Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Proverbs 29:15 - 29:27
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
The Source of Evil Shown
v. 15. The rod and reproof, properly and judiciously administered to a child, give wisdom, lay the foundation for the attainment of true morality; but a child left to himself, without proper discipline, left to his own will, bringeth his mother to shame, whose foolish indulgence is often to blame for the degeneration of her children.
v. 16. When the wicked are multiplied, when they are in the majority in a community or state, transgression increaseth, for not only do they themselves grow in impudence, but they influence others as well and cause them to transgress; but the righteous shall see their fall, be witness of the punishment laid upon the godless by the Lord.
v. 17. Correct thy son, with proper reproof and punishment, and he shall give thee rest, bring a feeling of quiet satisfaction to the parent's heart; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul, so that the parent may have constant enjoyment.
v. 18. Where there is no vision, the people perish; if revelation is scarce, if the Word of God is precious, if men do not properly judge circumstances with relation to their ultimate effects, the people become wild, untractable, grow beyond discipline; but he that keepeth the Law, happy is he, sure to come under the blessing of Jehovah.
v. 19. A servant will not be corrected by words, being in need often of sharper correction; for though he understand, he will not answer, he will pay no attention to an ordinary statement or reproof.
v. 20. Seest thou a man that is hasty In his words? one who speaks before he thinks. There is more hope of a fool than of him. cf Pro_26:12; Ecc_9:18.
v. 21. He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child, causing the slave to believe himself more than his station really permits him to be, shall have him become his son at the length, or, his end will be contention, for rebellion on the part of the slave will naturally follow.
v. 22. An angry man, one readily yielding to his temper, stirreth up strife, Pro_15:18, and a furious man, one who gives way to angry passions, aboundeth in transgression, that being the inevitable consequence of such a disposition.
v. 23. A man's pride shall bring him low, for self-exaltation comes before the fall; but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. Cf Mat_23:12; Luk_14:11; 1Pe_5:5.
v. 24. Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul, the concealer, being on the same level with the criminal, must expect to share his punishment; he heareth cursing and bewrayeth it not, he hears the imprecation or objurgation of the judge, Lev_5:1, warning him to tell the truth, but he refuses to reveal the crime, and so the penalty descends upon him.
v. 25. The fear of man bringeth a snare, many a person having yielded to sin under the constraint of such terror; but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe, both by overcoming temptation and by escaping the evils attending transgression.
v. 26. Many seek the ruler's favor, literally, "his face," they try to gain his good will by every form of attention; but every man's Judgment cometh from the Lord, who is not swayed by fawning or flattery, but always judges a righteous judgment.
v. 27. An unjust man is an abomination to the just, on account of his utter lack of uprightness; and he that is upright in the way, in his entire conduct, is abomination to the wicked, because the behavior of the righteous is a constant accusation of the ungodly, a fact which they resent very strongly. There can be no union between the godly and the ungodly, between believers and unbelievers. To be a friend of the world is equivalent to being an enemy of God.