Глава 18

1–10. Against non-peacefulness, passion for controversy and other manifestations of inhumane and reckless mood. 11–17. Seven parables teaching mainly hope in God and humility as the paths leading to true wisdom. 18–22. Against the passion for litigation and abuse of the gift of speech. 23–25. About different types of love. Proverbs 18:1. The wayward seeks whims, rebels against everything intelligent: Proverbs 18:2. A stupid person does not like knowledge, but only to show off his intelligence. Proverbs 18:3. With the coming of the wicked comes contempt, and with disgrace comes reproach. Proverbs 18:4. The words of men's mouths are deep waters; the source of wisdom is a flowing stream. Proverbs 18:5. It is not good to show partiality to the wicked in order to bring down the righteous in judgment. Proverbs 18:6. The lips of a fool lead to quarrels, and his words cause beatings. Proverbs 18:7. The tongue of a fool is his destruction, and his mouth is a snare for his soul. Proverbs 18:8. [Fear overthrows the lazy, and effeminate souls will starve.] Proverbs 18:9. The words of the earphone are like delicacies, and they enter the inside of the womb. Proverbs 18:10. He who is careless in his work is the brother of the wasteful man. The selfish isolation of a wayward person is condemned, depriving him of the opportunity to hear and implement any useful advice (vv. 1-2), with a remark about the disgrace of wickedness in general (v. 3). Then a deep look is established at the inner nature of human speech, especially of a wise person: his speech, before uttering, is composed in the depths of his soul, like water hidden in the depths of the earth: the depth and thoughtfulness of the content, the abundance of valuable thoughts and the life-giving nature of the speech of the wise - these are the points of comparison with spring water (v. 4. Sn. Proverbs 20.5; Eccl. 7.24). Of the individual maxims here, first of all, all partiality in court is condemned (v. 5): Moses set his goal among biblical Israel to eliminate this evil (Lev. 19:15; Deut. 10.17). Then - against the abuse of the gift of speech, characteristic of the foolish and reckless (vv. 6-7), against slander, laziness, wastefulness (8-10). Proverbs 18:11. The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous flee into it and are safe. Proverbs 18:12. The rich man's estate is his strong city, and like a high fence in his imagination. Proverbs 18:13. The heart of man is lifted up before he falls, and humility comes before glory. Proverbs 18:14. Whoever gives an answer without listening is stupid, and shame on him. Proverbs 18:15. Man's spirit bears his infirmities; and a defeated spirit - who can strengthen it? Proverbs 18:16. The heart of the wise acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. Proverbs 18:17. A gift from a person gives him space and will bring him to greatness. On the one hand, it points to the unshakable stronghold of the name of Jehovah, as an undoubted stronghold for those who hope in Him (v. 11), on the other hand, to the deceitfulness, illusory nature of the rich man’s hopes for the help of wealth (v. 12); if Proverbs 10.15 spoke about the proud, elevated self-esteem that the possession of wealth inspires in a person - in contrast to the oppressed state of mind of the poor man, then here (v. 12; Heb. 11) it speaks of the insignificance of the rich man’s hopes, as a fact of experience (correctly conveys the Russian translation - synod. and Archim. Macarius - Hebrew bemaskito - “in his imagination". The accepted text LXX and Vulg do not maintain this meaning). Art. 13 n. Proverbs 16.18 and Proverbs 15:33. Specified in Art. 14 the sign of a fool - the manner of answering without listening to the question - was considered by the ancient Hebrew sages to be very typical for a stupid and uneducated person, while the opposite property was recognized as a sign of a learned and wise person (Sir 11.8; Mishna, Avot, V, 7). According to Art. 15 a person’s spirit can be a source of strength and courage for a person’s entire being, but also - in case of despondency - a source of weakness (according to Heb. in the first half of the verse ruach, “spirit”, man. r., and in the second – female). In Art. 16 (Heb. 15) is an indication that the teaching of wisdom, first of all, the Torah itself, was always taught orally, and the degree of learning of his wisdom depended on the degree of attention of the student (cf. Proverbs 15.31; Avot VI, 5). Art. 17 notes a typical feature of Eastern morals, according to which without a gift one cannot introduce oneself to a higher person or win a case in court (cf. Proverbs 19.8). Proverbs 18:18. The first is right in his litigation, but his opponent comes and examines him. Proverbs 18:19. The lot stops disputes and decides between the strong. Proverbs 18:20. An embittered brother is more impregnable than a strong city, and quarrels are like the bars of a castle. Proverbs 18:21. From the fruit of a man's mouth his belly is filled; He is satisfied with the product of his mouth. Proverbs 18:22. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Art. 18 apparently contains advice to the judge - not to be deluded by the testimony of one of the litigants (cf. Avot I, 8–9). According to Art. 19 in disputes and litigation, when there was no other way out, the decisive means was lot (cf. Proverbs 16.33). The meaning of Art. 20 (Heb., LXX., Vulg. – 19th century) otherwise it is transferred to Heb. t. and Russian (Synod. and Archim. Macarius) - “a brother embittered (“treason”, according to Archim. Macarius), more unapproachable than a strong city” than that of the LXX (αδελφός ὺπο αδελφοῦ βοηθούμενος, ὠς πολις οχυρὰ καὶ ὑψηλὴ), in Vulg. - (frater; qui adjuvatur a fratre, gnasi civrtas firma), and in glory: “brother from brother we help, like the city is firm and high.” Although the image of a fortified city more usually means something that protects, gives a reliable refuge to those who seek it, and therefore the meaning given by LXX, Vulg., slav. could be accepted, but the context of the speech of this place is v. 18–19, Wed. second half of Art. 20 – speaks in favor of the Hebrew. -Russian reading. Art. 21 dn. Proverbs 12.14, 13.2. Art. 22. The Apostle James speaks in a similar way, but in much more detail (James 3.5-9), about the important meaning of the tongue, sometimes beneficial, sometimes disastrous (cf. Sir 38.20–22). Proverbs 18:23. He who has found a [good] wife has found good and received grace from the Lord. – [Whoever casts out a good wife drives out happiness, but those who keep an adulteress are mad and wicked.] Proverbs 18:24. The beggar speaks pleadingly, and the rich answer rudely. Proverbs 18:25. He who wants to have friends must be friendly himself; and there is a friend who is more attached than a brother. The Wise One speaks here about different types of love and affection, and, first of all, recognizes the possession of a good wife as a great gift from God and happiness for a person (v. 23, cf. Proverbs 31.10 ff., Sir 26.1 ff.); then, meaning to negatively express the duty of love and mercy to those in need, he depicts the humbly pleading figure of a beggar on the one hand, and the gross arrogance and hard-heartedness of the rich man on the other (v. 24, cf. Proverbs 14.21, 17.5); finally, he talks about ideal friendly love, capable of exceeding the power of brotherly love (v. 25). 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