the Scriptures are a revelation from God.

2. To believe in the immortality of the soul and in a future state of retribution.

3. To believe that men are naturally destitute of holiness, or in other words, wholly sinful.

4. That a moral renovation or change of heart is necessary to salvation.

5. In the proper Divinity of Jesus Christ.

6. That Christ has made an atonement for sin, and that we must be justified by faith in Him, and not by our own works.

7. That all men will not be saved.

II. What practice is safe? All who are called Christians may be divided into two classes. One is distinguished by a strict, the other by a lax interpretation of the Divine precepts. Which of these two classes pursues the safe course? Which is most dangerous–to have too little religion or too much? Surely he only who walks strictly walks safely. (E. Payson, D.D.)

The upright walker

The man who walks uprightly is relieved from all fear, and is inspired by the very spirit of courage. He knows that he means to be right, to do right, and therefore he can challenge the world to find fault with him. He glories in an honest purpose. The man who goes through life by crooked paths, sinuously endeavouring to avoid royal thoroughfares, will be discovered, and because he has a consciousness of this ultimate detection he lives a life of perpetual unrest. The man who perverts his ways shall be instructed by misfortune. He would not listen to more genial teachers, he put away from him the spirit of counsel and understanding, so the grim monitor known by the name of Misfortune, comes and conducts his schooling, compelling him to read hard words, and to undergo severe discipline. Honesty is a child of the daylight, and true honour works for no advantage, but submits itself to the most searching analysis and criticism. The righteous are bold as a lion. (J. Parker, D.D.)

How to be strong, safe, happy, and eternally progressive

This is a practical maxim which, if generally adopted and carried out in action, would change the whole aspect and condition of the world, producing order, peace, and happiness where now reign only disorder, misery, and crime. What is it to be right? It is to have our feeling, sentiments, and conduct conformed to the will of God, the eternal rule of right; or it is to think, feel, and act in accordance with the immutable standard of truth and right revealed in the Word of God. How extensive a thing right is! It takes in both the inner and outer man; both the duties which we owe to ourselves, and those which we owe to our fellow-men and to God.

I. To be right is to be strong. All the various faculties God has given us attain their most perfect development, activity, and strength only when they are nurtured and trained, and are exercised in accordance with the laws of right. This is true of body, mind, and heart. This is supported by Bible examples. This is a source of strength which can be found nowhere else. It brings the whole man into harmony with himself, reason, conscience, will–and all these into harmony with God and the great forces of His moral government and providence. Strength in being right is real strength.

II. To re bight is to be safe. This must be true, since God and His government are on the side of right, and all His perfections are pledged for the safety and ultimate well-being of them that obey His laws. He walks in the light who is right. It is true, even in regard to our temporal interests, that to be right is to be safe. We sometimes see a man apparently prosperous and happy in a course of wrong-doing. But he is all the while in danger. The path of rightness may not always be the shortest way to temporal prosperity, it is always, in the long run, the surest. Much more, to be right is to be safe in regard to our spiritual and eternal interests.

III. To be right is to be happy. This might be inferred with entire certainty from the design of the Creator in making us free moral agents; from the faculties He has given us, and the laws He has impressed on our being and ordained for our obedience; and also from the various provisions of His providence and grace, as well as from the abundant teachings and promises of His Word. The happiness of God consists in His being right. He is infinitely happy because He is infinitely righteous, true, just, and good.

IV. To be right is to be in a position of eternal progress in all that adds dignity and blessedness to an immortal nature. What have we to do, in this state of probation, to secure the highest good of our souls? how rise to the highest dignity and happiness which our immortal natures are made capable of attaining? Only one answer can be given. It is by being right: right with God, right with our own moral and immortal nature, and right with the principles of that eternal government which the Creator has ordained, and under which we are to live for ever and ever. The man who is right has God on his side, and the laws of the universe on his side, and all good beings on his side; and into whatever part of the universe he may remove, God is there, surrounding him with His everlasting favour, and he cannot be otherwise than safe and happy. Practical lessons:

1. God exercises a moral government over this world. He has made us free moral agents. He has placed us under wise and benevolent laws, sanctioned by rewards and punishments, which are sure to follow, in the line of right or wrong-doing. Results are not complete in this life. Things are nosy in progress; the full consequences of human conduct lie in the future. But what we see here is sufficient to convince us that God reigns over this world as a righteous moral Governor.

2. We may learn what is true policy. It is always and in all circumstances to do what is right. Cunning, compromise, artifice, expediency, and fraud may seem to work well for a time, but mischief and evil are sure to come in the issue. The effect always is to corrupt moral principle, to weaken conscience, to darken the mind, and to arm providence, and the course of nature, and the Word of God against those who thus sacrifice right for expediency, and principle for policy.

3. No change in a mans life is so great as when he is truly converted from sin to holiness, and comes under the law of right as his ruling principle of action. It changes his whole state and prospects for eternity.

4. How urgent, then, are the reasons for seeking to be right above all things else–right with ourselves, right with our fellow-men, right with God and the eternal laws and principles of His government. (J. Hawes, D.D.)

The practice of religion enforced by reason

Walking represents an active principle in an active posture. As the nature of man carries him out to action, the same nature renders him solicitous about the issue and event of his actions. A man must take care not to be deceived in the rule which he proposes for the measure of his actions. This he may be–

1. By laying false and deceitful principles.

2. In case he lays right principles, yet by mistaking in the consequences which he draws from them. He who guides his actions by the rules of piety and religion lays these two principles as the great ground of all that he does.

(1) That there is an infinite, eternal, all-wise mind governing the affairs of the world, and taking such an account of the actions of men as, according to the quality of them, to punish or reward them.

(2) That there is an estate of happiness or misery after this life, allotted to every man, according to the quality of his actions here. Consider these principles under a threefold supposition.

I. As certainly true. It is necessary that there should be some first mover; and if so, a first being; and the first being must infer an infinite, unlimited perfection in the said being. All other perfection must be derived from it, and so we infer the creation of the world. If God created the world, He must govern it, and this by means suitable to the natures of the things He governs, and to the attainment of the proper ends of government. As man is a moral agent, he must be governed by laws, and these sustained by sanctions. While a man steers his course by these principles he acts prudentially and safely. The presuming sinner can have only two excuses.

1. That God is merciful, and will not be so severe as His word.

2. That a future repentance is possible. But, upon supposition of the certain truth of the principles of religion, he who walks not uprightly has neither from the presumption of Gods mercy reversing the decree of His justice, nor from his own purposes of a future repentance, any sure ground to set his foot upon, but in this whole course acts as directly in contradiction of nature, as he does in defiance of grace.

II. As probable. Probability does not properly make any alteration, either in the truth or falsity of things; but only imports a different degree of their clearness or appearance to the understanding. The first rudiments and general notions of religion, natural religion, are universal. These consist in the acknowledgment of a Deity, and of the common principles of morality, and a future estate of souls after death. But if there were really no such things, how could this persuasion come to be universal? Can we conceive that the whole world has been brought to conspire in the belief of a lie? It is sufficient to render unbelief inexcusable, even upon the account of bare reason, if so be the truth of religion carry in it a much greater probability than any of those ratiocinations that pretend the contrary. Proved by two considerations.

1. That no man, in matters of this life, requires an assurance either of the good he designs or of the evil which he avoids from arguments demonstratively certain, but judges himself to have sufficient ground to act upon, from a probable persuasion of the event of things.

2. Bare reason will oblige a man voluntarily and by choice to undergo any less evil, to secure himself from the probability of an evil incomparably greater. Since probability, in the nature of it, supposes that a thing may or may not be so, for anything that yet appears, or is certainly determined on either side, we will here consider both sides of this probability.

