221 A [good] name is rather to be chosen than great riches, [And] loving favor rather than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor meet together: Jehovah is the maker of them all.
3 A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
4 The reward of humility [and] the fear of Jehovah [Is] riches, and honor, and life.
5 Thorns [and] snares are in the way of the perverse: He that keepeth his soul shall be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich ruleth over the poor; And the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap calamity; And the rod of his wrath shall fail.
9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; For he giveth of his bread to the poor.
10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out; Yea, strife and ignominy will cease.
11 He that loveth pureness of heart, [For] the grace of his lips the king will be his friend.
12 The eyes of Jehovah preserve [him that hath] knowledge; But he overthroweth the words of the treacherous man.
13 The sluggard saith, There is a lion without: I shall be slain in the streets.
14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: He that is abhorred of Jehovah shall fall therein.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; [But] the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his [gain], [And] he that giveth to the rich, [shall come] only to want.
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Matthew Henry's Commentary on Proverbs 22:1-16
Commentary on Proverbs 22:1
(Read Proverbs 22:1)
We should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name, than to raise or add unto a great estate.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:2
(Read Proverbs 22:2)
Divine Providence has so ordered it, that some are rich, and others poor, but all are guilty before God; and at the throne of God's grace the poor are as welcome as the rich.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:3
(Read Proverbs 22:3)
Faith foresees the evil coming upon sinners, and looks to Jesus Christ as the sure refuge from the storm.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:4
(Read Proverbs 22:4)
Where the fear of God is, there will be humility. And much is to be enjoyed by it; spiritual riches, and eternal life at last.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:5
(Read Proverbs 22:5)
The way of sin is vexatious and dangerous. But the way of duty is safe and easy.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:6
(Read Proverbs 22:6)
Train children, not in the way they would go, that of their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which, if you love them, you would have them go. As soon as possible every child should be led to the knowledge of the Saviour.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:7
(Read Proverbs 22:7)
This shows how important it is for every man to keep out of debt. As to the things of this life, there is a difference between the rich and the poor; but let the poor remember, it is the Lord that made the difference.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:8
(Read Proverbs 22:8)
The power which many abuse, will soon fail them.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:9
(Read Proverbs 22:9)
He that seeks to relieve the wants and miseries of others shall be blessed.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:10
(Read Proverbs 22:10)
Profane scoffers and revilers disturb the peace.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:11
(Read Proverbs 22:11)
God will be the Friend of a man in whose spirit there is no guile; this honour have all the saints.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:12
(Read Proverbs 22:12)
God turns the counsels and designs of treacherous men to their own confusion.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:13
(Read Proverbs 22:13)
The slothful man talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion within, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:14
(Read Proverbs 22:14)
The vile sin of licentiousness commonly besots the mind beyond recovery.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:15
(Read Proverbs 22:15)
Sin is foolishness, it is in the heart, there is an inward inclination to sin: children bring it into the world with them; and it cleaves close to the soul. We all need to be corrected by our heavenly Father.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:16
(Read Proverbs 22:16)
We are but stewards, and must distribute what God intrusts to our care, according to his will.