Proverbs 29:20 - Exposition

Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? (comp. Proverbs 26:12 ); Vulgate, velocem ad loquendum; Septuagint, ταχὺν ἐν λόγοις . James 1:19 ," Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak." "A talkative ( γλωσσώδης ) man is dangerous in his city; and he that is rash ( προπετὴς ) in his words shall be hated" ( Ecclesiastes 9:18 ). We might also translate, "hasty in his matters," "hasty in business," and the gnome would be equally true (see note on Proverbs 19:2 ). There is more hope era fool than of him. The dull, stupid man ( kesil ) may be instructed and guided and made to listen to reason; the hasty and ill-advised speaker consults no one, takes no thought before he speaks, nor reflects on the effect of his words; such a man it is almost impossible to reform (see James 3:5 , etc.). "Every one that speaks," says St. Gregory, "while he waits for his hearer's sentence upon his words, is as it were subjected to the judgment of him by whom he is heard. Accordingly, he that fears to be condemned in respect of his words ought first to put to the test that which he delivers—that there may be a kind of impartial and sober umpire sitting between the hear and tongue, weighing with exactness whether the heart presents right words, which the tongue taking up with advantage may bring forward for the heater's judgment" ('Moral.,' 8:5, Oxford transl.).