(1) It is one way possible, that there be no such thing as a future state of happiness or misery for those who have lived well or ill here. Then he who, upon the strength of a contrary belief, abridged, himself in the gratification of his appetites, sustains only this evil–if it be evil–that he did not please his senses as he might have done.

(2) But, on the other side, it is probable that there will be such a future estate, and then how miserably is the voluptuous, sensual unbeliever left in the lurch!

III. As false. Even on this account he who walks uprightly walks more surely than the wicked and profane liver.

1. In reputation or credit.

2. In respect of the case, peace, and quietness which he enjoys in this world.

3. In the health of his body. Virtue is a friend and help to nature. It may be said that many sinners escape the calamities of life. But this may be due to their luck, or benign chance. Many more sinners are plunged into calamities by their sins than escape them. And sin has in itself a natural tendency to bring men under all evils, and if persisted in, will infallibly end in them. (R. South.)

Walking uprightly

Happiness is the favourite wish and the alluring object which every living creature pursues. In pursuing the end all are agreed, but in the ways of securing the end they differ widely. The choice of these means shows a man to be wise or foolish, religious or wicked. Man, besides his innate appetite for happiness, has a superior principle in him, which is reason; and reason will inform him that happiness, all joy and no sorrow, is unattainable and impossible under present conditions. The only way to obtain true happiness is to walk uprightly. It may, however, be said, that although the position in the text should be allowed to be true, yet it contains a truth of very little use or comfort to us, and a promise which none of us can apply to his own person; seeing that we are all sinners in various degrees. Two observations take off the force of this objection.

1. Though uprightness means goodness, and an upright man is a perfect and righteous man, this is not the character here represented. Here uprightness is a social virtue, producing a good conduct towards others. He who in all his dealings is honest, sincere, charitable, candid, and friendly, will in return receive good-usage and escape ill-usage. The promised reward of safety is also of the social kind, namely, security and peace, honour and reputation, esteem and favour, encouragement and assistance, rather than the future rewards of righteousness. Any person, therefore, may apply this encouragement to well-doing to himself.

2. Though we should suppose the uprightness mentioned in the text to mean goodness in general, and a goodness to which we cannot pretend, yet we may hope to make some advances towards it, and consequently may hope to come in for some share of the reward. If he who walketh uprightly in all respects, walketh surely in all respects, he who endeavours to do so, and on several occasions does walk uprightly, will obtain some degree of safety and security, proportionably to his moral improvements.

I. The ways of the righteous are plain, direct, even ways. Nothing is less difficult than to know our duty, and our interests also, if there be a sincerity of intention, and an integrity of heart. Christian faith and Christian practice are plain and perspicuous so far as they are of universal importance and of absolute necessity. The ways of the unrighteous are dark, crooked, rough, and slippery ways. What is to be said beforehand for the obtaining of criminal pleasures? And how much is to be given up? What are the consequences of such proceedings? and what the vain hopes on which such a person relies?

II. He who walks uprightly acts upon good moral principles, which will stand the test of the strictest scrutiny. The belief of these principles is absolutely necessary even for upholding civil government and preserving human society. All other springs and motives of action, besides reason and religion, are fickle and various. An upright person in all cases and conditions is the same person and goes the same way. By this he is secured from diffidence and self-distrust and distraction of mind.

III. He that walketh uprightly has taken the proper way to attain all that a man can reasonably hope and desire in this world. This proper way Scripture calls the straight and the plain way, viz., the way of diligence and benevolence, of honour, honesty, and integrity, which may seem to be slow, but is both sure and speedy also.

IV. He who designs only what is just and reasonable can run no great hazard. He is not likely to receive any great injury from intriguing men, or trouble from the vain and busy world. Nor is he likely to raise up adversaries. Serenity, satisfaction, and a just confidence always attend upon him. Good dispositions of the heart, like great abilities of the mind, are open, free, unsuspicious, courageous, and liberal. The upright person is constant and consistent with himself; his heart and his face, his mind and his speech, his professions and his deeds agree together. So men place confidence in him. He is secure as to the final result of affairs, the main end, and the considerable purposes of human life. If prosperity consists in a satisfaction of mind upon the whole, he cannot fail of being prosperous.

V. Either there is a future state or there is not. In either case the upright man is safe. He alone can make the best of both worlds. Do not, then, be weak enough to grieve or repine at the seeming prosperity of the wicked sons of fortune, who obtain a greater influence of worldly favours than many persons far better than themselves. (J. Jortin, D.D.)

The upright walker

His walk may be slow, but it is sure. He that hasteth to be rich shall not be innocent nor sure; but steady perseverance in integrity, if it do not bring riches, will certainly bring peace. In doing that which is just and right we are like one walking upon a rock, for we have confidence that every step we take is upon solid and safe ground. On the other hand, the utmost success through questionable transactions must always be hollow and treacherous, and the man who has gained it must always be afraid that a day of reckoning will come, and then his gains will condemn him. Let us stick to truth and righteousness. By Gods grace let us imitate our Lord and Master, in whose mouth no deceit was ever found. Let us not be afraid of being poor, nor of being treated with contempt. Never, on any account whatever, let us do that which our conscience cannot justify. If we lose inward peace, we lose more than a fortune can buy. If we keep in the Lords own way, and never sin against our conscience, our way is sure against all comers. Who is he that can harm us if we be followers of that which is good? We may be thought fools by fools if we are firm in our integrity; but in the place where judgment is infallible we shall be approved. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Integrity most successful

A straight line is the shortest in morals as well as in geometry. (Isaac Barrow.)

An upright posture

An upright posture is easier than a stooping one, because it is more natural, and one part is better supported by another; so it is easier to be an honest man than a knave. (T. Skelton.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 9. He that walketh uprightly] The upright man is always safe; he has not two characters to support; he goes straight forward, and is never afraid of detection, because he has never been influenced by hypocrisy or deceit.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

He that walketh uprightly; who is sincere, and just, and faithful in his dealings with God and with men.

Surely; or, securely, or confidently, as the word properly signifies, and is here rendered by all the ancient interpreters, and by most of the others; quietly resting upon Gods favour and gracious providence for his protection, and being supported by the testimony of a good conscience, and therefore not fearing nor caring who knows or observes his actions, which he endeavours to approve both to God and to men.

That perverteth his ways; that walks perversely, or frowardly, or in crooked and sinful paths; that dealeth hypocritically and deceitfully with God, or with men, using all possible crafts to conceal his wickedness.

Shall be known; his wickedness shall be publicly discovered, and so he shall be exposed to all that shame and punishment which his sins deserve, and which he thought by his cunning practices to avoid.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

9. perverteth his waysactsdeceitfully.

