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A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
He that loveth pureness ° of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

22:3 prudent man. This is repeated at Proverbs 27:12. A person who is knowledgeable in the Scriptures and also of human events can be forewarned when troubles are imminent and make appropriate preparations. Those who are self-centered and indifferent to important matters will often be carried away.


22:6 Train up. Train up” is from a Hebrew word normally translated “dedicate” or “consecrate.” The phrase “in the way he should go” is, literally, “according to his way”—that is, the “way” intended for him by his God-given abilities and interests. Parents should seek to ascertain this in a child’s nature, and then dedicate him or her to that sacred cause, that the child when grown may make the optimum contribution to the kingdom of God.


22:7 servant to the lender. Therefore, “owe no man anything, but to love one another” (Romans 13:8).


22:15 heart of a child. Modern theories of child-raising which allow children full freedom of expression when they are not yet wise or experienced enough to make intelligent choices are self-defeating. See on Proverbs 13:24.


22:21 certainty of the words. Before we can effectively “give an answer” (I Peter 3:15) as we try to witness to others concerning God, we first must know the certainty of the “Word of truth” ourselves. An “uncertain sound” of a trumpet can hardly prepare others for the battle (I Corinthians 14:8).


22:28 ancient landmark. See also Proverbs 23:10; Deuteronomy 19:14; 27:17. The lands were originally divided by the Lord (Genesis 10:32), when He “set the bounds of the people” (Deuteronomy 32:8). The “earth is the LORD’s” (Psalm 24:1), and He can give and transfer the lands according to His will (Acts 17:26). These God-given boundaries should be respected.


22:28 thy fathers. There is also an important spiritual application in this verse. The “landmark” may be a spiritual standard, established by our spiritual forefathers, God-honoring and God-blessed. There is always a tendency for each new generation to try to modernize the ways of their fathers and, in view of the universal law of decay, this is more often a mistake.


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