Глава 22

1–16. Advice for acquiring and maintaining a good name. 17–21. A call to heed the words of the wise. 22–29. The instructions are partly moral, partly practical. Proverbs 22:1. A good name is better than great wealth, and a good reputation is better than silver and gold. Proverbs 22:2. The rich and the poor meet each other: the Lord created both. Proverbs 22:3. The prudent man sees the trouble and takes refuge; and the inexperienced go ahead and are punished. Proverbs 22:4. Humility is followed by the fear of the Lord, wealth and glory and life. Proverbs 22:5. Thorns and snares on the path of the treacherous; whoever guards his life, depart from them. Proverbs 22:6. Instruct a young man at the beginning of his path: he will not deviate from it when he is old. Proverbs 22:7. The rich dominates the poor, and the debtor becomes the slave of the lender. Proverbs 22:8. He who sows iniquity will reap disaster, and the reed of his wrath will be no more. Proverbs 22:8a. –[A person who gives willingly is loved by God, and his lack of deeds will be filled.] Proverbs 22:9. The merciful will be blessed, because he gives to the poor of his bread. Proverbs 22:9a. –[The one who gives gifts gains victory and honor, and even takes possession of the souls of those who receive them.] Proverbs 22:10. Drive away the blasphemer, and discord will be removed, and quarrels and fighting will cease. Proverbs 22:11. He who loves purity of heart and has pleasantness on his lips, the king is his friend. Proverbs 22:12. The eyes of the Lord guard knowledge, and He overthrows the words of the transgressor. Proverbs 22:13. The sloth says: “There is a lion in the street!” They’ll kill me in the middle of the square!” Proverbs 22:14. A deep abyss is the mouth of harlots: anyone with whom the Lord is angry will fall there. Proverbs 22:15. Stupidity has become attached to the young man's heart, but the rod of correction will remove it from him. Proverbs 22:16. Whoever abuses the poor in order to increase his wealth, and whoever gives to the rich, will become poor. The preservation of one's good name is recommended by the Wise One (Art. 1 given) in the same sense - the unconditional superiority of this moral good over material values ​​(Sir 41.15, cf. Eccl. 7.1). A good name is acquired most of all by active love for one's neighbor, charity to him: hence, the duty of the rich to help the poor is put in first place, and the motive of charity is indicated by the fact that both the rich and the poor are equal creatures of one God (v. 2, cf. Proverbs 14.31, 17.5; Job 31.15), and are placed by Him on the same path in life. Praise is given to life's prudence (vv. 3 and 5) with condemnation of foolishness, but humility and fear of God are especially extolled - with an indication of the beneficial fruits of both in the outer life of man (v. 4). Then, in Art. 6–12 separately name the virtues by which a good name is protected and built. Here, first of all, the enormous importance of raising and training a young man from a very early age is emphasized (Article 6). In Mishnich. treatise Avot (IV, 20), in accordance with this it is said: “Who teaches a child what is he like? – writing in ink on new paper; and who teaches the old, what is he like? - writing in ink on paper that has been cleaned (from a previous letter). Then, having mentioned the difference in the everyday life of the rich and the poor (v. 7), the Wise One points out that wealth and well-being in general can be used for both good and evil. In the latter respect they are called: passion for discord and doing all kinds of evil (v. 8, “sowing untruth, evil,” as well as “sowing righteousness” - a common biblical image: Job 4.8; Proverbs 11.18; Hos 10.12), blasphemy (v. 10) and treachery (v. 12). On the other side are placed charity (v. 9), sincerity (v. 11) and reasonableness (v. 12). Finally, the negative side of the speech about a good name is a warning against the vices of laziness (v. 13 - here is an example of the meaningless excuse of the lazy, fn. Proverbs 26.13), debauchery (v. 14, n. Proverbs 2.16, 5.3, 6.24), stupidity (v. 15) and greed combined with the oppression of the poor (v. 16). Proverbs 22:17. Incline your ear and listen to the words of the wise, and turn your heart to my knowledge; Proverbs 22:18. because it will be comforting if you keep them in your heart, and they will also be in your mouth. Proverbs 22:19. So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, and you remember. Proverbs 22:20. Have I not written to you three times in advice and instruction, Proverbs 22:21. to teach you the exact words of the truth, so that you can convey the words of truth to those who send you? Proverbs 22:22. Do not rob the poor because he is poor, and do not oppress the poor at the gate, Proverbs 22:23. because the Lord will intervene in their cause and snatch away the soul from their robbers. Proverbs 22:24. Do not be friends with an angry person and do not associate with a hot-tempered person, Proverbs 22:25. lest you learn his ways and bring snares upon your soul. Proverbs 22:26. Do not be one of those who lend their hands and guarantee for debts: Proverbs 22:27. If you have nothing to pay, then why bother yourself so that they take your bed from under you? Proverbs 22:28. Do not move the ancient boundaries that your fathers set. Proverbs 22:29. Have you seen a man who is agile in his work? He will stand before kings, he will not stand before simpletons. Art. 17–21 form the introduction to a new group or new collection of proverbs, covering the second half of ch. XXII, and chapters XXIII and XXIV. The parables of this section are distinguished by their length, often covering several lines (3 verses in Proverbs 23.1–3, 6–8, 5 v. – in Proverbs 23:31–35, 24:30–34). In the introduction, art. 17–21, an exhortation is made to pay attention to the words of the wise (v. 17), their dignity is noted (v. 18), the main significance is the arousal of hope in God (v. 19), and ideological essence (v. 20–21). In Art. 22–29 in three couplet parables: a) oppression of the poor is condemned and prohibited (vv. 22–23); b) a warning is given against intimacy and fellowship with an angry person (vv. 24–25); and c) again a persistent warning against guarantees (vv. 26–27, fn. Proverbs 6.1 ff.; Proverbs 17.18, 20.16). The crime of moving one's neighbor's boundary, not unusual in ancient times, was considered one of the most shameful (cf. Deut. 19.14; Proverbs 23.10). In Art. 29 indicates a rare, but possible case in the position of a worker - elevation to the level of immediate service to the king. 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