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1–18. A more specific depiction of the properties of true wisdom in relation to God and neighbors; wisdom as the highest good. 19–26. The Lord, the All-Wise Creator and Provider, protects and protects the life of the wise and pious. 27–35. An exhortation to be merciful and fair to your neighbors and a warning against imitating rapists and generally lawless people. Proverbs 3:1. My son! do not forget my instructions, and let your heart keep my commandments; Proverbs 3:2. for length of days, years of life and peace they will add to you. Proverbs 3:3. Let mercy and truth not leave you: tie them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, Proverbs 3:4. and you will find mercy and favor in the eyes of God and people. Warning his disciple (“my son”) from imitating corrupt people (Proverbs 2.10–19), the Wise One, first of all, admonishes him (v. 1) not to forget his teacher (more, melammed, Proverbs 5.13) teaching, the law (Torah) and to keep all the individual commandments (mitzvot) of this teaching (of course, the teaching about wisdom and piety). To encourage the student to fulfill his instructions, the Wise One promises him a reward for fulfilling them - long life and prosperity, just as in the Pentateuch these benefits are often promised to the executors of the law of Moses (for example, Exodus 20.12; Deut. 8.1, 30.16, etc.). Such a reward is partly the gracious fruit of God’s blessing, resting on the zealots of true wisdom and pure piety, and partly represents a domestic consequence of the abstinence characteristic of the wise and pious from all vices and passions that upset the external well-being of a person, undermine his health and shorten his very life. Defining then the essence of the law or teaching about wisdom - piety, the Wise One commands (v. 3) to preserve “mercy and truths.” Heb.: hesed ve-emet, Greek: ' ελεεμοσύνη καὶ πίστις, Vulg.: misericordia et veritas. Both concepts are very often combined together in the Old Testament (Gen. 32.10; Ps. 24.10, 29.11), and in the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 3.3, 14.22, 16.6, 20.28, etc.) and can mean both Divine mercy and grace, and God’s faithfulness to the covenant with people, and actually human virtues: with one on the one hand, mercy, compassion for people in need, readiness to help them in their needs, on the other hand, a person’s loyalty to the promises and obligations given to them, his readiness to give everyone their due - in a word, both of these concepts, taken together, express a person’s fulfillment of his moral duty towards his neighbor, and “mercy” (chesed) is based on the feeling of the brotherhood of all people and on the awareness of the need for their mutual solidarity both in external life and in the matter of spiritual development, and “truth” (emet) means internal stability and truthfulness, pectus rectum, directly opposed to any hypocrisy, imaginary holiness - the desire to conform every form to the essence of the matter. From the point of view of these two virtues, a person’s behavior towards his neighbors is determined in the last part of this chapter (Proverbs 3.27 given). The thought of the duty of “mercy and truth” must be constantly inherent in a person. These commandments, according to the figurative expression of the Wise One, should be, as it were, hung around the neck and written on a person’s heart, just as the biblical Jews had the custom of wearing on the chest (on a cord) a seal with the inscription of their own name and dignity (Gen. 38.18; Song 8.6), and later Jews, in order to remember the commandments of the law of God, wore and wear so-called phylacteries on their hands and foreheads or tefillin, literally understanding the words of Moses (Exodus 13.16; Deut. 6.8, 11.15; Mt. 23.5). Steadfast preservation of “mercies and truth” will result in God’s mercy and love from people (cf. 1 Samuel 2.26; Lk 2.52) to a person who always keeps on the table of the heart (according to the heart’s desire, cf. Jer 31.33), and not just by external command, the duty of love and justice. This motive for human moral activity - praise and approval from God and people - is often exhibited in the book of Proverbs. But since people’s judgments can also be erroneous, the Wise One further places above all else a person’s complete devotion to God, and demands from a person, firstly, internal dedication to God in humility (Proverbs 3.4–8), and then complete readiness to sacrifice external property for God and deliver their external destinies into His hands (Proverbs 3.9–12). Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:6. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. : Proverbs 3:7. Do not be a wise man in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil: Proverbs 3:8. it will be health for your body and nourishment for your bones. Whoever truly believes in God, the Creator and Provider of the world, cannot rely only on his own strength in his activities; on the contrary, a true believer is distinguished, first of all, by firm trust in the mercy and grace of God, complete devotion and fidelity to God (v. 5), and arrogance, the desire to ensure prosperity for oneself through one’s own efforts, cannot take place (cf. Jer 9.23; Ps 36.3 ff., Ps 119.8-9). Only under the condition of humble devotion to the will of God can a person cheerfully face all the trials of life. But for this, a person must precisely “know” God in all his ways (v. 6), that is, be completely imbued with the thought of God (cf. Ps. 1.6); then God will “direct” (“equalize” - according to a more precise translation by Archimandrite Macarius) all human paths to serve moral goals, truth, righteousness, goodness. But such a direction of human will is possible only in the case when a person completely renounces all conceit and self-exaltation (7a, n. Eccl 7.16; Rom 12.16), he will base his activity on the fear of God and the resulting avoidance of all evil (7b), which is the true wisdom of life (cf. Proverbs 1.7; Job 28.23). Wisdom - piety, necessarily combined with the fear of God and avoidance of evil, is saving not only for the soul, but also for the body (v. 8), since the fear of God and the fear of falling into sin keep a person from various kinds of excesses that have a destructive effect on the body. Proverbs 3:9. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your increase, Proverbs 3:10. and your barns will be filled with abundance, and your wine presses will overflow with new wine. Honor to the Lord on the part of man must be rendered not only by humility, reverence and fear of Him, not only by moving away from sin, - in general, not only by spiritual means of reverence for God, but also by material, external deeds of pleasing God, which in the Old Testament included the duty of every Jew to dedicate to Jehovah the first products of the earth (Exodus 23.19 ff., Exod. 34.26; Lev.23:10–17; Num. 18.12–18; Deut. 18.4 ff.; Since at all times the fear of impoverishment due to generosity could have kept the Jews from fulfilling this law regarding theocratic offerings to the sanctuary (cf. Lev. 25:20). - then the Wise One, having in mind the promise of God’s blessing for the sending down of this law (see Lev. 25:21–22), promises the zealous donor an abundance of bread and wine (v. 10). If in other places in the book of Proverbs little is said about the ritual law, then bringing the first products of the earth to Jehovah was such a natural manifestation of gratitude to God for His gifts (due to this, bringing, for example, tithes to God was a custom even before Moses (Gen. 28.22); just as the custom of donating to God the first and best products was widespread among other ancient peoples), that the Wise One could not pass over in silence such a direct form of expression of religious feeling, and admonishes his listener to zeal in observing the mentioned law, just as the prophet Malachi subsequently does the same (Mal 3.10–12). Proverbs 3:11. Do not reject the Lord’s punishment, my son, and do not be burdened by His reproof; Proverbs 3:12. for whom the Lord loves, He punishes and favors, like a father towards his son. Teaching his listener to express devotion to God, reverence for God, also by patiently enduring the disasters sent by God, the Wise One compares these disasters with the methods of human Old Testament pedagogy, which are difficult for a pet: how this latter, according to the view of the Wise One (Proverbs 19.18, 23.13), inevitably includes a system of physical influences (this is the meaning of the Hebrew musar; Greek. παιδία; lat. disciplina, slav. Russian punishment), and all kinds of disasters in the hands of God who sends them have a pedagogical goal - the education in the people of God and all its members of true devotion to God and fidelity to His covenant (cf. Deut. 8.5, 1.31; Ps. 117.18; Lamentations 3.33). Only reckless children neglect the lessons of their parents, educators and mentors, and are not brought to their senses by their strict measures. Such children are likened to those who, accepting punishment for their sins from the hands of God, do not come to their senses, and even become embittered against God. Warning his listeners or readers against such a mood, the Wise One instructs (v. 12) to see in the disasters sent by God signs of His fatherly love for man, wanting to lead him away from the path of unrighteousness and guide him on the path of truth and virtue. The second half of verse 12 is read slightly differently in Hebrew. Masor., Vulg. and Russian: ukeav et ben irtse, quasi pater in filio complacet sibi, “and favors him as a father does to his son” - than in LXX and slav.: μασιγοῖ δἐ παντα ὑιόν, ὅν παραδέχεται, “he beats every son, and receives him.” Due to the fact that when reading LXX glory. The parallelism of both halves of the 12th verse is much better maintained than when reading Hebrew. Masor. t., - the reading of LXX deserves preference (the analogy of v. 12 is represented by Job 5.17–18), especially since this reading is literally reproduced in the letter to the Hebrews, Heb. 12.6. Having cited the words of Proverbs 3.11–12 in Hebrews 12.5–6, the sacred writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews adds in explanation of the words of the Wise One: “If you suffer punishment, then God treats you as with sons, for is there any son whom his father does not punish? If you remain without punishment... then you are illegitimate children and not sons” (Heb. 12.7-8). Proverbs 3:13. Blessed is the man who has gained wisdom, and the man who has gained understanding - Proverbs 3:14. because acquiring it is better than acquiring silver, and the profit from it is greater than from gold: Proverbs 3:15. it is more valuable than precious stones; [no evil can resist her; she is well known to everyone who approaches her,] and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 3:16. Longevity is in her right hand, and in her left are wealth and glory; Proverbs 3:16a. -[the truth comes out of her mouth; she carries law and mercy on her tongue;] Proverbs 3:17. her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peaceful. Proverbs 3:18. She is a tree of life to those who acquire her, and blessed are those who keep her! The Wise One, as it were, sings a whole hymn to true wisdom, under which here (v. 13 et al.), in connection with the previous one (vv. 11–12), the closest thing is meant by experience, based on the patient enduring of the sorrows of life sent by God, the understanding of the action in them of the punishing, punishing and at the same time merciful hands of God's Providence - and then generally spiritual and everyday experience; The source and final foundation of such wisdom is and always remains a person’s complete devotion to the will of the omniscient and all-good Provider - God. Wisdom (chokmah, σοφία, sapientia) and prudence (tebuna, φρόνησις, prudentia) are goods for the acquisition of which one should work harder than how much the seekers of gold and silver work, mining them in the bowels of the earth and buying areas rich in gold and silver deposits at a high price. (cf. Job 28.15 ff.). Other jewels, for example, precious stones or something similar, valuable only in external brilliance, cannot be compared with the benefit of wisdom: all these jewels adorn only the human body, while wisdom is the adornment of the soul and spirit. In the middle of the station 15, and also at the end of Art. 16 at LXX and in glory. there are increases. In Art. 15 increase reads like this: πᾶσιν το῀ις ἑργάζουσιν αὑτῆ, slav. “she does not resist her in any way wickedly, she is gracious to everyone who approaches her.” Although this insertion, apparently, somewhat disrupts the natural parallelism of speech in Art. 15, however, the general idea of ​​the above words about the superiority of true wisdom over any earthly good acquired unrighteously, and about the attractiveness of close acquaintance with wisdom, is completely consistent with the teaching of the book of Proverbs about wisdom. However, in some LXX lists (for example, in Compl.) the words given are not readable. In Art. 16, as well as further Art. 17 and 18, wisdom is depicted personified, and precisely, it appears to be the dispenser of external, material and internal, spiritual gifts. Wisdom is an abundant source of both. With both hands, right and left, she distributes to her zealots such benefits as longevity, wealth and glory - and, according to the unequal dignity of these benefits, they are divided as follows: with the right hand of wisdom the more important and essential benefit of long life is contained and given (cf. Proverbs 3:2), and the less important, almost merely accidental accessories of wisdom - wealth and glory - with the left hand. Further, according to the text of LXX, at the end of Art. 16 We read: ᾿ελεον ἐπὶ γλώσσης φορεῖ, slav. “from her mouth comes righteousness, but law and mercy are on the tongue: . This speech about the spiritual, internal benefits of wisdom is very appropriate in addition to the mention of external benefits: the truth of wisdom is the gift or ability in everything, and especially in court, to act lawfully, impartially and impartially; to wear the law and mercy on the tongue means to pronounce upon the defendants a sentence not only in agreement with the truth of the law, but also imbued with mercy and condescension as required by the spirit of the law. In general, the entire article. 16 directly recalls the initial moment of Solomon's reign, referring to his own example. Upon entering the kingdom, Solomon, as you know, asked God for wisdom for the matter of government, and the Lord gave him not only what he asked for, but also what he did not ask for - wealth and glory (1 Kings 3.6-13). The internal fruits of wisdom are (v. 17): a special pleasantness of life - success in spiritual and worldly affairs - and a certain special peace of life, since the wise man avoids everything that could involve him in any danger or clash with his neighbors. The Wise figuratively and extremely significantly calls wisdom “the tree of life” (v. 18, cf. Proverbs 11.30, 13.12, 15.4), meaning, of course, the paradise tree of life known from the book of Genesis (Gen. 2:9; 3:22): the tree of life that was in paradise protected man from illness and death; After the fall of our first parents and their expulsion from paradise, no human wisdom can save a person from death and even always successfully heal illnesses, but the Wise One, calling God-enlightened wisdom based on the fear of God (cf. Proverbs 1.7) and on the revelation of God, refers to the saving significance of this particular wisdom for man - mainly in relation to the spiritual life of man: this wisdom satisfies the highest demands of the human spirit, nourishes it, as the tree of life fed the first man in paradise; She, this wisdom, at the same time serves as a guarantee of the eternal blissful life of a person beyond the grave; Likewise, in earthly life, those guided by the rules of wisdom and piety more often enjoy longevity and prosperity than those who foolishly, immoderately indulge in earthly blessings. Therefore, “blessed are those who preserve” Wisdom (18b.), LXX: καὶ τοῖς ἐπερειδομένοις ἐπ´ αὐτὴν, ώς ἐπὶ κύριον, ἀσφαλής, glor.: “And to those who bow down to the nude, as to the Lord, it is firm.” Those who trust in the Lord, those who seek Wisdom from Him in the Lord and those who seek His Wisdom for support and wisdom, always remain firm, like the impregnable fortress of Zion (cf. Ps 124.1). What was said in Art. 18 about Wisdom as the tree of life, the Church applied to the tree of the cross of Christ: “lignum vitae crux Christi”, since the incarnate Wisdom itself was crucified on the cross (cf. Mt 11.19; Lk 11.49; 1 Cor 1.24), and in the event of the crucifixion of Christ the Savior the highest Wisdom of God was revealed, which found so an extraordinary means of reconciling people with God. Therefore, the section of Proverbs 3.11–18 is read as parimia on holidays in honor of the Cross of Christ - August 1 (the origin of the honorable trees of the Cross of Christ) and September 14 (the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross). Proverbs 3:19. The Lord founded the earth with wisdom, established the heavens with understanding; Proverbs 3:20. Through His wisdom the abysses were opened, and the clouds sprinkled with dew. Proverbs 3:21. My son! do not let them out of your sight; keep your sanity and prudence, Proverbs 3:22. and they will be life for your soul and ornament for your neck. Proverbs 3:23. Then you will walk safely along your path, and your foot will not stumble. Proverbs 3:24. When you go to bed, you will not be afraid; and when you fall asleep, your sleep will be pleasant. Proverbs 3:25. You will not be afraid of sudden fear and destruction from the wicked when it comes; Proverbs 3:26. for the Lord will be your trust and will keep your foot from being caught. Man must strive all the more for wisdom because it is not only a human quality, but an inherent power, of course, to an infinite degree, of God Himself: the highest wisdom constitutes the seal of all the creative and world-ruling activity of God. The highest wisdom of God, the creator and provider of the world, was expressed in the fact that “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom (bekhokma), established the heavens with understanding: by His Wisdom the abysses were opened, and the clouds sprinkled with dew” (vv. 19–20). Under Wisdom, through which God destined and then realized the idea of ​​the world, there is of course a manifestation of the properties of Divine Wisdom, but at the same time also the Hypostatic Wisdom of God (the Son of God in His activity before the incarnation) in Her peacemaking activity (cf. Proverbs 8.22; Wisdom 9.9; Sir 24.10; John 1.3). The wisdom of God, clearly reflected in the creation of the world and always revealing itself in its preservation, must be an eternal model, an ideal for all who seek wisdom. But God-enlightened human wisdom - “sanity and prudence” (Hebrew tushiya u-zimma, v. 21), since its source is the same Wisdom of God - should be the subject of attention and imitation of the young man. The fruits of wisdom, even for one external life of a person, are saving and varied: the rules of wisdom, which are the basis of human activity, become for him a source of spiritual nutrition, moral strength, a word of true vitality (v. 22), peace, tranquility and success in all matters (v. 23), serene peace and security, both from external enemies and from internal turmoil (vv. 24–25, sn. Ps 90.5–6). This is because a wise man in all relationships and circumstances of life places his trust in the Lord, and his hope will never deceive him (v. 26; cf. Ps 90.11-12). Proverbs 3:27. Do not refuse a benefit to someone in need when your hand has the power to do it. Proverbs 3:28. Do not say to your friend: “Go and come again, and tomorrow I will give” when you have it with you. [For you do not know what the coming day will bring forth.] Proverbs 3:29. Do not plot evil against your neighbor when he lives with you without fear. Proverbs 3:30. Don't quarrel with a person for no reason when he hasn't done you any harm. Proverbs 3:31. Do not compete with a person who acts violently, and do not choose any of his paths; From the positive and negative sides, the image of behavior of a truly wise and virtuous person in relation to others is depicted. In the first place in the concept of true righteousness, according to the Old Testament biblical concept (cf. Deut. 15.1 and Isa. 58.1, etc.), there is the virtue of mercy and goodness to others, and the Wise One strongly advises not to deny a good deed to someone in need (baal) (v. 27, fn. Sir 4.2): typical for the Old Testament-biblical views on alms, the very name of the one who accepts it is baal, owner, those to whom alms should belong by duty or by right (fn. Proverbs 16:22, 17:7. See A. Glagolev, Ancient Jewish charity, Kyiv 1903 pp. 33–34), and in the concept of the needy, in accordance with the Law of Moses, not only a fellow tribesman and a fellow believer, but also a stranger and a non-believer, in the same way, with the words (27b) “when your hand is able to do it,” it is made clear that only extreme poverty, the absence of any means of doing good, can free a person from fulfilling the duty of doing good (cf. 2 Cor 8.12). Anyone who has the opportunity to immediately provide assistance to someone in need should not postpone it until another day, Art. 28; LXX adds in this verse the words (probably from Proverbs 27.1) ού γὰρ οῖδας, τί τἐξεται ἡ ἐπιοῦσα, glor.: “do not consider what the day will bring forth, find” - words that fit well with context of speech, reinforcing the idea of a person’s duty to immediately do good to everyone in need (cf. Sir 4.1 ff.; Sir 12.1 ff.; Sir 29.1 ff.; Job 31.16). Art. 29–30 depict the negative side of love for one’s neighbor - deceit and treachery against a gullible neighbor, grumpiness and litigiousness without any reason: the Wise One warns his listener-disciple against these manifestations of dislike for one’s neighbor. But since the example of the virtuous and the wicked has great power for a young man in matters of good and evil, the Wise One in Art. 31 warns his disciple against imitating or competing with the wicked, even if their outward life was prosperous for some time (cf. Ps 36.1, 72.3; Proverbs 24.19, 23.17). Proverbs 3:32. For the depraved is an abomination to the Lord, but He has fellowship with the righteous. Proverbs 3:33. The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the house of the pious. Proverbs 3:34. If He laughs at the blasphemers, He gives grace to the humble. Proverbs 3:35. The wise will inherit glory, and the foolish will inherit dishonor. They indicate the basis - closest to what is said in Proverbs 3:27-31, and then to all admonitions in general, ch. III. Depicted, art. 32–34, the exact opposite attitude of God towards the righteous and towards sinners. First of all, the spiritual mood of the sinner is completely alien, disgusting and hateful to God (32a), at least from the outside his actions seemed legal, for example, even sacrifices made by the wicked only anger God (cf. Is 66.3, 1.11), - and only the righteous can enjoy the grace-filled closeness to God (32b, sn. Ps 24.14). Then, the external fate of the wicked and the righteous is significantly different: the prosperity of the first is always fragile, the curse of God always looms over the fate and house of the wicked (v. 33a, fn. Deut. 28.15; Zech 5.4; Mal 2.2), while the blessing of God rests on the home of the pious (33b, fn. Proverbs 4.13, etc.). Such a different attitude of God towards the wicked and the righteous and such a different fate of both are constant phenomena and constitute, as it were, the law of moral life; therefore in Art. 34–35 The Wise One expresses these thoughts once again in brief, expressive statements, of which this is given in Art. 34 is quoted twice (according to the LXX translation) in the New Testament (James 4.6; 1 Pet 5.5). You might be interested in: