proverbs 12

Read Proverbs 12 at Bible Gateway.

Hebrew paragraph divisions:

Pro 10:1b-19:9 {p} Contrast between wise/ foolish, righteous/ wicked, rich/ poor

Pro 12:11-13:4 reverse parallelism:

1a) Pro 12:11-12, He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread/ he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding + The wicked covet the catch of evil men/ the root of the righteous yields fruit;

1b) Pro 12:13, The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips/ the righteous come through trouble;

1c) Pro 12:14, A man is satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth/ the fruit of a man’s hands will be rendered to him;

1d) Pro 12:15, The way of a fool is right in his own eyes/ he who heeds counsel is wise;

1e) Pro 12:16-23, No grave trouble will overtake the righteous;

1a) Pro 12:16, A fool’s wrath is known at once/ a prudent man covers shame;
1b) Pro 12:17-19, Truthful lips of the wise/ deceitful tongue of the false;
1c) Pro 12:20, Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil/ counselors of peace have joy;
central axis) Pro 12:21a, No grave trouble will overtake the righteous;
2c) Pro 12:21b, But the wicked shall be filled with evil;
2b) Pro 12:22, Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord/ those who deal truthfully are His delight;
2a) Pro 12:23, A prudent man conceals knowledge/ the heart of fools proclaims foolishness;

1f) Pro 12:24, The hand of the diligent will rule/ the lazy man will be put to forced labor;

1g) Pro 12:25a Anxiety (care) weighs down the heart;

1h) Pro 12:25b, But a good (kind) word cheers it up;

2h) Pro 12:26a, The righteous should choose his friends carefully;

2g) Pro 12:26b, For the way of the wicked leads them astray;

2f) Pro 12:27, The lazy man does not roast his meat/ diligence is man’s precious possession;

2e) Pro 12:28, In the way of righteousness is life + in its pathway there is no death;

2d) Pro 13:1, A wise son heeds his father’s instruction/ a scoffer does not listen to rebuke;

2c) Pro 13:2, A man eats well by the fruit of his mouth/the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence;

2b) Pro 13:3, He who guards his mouth preserves his life/ he who opens wide his lips has destruction;

2a) Pro 13:4, The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing/ the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

At first the central pairs did not make sense to me, but examining both of these chapters reveals that the matching elements surrounding them can be paired no other way, so they are forced together. What does it mean?

O righteous man, choose your friends carefully, that they are good and kind as you are; and just as carefully, choose what words proceed from your mouth, that they are good and kind, and what thoughts you allow to dwell with you in your mind, that they are good. For a man spends more time with his thoughts as he does with his friends. Thinking upon what is good will establish you as much as thinking upon what is evil will destabilize you. Anxiety (the Hebrew says, “care,” worries, the cares of this world, Mar 4:19) will lead you astray as surely as wicked companions.

So are the righteous to take no thought for tomorrow? A wise man does manage his affairs with diligence, but having done all, is content to trust God for the blessed outcomes. This is how the soul of the diligent is made rich. We know what the currency is of a rich life – wealth, family, happiness. What is the currency of a rich soul? In the Hebrew, it is “abundant gratification;” in other words, the diligent man who trusts God is satisfied and content in his heart, rather than anxious or worried. He knows he has done his part, and rests that God will likewise do His part. ♥