Proverbs, one of the Wisdom Books, is a collection of sayings culled from experience and applicable for the formation of attitudes and a lifestyle in accordance with the Torah. It is also one of the poetic books and therefore is to be understood as poetry with an educational intent. What follows is a sampling of some of the sayings in the book. The selection is based on the OT reading for Tuesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B and omits Prov. 21: 7-9.
Proverbial sayings can be taken out of context and reflected on independently of others. However, sayings are not strung together randomly. The collector put them together following criteria that are oftentimes difficult to discern on the basis of the text. Sometimes sayings are grouped together using keywords. Below is an illustration of Proverbs 21:1-6.10-13 showing how verses 2-6 on the one hand and verses 10-12 on the other each belong to a group of lines sharing the same theme (click on the thumbnail for the bigger picture).
The King's Heart (Prov. 21:1)
"A stream in the hand of the Lord is the heart of a king;
He turns it wherever he pleases."
The ideal king (like David) is he whose heart is pliant to God's will. The imagery here is composite: first, the heart of the king is likened to a stream of water that one can direct to a piece of land so as to irrigate it. Second, the heart of the king rests in the hand of the God, to use in whatever way it pleases Him. The first imagery, that of water, makes the king's heart a reflection of God who is like living water. The second highlights the utter abandonment of the king to the will of God in obedience and trust.
God probes the Heart (Prov. 21:2)
"All deeds are right in the heart of the doer;
it is God who weighs the heart."
The meaning of the saying is not difficult to discern. When anyone makes a decision, one chooses from possible options and decides on one that is seen to be right. The motive for the choice is always: "because it is right." However, what is right is not always good nor just. Rightness or wrongness is not necessarily "in accordance with God's will". It is after all God who knows the heart of those who decide what is right or wrong. What is "right" may turn out to be sinful. An adulterous union is not ordinarily made because it is "sinful" or because "it is God's will." People enter into it because at that moment, they think it is right. A doctor who tries to save the life of a baby but in the process occassions the death of the mother who is trying to give birth to it may appear to his colleagues to have done wrong. But it is God who will be the judge; it is He who probes the human heart.
Righteousness and mercy, not sacrifice (Prov. 21:3) (See note on Matthew 9:13 below)
"To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."
The idea is echoed in passages of the New Testament, especially in those passages where the Lord justifies his mingling with sinners (cf. the use of Hosea 6:6 in the gospels) . There are also many passages in the prophets (especially Jeremiah and Amos) where cultic practices are weighted against the demands of mercy and justice and are found wanting.
Seen in context, this is an instance where something "right" may not be in accord with God's will. The offering of sacrifices tend to make the offeror look good before the assembly. What the assembly cannot see is the source of the sacrifice. It was taken as a rule in ancient Israel that the rich are blessed by God. A costly offering on their part would it make it appear that they have been greatly favored. But wealth can also be the fruit of injustice and oppression.
Haughty eyes and proud heart (Prov. 21:4)
"Haughty eyes and a proud heart -- the lamp of the wicked --
are sin."
The wicked -- in contrast to the righteous -- are those who have "haughty eyes and a proud heart". The "eye" is the "light of the body" says the Lord. The heart on the other hand is the decision-making organ. The eye functions as a window for the heart, letting in light and allowing it to recognize options and choose the ones that are in accord with the demands of righteousness. A proud heart is one that has closed itself to God and the haughtiness of the eye is just the outward manifestation of such pride.
Diligence and easy money (Prov. 21:5)
"The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance;
but everyone who is hasty comes only to want."
Two lifestyles are contrasted here: those that depend on industry, hard work and those who look for easy wealth ("the hasty"). Those who work hard may be slow, but their profit is sure. Those who dedicate themselves to the acquisition of wealth through hasty and quick means are no different from the lazy. They end up in poverty.
In context, this is again an example of Prov. 21:3. Easy money may appear attractive and "right", but it is God who ultimately judges the heart.
The Lying Tongue (Prov. 21:6)
"The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death."
The idea in verse 5 continues here. Deceit in business may lead to quick profits but in the long run "it is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death." Quick and easy profits are like the morning mist, when the heat is on, they evaporate. It may also cause death.
The JB rendering for this verse is stronger. It goes:
"To make a fortune with the help of lying tongue
-- such is the idle fantasy of those who look for death."
The Wicked (Prov. 21:10)
The souls of the wicked desire evil
their neighbors find no mercy in their eyes
The saying is directed more to the neighbors of a wicked man than to the wicked man himself. Thus it is a warning to anyone who may think that the wicked will treat one as an exception. Here the characterization of the wicked admits of no exception: since he desires what is evil, those who are near him will suffer from him.
In context, this can be understood as a warning to the king when he assigns people to certain tasks. The wicked should not be entrusted with anything; they will only cause more harm than good. Seen from the context of life itself, it is a warning to any good intentioned person who would think that he/she could "tame" anyone who has habitually manifested a lifestyle that can be characterized as wicked.
A difficulty arises in the application of this saying when we consider the Christian principle: "Do not judge." After all, who is in a position to label anyone as "righteous" or "wicked"? The difficulty does not invalidate the saying, however, it merely heightens the need for discernment -- which is applied wisdom -- even in the choice of company and people to trust.
Discipline and Instruction (Prov. 21:11)
When a scoffer is punished, the simple become wiser;
when the wise are instructed, they increase in knowledge.
The "scoffer" is a label for those who reject discipline, are unruly and make fun of instruction. He is one of those whom the righteous man should avoid (cf. Psalm 1) and is grouped with the wicked and the fool. The saying is best understood as an image of a classroom where the teacher punishes the scoffer for his wrongdoing and therefore sets them up as an example for those who truly wish to learn (the simple).
The scoffer is contrasted with the "wise" who love instruction. It is these who grow in wisdom and insight. Those who wish to learn (the simple) are admonished then by this saying to be like the wise and avoid the scoffer.
In context, the saying may be understood as part of the king's instruction to discipline the unruly so that people may learn from their example that the way of the just is more preferable to those who take it lightly. However, if we read it in relation to verses 10 and 12, the idea that God's punishing of the wicked has an instructional value for the wise and simple alike.
God punishes the wicked (Prov. 21:12)
The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked
He casts the wicked down to ruin.
"Why do the wicked prosper?" is a question that would arise from a world-view that has identified prosperity with the blessings of God. It is a question that is anguished, especially when seen from the vantage point of one who has tried to be faithful to God and yet continue to suffer from the taunts of the wicked. The saying is a declaration that God is aware of what the wicked are doing, that He is poised to strike them and that they will not go unpunished.
Christian revelation allows us to understand that it is out of divine mercy that God allows the wicked to flourish for a time. His apparent inaction does not mean noncurance; He is just patient with them, waiting for them to change.
Hear the cry of the poor (Prov. 21:13)
If you close your ear to the cry of the poor
you will cry out and not be heard
The king of Israel is also the judge of his people. Here, he is instructed to be like the God of mercy and compassion whose ears are turned to the cry of the poor. There are situations where the poor may be silenced. The king is here instructed to listen to them. Judicial impartiality requires him to listen to all parties, not just to a few. He is not asked here to judge in favor of the poor, for that would go against the demands of justice.
The second part of the saying is a warning: He who does not listen to the poor will not receive a hearing from Him who holds the poor in His heart.
The text that Jesus quotes in Matthew 9:13 is from Hosea 6:6:
Indeed it is hesed that I desire, not sacrifice;
knowledge of the Lord, not holocausts.
Jesus, of course, quotes only the first part of the text which he promptly follows up with a saying that has been taken as summative of the whole narrative: "I have not come to call the (self)-righteous but the sinner."
The original word used is hesed and can also mean "fidelity". Hesed is what we normally render as "grace" and one of its connotations is the devotion of someone of higher rank to someone lower in station (we find this kind of devotion in the centurion for his servant.). Thus the rendering in the LXX, "eleos". The tax collector was for all purposes someone "low" -- he is one of those considered as "lost" and can never be saved. In the system of the Jerusalem Temple, the tax collector can never hope to be rendered clean because the money he has will never be accepted. Jesus in calling to himself the "unsaveable" was actually showing to everyone that it is not God's will that anyone be emarginated.
The passage that Jesus quotes comes from the LXX which has translated "hesed" into "eleos" and which we now render as "mercy". The connotation of "hesed" here is that of the devotion of someone with higher rank to someone with a lower rank. It is actually the attitude of Yahweh, the Merciful and Compassionate One, to his people (Ex. 34:6).
The text from Hosea in fact reads: "It is fidelity I want, not sacrifice." Fidelity here is fidelity to the covenant. When Jesus points this text out to the Pharisees, he was actually challenging them to be faithful to the demands of the covenant with God who does not wish that anyone be lost.
