Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 12:25
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
25. In spite of grammatical anomalies, the rendering of this verse in A.V. and R.V. is to be retained.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Pro 12:25
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
The saddening and the succouring
I. The saddening in life. There is a soul-crushing sadness here.
1. Personal affliction that maketh the heart stoop.
2. Social affliction that maketh the heart stoop.
II. The succouring in life. A good word maketh it glad.
1. What are good words?
(1) True words;
(2) kind words;
(3) suitable words.
2. Where are good words? The gospel is that word. Words about providence, about pardon, about resurrection. Words to comfort us in all our tribulations. (Urijah R. Thomas.)
The sin of brooding
There is a necessity that we should be in heaviness through manifold temptations; but we must beware lest by giving free scope to anxious and melancholy thoughts, our hearts should sink in us like a stone, and our souls become altogether unfit to relish the comforts or perform the services of life. Sadness of the countenance makes the heart better, but despondency of heart disqualifies men for thanking and praising God, for serving their generation, and for hearing the burdens of life. Life itself becomes burdensome, and is often shortened, by excessive grief. There is nothing that claims our grief so much as sin, and yet there may be an excess of sorrow for sin which exposes men to the devil, and drives them into his arms. Are you grieved in your minds? Remember that it is sinful and dangerous to brood perpetually over your sorrows. (G. Lawson.)
A cheering word
The celebrated Dr. R. W. Dale, of Birmingham, used to be fond of relating how he was cheered once by a poor womans earnest words. He was feeling dejected and as if all his strength was gone, when, passing through a street in Birmingham, he met a decently dressed stranger, laden with parcels, who stopped and said, God bless you, Dr. Dale! Her face was unknown to him, and he answered, Thank you. What is your name? Never mind my name, was the response; but if you only knew how you have made me feel hundreds of times, and what a happy home you have given me! God bless you! Then she was lost in the crowd, but she had encouraged a man whose books are in every library, and whose name is dear to the universal Church. (Sunday Companion.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop] Sorrow of heart, hopeless love, or a sense of God’s displeasure-these prostrate the man, and he becomes a child before them.
But a good word maketh it glad.] A single good or favourable word will remove despondency; and that word, “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee,” will instantly remove despair.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A compassionate or encouraging word from a friend or minister.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. a good wordone ofcomfort.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop,…. Either an anxious care and solicitude about living in the world, as the word m signifies; when it seizes a man’s spirits, it depresses them, and keeps them down: or a fear and dread of adversity, or sorrow and grief, on account of some calamity and distress; when it gets into a man’s heart, it sinks and bows it down, that it cannot take any pleasure or comfort in anything. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, a “terrible word troubles the heart of a just man”; or “troubles the heart of man”, as the Syriac version; the Targum is,
“a word of fear in the heart of man causes fear:”
such is the law, which is a word of terror; which speaks terrible things to men; fills the mind with terror; works wrath in the conscience, and induces a spirit of bondage to fear; bows and keeps under the spirits of men, through a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation;
but a good word maketh it glad; a comforting, cheering, and encouraging word from any friend, that compassionates their distressed case; this lifts up the heart and inspires it with joy; so a word in season, spoken by a Gospel minister, raises up a soul that is bowed down, and gives it comfort and joy: such a good word is the Gospel itself; it is good news from a far country, which is like cold water to a thirsty soul, very refreshing and reviving. The Septuagint and Arabic versions here render it, “a good message”, and such the Gospel is; which, when brought to the heart of a poor sinner, depressed with the terrors of the law, causes joy in it; such is the word of peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life by Christ; such is the word that he himself spoke, Mt 9:2. Kimchi instances in Ps 55:22.
m “solicitudo”, Tigurine version, Montanus, Piscator, Michaelis; “solicitudo anxia”, Mercerus, Gejerus; “solicita anxietas”, Junius Tremellius “anxietatem”, Schultens.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
25 Trouble in the heart of a man boweth it down,
And a friendly word maketh it glad.
The twofold anomaly that is construed as masc. and as fem. renders the text doubtful, but the lxx, Syr., Targum, which introduce another subject, ( ?), do not improve it; Theodotion’s is preferable, who translates , and thus reads . But the rhyme is thereby lost. As , Gen 49:6, so also may be used as fem., for one thereby thinks on ; the plur. ( ), according to which in Eze 16:30 we find the sing. , may also conform to this. And as pred. to follows the scheme Pro 2:10, perhaps not without attractional co-operation after the scheme , 1Sa 2:4. , from , occurs only here; but , from , occurs only twice. designates in the book of Joshua and in Kings (1Ki 8:56) the divine promise; here it is of the same meaning as 1Ki 12:7: an appeasing word. Who has not in himself had this experience, how such a word of friendly encouragement from a sympathizing heart cheers the sorrowful soul, and, if only for a time, changes its sorrow into the joy of confidence and of hope!
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
Here is, 1. The cause and consequence of melancholy. It is heaviness in the heart; it is a load of care, and fear, and sorrow, upon the spirits, depressing them, and disabling them to exert themselves with any vigour on what is to be done or fortitude in what is to borne; it makes them stoop, prostrates and sinks them. Those that are thus oppressed can neither do the duty nor take the comfort of any relation, condition, or conversation. Those therefore that are inclined to it should watch and pray against it. 2. The cure of it: A good word from God, applied by faith, makes it glad; such a word is that (says one of the rabbin), Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; the good word of God, particularly the gospel, is designed to make the hearts glad that are weary and heavy-laden, Matt. xi. 28. Ministers are to be helpers of this joy.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Anxiety Vs Encouragement
Verse 25 declares that worry or anxiety weighs heavily upon, depresses, the heart (mind) of man (Neh 1:2-4; 2Sa 18:33); but a good word will lift and gladden the downcast, Isa 50:4; Gen 45:27; Dan 6:18-23.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 12:25
HEAVINESS OF HEART AND ITS CURE
I. The causes of heaviness of heart are many and various. It may arise,
1. From great bodily pain. The human mind and the human body act and re-act upon each other. The mind or spirit may be made heavy by physical pain, as the body may be brought under the dominion of disease by mental suffering. It is only when a more powerful influence comes into operation that pain of body is prevented from exercising a depressing influence upon the spirit. In the case of Job we have an instance of severe bodily suffering, weighing down a spirit that had borne other most terrible calamities without being overcome (Job 7). In the case of Stephen, and many others, we see intense bodily suffering exercising no depressing influence upon the man, because he is lifted above it by supernatural interposition. Where this special grace is not given pain of body will make the heart to stoopthat is, it will disqualify the man for duty by depriving him of hope and courage, and will leave him more or less passive in the hands of circumstances.
2. Heaviness of heart is often caused by bringing the future into the present. The man that has every day to carry a heavy burden upon his shoulders will find that an attempt to carry the load of two days at once will weigh down his body beyond all his power to rise and stand upright. He must not try to carry more than the load of to-day, if he is to do anything at all. So is it with the spirit of a man if he goes out to meet the cares and difficulties of to-morrow, while he is bearing and battling with those of to-day. The weight of the present is as much as he can carry, his heart must stoop, if he dwells upon the possible or certain trials of the future. The right way to bear burdens is to take the advice of One who Himself was a burden-bearer. Take therefore no thought (no anxious care) for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. There are many other burdens which make the heart to stoop, we will mention but one more.
3. A consciousness of unpardoned guilt. There is no burden so heavy to bear as this. Guilt makes the spirit feel as if the hand of Gods displeasure was sinking the soul lower and lower. The language of Scripture is very vivid in describing the feelings of man in such a case. When I kept silence my bones waxed old, through my roaring all the day long. Mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up, etc. (Psa. 22:3; Psa. 38:4; Psa. 40:12).
II. The human heart can be uplifted by seasonable words. A good word maketh it glad. Such words sometimes take the form of a promise of help. A man bowed down by disease is made glad by the word of the physician, which assures him that his malady can be cured. The debtor who feels himself hopelessly involved is made glad by the promise of one who engages to meet his debts. The man who is bowed down under a sense of guilt is lifted out of his heaviness by the promises of a forgiving God. In all these cases the worth of the word depends upon the character of him who utters them. It is a good word if it is not only a cheering word, but a reliable wordif the promise is uttered by one whom we know would not promise what he was unable to perform. It is this certainty which makes every promise of God so good a word to the soul. And when a mans heaviness of heart arises from a source which is beyond the power of human help, there is no greater service that a friend can do him than to remind him of some good word of the Heavenly Father which is suitable to his case.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Not heaviness, but anxiety. This last is the fashion of most griefs. We are bound to conquer it. The determined man (see comments on Pro. 12:24) is just the character to do it. Anxiety discredits faith. A good word, and such words are plenty in this very book, should gladden it, as the expression is; or, as a freer translation, cheer it away. It is a sin for men to be dejected. It is a great folly, too; for it broods over half their lives. Our passage tells all this, and tells the mode to dissipate it. It was the mode of Christ when he quelled the foul fiend. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God (Eph. 6:17).Miller.
There is nothing that claims our grief so much as sin, and yet there may be an excess of sorrow for sin, which exposes men to the devil and drives them into his arms.Lawson.
A single good or favourable word will remove despondency; and that word, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee, will instantly remove despair.A. Clarke.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(25) Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop.But, as this is not favourable to the spiritual life, we have warnings against excessive anxiety (Mat. 6:34), and exhortations to cast all our care upon God (1Pe. 5:7; Psa. 37:5) as a religious duty, that trusting in Him, and so having from Him the peace which the world cannot give, our hearts may be set to obey His commandments.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Heaviness in the heart Trouble, anxiety, sorrow.
Maketh it stoop Bows it down, as if oppressed by a burden.
A good word A kind or cheering word. Some grammatical anomalies are noticed here by the critics, but they do not affect the sense. On latter clause compare Pro 25:11; Isa 50:4; Zec 1:13; 2Co 2:4-7.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Righteous Prevail Through Their Knowledge Of Wisdom, Whilst The Unrighteous Go Astray Because They Reject Wisdom ( Pro 12:25 to Pro 13:6 ).
In the first part of the subsection there is an emphasis on guiding and learning. ‘A good word makes (the heart) glad’ (Pro 12:25). ‘The righteous is a guide to his neighbour’ (Pro 12:26). ‘A wise son listens to his father’s instruction’ (Pro 13:1). ‘A man will eat good by the fruit of his mouth (because he has guided people)’ (Pro 13:2).
There is also an overall emphasis on diligence as against laziness. The ‘good word’ of Pro 12:25 requires effort to apply it to the particular needs of the anxious man, the righteous man ‘searches out’ what is required by his friend (Pro 12:26), the diligent man makes full use of what is of benefit to man (Pro 12:27), a man has to make fruitful use of his mouth if he is to ‘eat good’, (another metaphor) (Pro 13:2), it is the diligent who will prosper and become rich (Pro 13:4).
A third emphasis is on the right use of words. ‘A good word makes the heart of man glad’ (Pro 12:25), ‘the righteous is a guide to his neighbour’ (Pro 12:26), ‘a wise son listens to his father’s instruction’ (Pro 13:1), ‘from the fruit of his mouth a man will eat good’ (Pro 13:2), ‘he who guards his mouth preserves his life’ (Pro 13:3), ‘a righteous man hates lying’ (Pro 13:5)
But the prime emphasis is on solid teaching. The good word makes glad (Pro 12:25), the righteous searches out in order to guide his neighbour (Pro 12:26), the diligent brings forth the valuable wealth of man (Pro 12:27), the way of righteousness, as known through wisdom, is the way of life (Pro 12:28), the wise son listens to his father’s teaching (Pro 13:1), it is the soul of the diligent which will be made fat (Pro 13:4), the righteous man, having received wisdom, hates what is false (Pro 13:5), righteousness obtained through wisdom guards the upright (Pro 13:6).
The subsection is presented chiastically:
A Heaviness (anxiety) in the heart of a man makes it stoop, but a good word makes it glad (Pro 12:25).
B The righteous is a guide to his neighbour, but the way of the wicked causes them to err (Pro 12:26).
C The slothful man does not roast what he took in hunting, but the precious substance of men is to the diligent (Pro 12:27).
D In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway of it there is no death (Pro 12:28)
E A wise son listens to his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke (Pro 13:1)
E From the fruit of the mouth of a man one eats good, but the soul of the treacherous will eat violence (Pro 13:2).
D He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips will have destruction (Pro 13:3).
C The soul of the sluggard desires, and has nothing, but the soul of the diligent will be made fat (Pro 13:4).
B A righteous man hates lying, but a wicked man is loathsome, and comes to shame (Pro 13:5).
A Righteousness guards him who is upright in the way, but wickedness overthrows the sinner (Pro 13:6).
Note that in A heaviness anxiety a man’s heart STOOP, whilst in the parallel righteousness guards the UPRIGHT. In B the righteous is a true guide to his neighbour, while the wicked causes him to err, and in the parallel the righteous hates lying (and is therefore reliable), and the sinner causes himself to err and therefore loathsome and comes to shame. In C and its parallel the sluggard and the diligent are contrasted. In D the way of righteousness is LIFE and in its pathway is no DEATH, whilst in the parallel he who guards his mouth preserves his LIFE, and he who speaks (unwisely) will have DESTRUCTION. In E a wise son benefits by the words of his father, whilst in the parallel a man benefits by either his own words or the words of another.
Pro 12:25
‘Heaviness (anxiety) in the heart of a man makes it stoop (bow down),
But a good word makes it glad.’
The point here is that deep anxiety can bow a man down, but that a good word (sound advice, which in Proverbs is godly advice) wisely presented can restore its gladness. Such sound and godly advice and words, associated with the idea of peace and wellbeing, were a feature of the Prologue (Pro 1:2; Pro 1:8; Pro 2:1; Pro 2:6-7; Pro 2:10-11; Pro 3:2; Pro 3:15-18; etc.). They are a reminder that the promises and assurances of God are an antidote to anxiety (note Pro 3:5-6) and that true godly wisdom can bring a man peace. In the parallel ‘righteousness guards the one who is straight (upright)’ (Pro 13:6). Thus there wisdom and righteousness (the knowledge of God) are seen as the preventatives from deep anxiety.
Pro 12:26
‘The righteous is a guide to (searches out) his neighbour (bosom friend),
But the way of the wicked causes them to err.’
Strictly speaking the first clause reads literally ‘the righteous spies out/searches out (from/because of) his friend’. Whether there is a preposition min, shown in brackets as ‘from/because’), is questionable. Its presence depends on whether we take the noun for ‘friend’ as merea‘ or rea‘ (both are possible). Thus it could signify that the righteous man searches out (wisdom) because of/on behalf of his friend, thus acting as his guide. This would fit well into the theme of guiding and learning in Pro 12:25 and Pro 13:1. Alternatively it could signify that he searches out/spies out his bosom friend, because he does not want as a close friend one who is untrustworthy or unreliable (see Pro 13:20). This carefulness would tie in well with the carefulness demonstrated in Pro 12:27.
In the latter case ‘the way of the wicked causes them to err’ may signify that it is because they are not so careful in choosing their friends (compare Pro 1:11 ff.). In the case of the former it may signify that it is because they do not (like the righteous) seek out wisdom, something which is again a continual urging of the Prologue.
Either interpretation could gain support from the parallel verse in the chiasmus, ‘a righteous man hates lying, a wicked man — comes to shame’ (Pro 13:5). The righteous man searches out wisdom because he hates lying and deceit, or he ‘spies out’ his prospective bosom friend for the same reason.
Pro 12:27
‘The slothful man does not roast his game,
But the precious substance/wealth of men is to the diligent.’
The word translated ‘roast’ occurs only here in the Old Testament, but the translation has been remarkably supported by a 14th century BC tablet from Ras Ibn Hani, near Ugarit. It need therefore no longer be questioned. The point is that the slothful man is so lazy that rather than roasting his game for full enjoyment, he simply eats it raw. It may, however, be that Solomon wants us to see behind this simple statement and recognise that the same is true of wisdom. It is not just to be accepted as it is without thought and effort, ‘unroasted’, but must rather become palatable by deep consideration. This would tie in with the equal effort of the righteous in Pro 12:26, who does not just take things as they are but ‘searches them out’, and that in contrast to the slackness of the wicked man. The suggestion is further reinforced by the wording of the second clause, which while probably referring to the roasting of game, does so in a highly metaphorical form, stressing what is precious to man. It explains also the reference to ‘the inner life of the diligent being made fat’ in Pro 13:4.
The first clause concerning the behaviour of the slothful is in contrast to that of the diligent man. Using the translation above and seeing the ‘precious wealth of men’ as being game animals available from hunting once they have been roasted, the parallel is clear. The diligent are better off than the slothful because they enjoy delectable roast meat rather than raw game. They have made proper use of their precious resources. The emphasis here is on the greater benefit resulting from diligence. Continuing the metaphorical interpretation above, this also emphasises that the precious wealth to man of wisdom is also only to be obtained by diligence. This was a constant theme of the Prologue (Pro 2:1-4; Pro 3:3; Pro 4:5-6; Pro 4:20-23; Pro 6:20-22; Pro 7:1-4; Pro 8:17; Pro 8:33-34).
The translation of the second clause is, however, disputed, because the literal translation, keeping strictly to the Hebrew text, is, ‘But the wealth of a valuable (precious) man is diligent’ which may indicate that the big advantage of a valuable man, and what makes him valuable, is that he is diligent (and thus among other things roasts his game and studies wisdom deeply). Among a number of alternative translations the following have also been proposed:
‘The diligent (does roast) the precious wealth of man’. The implication being that the diligent are wiser than the slothful.
‘A rare treasure of a man is one who is diligent’. The idea in context possibly being how fortunate are those whose hunters or cooks supply their meat roasted, with the emphasis being on the value of the diligent man.
However, what is certain is that the basic message is the superiority of the diligent man to the slothful one, something already brought out in Pro 12:24, and underlined in the parallel passage to this in Pro 13:4. The diligent man partakes of what is so much better.
Pro 12:28
‘In the way of righteousness is life,
And in the pathway of it there is no death.’
The effort of the counsellor in Pro 12:25, the righteous man in Pro 12:26 and the diligent man in Pro 12:27, is all to one end, the propagation of righteousness. And that because the way of righteousness is life. For those who walk in that way there is no death. As always life means wholesome life and life that will be prolonged, untarnished by death. It has already been emphasised in Pro 2:19, Pro 3:2; Pro 3:22; Pro 4:13; Pro 4:22-23; Pro 6:23; Pro 8:35; Pro 9:11; Pro 10:11; Pro 10:16; Pro 11:4; Pro 11:19.
‘In the pathway of it there is no death.’ This could simply mean that the righteous will not meet premature death. But it must have been patently clear to Solomon that that was not true. In the light of Pro 14:32; Pro 15:25 the greater probability is that here there is the clear hint of immortality, which is strengthened even more if we see the idea of ‘no death’ as an echo of Anath’s promise of immortality in terms of ‘no death’ to Aqhat in the Ugaritic mythology and used as a vivid illustration by Solomon. Such a concept is inherent in the descriptions in the Prologue relating to the fate of the disobedient (Pro 2:18-19; Pro 5:5-6) and in the promise of the tree of life in Pro 3:18. It must also be seen in the light of Psa 16:11; Psa 17:15; Psa 23:6, and receives some support in Pro 10:2; Pro 10:25; Pro 11:4; Pro 11:19; Pro 12:19; Pro 14:32; Pro 15:24.
This second clause presents translation problems. It says literally, ‘and a way a path no death’, which we may paraphrase as ‘and a way of a pathway of no death’, which basically says the same as above.
In the chiasmus this verse parallels Pro 13:3, ‘he who guards his mouth keeps his life, he who opens wide his lips will have destruction’. Once again there is the promise of preserved life resulting from righteousness (a guarded mouth), whilst the second clause presents a contrast to the ‘no death’ here. The alternative for the wicked is destruction.
Pro 13:1
‘A wise son (listens to) his father’s instruction,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.’
The themes of teaching and learning, of diligence, and of obtaining a foundation in wisdom and righteousness are now continued. The wise son pays diligent heed to his father’s disciplinary instruction (‘listens to’ is read back from the second clause). Unlike the scoffer he takes note of rebuke (compare Pro 1:23; Pro 1:25; Pro 1:30; Pro 6:23; Pro 9:8; Pro 10:17; Pro 12:1). Once more we note that the father (along with his wife) was to be the prime instrument for imparting wisdom (Pro 1:8-9; Pro 4:1; Pro 4:3; Pro 6:20; Pro 10:1). In contrast the scoffer refuses to listen to rebuke. ‘He does not love to be reproved’ (Pro 15:12). He hates it (Pro 15:10).
Pro 13:2
‘From the fruit of the mouth of a man he (or ‘one’) eats good,
But the soul of the treacherous will eat violence.’
In Pro 13:1 a wise son benefits by the words of his father, whilst here a man benefits, either from his own words or from the words of another, and ‘eats good’. The two ideas are in parallel. In contrast the one who would not listen to rebuke (Pro 13:1) ‘eats violence’.
The first clause is almost a repetition of Pro 12:14 a, ‘from the fruit of a mans mouth he (or ‘one’) will be satisfied with good’, and it conveys the same idea, whilst the idea of fruit reminds us of Pro 11:30, ‘the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life’. It is fruit that is ‘better than gold’ (Pro 8:19). There is a reminder here of the importance of listening to those who impart God’s wisdom. And it is a reminder also that to all who follow God’s wisdom what it says is important. We have to ensure that men eat good from it.
But the contrasting clause supports the idea that the one who benefits from the fruit of his mouth is himself (just as the treacherous ‘eats (his own) violence’). In other words those who speak what is good also benefit from it themselves. Because of what they say they have an appetite for good. How we talk makes a difference to what we are. In the parallel clause ‘the inner life, appetite’ (nephesh) of the treacherous itself eats violence, in other words the treacherous man has an appetite for violence which comes from deep within him, and he enjoys participating in it. Consequently he will ‘eat the fruit of his own ways’ in the end (Pro 1:31).
Pro 13:3
‘He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips will have destruction.
In Pro 12:28 we learned that ‘in the way of righteousness is life.’ In other words that those who walk in that way will experience abundant life, a life that will endure. And in Pro 11:2 we learned that a man ‘eats good from the fruit of his mouth’. He benefits himself, and fashions his character, by what he says. Now the two ideas are put together. To walk in the way of righteousness involves being careful of what we say, for ‘he who guards his mouth preserves his life.’ Once again the idea is that what we say not only reveals what we are, but actually affects what we are. We should therefore guard our mouths because, ‘in the multiplicity of words sin is not lacking’ (Pro 10:19). In consequence it is of great importance that we do guard our mouths, ensuring that nothing slips from them which will grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:29-30). By this means we will preserve whole and intact the life that God has given us. On the other hand the one who ‘opens wide his lips’, speaking without restraint or thought, will ‘have destruction’. He will bring retribution on himself. For by our words we will be revealed as righteous, and by our words we will be condemned (Mat 12:37),
Pro 13:4
‘The soul of the sluggard desires, and has nothing,
But the soul of the diligent will be made fat.’
There is a general principle here that lazy people want things in their ‘inner man, appetite’ (nephesh), but often don’t get them because of their laziness. They lie in bed and let the years slip away (see Pro 6:6-11). In contrast diligent people set about things, and get what they want and more. Thus their ‘inner men’ will be ‘made fat’, that is, will prosper and enjoy prosperity.
But in the context of guiding and listening, and of solid teaching (see introduction to the subsection) there is here special reference to the gathering of wisdom and truth. The lazy person wants to have wisdom and understanding, and every now and then he wants to know God and His word, but he never gets round to seeking them. Thus he ends up spiritually poor. Indeed he ends up with nothing that is worthwhile. But the one who from his heart (his inner person) diligently seeks, and makes an effort to understand, will not only find, but will grow and enjoy fullness of blessing. What such people receive they will ‘roast’, in other words, will take time and effort over it in order to enjoy it to the full (Pro 12:27). They will enjoy what is most precious in the earth (Pro 12:27).
Pro 13:5
‘A righteous man hates lying,
But a wicked man is loathsome, and comes to shame.’
As in Pro 12:26 we now have a contrast between the righteous and the unrighteous. There the righteous man ‘spied out’ his friends, like Joshua’s men spied out Canaan, in order to ensure that they were worthy friends, so that he would not be led astray by them (compare Pro 1:11 ff.). Here the righteous man hates lying (as does God – Pro 6:17; Pro 6:19; Pro 12:22). He searches out the truth. He cannot abide anything that smacks of deceit. He will therefore obtain a reputation for being honourable and trustworthy (he does not come to shame). In contrast the unrighteous man is loathsome before both God and man, for his way is that of deceit (Pro 11:20). He has the lying lips which are an abomination to God (Pro 6:17), and to honest men. He cannot be trusted, even with a confidence, and he destroys other people’ s reputations or wealth. And in the end his deceit will bring him into being shamed.
Pro 13:6
‘Righteousness guards him who is upright in the way,
But wickedness overthrows the sinner.’
The subsection ends with a summarising verse. The one who is walking uprightly in the way, listening to disciplinary instruction and responding to it, is guarded by his righteousness. ‘In the way of righteousness is life’ (Pro 12:28). His life is thus secure, and he walks with confidence without stumbling (Pro 10:9). For he who walks uprightly in the way is a delight to YHWH (Pro 11:20), and YHWH is a shield to him (Pro 2:7). In contrast is the sinner who is overthrown by his evildoing. His hope is not life but death. He will ‘have destruction’ (Pro 13:3). He is loathsome to YHWH (Pro 13:5).
‘Him who is upright in the way’ takes us right back into the atmosphere of the Prologue, where being, or not being, ‘in the way’ is a constant theme (Pro 1:15; Pro 2:13; Pro 2:15; Pro 2:18; Pro 2:20; Pro 4:11; Pro 4:14; Pro 4:18-19; etc.).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
v. 25. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 12:25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
Ver. 25. Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop. ] Grief is like lead to the soul, – heavy and cold; it sinks downward, and carries the soul with it; A . a How decrepit was David grown with much grief at seventy years of age. The like we may say of Jacob, who “attained not to the days of the years of the life of his fathers,” Gen 47:9 as being a man of many sorrows. And this, some think, was the reason that our Saviour Christ, at little past thirty, was reckoned to be toward fifty. Joh 8:57 He was “the man that had seen affliction by the rod of God’s wrath.” Lam 3:1
But a good word maketh it glad.
a Homer, Odyss., i. Man’s mind is like the stone Tyrrhenus, which, so long as it is whole, swimmeth, but being once broken sinketh.
b .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Heaviness = Anxiety (feminine)
stoop = bowed down. Illustrations: Ezra (Ezr 9:3 Ezr 10:6); Nehemiah (Neh 1:4); David (Psa 40:12); Jeremiah (Jer 8:18).
maketh, &c. = maketh [the man] glad [by driving it (feminine), the anxiety (feminine), away].
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 12:25
Pro 12:25
“Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop; But a good work maketh it glad.”
“A word of terror disturbs the heart of a (righteous) man, but a good message will gladden him.” In the first clause, the subject is anxiety; and the Savior, “Bids us beware of anxiety, and not to perplex ourselves with solicitude for the future (Mat 6:34; 1Pe 5:7).”
Pro 12:25. While a persons own grief can make his heart heavy, a good word from someone else can cheer it up (Isa 50:4; Pro 12:18). Pro 15:13 treats both conditions of the heart.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Heaviness: Pro 14:10, Pro 15:13, Pro 15:15, Pro 15:23, Pro 17:22, Pro 18:14, Neh 2:1, Neh 2:2, Psa 38:6, Psa 42:11, Mar 14:33, Mar 14:34
but: Pro 12:18, Pro 15:23, Pro 16:24, Pro 25:11, Pro 27:9, Isa 50:4, Zec 1:13, 2Co 2:4-7
Reciprocal: 2Ch 32:8 – upon the words Jer 52:32 – kindly unto him Phi 2:26 – full
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 12:25. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop Anxious cares and grief depress the spirit of a man, and disable him from exerting himself with any vigour in fulfilling his duty in his place and station, and from bearing with fortitude the sufferings to which he is exposed, in the course of divine providence; but a good word maketh it glad A compassionate and encouraging word, from a friend or minister, affords him relief and comfort, and enables him to go on his way with tranquillity and peace if not also with joy.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
12:25 Heaviness in the heart of man weigheth it down: but a {k} good word maketh it glad.
(k) That is, words of comfort, or a cheerful mind which is declared by his words, rejoices a man, as a covetous mind kills him.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
What is the "good word?" It could be any word that gives encouragement. Solomon was evidently general deliberately.