When thou perceivest not - the lips of knowledge - Instead of דעת daath , knowledge, several MSS. have שקר sheker , a lie. How this reading came I cannot conjecture. The meaning of the adage is plain: Never associate with a vain, empty fellow, when thou perceivest he can neither convey nor receive instruction. read more
Is to understand his way - Instead of הבין habin , to understand, הכין hachin , to Direct his way, is found in one MS. It makes a very good sense. read more
Fools make a mock at sin - And only fools would do so. But he that makes a sport of sinning, will find it no sport to suffer the vengeance of an eternal fire. Some learned men by their criticisms have brought this verse into embarrassments, out of which they were not able to extricate it. I believe we shall not come much nearer the sense than our present version does. read more
Traits of wisdom and folly I. FEMININE WISDOM . ( Proverbs 14:1 .) 1 . Its peculiar scope is the home. Women are physically and morally constructed with a view to the stationary life and settled pursuits of home. Its comfort, the strength of the race, the well being of society, are rooted, more than in any other human means, in the character, the principle, the love and truth of the wife and mother. 2 . The absence of it is one of the commonest causes of domestic misery.... read more
A repetition of Proverbs 12:17 (see also Proverbs 6:19 ). A faithful witness cannot be induced to swerve from the truth by threat or bribe. Will utter; Hebrew, breatheth forth. A false witness with no compulsion, as it were naturally, puts forth lies (comp. Proverbs 12:25 ; Proverbs 19:5 ). Septuagint, " An unrighteous witness kindleth ( ἐκκαίει ) falsehood." read more
A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not; literally, it is not—there is none ( Proverbs 13:7 ). A scorner may affect to be seeking wisdom, but he can never attain to it, because it is given only to him who is meek and fears the Lord ( Psalms 25:9 ). Wis. 1:4, "Into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter; nor dwell in the body that is pledged to sin" (comp. Psalms 111:10 ). True wisdom is not to be won by those who are too conceited to receive instruction, and presume to depend... read more
Go from the presence of a foolish man. There is some doubt about the rendering of this passage. The Vulgate gives, vade contra stultum, which is probably to be taken in the sense of the Authorized Version. The Revised Version has, "Go into the presence of a foolish man." The Hebrew מִנֶּגֶד ( minneged ) may mean "from before," "over against," "in the presence of." Hence arises an ambiguity. The Authorized Version considers the sentence to be an injunction to turn away from a... read more
The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way. The wisdom of the prudent is shown by his considering whither his actions lead, the motives from which they spring, the results that attend them. As the apostle enjoins ( Ephesians 5:15 ), "See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise." Or the clause may be taken as enjoining a wise choice in life, a selection of such a calling or occupation as best suits one's capabilities, station, and opportunities. The folly of fools is... read more
Understanding our way A man may be "prudent," he may be clever, learned, astute; yet he may miss his way, he may lose his life, he may prove to be a failure. The wisdom of the prudent, that which makes prudence or ability really valuable, that which constitutes its virtue, is the practical understanding of life, the knowledge which enables a man to take the right path and keep it, the discretion which chooses the line of a true success and maintains it to the end. It is to perceive and... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 14:6
A scorner seeketh wisdom - I believe the scorner means, in this book, the man that despises the counsel of God; the infidel. Such may seek wisdom; but he never can find it, because he does not seek it where it is to be found; neither in the teaching of God's Spirit, nor in the revelation of his will. read more