Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 29:20
Seest thou a man [that is] hasty in his words? [there is] more hope of a fool than of him.
20. Comp. Jas 1:26.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Pro 29:20
Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words?
Impetuosity of temper
The Adige at Verona appears to be a river quite broad and deep enough for navigation, but its current is so rapid as to make it quite unserviceable. Many men are so rash and impetuous, and at the same time so suddenly angry and excited, that their otherwise most valuable abilities are rendered useless for any good purpose. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
In his words; or rather, in his business, who is rash and heady in the management of his affairs.
There is more hope of a fool, who is sensible of his folly, and willing to hearken to the advice of others, as this word is used, Pro 26:12, though commonly it be meant of a wilful and wicked fool;
than of him, because he is self-confident, and neither considers things seriously within himself, nor seeks counsel from the wise.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. (Compare Pr21:5).
hasty in . . .words?implying self-conceit (Pr26:12).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Seest thou a man [that is] hasty in his words,…. Swift to speak either before God or men; that takes upon him to speak upon a subject, or return an answer to a question, before he has thoroughly thought of it, and well considered it, and digested what he should say; see Ec 5:2; or “hasty in matters” x; in his business; runs rashly and precipitately into things, without duly considering within himself what is right and proper to be done, and without taking the advice of others;
[there is] more hope of a fool than of him; of one that has not the gift of elocution, or not so much sagacity in business, and yet takes time to think, and advises with others.
x “praecipitem in negotiis suis”, Vatablus, Piscator; “in rebus suis”, Mercerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
20 Seest thou a man hasty in his words?
The fool hath more hope than he.
Cf. Pro 26:12. Such an one has blocked up against himself the path to wisdom, which to the fool, i.e., to the ingenuous, stands open; the former is perfect, of the latter something may yet be made. In this passage the contrast is yet more precise, for the fool is thought of as the dull, which is the proper meaning of , vid., under Pro 17:24. There is more hope for the fool than for him, although he may be no fool in himself, who overthrows himself by his words. “The (Sir. 9:18) has, in the existing case, already overleaped the thought; the has it still before him, and comes at length, perhaps with his slow conception, to it” (Hitzig); for the ass, according to the fable, comes at last farther than the greyhound. Hence, in words as well as in acts, the proverb holds good, “ Eile mit Weile ” [= festina lente ]. Every word, as well as act, can only be matured by being thought out, and thought over. From this proverb, which finds its practical application to the affairs of a house, and particularly also to the relation to domestics, the group returns to the subject of instruction, which is its ground-tone.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
Solomon here shows that there is little hope of bringing a man to wisdom that is hasty either, 1. Through rashness and inconsideration: Seest thou a man that is hasty in his matters, that is of a light desultory wit, that seems to take a thing quickly, but takes it by the halves, gallops over a book or science, but takes no time to digest it, no time to pause or muse upon a business? There is more hope of making a scholar and a wise man of one that is dull and heavy, and slow in his studies, than of one that has such a mercurial genius and cannot fix. 2. Through pride and conceitedness: Seest thou a man that is forward to speak to every matter that is started, and affects to speak first to it, to open it, and speak last to it, to give judgment upon it, as if he were an oracle? There is more hope of a modest fool, who is sensible of his folly, than of such a self-conceited one.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Worse Than A Fool
Verse 20 declares that a man who is hasty in his words, prone to speak on the spur of the moment, without consideration of facts and discretion, is more hopeless than a fool, Pro 14:29; Pro 21:5; Pro 26:12; Ecc 5:2; Jdg 11:31-35; 1Sa 14:24-26; Act 19:35-40.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(20) There is more hope of a fool (khesl) than of him.The fool is a dull, self-satisfied person, but may learn better; the man who is hasty and ill-advised in his words has a harder task before him in governing his tongue. (Comp. Jas. 3:2 sqq.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. Very similar to Pro 26:12, which see.
Hasty in his words Urgent to speak on all occasions, or rash, inconsiderate, in the use of words; voluble.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Pro 29:20 Seest thou a man [that is] hasty in his words? [there is] more hope of a fool than of him.
Ver. 20. Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words. ] Or, Matters; that weighs not his words before he utters them, but too soon shoots his fool’s bolt, let it light where it will, hit or miss, it matters not; that had rather be reckoned temerarious than timorous, and is with child till delivered of an abortive birth; that rashly rusheth on the weightiest businesses, and holds it loss of time to take counsel; this hasty, headlong man, as he never wants woe, so – because he is no less headstrong than headlong, wise in his own conceit, than witless in every man’s else – there is more hope of a natural than of him, and sooner he will be wrought upon. Scaliger a tells us the nature of some kind of amber is such, that it will draw to itself all kind of stalks of any herb, except basilisk, a herb called capitalis, because it maketh men heady, filling their brains with black exhalations. Thus those hastings, who, by the fumes of their corrupt wills are grown headstrong, and by it are conceited, Pro 26:12 will not be drawn by that which draws others that are of lower parts and capacities, it being easier to deal with twenty men’s reasons than with one man’s will. Good therefore is the counsel of St James, “Be swift to hear, slow to speak,” &c., and of the preacher, Ecc 5:2 “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God,” in prayer, vows, and especially in preaching. It was a wise speech of Aristides, who being required of the emperor to speak to something propounded ex tempore, answered, Propound today, and I will answer tomorrow; for we are not of those that spit or vomit things, but of those that do them carefully and accurately. b Demosthenes in like manner, when it was objected unto him that he came premeditated to plead, answered, that he, if it might be possible, would plead, Non tantum scripta sed etiam sculpta, not things written only, but even engraven. And when Eccius told Melanchthon that it was little for his praise that he was so long ere he answered his adversaries’ arguments – he would take three days sometimes to think on it – he replied, Nos non quaerimus gloriam, sed veritatem, We seek not victory but verity.
a Scal., Exercit. 140. Num 12:1-16 .
b O
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Seest thou, &c? Note Figure of speech Erotesis (App-6), for emphasis.
man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 29:20
Pro 29:20
“Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him.”
This is the same as Pro 26:12, except there it is the man “who is wise in his own conceit” who is more hopeless than a fool. Here it is the man who is hasty in his words.
Pro 29:20. Yes, there are some who are hasty of speech. They may be nervous, fidgety people to whom a moment of silence is killing and who speak from the top of their heads instead of the bottom their hearts. Such will have many an apology to make throughout life or suffer the loss of friends. Or some are hasty of speech because of not being aware of the problems that can be caused by such utterances. We have a saying, Think before you speak. Some say, think twice before you speak. A quick-tongued person suffers from this verses comparison (There is more hope of a fool than of him) as does a conceited man in Pro 26:12.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Seest: Pro 29:11, Ecc 5:2, Jam 1:19
words: or, matters, Pro 14:29, Pro 21:5
more: Pro 26:12
Reciprocal: Job 20:2 – and for Pro 15:28 – the mouth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 29:20. Seest thou a man hasty in his words Or rather, in his business; who is rash and heady in the management of his affairs? There is more hope of a fool Who is sensible of his folly, and willing to hearken to the advice of others, than of him Because he is self-confident, and neither considers things seriously within himself, nor seeks counsel from the wise.