knowndiscovered andpunished.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely,…. Or, “that walketh in perfection” c as the Targum. Not that walks without sin, no man does that; but that walks in the sincerity, integrity, and uprightness of his heart, both before God and men; who worships God in spirit and in truth, and speaks the truth in his heart to his neighbour; who is an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile; who walks uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel; who makes the word of God the rule of his life and actions; who walks by faith on Christ, using him as the way to the Father; believing in him for salvation; walking on in him as he has received him, and especially dealing with his uprightness or righteousness for his justification before God; who walks, as Christ did, in imitation of him; who walks in love, as he did, and in all humility, meekness, patience, and self-denial; who walks in and after the Spirit of Christ; and in the truths of the Gospel, and in all the ordinances thereof; and in all holy conversation and godliness, studying to exercise a conscience void of offence towards God and men. Such a man “walks surely”, or securely, safely, confidently, as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, interpret the word. Such an one has nothing to fear in his walk; he walks on “terra firma”, on good ground, in a good way, which leads to life eternal: he has a good guide, the Spirit of God, which goes before him, and will be his guide even unto death, and lead him in the way everlasting, unto the land of uprightness; he has a good guard about him, not only the angels of God that encamp around him, but God himself is a wall of fire to him, and his power surrounds and protects him; he has many precious promises to support him; not only that the Lord will be a buckler to him, but will withhold no good thing from him, Pr 2:7; he has the gracious and supporting presence of God, when he passes through the fire and water of afflictions, and even through the valley of the shadow of death, so that he has nothing to fear; and has moreover the testimony of a good conscience; and having a good hope through grace, he “walks in hope”, as the Targum is; yea, rejoices in hope of the glory of God, and holds fast that rejoicing to the end;

but he that perverteth his ways shall be known; who does not walk in a plain, direct, and even path, according to the rule of the word, as the upright man; but winds about here and there, goes into crooked paths, walks in craftiness as deceitful workers, whose folly shall be made manifest; though they think to hide it, and deceive men, they and their wickedness shall be exposed, their tricks and artful methods shall be laid open, and they be known to be what they are; if not in this life, yet at the last judgment, 1Ti 5:24. Jarchi and Aben Ezra observe another sense of the word, “he shall be broken”, and compare with it Jud 8:16.

c “qui ambulat perfecte”, Pagninus, Mercerus, Gejerus.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The form of this verse is like the eighth, word for word:

He that walketh in innocence walketh securely;

But he that goeth in secret ways is known.

The full form of does not, as Hitzig supposes, stand in causal connection with the Dech, for the consonant text lying before us is at least 500 years older than the accentuation. For at Pro 2:7, there is here = ; so denotes, after Pro 2:15, such an one . Expressed in the language of the N.T., is the property of the or , for the fundamental idea of fulness is here referred to full submission, full integrity. Such an one goes (Aquila, ), for there is nothing designedly concealed by him, of which he has reason to fear that it will come to the light; whoever, on the contrary, makes his ways crooked, i.e., turns into crooked ways, is perceived, or, as we might also explain it ( vid., under Gen 4:15): if one ( qui = si quis ) makes his ways crooked, then it is known – nothing, however, stands opposed to the reference of to the person: he is finally known, i.e., unmasked (lxx Jerome, , manifestus fiet ). Usually it is explained: he is knowing, clever, with the remark that is here the passive of (Gesen., Ewald, Hitzig); Hiph. to give to feel; Niph. to become to feel, properly to be made to know (Luth.: made wise); but the passive of the Hiph. is the Hoph. Such a Niph. in which the causative (not simply transitive) signification of the Hiph. would be applied passively is without example ( vid., Ewald, 133a); the meaning of Jer 31:19 also is: after I have become known, i.e., been made manifest, uncovered, drawn into the light.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

      9 He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

      We are here told, and we may depend upon it, 1. That men’s integrity will be their security: He that walks uprightly towards God and man, that is faithful to both, that designs as he ought and means as he says, walks surely; he is safe under a divine protection and easy in a holy security. He goes on his way with a humble boldness, being well armed against the temptations of Satan, the troubles of the world, and the reproaches of men. He knows what ground he stands on, what guide he follows, what guard he is surrounded with, and what glory he is going to, and therefore proceeds with assurance and great peace,Isa 32:17; Isa 33:15; Isa 33:16. Some understand it as part of the character of an upright man, that he walks surely, in opposition to walking at all adventures. He will not dare to do that which he is not fully satisfied in his own conscience concerning the lawfulness of, but will see his way clear in every thing. 2. That men’s dishonesty will be their shame: He that perverts his way, that turns aside into crooked paths, that dissembles with God and man, looks one way and rows another, though he may for a time disguise himself, and pass current, shall be known to be what he is. It is a thousand to one but some time or other he betrays himself; at least, God will discover him in the great day. He that perverts his ways documento erit—shall be made an example of, for warning to others; so some.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES.

Pro. 10:9. Be known, i.e., be made known, or, discovered.

Pro. 10:11. For second clause, see on Pro. 10:6.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPHPro. 10:9-10

OPPOSITE CHARACTERS

I. He who walketh uprightly.

1. Is a restorer of an ancient path. The way of uprightness is much older than the human race, and was originally the only way Known in the universe to intelligent and moral creatures. Uprightness is as old as God. Crooked walking is of the creature and but of yesterday compared with uprightness. He who walks uprightly is a restorer of the breach made in heaven, and re-establishes the old paths (Jer. 6:16) of righteousness upon earth. The way of uprightness was the way in which man walked in Eden. In Eden also man lost this way by entering the by-path of transgression and thus ceased to walk with God. The man that walks uprightly is a restorer of mans ancient dignity as a walker with God. He shall be called a repairer of the breach, a restorer of paths to dwell in (Isa. 58:12). A man who reopened up some ancient and important highway to a great city would be regarded by the citizens as a benefactor; how much more ought he to be held in esteem whose life reveals this ancient highway of holiness, who by his uprightness becomes himself a way to others.

2. He obeys an ancient command. When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfectupright (Gen. 17:1). Often the great want of a partially-civilised country is a straight and level road, by which commerce can easily find its way to the central city, and a royal edict is sometimes issued that such a road should be made. The great want of the world in the day when this command was given to Abram was an example of uprightness in a human life. The need of the world in this direction is still great, and the ancient command given to the patriarch is still in force.

3. His walking is not limited to the present life. He walks in the same way after death as before it. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness (Isa. 57:2). Heaven has no better way of walking than the way of uprightness, and death will not make any change in the moral characteristics of the godly man, except to intensify and strengthen them. The death of the seed-corn will not be the means of giving birth to a different kind of seed, but only of making an increase of the same kind. Death is needful, not to change one thing for another, but to make much out of little. Death will bring heaven to the godly and upright, but it can give nothing to an upright man better than his uprightness, but this it can do, it can render him more entirely and completely upright. Hence the path of the upright is a path which death cannot enda path which, begun to be trodden in time, will be continued in throughout eternity. The happiness of the human creatures who make up a family, or a larger community, will depend very much upon the uprightness of each member. Heavens blessedness springs from the perfectly upright character of each citizen of that perfect city.

4. His upright walk is sure, or safe, because it is preservative of character. Uprightness is to character what salt is to food. He who walks uprightly can never become less godly and righteous, but must of necessity become more and more so; hence the Psalmists prayer, Let integrity and uprightness preserve me (Psa. 25:21).

II. Two phases of character are placed in contrast to that of the upright man.

1. That of the man whose evil nature does not lie entirely upon the surface. He that perverteth his ways and yet endeavours to cloak his perversion, to hide his wrong-doing. The winking of the eye mentioned in Pro. 10:10 indicates an effort after concealment. Those who pervert their ways pervert nature in order to attain their ends. The eye is intended by God to be a revelation of the soul, and where integrity and sincerity dwells, it is so. But he who walks crookedly or perversely makes an unnatural use of his eye, and by means of it endeavours to work ill to his neighbour. But all his efforts at concealment will at some time or other be ineffectual; the very means he uses to conceal his evil plans may be the means of awakening suspicion. And if he succeeds in blinding the eyes of his fellow men, the Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts (1Co. 4:5). The day of judgment will reveal the guilty secrets of many who have never yetnor ever will be until that dayfully known.

2. That of him whose perversity is manifest to all. The prating fool cannot conceal what he is. Upon him and upon his destiny, see Homiletics and Suggestive Comments on Pro. 10:8.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

Pro. 10:9. An upright walk is Christian, not sinless, perfection (Job. 1:8); walking before God, not before men (Gen. 17:1). Impurity, indeed, defiles the holiest exercise. But if the will be rightly bent, the integrity will be maintained. Show me an easier path, is Natures cry. Show me, cries the child of God, a sure path.Bridges.

To walk uprightly, or to walk in integrity, means to act according to one complete scheme: not as the fool does (Pro. 10:8), behaving one way and believing another. It means to aim for something stable (chap. Pro. 2:7); and hence, of course, not to lay our plans so that we ourselves know they must ultimately fail. He walks surely or securely, i.e., must certainly succeed.Miller.

The dissembler walks in crooked paths. Like Judas, who put on a cloak of charity to hide his covetousness (Joh. 12:6), he conceals the selfish principles which regulate his behaviour under the appearances of piety, prudence, and other good qualities. But he cannot hold the mantle so tight about him as to conceal from the wise observer his inward baseness. It will occasionally be shuffled aside, it will at length drop off, and he shall be known for what he is, abhorred by all men, and punished with other hypocrites.Lawson.

Walking uprightly stands opposed to all duplicity, all tortuous policy, all the crooked arts of manuvering, for the purpose of promoting reputation, interest, comfort, or any other end whatsoever. He who walketh thus, walketh surely. He walks with a comfortable feeling of security, a calm, unagitated serenity of mind. This springs from confidence in that God whose will he makes his only rule. In the path of implicit obedience he feels that he can trust. And further, the way in which he walks is the surest for the attainment of his ends. Proverbs are generally founded in observation and experience, and express their ascertained results. Hence, even though not inspired, they have generally truth in them. It has become proverbial that honesty is the best policy. The meaning is, that acts of deceit very frequently frustrate the object of him by whom they are employed, and land him in evils greater than the one he meant, by the use of them, to shun.Wardlaw.

Firstthe heart of the upright man hath Gods own eye to behold it, and His Spirit to testify the faithfulness of it, and so receiveth comfort from Him, as Job did, when in the confidence of his cause and conscience he saith, O that some would hear me, behold my desire is that the Almighty would answer me (Job. 31:35). Secondly, the course of their actions is such as will endure light, and the more they are examined the better they will prove, and therefore they need not fear any might or malice, or cunning adversaries that shall seek their disgrace. And upon the assurance of this the prophet professeth his undaunted courage and magnanimity, with challenge also to his calumniant enemy, whosoever he were, I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me, etc. (Isa. 50:7-8.) Thirdly, their bodies and state are in Gods custody, and He hath undertaken the defence and preservation of them, whereas the wicked are out of Gods protection and perpetually go into peril. Fourthly, their souls are prepared for death and for judgment, and therefore more desire to be dissolved than are afraid to hear of the nearness of their dissolution.Dod.

I. An upright walker is sure of easily finding his way: it requires no laborious dealing to find out what is just. II. He treads upon firm ground; upon solid, safe, and well-tried principles. The practice built on such foundations must be very secure. III. He walks steadily. A good conscience steers by fixed stars, and aims at fixed marks. An upright man is always the same man, and goes the same way; the external state of things does not alter the moral reason of things with him, or change the law of God.Sydney Smith.

I. The way of uprightness is the surest for despatch, and the shortest cut towards the execution or attainment of any good purpose, securing a man from irksome expectations and tedious delays. II. It is fair and pleasant. He that walketh in it hath good weather and a clear sky about him; a hopeful confidence and a cheerful satisfaction do ever wait upon him. Being conscious to himself of an honest meaning, and a due course in prosecuting it, he feeleth no check or struggling of mind: no regret or sting of heart. III. He is secure of his honour and credit. He hath no fear of being detected, or care to smother his intents. IV. He hath perfect security as to the final result of his affairs, that he shall not be quite baffled in his expectations and desires. He shall prosper in the true notion of prosperity, explained by that Divine saying, Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.Barrow.

Pro. 10:10. The connection of the clauses isto speak feignedly and to speak rashly are both alike dangerous: to do the former hurts others, to do the latter hurts oneself. When we avoid cunning and feigned speaking, we are not to run into the opposite extremes of prating folly.Fausset.

The one shuts his eye to conceal his subtlety, the other opens his mouth to declare his folly. The one winketh, but sayeth nothing; the other says too much, but thinketh not what he says. The one giveth sorrow to the deceived in his malicious bounty; the other taketh a fall from the superfluous bounty of his own words.Jermin.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(9) Walketh surely.He has no cause to fear lest anything to his discredit should come out, but can trust quietly in the Lord (Psa. 112:7); while he that goeth by crooked paths will be found out (Mat. 10:26), and the fear of this gives him perpetual uneasiness. Or the meaning may be that he will be instructed, i.e., punished by misfortune, as Jer. 31:19.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

9. Walketh uprightly Or, in integrity.

Surely Better, securely, safely. The Septuagint, “He that walketh simply, sincerely, walketh confidently.”

Shall be known Shall be discovered, like our expression “shall be found out;” consequently, shall not be safe. On first clause compare Psa 23:4; Isa 33:15-16.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Righteous (The Wise) Walk Uprightly, Are A Wellspring Of Life To Others, Store Up Knowledge, Accept Correction, Think Before They Speak And Act As Shepherd To Many. The Unrighteous Pervert Their Ways, Wink With The Eye, Hide Their Violent Attitudes And Their Slander, Stir Up Trouble, Reject Correction, And Are Of Little Value ( Pro 10:9-21 ).

In this subsection we learn of the virtues of the righteous and the wise in contrast with the follies of the unrighteous (the evildoers) and the foolish, as a consequence of which the unrighteous face certain judgment. The righteous walk uprightly (Pro 10:9), are a wellspring of life to others (Pro 10:11), try to maintain peace and harmony (Pro 10:12), speak wisely (Pro 10:13), store up true knowledge (the knowledge of God) (Pro 10:14), accept correction (Pro 10:17), think before they speak (Pro 10:19), and as a consequence act as shepherd to many (Pro 10:21). In contrast the foolish pervert their ways (Pro 10:9), wink with the eye (Pro 10:10), hide their violent attitudes and their slanders (Pro 10:11), stir up trouble (Pro 10:12) and reject correction (Pro 10:17. The result will be that they will be exposed (Pro 10:9), they will fall (Pro 10:10), they face imminent ruin (Pro 10:14), they are considered do be of little worth (Pro 10:20), and they face death (Pro 10:21)..

The subsection may be presented chiastically as follows:

A He who walks uprightly walks surely, but HE WHO PERVERTS HIS WAY WILL BE KNOWN (EXPOSED) (Pro 10:9).

B He who winks with the eye causes sorrow, but a FOOL OF LIPS will fall (Pro 10:10).

C The mouth of the righteous is a wellspring of life, but the MOUTH OF THE WICKED CONCEALS VIOLENCE (Pro 10:11).

D HATRED stirs up strifes, but love conceals all transgressions (Pro 10:12).

E On the lips of a discerning person wisdom is found, but A ROD IS FOR THE BACK of him who is void of understanding (Pro 10:13).

F Wise men STORE UP knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is imminent (approaching) RUIN (machitta) (Pro 10:14).

F The RICH MAN’S WEALTH is his fortress, poor men’s poverty is their RUIN (machitta). The labour of the righteous tends to life, the PRODUCTION of the wicked, to sin (Pro 10:15-16).

E He is in the way of life who takes note of CORRECTION, but he wanders who forsakes reproof (Pro 10:17).

D He who hides HATRED with lying lips, and who utters a slander is a fool (Pro 10:18).

C In the MULTIPLYING OF WORDS there lacks not transgression, but he who REFRAINS HIS LIPS his lips does wisely (Pro 10:19).

B The TONGUE OF THE RIGHTEOUS is as choice silver, The heart of the wicked is of little worth (Pro 10:20).

A The lips of the righteous feed many, but the FOOLISH DIE FOR LACK OF UNDERSTANDING (Pro 10:21).

In A the one who perverts his way (and is therefore foolish) will be exposed, he will be shown for what he is by what happens to him, and in the parallel the foolish die for lack of understanding. In B the tongue of the righteous parallels the fool of lips. In C the mouth of the wicked conceals violence, and this contrasts in the parallel with the one who refrains his lips for a good reason. In D hatred is paralleled by hatred. In E the rod of correction contrasts with those who take note of correction. Centrally in F storing up parallels wealth and productivity, whilst ruin parallels ruin.

Pro 10:9

‘He who walks uprightly walks surely,

But he who perverts (makes crooked) his ways will be known (or ‘exposed’).’

Walking uprightly (Pro 2:7; contrast Pro 2:13) and being perverse (Pro 2:12; Pro 2:15; Pro 3:32; Pro 6:14) and forsaking the paths of uprightness (Pro 2:13), were again two features of the Prologue. The one who walks uprightly (in integrity, blamelessly) can walk with confidence and sureness, and with no fear of being ‘found out’. He also knows that he will not trip up (contrast the fool in Pro 10:8). What he says will feed many (Pro 10:21) so that they too will walk in the way of the upright. But the one who turns from the straight way, choosing crooked paths (Pro 2:13), will eventually be exposed. The truth about him will become known to his undoing. He will be revealed as one who lacks understanding (Pro 10:21). Compare Pro 12:23 where ‘the heart of fools proclaims foolishness’.

Pro 10:10

‘He who (maliciously) winks with the eye causes sorrow,

But a loudmouthed fool will fall.’

Two types of waywardness are in mind here. The first is the waywardness of the smooth deceiver. He acts unkindly behind people’s back. He is untrustworthy and smooth, saying one thing to one person, and another to another. This indeed was one of the signs of the ‘worthless man’ (Pro 6:13). And in consequence he causes much sorrow. He brings much hurt on people.

The second is the waywardness of the loudmouthed fool (the ‘fool of lips’, compare Pro 10:8 b). He may be more straightforward, but he is boastful and goes on his way heedlessly, not caring about his behaviour. And as a result he will trip up and fall. Both the deceitful and the heedless can cause much trouble. We are not to see here that the deceitful man gets away with it. The assumption is that because he causes sorrow he will in some way be brought to account, in the same way as the loudmouthed man. Alternately ‘fool of the lips’ may here rather refer to making false or inaccurate statements (Pro 10:18), having a perverse mouth (Pro 6:12; Pro 6:17 a, 19), thus providing a parallel with the deceitful winking eye (see Pro 6:12 b, 13 a).

Note the connection between Pro 10:9-10. The one who deceitfully and maliciously winks with the eye does not walk uprightly, but rather perverts his ways.

The chiasmus draws attention to the parallel thoughts in Pro 10:18. ‘Winking eyes’ and ‘lying lips’ go along with each other (Pro 6:12-13; Pro 6:17), and if ‘fool of lips’ is taken as indicating lying lips the parallel is even closer. Whilst those who wink their eyes as an indication of deceit, are in a very real sense slanderers.

The exact parallel of Pro 10:10 with Pro 10:8 has been seen by some as suspicious. And in fact LXX (the early Greek Old Testament) replaces it with, ‘a frank rebuke will make for peace’ (or ‘he who reproves boldly is a peacemaker’), which contains the important lesson that open and honest criticism, in contrast to deceitfulness, will often solve issues. But this is an obvious change, whilst repetition is not uncommon in Proverbs, and both MT and the Targums support ‘a loudmouthed fool (a fool of the lips) will fall’, which fits in adequately.

Pro 10:11

‘The mouth of the righteous is a wellspring of life,

But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.’

The thought of ‘the fool of lips’ (Pro 10:10 b) now leads into a proverb concerning the use of the mouth. The mouth of the righteous is a wellspring of life. It feeds and sustains people, and satisfies their deepest longings (their thirst). It produces life within them making them fruitful (one of the main uses of water was to water the crops and vegetation) and guides them into a wholesome life. It does good to all. It is like the Torah of YHWH (the law of God), it brings life wherever it goes (Psa 1:2-3; Jer 17:7-8; Jos 1:8). The Wisdom of God could herself declare that, ‘all the words of my mouth are in righteousness, there is nothing crooked or perverse in them’ (Pro 8:8). It is no coincidence that ‘the instruction (torah) of the wise’ (Pro 13:14) and ‘the fear of YHWH’ (Pro 14:27) will also be said to be ‘a wellspring of life’, for the mouth of the righteous promulgates both. The idea of a wellspring is of plenty, and thus the righteous speak often of wisdom. They gush forth wisdom. They are in direct contrast with those of whom it is said ‘in the multiplying of words there lacks not transgression’.

Fruitful springs and gushing wells counted among the most precious things in life in the ancient world. They were places at which people gathered, and for which men fought. But they were limited to one place. On the other hand the mouth of the righteous goes about everywhere taking life wherever it goes. ‘Out of his innermost being flow rivers of living water’ (Joh 7:38).

In contrast the mouth of the wrongdoer ‘conceals violent behaviour’. He ‘hides hatred by lying lips’ (Pro 10:18). His mouth deceitfully conceals (as did the winking eye – Pro 10:10 a) his attempts to get his own way, by emotional bullying, by false presentation, or even by physical violence. He is always full of false explanations and is suave while trying to force things on people or obtain things from people for his own benefit. His multiplying of words does not lack transgression (Pro 10:19). Solomon might well have said, ‘beware of the mouth of the evildoer because you do not know what his aims are’.

Pro 10:12

‘Hatred stirs up strifes,

But love conceals all transgressions.

The mouth of the wicked concealing violence (Pro 10:11 b) links with this proverb, both in the strife that hatred stirs up, for it could only do that through the mouth, and in the thought of concealment. In Pro 6:12; Pro 6:14; Pro 6:19 it was the perverse mouth and heart of the worthless man which sowed discord among brothers, here it is the mouth of the hater which stirs up discord. And indeed hatred would be one of the mainsprings of the actions of the worthless man. The hater causes trouble wherever he goes, he is not happy until he has set people at each other’s throats. He brings division and discord. When men hate they behave irrationally. Hatred consumes them and they become irresponsible. They become ‘fools’. Even when they speak fair words they are not to be believed (Pro 26:25), for hatred makes men lie and deceive (Pro 26:24; compare Pro 10:18). They ‘hide hatred with lying lips’ (Pro 10:18).

But in stark contrast is love. Hatred conceals nothing, unless it is for a wrong purpose. But love conceals everything unless it is essential that it be brought out into the open. Love seeks to maintain peace, harmony and unity. And it does it, not by pretending that sin does not exist, but by determining not to bring it into prominence unnecessarily. It does not drag sins out into the open just for the sake of it, or in order to obtain vengeance. As Pro 11:13 declares, ‘He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.’ And in the words of James, citing this verse, we read ‘love covers a multitude of sins’ (Jas 5:20), although, having said that, James has more specifically in mind that this will be by turning men from their sins, which is something which love also seeks to do. He has perceived a second application of these words, that love conceals transgressions by turning the heart of the transgressor into the right way.

The love that conceals all transgressions is the love that ‘endures long and is kind, does not envy, does not vaunt itself, is not puffed up. It does not behave itself in unseemly fashion, or seek its own way or benefit, or allow itself to be provoked, or take account of the evil of others unnecessarily. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endure all things. It never fails’ (1Co 13:4-8 a).

It should, of course, be noted that, as James has pointed out, that same love will gently seek to make men aware individually of their sins, but it will do so for a good purpose, in a way that avoids causing strife, and preserves harmony. It will deal with such matters privately, only making them public where there is no option, and then only for a good purpose (Mat 18:15-17).

Pro 10:13

‘On the lips of a discerning person wisdom is found,

But a rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding.’

This proverb continues the thought of the previous two proverbs. The lips of the righteous are a wellspring of life (Pro 10:11), precisely because the lips of the righteous are the lips of a discerning person, a man with insight, on whose lips are found wisdom. And while the hater speaks everywhere, deceiving and causing dissension, love speaks wisely seeking to avoid dissension, precisely because the one who loves is a wise and discerning person. Here is the explanation of the behaviour of the one who loves, he is a discerning person who has wisdom, and speaks accordingly. That, in Solomon’s eyes, is the hallmark of the discerning person, he is wise in God’s wisdom, and not lacking in understanding.

In contrast is the man who is void of understanding. He lacks a knowledge of the wisdom of God. For him the only hope is proper discipline, and in those days that meant the rod for the back. By that means hopefully he might be brought to his senses. He is in contrast with the one who is in the way of life who accepts correction (Pro 10:17). Because he lacks understanding such a man tries to dodge reproof (Pro 10:17). It should, however, be noted that Solomon elsewhere stresses that this use of the rod must be an act of love. It was to be a loving father who chastened his son with the rod when necessary (Pro 13:24), not a vengeful tyrant.

In those days when child psychology was unknown there were, in most families, few other methods of exerting discipline. For they enjoyed few pleasures to be withheld (compare Luk 15:29), and life was hard and chastening had to be swift. This advice has therefore served well through the ages. Today, if we are wise, we follow the same principle of the need for discipline, whilst happily at the same time being able to call on subtler and more time-consuming methods which would have been unavailable and impracticable in those days. Thus Solomon’s method, as long as reasonably and fairly applied, was a correct one for those days, although clearly open to abuse. At my school I was brought up on the cane, and to be honest, I always preferred it to detention. Much depended on how it was used. (At my school each teacher had his cane but it was usually, although not always, used reasonably and fairly). It is not, however, something that I would recommend in the modern day except in extreme cases, and then only reasonably, for we have better methods of discipline. In most cases physical punishment is unnecessary, and with much use loses its efficacy.

Pro 10:14

‘Wise men store up knowledge,

But the mouth of the foolish is imminent (approaching) ruin.’

We now come to three verses which interplay with each other. They refer to ‘storing up’ (Pro 10:14), ‘rich men’s wealth’ (Pro 10:15), ‘the labour of the righteous’ (Pro 10:16) and in contrast the ‘productivity of the unrighteous’. This last leads to sin (Pro 10:16), and to destruction (Pro 10:14-15). But the wise man stores up ‘knowledge’ (Pro 10:14), and therefore becomes truly wealthy (Pro 10:15), for the labour of the righteous tends to life (Pro 10:16). But we must recognise what is meant by knowledge. It does not mean ‘knowledge ‘ as modern man understands it, knowledge built up by means of a good education. In Proverbs knowledge is very much what is produced by the fear of YHWH (Pro 1:9), it is the knowledge of God and His ways (Pro 2:6-7). To hate knowledge is to not choose the fear of YHWH (Pro 1:29). Indeed the two are paralleled in Pro 2:6. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Pro 9:10). We shall henceforth refer to it as ‘true knowledge’.

Here then wise men seek out true knowledge (the knowledge of God). They treasure it, and apply it to their lives. They store it up for future use. And that is the reason that wisdom is on their discerning lips (Pro 10:13), that is why they have a love that covers transgressions (Pro 10:12), that is why their mouth is a wellspring of life (Pro 10:11), that is why they walk uprightly (Pro 10:9).

In contrast are the foolish. They reveal how foolish they are by what they say, and this is slowly bringing them to ruin, which is ever on the horizon waiting to descend (see Pro 1:24-28). There is hope for them if they respond to the rod, thus gaining understanding from their fathers and mothers and getting wisdom on their lips (Pro 10:13), but otherwise they let hatred take hold of them and cause dissension (Pro 10:12), they speak of violence and forceful behaviour (Pro 10:11), they are loudmouthed and deceitful (Pro 10:10), and they pervert their ways (Pro 10:9). Note how regularly the mouth and lips are mentioned or assumed in line with the words of this verse. And the consequence of what they say and do is that they will be found out (Pro 10:9), they will trip and fall (Pro 10:10,), and they will come to final destruction (Pro 10:14).

Pro 10:15

‘The rich man’s wealth is his fortress,

The ruin (or ‘terror’) of poor men is their poverty.’

At first sight this proverb appears to be saying that the rich man is hugely better off than poor men because his wealth acts as a fortress or fortified city which protects him from the ruin or terror that besets poor men through their poverty. And as a generalisation this would undoubtedly be true. Rich men are protected from many of the problems that beset the poor. But if it does mean this it goes contrary to the tenor of much of what Proverbs teaches. For elsewhere the teaching of Proverbs is that far from being protected by their riches, rich men are brought down by them.

For example, ‘there is who makes himself rich, yet has nothing, there is who makes himself poor, yet has great riches’ (Pro 13:7). ‘Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death (Pro 11:4). ‘He who trusts in riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish as a green leaf’ (Pro 11:28). And very pertinently, ‘the rich man’s wealth is his fortress (fortified city),  and a high wall in his own imagination ’ (Pro 18:11). It will be noted that in this last case we have the very same words as are found in Pro 10:15 here, but with a derogatory meaning, for the indication in Pro 18:11 is that the idea that a rich man’s riches are his fortress is an illusion. It is ‘in his own imagination’. Furthermore in Pro 18:10 Solomon had already declared, ‘the Name of YHWH is a strong tower, the righteous runs into it and is safe’ (Pro 18:10), which contrasted with the rich man’s wrongly held self confidence.

Now it is not unknown for proverbs to appear to contradict one another, for truth often has two sides, but it would be unusual (although not unknown) for it to do so in exactly the same words. However, there is the further point that if the proverb is merely teaching that the rich are better off than the poor it goes against the tenor of this whole chapter, the concentration of which is on the benefits accruing from wisdom, uprightness, and righteousness.

One way in which the idea that ‘the rich’ are better off than the poor might be defended is by comparison with Pro 10:4, ‘he becomes poor who deals with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich (or ‘prosperous’)’, with the ‘rich’ indicating those who have become prosperous through hard work, and the poor indicating those who have become poor through laziness or inefficiency. But that is not the impression given, and it would still mean that the first clause was cited in two places with two contradictory meanings. and it would still go against the tenor of the passage. The emphasis in Pro 10:4 is on the contrast between diligence and laziness, not on the contrast between rich man and the poor.

Two alternatives present themselves. The first is that its teaching is that neither the rich man nor poor men are secure from ruin, the rich man because his confidence is in the wrong place, being placed in uncertain riches, the poor because their poverty makes them vulnerable. In other words that it is basically saying that both the rich and the poor are in a sad situation because the only security that the rich man has is uncertain riches, whilst the poor men’s problem lies in their poverty. This would then tie it in with the meaning in Pro 18:11. But even this might be cavilled against on the grounds that its teaching is that the poor as a class are in a hopeless situation, when elsewhere in Proverbs it is made clear that that is not the case. For example, ‘there is who makes himself poor, but has great riches’ (Pro 13:7). ‘The rich man is wise in his own conceit, but the poor who has understanding searches him out’ (Pro 28:11). And what is more the teaching of Proverbs concerning the poor concentrates mainly on how the better off are to be concerned for their needs (Pro 14:31; Pro 19:4; Pro 19:17; Pro 21:13; Pro 22:9; Pro 22:16; Pro 22:22; Pro 28:8; Pro 28:15; Pro 29:7; Pro 29:14). The exception is when speaking of those who have become poor through laziness (Pro 6:10-11; Pro 10:4).

The second alternative is to take ‘rich man’ as the equivalent of ‘the righteous, the upright and the wise’ (it follows immediately after the description of ‘wise men’ and before a description of ‘the righteous’), and ‘poor men’ as the equivalent of ‘the unrighteous, the wayward and the foolish’ (it follows immediately after the mention of ‘the foolish’ and before a description of ‘the wicked, the unrighteous’), by seeing them as descriptions of ‘richness’ or ‘poverty’ in wisdom and understanding.

If we were to take the verse standing on its own this might appear a little far fetched. But it does not stand on its own and indeed in this regard we need to remember that every mention of the riches previously in Proverbs has specifically had in mind those who sought and responded to God’s wisdom, being rich in both wisdom and material goods (Pro 3:13-16; Pro 8:18. Pro 10:4). And we shortly learn that it is ‘the blessing of YHWH that makes rich’ (Pro 10:22), and that ‘it is the way of YHWH’ that is ‘a fortress to the upright’ (Pro 10:29). Thus we are justified in seeing at this stage an equation in Solomon’s mind between the rich and the wise, even if later on he recognises that there is another side to the story (Pro 11:4; Pro 11:28; Pro 18:11; Pro 28:11).

And this can be seen as supported by the fact that the previous verse speaks of knowledge being ‘stored up’, thus making the wise ‘wealthy’, and the following verse speaks of the labour of ‘the righteous’ tending to ‘life’, with life being the wealth of the righteous produced by the labour. (We should also note that in the chiasmus the three Pro 10:14-16 come together). As in Pro 10:4 it was ‘riches’ that were produced by labour, riches are seen to equate to ‘life’. This interpretation would fit the verse firmly into its context, would make good sense, and would tie in with teaching elsewhere. If ‘the rich man’ means first of all ‘the one who is rich in wisdom’, and as a consequence became rich, so that ‘the rich man’s wealth’ is primarily in fact wisdom, and ‘poor men’ means those who are lacking in wisdom, and have therefore been negligent and have become poor (Pro 6:9-11; Pro 10:4-5), so that the poor men’s poverty lies in their not having had wisdom, the teaching of the verse is consonant with the whole passage, and with the Prologue. The essence of the verse is that richness in wisdom delivers, whilst lack of it (foolishness) leads to ‘ruin’, the latter ‘ruin’ tying in with what is said in the previous verse, ‘the mouth of the foolish is impending ruin’.

This interpretation can be seen as obtaining further support from verses such as ‘there is who makes himself poor yet has great riches’ (Pro 13:7), and the probability that the riches in Pro 8:18 themselves have largely in mind what are the true riches, ‘yes, durable riches and righteousness’.

Its weakness lies in the fact that it is not obvious on the surface (unless, of course, we are holding in our minds what has previously been said in the Prologue); it makes a different use of the clause repeated in Pro 18:11 (although that might indicate an advance in Solomon’s thought); and in the fact that there may be an intended parallel between folly leading to ruin, and poverty leading to ruin, the poverty arising through the folly of laziness (Pro 10:4). This latter could, however, be an argument both for and against (it equates folly with poverty). On the whole, therefore, this appears to be the best interpretation in context. Its strongest point is that it fits the tenor of the whole passage.

Pro 10:16

‘The labour of the righteous tends to life,

The productivity of the wicked, to sin.’

Solomon continues to think in terms of wealth and poverty. In Pro 10:4 diligent labour led to riches, here the diligent labour of the righteous leads to ‘life’, a life of wellbeing and prosperity, which is therefore paralleled with riches. Note how ‘life’ is contrasted, not with ‘death’, but with ‘sin’. To ‘live’ is to walk blamelessly. The righteous man thereby becomes ‘rich’ because he has long life, prosperity, honour, and pleasant and peaceful ways (Pro 3:16-17). In contrast is the productivity of the unrighteous. Because of what he is, even his prosperity leads him into sin, and thence to trouble and destruction. Compare Pro 1:32, ‘the prosperity of fools will destroy them’, and Pro 15:6 ‘the productivity of the unrighteous is trouble’. We can contrast how in Pro 3:14; Pro 8:19 the ‘productivity’ of wisdom does the opposite. It is better than silver and gold.

The proverb is a reminder that it is not what we have and what we receive that determines what we are, it is how we use them. The righteous use their prosperity for good, the unrighteous use it for sin.

Pro 10:17

‘He is in the way of life who takes note of correction,

But he wanders who forsakes reproof.’

The question of chastening has already been introduced in Pro 10:13. There correction was for the one who was void of understanding, who did not have the discernment that resulted in enjoining wisdom. Here it is in order to assist the one who walks in ‘the way of life’, so as to ensure that he remains true to God’s wisdom. He will recognise in the correction the chastening of YHWH (Pro 3:11). For the one who has God’s wisdom will welcome and respond to such correction, precisely because he does walk in the way of life and does not want to stray from it. He will know God in all his ways, receiving direction from Him (Pro 3:6). In contrast are those who reject reproof and forsake it (compare Pro 1:25; Pro 1:30). They despise the chastening of YHWH (Pro 3:11), will err and will wander in other paths.

Note the direct connection with Pro 10:16 in terms of ‘life’, In Pro 10:16 the labour of the righteous tends to ‘life’, for what he does will lead to peace and prosperity (compare Pro 3:16-18), and such a person, who is in ‘the way of life’ will respond to correction by both YHWH and those whom He has put in responsibility over them (Pro 1:25; Pro 3:11-12).

The thought of the two ways comes directly from the Prologue where such an idea was a common feature (see Pro 2:13; Pro 2:15; Pro 2:18 b, 19 b, 20; Pro 4:11; Pro 4:14; Pro 4:18-19; Pro 4:26-27; Pro 5:6; Pro 5:21; Pro 7:25; Pro 7:27; Pro 8:20; Pro 9:6). Indeed YHWH’s commandments, instruction (Torah) and reproof are there described as ‘the way of life’ (Pro 6:23), so that those who do not walk in it are in the way of death (Pro 2:18-19; Pro 5:5-6; in both cases contrasted with the path(s) of life; Pro 7:27; Pro 9:18).

Pro 10:18

‘He who hides hatred with lying lips,

And who utters a slander is a fool.’

Prominent in the earlier verses have been ‘the fool of lips’ (Pro 10:8; Pro 10:10), ‘the mouth of the wicked’ (Pro 10:11) and ‘the mouth of the foolish’ (Pro 10:14), whilst ‘hatred which stirs up strife (presumably verbally)’ (Pro 10:12) is closely connected with the mouth of the wicked. This subject is therefore now taken up in more depth, and Pro 10:18-21 all deal with the theme. The chiasmus required reference to hatred at this point.

We have just seen that ‘the productivity of the unrighteous is sin’ (Pro 10:16), and that the unrighteous ‘forsake reproof’ and therefore ‘go astray’ (Pro 10:17), and we are now given a striking example of this in the one who is filled with hate but disguises it behind lying lips, whilst indulging in slander. Like the one who winks with the eye (Pro 10:10) he is two-faced. The hatred in his heart comes out in his distorting of the truth in his accusations against others, in order to bring them into disrepute by lies and innuendoes. Such people hate the righteous and the wise, and do all that they can to disparage them. And yet at the same time such a man seeks to pretend that his cause is just, and that he is only concerned with truth. He is slippery tongued. But he is excluded from the presence of YHWH (Psa 15:2-3).

We have already come across ‘a lying tongue’ in Pro 6:17 as something that God abominates (compare Pro 12:22), along with ‘false witness’ and the ‘sowing of discord between family members’ (Pro 6:19), and now this is shown to be typical of the unrighteous and foolish. Foolishness is a theme of this chapter. Such people cause grief to their parents (Pro 10:1), are ‘fools of lips’ who will trip up and fall (Pro 10:8; Pro 10:10) and bring impending destruction on themselves (Pro 10:14). And there is no one more typical of the fool than the slanderer who spreads lies and impugns the characters of others, thinking that he will not be caught out. Let him therefore recognise that he is a ‘fool’, subject to the condemnation of fools. It is a call to ‘the fool’ to listen to reproof (Pro 10:17) and think again.

It has been well pointed out that in the Hebrew text of this verse there are a proliferation of sibilant sounds in this verse which cannot be brought out in the English but deliberately give the impression of the whispered words being passed on by the slanderer.

Pro 10:19

‘In the multiplying of words there lacks not transgression,

But he who refrains his lips does wisely.’

Having given a particular example Solomon now extends the idea to all use of the lips. The foolish are free with their words. Possibly in mind here are the large number of words with which the slanderer will have sought to justify his position. But the thought now goes wider than that and is that all who constantly speak out and chatter away without thought, or even with predetermined malice, can be sure that they will transgress God’s wisdom and God’s Torah. They will come under condemnation. For as the Torah declared, ‘you shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people’ (Lev 19:16). The fact is that men are sinful and will soon reveal that sinfulness in what they say. As Solomon says elsewhere, ‘Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him’ (Pro 29:20). While Jesus said, ‘Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Mat 12:34). The point is that those who are not careful about what they say will soon find themselves saying what is against God’s commandments.

In contrast is the wise man, the man of understanding. He gives thought before he speaks and is careful with his words. He ensures that he is expressing God’s wisdom, and that nothing that he says can cause unnecessary offence or be construed as being false. He speaks up and shuts up. ‘God is in heaven and you are on the earth, therefore let your words be few’ (Ecc 5:2). We are reminded here of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘by your words you will be shown to be righteous, and by your words you will be condemned’ (Mat 12:37).

Both the Old and New Testaments lay great emphasis on the tongue and its dangers, and indeed so often that it would be impossible to list the references, but see e.g. Psa 15:2-3; Psa 34:13; Psa 50:19-20; Psa 101:5 a, 7 b; Isa 28:15; Isa 28:17; Zec 8:16; Mat 12:34-37; Eph 4:25; Eph 4:29; Eph 5:4; Col 3:9; Jas 3:1-12 ; 1Pe 3:10. For the tongue is the revealer of the heart.

The passage will now go on to illustrate this by contrasting the tongue and lips of the righteous, which are extremely valuable and fruitful, giving sustenance to many, with the worthless heart and lack of understanding of the unrighteous and foolish, which are of little value and result in death.

Pro 10:20

‘The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver,

The heart of the wicked is of little worth.’

In consequence of the righteous man restraining his tongue (Pro 10:19), when he does finally speak his tongue, and therefore what he says, ‘is as choice silver’, silver from which the dross has been removed. The picture is apposite, for the righteous man only speaks when he has removed all the dross from what he has to say. His words are therefore pure silver. They are valuable and telling. He is always worth listening to.

In contrast the heart of the evildoer, and therefore what he says, is of little worth. The mouth of the evildoer has already been contrasted with the mouth of the righteous in Pro 10:11, where the mouth of the righteous was like a wellspring of life, whereas the mouth of the evildoer reveals the violence that is in his heart. Here it is being emphasised that what the evildoer says reveals what is in his heart. There is a play on words in that ‘tongue’ is leb whereas ‘heart’ is leson.

Pro 10:21

‘The lips of the righteous feed (shepherd) many,

But the foolish die for lack of understanding.

The subsection ends by indicating what the lips of the righteous achieve. They act as a shepherd to many, leading them and feeding them as they walk in the path of life. But, as we have seen, in order to do this the dross has had to be removed. It is because they speak sparingly that their words have such value. Nevertheless it is worth it because by doing so they bring God’s wisdom home to men’s hearts, and many are fed. In the words of Jesus to Peter, ‘Feed My sheep’. That is a command to us all.

In contrast are ‘the foolish’. This designation as a direct contrast with the righteous comes as something of a surprise for usually the righteous have been compared with the unrighteous (evildoers, the wicked) (Pro 10:2-3; Pro 10:6-7; Pro 10:11; Pro 10:16; Pro 10:20), and the foolish with the wise (Pro 10:1; Pro 8:10; Pro 8:14). It is a reminder that the righteous are the wise, and the unrighteous are the foolish. Here the foolish have nothing to contribute to men, for they lack in understanding. In consequence they bring death on themselves by failing to feed on the words of the righteous. They thus have nothing to offer to others. They may have much to say. They may indeed speak many clever words. But their words are empty (Pro 10:20), because what men see as wisdom is foolishness with God (1Co 1:20-21).

It should, however, be noted that the foolish and those lacking in understanding are not just written off. Solomon’s purpose is to face them up with their folly so that they might find wisdom and gain understanding (compare Pro 8:5; Pro 9:6).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

v. 9. He that walketh uprightly, in purity or piety of life, walketh surely, with the confidence flowing from a good conscience; but he that perverteth his ways, adopting hidden or crooked ways of conducting himself in order to gain his aims and objects, shall be known, made manifest in his real nature, exposed for what he is in his heart.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Pro 10:9 He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

Ver. 9. He that walketh uprightly, walketh surely. ] Because, keeping within God’s precincts, he keeps under his protection: as the king undertakes to secure him that travels the highway, and between sun and sun. He is tutus sub umbra leonis, safe under the hollow of God’s hand, “under the shadow of his wing.” Psa 91:1

Shall be known. ] All shall out to his utter disgrace. See Pro 10:7 . Or, He shall be known by some examplary judgment of God inflicted upon him, for a terror to others; as one that is hanged up in gibbets.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

uprightly = in integrity.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Pro 10:9

Pro 10:9

“He that walketh uprightly walketh surely; But he that perverteth his ways shall be known.”

“He that walketh in innocence walketh securely; but he that goeth in secret ways is known.

Pro 10:9. Walks in integrity says Youngs Literal and Amplified. One who is walking in righteousness knows what he is doing, has assurance, and is safe. To pervert ones way is to divert it from what is right. One cannot do this without being found out, at least ultimately (dishonesty, adultery, embezzlement, etc.). Want to be known and noticed? Do wrong, and you will be. The righteous settle for walketh surely. Pro 28:18 is a parallel passage.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

that walketh: Pro 28:18, Psa 23:4, Psa 25:21, Psa 26:11, Psa 26:12, Psa 84:11, Isa 33:15, Isa 33:16, Gal 2:13, Gal 2:14

but: Pro 17:20, Luk 12:1, Luk 12:2, 1Co 4:5

Reciprocal: Gen 7:1 – thee 1Ki 9:4 – in integrity Pro 3:23 – General Pro 16:17 – he Jer 3:21 – for they have Mic 2:7 – walketh

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Pro 10:9. He that walketh uprightly Who is sincere, and just, and faithful in his dealings with God, and toward men; walketh surely Hebrew, , shall walk securely, or confidently, as the word properly signifies; quietly resting upon Gods favour and gracious providence for his protection, being supported by the testimony of a good conscience, and therefore not caring who observes or knows his actions, which he endeavours to approve both to God and men. But he that perverteth his ways That walks perversely, or in crooked and sinful paths; that acts hypocritically and deceitfully with God, or with men; shall be known His wickedness shall be publicly discovered, and so he shall be exposed to all that shame and punishment which his sins deserve, and which he thought by his craft and subtlety to avoid.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments