Proverbs 10 Study Notes
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10:1 Chapters 1-9 contain discourses on wisdom. From here to the end of the book the sayings are—for the most part—individual proverbs.
10:2 Ill-gotten gains are literally “treasures of wickedness,” wealth obtained by harming another person.
10:3 This proverb should not be taken as a universal promise that the righteous will never go hungry in this life, but it is certainly true that the life of wisdom and righteousness tends to promote a healthy and secure lifestyle. This lifetime is destined to have its struggles. God’s care for his children has its ultimate application in eternity. On the characteristics of proverbs, see the Introduction.
10:4-5 Hard work and prudence (see note at 1:3) are rewarded.
10:6 The verb conceals is literally “covers.” The second half of v. 6 literally means “violence covers the mouth of the wicked.” It means his speech is full of violence.
10:7 It was considered a curse to have no one remember you (Ex 17:14) or to fail to pass down your name to the next generation (Ps 109:13; cp. Ps 45:17).
10:8 Commands are probably moral instructions, which the wise humbly accept and therefore flourish, but the foolish reject and will be destroyed.
10:9 On integrity, see notes at 2:7 and 11:20.
10:10 A wink was apparently some kind of signal used by dishonest people (6:13).
’ewiyl
| Hebrew pronunciation | [eh VEEL] |
| CSB translation | fool |
| Uses in Proverbs | 19 |
| Uses in the OT | 26 |
| Focus passage | Proverbs 10:8,10,14,21 |
In Proverbs, ’ewiyl (fool) refers to one who is morally deficient from the standpoint of being able to make reasoned moral judgments. He willfully refuses to make moral choices, choosing neither good nor rejecting evil. He arrogantly refuses to receive moral instruction and to learn from his mistakes (Pr 1:7; 12:15; 15:5). The fool is characterized by foolishness (’iwwelet), an internal moral corruption that renders the fool impotent to make reasonable moral judgments in life (Pr 15:21; 16:22). While he is young, there is hope that a youth can be separated from his foolishness (Pr 22:15), but later in life the fool is irrevocably marked by his folly (Pr 27:22). His moral deficiency manifests itself in matters of speech, morality, discipline, religion, and daily life. He speaks either the wrong thing or at the wrong time (Pr 10:8,10,14,21; 14:3), and he is quick to show his anger (Pr 12:16; 20:3) and to refuse resolution (Pr 29:9).
10:11 The things that righteous people say tend to promote eternal life (see note at 3:22).
10:12 People who love, unlike hateful ones, are willing to put up with insults or slander and to forgive those who wrong them.
10:13-14 This is a case where two verses clarify each other, though each could stand on its own. The one who lacks sense is likely to speak rashly and hasten destruction, while wise and discerning people store up knowledge and speak wisely, avoiding public condemnation in this life and eternal destruction as well.
10:15 This is an observation about the way things look from an earthly perspective. Other proverbs, including the next verse, teach long-term and eternal principles about wealth and poverty (11:28; 18:10-11).
10:16 Life should be understood to mean spiritual life. Because of the parallel with life, punishment should be understood to include spiritual death.
10:17 Follows instruction is parallel to rejects correction. To stay on the path to life, one must accept correction.
10:18 This verse does not mean a person should display hatred. Rather, the person who has hatred concealed within himself inevitably tells lies.
10:19 The wicked tend to use many words, and their words reveal the heart.
10:20 Tongue is parallel to heart because speech reveals the heart.
10:21 The righteous produce life-giving nourishment (v. 11), while fools cannot even keep themselves alive.
10:22 If wealth is gained apart from acknowledgment of God’s blessing, often all kinds of painful effort accompany it—greedy “friends,” legal trouble, fear of loss (Mt 6:19), and the temptation of pride (Dt 8:17-18).
10:23 Shameful conduct contrasts with wisdom. A person of understanding finds pleasure in wisdom just as a fool finds pleasure in shameful conduct.
10:24 This observation on the wicked is often valid in this life and always true in eternity.
10:25 This is similar to Jesus’s parable of the Two Foundations (Mt 7:24-27).
10:26 Vinegar, or soured wine, had an astringent quality that irritated the teeth.
10:27 On life, see note at 3:22.
10:28 The hope of the righteous is well founded and results in joy. But neither is true of the expectation of the wicked.
10:29 The honorable do not dread the imposition of truth (Rm 13:3), but when God’s kingdom comes (Mt 6:10) and every knee bows to Christ (Php 2:10), the way of the Lord will be destruction, in the ultimate sense, for the malicious (Am 5:18-20; 7:7-9).
10:30 This proverb uses promised land terminology (cp. 2:22). Just as disobedient Israel was sent into exile, so the wicked will not remain in God’s grace.
10:31 The person who speaks what is perverse (see note at 2:12) will be excluded from the community and ultimately from God’s presence (Lv 18:29).
10:32 The Hebrew word translated what is appropriate also means “favor, delight” (8:35).