Глава 20

1–5. Exhortations to prudence, temperance, honesty, industry and the avoidance of opposite vices. 6–11. About the universal sinfulness of people and their constant tendency to fall. 12–19. An exhortation to hope in God, hard work, and modesty. 20–23. Against disrespect for parents, theft, vindictiveness and deception. 24–30. Various exhortations to the fear of God and honesty. Proverbs 20:1. Wine is mocking, strong drink is violent; and everyone who is carried away by them is foolish. Proverbs 20:2. The king's thunder is like the roar of a lion: whoever irritates him sins against himself. Proverbs 20:3. It is an honor for a person to leave behind a quarrel; but every fool is perky. Proverbs 20:4. The sloth does not plow in the winter: he looks for it in the summer - and there is nothing. Proverbs 20:5. Thoughts in a person's heart are deep waters, but a reasonable person draws them out. The warning against excessive consumption of wine is found more than once in the Wise One (see Proverbs 23.29 ff.); as in other places of St. Scripture (Isaiah 28.7; Eph 5.18), and here intoxication is seen as an insurmountable obstacle to the clarity of spirit, human consciousness, as an evil that deprives a person’s spiritual life of its normal course, in particular, spiritual wisdom and moral perfection. Art. 2 dn. Proverbs 19.12, 16.14: in all these, as well as some other places in the book of Proverbs, the king is an ideal force, a moral measure of true legality. Then the qualities opposite to true wisdom are indicated: grumpiness (v. 3) and laziness (v. 4), and then the positive property of wisdom is given - insight, the ability to penetrate the hearts of people, with all the mystery of the area of ​​​​a person’s inner life (v. 5, fn. Proverbs 18.4). Proverbs 20:6. Many people praise a person for his mercy, but who can find a truthful person? Proverbs 20:7. The righteous walks in his integrity: blessed are his children after him! Proverbs 20:8. The king, sitting on the throne of judgment, disperses with his eyes all evil. Proverbs 20:9. Who can say: “I have cleansed my heart, I am clean from my sin?” Proverbs 20:10. Unequal scales, unequal measures, both are an abomination to the Lord. Proverbs 20:11. You can even tell a boy by his activities, whether his behavior is pure and correct. The Pharisee's self-exaltation of man by deeds of mercy and virtues is condemned (v. 6, fn. Mt 6.2; Lk 18.8): the true dignity of a person is recognized only after his death, mainly in his children (v. 7, fn. Sir 11.28); the king also pronounces impartial, impartial and authoritative judgment about a person (v. 3, fn. Proverbs 16.10; 1 Kings 3.27). Art. 9, expressing the main idea of the section (vv. 6–11), expresses the position about the universal sinfulness of mankind, which (position) belongs to the most frequently proclaimed teachings of faith in the Old Testament (cf. Gen 6.5; 1 Kings 8.46; Job 14.4, 15.14; Ps 50.7; Eccl 7.20; Sir 7.5 and etc.). Art. 10 - a private and everyday example of sinfulness - dishonesty in trade (sn. below, v. 23; Proverbs 11.1). Art. 11 serves as a development of the thought of Art. 9. Proverbs 20:12. The ear that hears and the eye that sees—the Lord created both. Proverbs 20:13. Do not like to sleep, lest you become poor; keep your eyes open, and you will have your fill of bread. Proverbs 20:14. “It’s bad, it’s bad,” says the buyer, and when he leaves, he boasts. Proverbs 20:15. There is gold and many pearls, but the precious utensils are the lips of understanding. Proverbs 20:16. Take his dress, since he vouched for a stranger; and take a pledge from him for a third party. Proverbs 20:17. Bread acquired in untruth is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth will be filled with debris. Proverbs 20:18. Enterprises gain firmness through consultation, and by consultation wage war. Proverbs 20:19. He who walks as a carrier reveals the secret; and whoever opens his mouth wide, do not communicate with him. The reference to divine omniscience (v. 12) is given as an incentive to the fear of God and hope in God (sn Proverbs 15.5; Ps 93.9). From a number of vitally practical sayings (vv. 13–14, 17), the praise of prudent lips (v. 15) stands out, reminiscent of the praise of wisdom in general (Proverbs 3.14–15, 8.11). The instructions against guarantees (v. 16) repeat what was said earlier by the Wise One (Proverbs 6.1–6), the same must be said about the prohibition of slander and gossip (v. 19 fn. Proverbs 11.13, 13.3). Proverbs 20:20. Whoever curses his father and his mother, his lamp will go out in the midst of deep darkness. Proverbs 20:21. An inheritance hastily seized at the beginning will not be blessed later. Proverbs 20:22. Do not say: “I will repay evil”; leave it to the Lord, and He will keep you. Proverbs 20:23. Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord, and unbalanced scales are not good. The prohibition of slander of father and mother, which is severely punished by law (Exodus 20.12, 21.17; Lev.20:9), here (v. 20) is accompanied by a figurative representation (cf. Proverbs 13.9) of the early death of one who is disrespectful to parents. In connection with disrespect for parents, extravagance and extravagance of an unworthy heir in relation to the inheritance of the parents is raised and also condemned (v. 21, fn. Proverbs 19.26). Indignation at various kinds of villains, the Wise One teaches, should not serve as the basis for vengeance (v. 22), since vengeance belongs to God (Proverbs 24.29 fn. Deut. 32.35). Art. 23 repeats the thought of Art. 10. Proverbs 20:24. Man's steps are directed from the Lord; How can a person know his path? Proverbs 20:25. The net for a person is to hastily make a vow, and after the vow to reflect. Proverbs 20:26. A wise king will drive out the wicked and turn the wheel on them. Proverbs 20:27. The lamp of the Lord is the spirit of man, testing all the depths of the heart. Proverbs 20:28. Mercy and truth protect the king, and by mercy he upholds his throne. Proverbs 20:29. The glory of young men is their strength, and the adornment of old men is their gray hair. Proverbs 20:30. Wounds from beatings are a cure against evil, and blows penetrating the insides of the womb. The idea that man's ways are controlled by God (v. 24, cf. Proverbs 16.9; Ps 36.23) is in connection with the Old Testament and ancient Jewish belief that God punishes the wicked and rewards the pious; however, biblical and later Jews did not at all draw from this the conclusion that man is irresponsible for his actions, good and bad. Man, on the contrary, is always responsible and must be responsible for his actions; hence the disapproval of hasty, thoughtless vows (v. 25). Art. 26 dn. 7 and 28. – Art. 27 dn. Job 32.8. The meaning of Art. 29 is that every age has its advantages, and that therefore no age deserves to be neglected. Art. 30 speaks of the internally transformative influence of harsh pedagogy on a pet in need of physical influence. You might be interested in: