CHAPTER 18
1A loner seeks a pretext,
where one needs prudence, he is exposed.
2A fool does not care for discerning
but for exposing his inner thoughts.
3When a wicked man comes, scorn comes, too,
and with disgrace, shame.
4Deep waters the words a man utters,
a flowing brook, the wellspring of wisdom.
5To favor the wicked is not good,
to skew the case of the innocent.
6The lips of the fool lead to quarrels,
and his mouth calls out for blows.
7A fool’s mouth is a disaster for him,
and his lips a snare for his life.
8The words of a grumbler are like pounding,
and they go down to the belly’s chambers.
9He who is slack at his task
is a brother to one who destroys.
10The name of the LORD is a tower of strength,
the righteous runs to it and is protected.
11The rich man’s wealth is his fortress city,
like a high wall within its hedge.
12Before a downfall a man’s heart is proud,
and before honor, humility.
13Who answers a word before hearing it out,
it is folly for him and disgrace.
14A man’s spirit sustains him in his illness,
but a lamed spirit who can bear?
15A discerning heart will get knowledge,
and the ear of the wise will seek knowledge.
16A man’s gift clears the way for him,
and leads him before the great.
17First to speak in his dispute seems right,
till his fellow man comes and searches him out.
18The lot puts an end to strife,
and separates the disputants.
19A brother wronged is like a fortress city,
and strife like the bolt of a palace.
20From the fruit of a man’s mouth his belly is sated,
he will sate the yield of his lips.
21Death and life are in the tongue’s power,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.
22Who finds a wife, finds a good thing
and wins favor from the LORD.
23Imploringly speaks the poor man,
and the rich man answers harshly.
24There is a companionable man to keep company with,
and there’s a friend closer than a brother.
CHAPTER 18 NOTES
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1. A loner seeks a pretext. The received text reads “desire,” taʾawah. The translation follows the Septuagint, which reflects toʾeinah, “pretext.”
where one needs prudence, he is exposed. The Hebrew says merely “wherever prudence, he bursts out,” or “is exposed”; “one needs” has been added in translation as an interpretive guess. The sense of the whole verse might be: a person cut off from other people constantly looks for a quarrel and by so doing shamefully exposes his own weaknesses in the very situations that call for prudence.
2. A fool does not care for discerning. This proverb on the lack of discretion is paired thematically with the preceding proverb. There are several such pairings in this chapter.
his inner thoughts. Literally, “his heart.”
4. the words a man utters. Literally, “the words of a man’s mouth.”
6. lead to quarrels. Literally, “enter into quarrel.”
7. A fool’s mouth is a disaster for him. This proverb about the damaging consequences of ill-considered speech is explicitly paired with the preceding proverb.
11. within its hedge. This translation follows the Septuagint and three other ancient versions in reading bemesukato for the Masoretic bemaskito (“in his imagining”?).
14. A man’s spirit sustains him in his illness. This is one of several declarations in Proverbs about the therapeutic effect of mood or mind—a notion that still seems medically relevant after two and a half millennia.
16. A man’s gift. The gift in question might be a bribe, or perhaps something resembling the contribution that a lobbyist makes to a legislator.
17. First to speak in his dispute. “To speak” is merely implied in the Hebrew.
18. The lot puts an end to strife. The evident idea is that when there is a dispute with no clear way to resolve it, something like the toss of a coin can bring it to an end.
19. A brother wronged. The formulation in the original is a little cryptic. The most likely meaning: if you wrong someone close to you, he becomes bristlingly defensive, shutting himself off from you like a fortified city.
20. the fruit of a man’s mouth. As elsewhere, the exercise of speech is seen as decisive, producing consequences for good or for ill with which the speaker must live. This proverb is clearly paired with the one that follows.
21. those who love it will eat its fruit. The choice of the verb “love” is revealing in regard to the underlying attitude toward language. A cultivated person delights in language and takes pleasure in its apt use, and this exercise of well-considered expression will redound to his profit. In this fashion, the ethic of articulate speech in Proverbs mirrors the form of the proverbs themselves, which, at least in intention, are finely honed articulations of wisdom, often exhibiting concise wit.
23. Imploringly . . . / harshly. The contrast between the hapless poor man and the rich man who has power over him is pointedly expressed in a tight antithetical chiasm (an instance of the use of the power of the tongue by one who loves it): imploringly (a), poor man (b), rich man (b’), harshly (a’).
24. a companionable man . . . / a friend closer than a brother. Although the chapter divisions are not original to the text, the textual unit from verse 1 to verse 24 is neatly marked by an antithetical envelope structure: in the first verse, we see someone who is isolated or separated from others, focusing on his own desire, and who consequently gets into trouble; this last verse affirms the sustaining power of friendship. Fox suggests a nuance of contrast between the first verset and the second: there are companionable people with whom one may enjoy social intercourse, but there are also intimate friends closer than a brother.