Proverbs 26

Read Proverbs 26 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.

25:21-26:21 {p} Proverbs concerning uselessness

The central axis: this verse has some difficult Hebrew. First, God is implied but not explicitly present in the text (Hebrew can be very spare, expecting the context to fill in implied words). And then, who are those who pass? The word would normally be, those who pass by, over, or through, depending on context. But as I said, the Hebrew is spare LOL. Pass by what? Pass over what? Pass through what? There is no context to guide us, so I left the preposition off to avoid making interpretive leaps.

But the sense of the verse: Both the foolish and the wise, the wicked and the righteous ultimately make their own choices in life. In the end, the wages they have earned for themselves by their choices, whether of destruction or blessing, God will pay. Proverbs often makes a Comparison and Contrast between two opposite things. So, God pays the foolish their wages, and those who pass (?) their wages. We would expect an opposite to ‘fool’ here, to show that everyone will be paid, good or bad. I am sure that in Solomon’s day the meaning was very clear, which we have lost due to the passage of time. But, future discovery or study may reveal it.

If there are questions, this is a good resource:

The complacent or stubborn fool in Proverbs – Christine Miller

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