Книга Притчей Соломоновых

This book is called the Proverbs of Solomon because Solomon spoke and wrote parables. Having accepted the kingdom of David, his father, he asked God to grant him more wisdom than wealth and victories over his enemies. Having received it and becoming wiser than all the people who lived before him and after him, and becoming an object of wonder in everything he did and said, he spoke three thousand proverbs and five thousand songs, and talked about everything that grows from the earth, and about all the animals. Some say that he wrote only three books, namely: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs; and others attribute to him the one that is inscribed: “Wisdom” and is called: “treasury of all virtues,” and claim that it is his true work. He inscribed this book: “Proverbs.” Parables are wise sayings, like riddles, which in themselves represent one thing, but something else is implied in them. Sayings of this kind are parables. Thus, in the Gospel of John, the disciples of the Lord, after the Lord spoke about many things in secret, said to Him: “Behold, now You speak plainly, and speak no parables” (John 16:29); therefore, the parables do not speak clearly, but in secret. Since there are a lot of similar sayings in this book, it is inscribed: “Proverbs”. The very name “Proverbs” comes from the fact that similar sayings were written on every path for the admonition and edification of those passing along the path; and they were written along the way because not everyone could keep the words of truth, so that people, at least passing and noticing what was written, would delve into it and thus learn. That’s why some define them this way: a parable is a roadside saying that transfers our thoughts from one thing to many. So, this book offers “the knowledge of wisdom and punishment, the understanding of the words of wisdom, the development of words,... understanding the true truth, correcting the judgment”, and a promise to explain “a parable and a dark word, the sayings of the wise and fortune-telling” (Prov. 1: 2–3, 6). And indeed, here there is “knowledge of wisdom and punishment.” Since the pagans claim that they have wisdom, and the heretics think that they have knowledge, Solomon teaches true wisdom and knowledge, so that anyone, carried away by the similar name of wisdom, does not fall into the wisdom of the pagans and heretics. The pagans, thinking that they meant anything and “professing to be wise, became fools” (Rom. 1:22). And the heretics, considering themselves knowledgeable, have gone astray and sin, condemning themselves. The wise man, hearing Divine sayings, will become even wiser. He who listens to the commandments of God and keeps them, without neglecting the teaching of the Lord and not being carried away by deception, will be a wise son and, having learned, will soon receive knowledge of God. This is how the wise learn! “Understanding the words of wisdom” is the teaching about the one true God. Of the pagans, some represented God as bodily, others served idols instead of Him; also heretics are mistaken regarding the true God. That is why Solomon offers true knowledge about God, calling Him ineffable: “It is the glory of God to cover a matter in mystery” (Prov. 25:2). About God’s providence he says: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place: they see the evil and the good” (Prov. 15:3); also: “rich and poor meet each other: the Lord created both” (Prov. 22:2); also: “the poor and the covetous meet each other; but the Lord gives light to the eyes of both” (Proverbs 29:13); and again: “The ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He measures all his paths” (Prov. 5:21). About His judgment he says: “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the righteous is acceptable to Him” (Prov. 15:8); and again: “The Lord will destroy the house of the arrogant, but will strengthen the widow’s border” (Prov. 15:25). He not only talks about His creation of the world, but claims that the Lord creates everything with His word and wisdom; This is the property of the true God, that He is the Father of the Son. So he says: “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom” (Proverbs 3:19); and again: “When He had not yet created either the earth, or the fields, or the initial grains of dust of the universe. When He prepared heaven, I was there. When He drew a circular line across the face of the deep, when He established the clouds at the top, when He strengthened the sources of the deep, when He gave the sea a charter so that the waters would not exceed its borders, when He laid the foundations of the earth: then I was an artist with Him, and I was a joy every day, rejoicing before Him all the time” (Proverbs 8:26-30). “Twists of words” are those sayings whose hidden meaning is revealed and found by those who reflect on them. These are, for example, the following: “He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a dissolute son” (Prov. 10:5); also: “The grass grows, and greenery appears, and mountain herbs are gathered. Sheep are for your clothing, and goats are for buying a field” (Prov. 27:25–26); and again: “When you sit down to eat food with a ruler, carefully observe what is before you” (Prov. 23:1), and the like. “Understanding the true truth” is suggested because some have distorted the word “truth.” Some call it righteousness - giving away what someone has received for safekeeping; and others - to repay evil for evil and good for good. But such definitions are not precise. You cannot say: the way he treated me, I will treat him the same way, I will take revenge on him in the same way that he offended me. That is why Solomon teaches true truth here; the real truth is to give to each his due. First of all, “honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your increase” (Proverbs 3:9); then honor the king, give your parents their due, and everyone their due. This is one kind of truth. The other is to keep your soul in righteousness, to observe moderation and not to deviate into excess, but to obey reason, “to save you from the evil way, from the man who speaks lies” (Prov. 2:12), and to do everything deliberately; let your judgment be in your thoughts, so that you judge yourself, and so that all your desires are good, because “the desire of the righteous is one good thing,” and “the desire of the righteous will be fulfilled” (Prov. 11:23, 10:24). About anger, he says: “Do not be friends with an angry person and do not associate with a hot-tempered person: a fool pours out all his anger, but a wise man restrains it” (Prov. 22:24, 29:11). Whoever thus attunes himself and keeps the actions of every mental faculty healthy and unharmed will be a man who knows the true truth. “To correct the court” means, first of all, to judge fairly, according to God’s law, as he says: “Open your mouth for the voiceless and for the defense of all the orphans. Open your mouth for justice and for the cause of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9). “Whoever says to a guilty person, “You are right,” will be cursed by the nations, he will be hated by the nations: it is not good to show partiality in judgment” (Prov. 24:23–24). This needs to be said openly; Moreover, when judging others for something, you need to apply the same judgment to yourself, test yourself, moderating yourself when anger increases, restraining yourself when passion intensifies, and exciting when the mind falls asleep, with these words: “How long will you sleep, slothful one? When will you arise from your sleep? ( Proverbs 6:9 ). Whoever acts so justly and is a judge of himself will learn to “correct the court” and will not hear from another: “How come, while you teach another, you do not teach yourself? While preaching not to steal, are you stealing? When you say, “You shall not commit adultery,” are you committing adultery?” (Rom.2:21-22). Just as a traveler who follows a straight path reaches his goal, so a person who “corrects justice” will be recognized as fair and wise. Parables are sayings that represent in images what is being said. In them, what is said is explained through similarity. Thus, according to Mark, the Lord said: “What shall we compare the Kingdom of God to? Or what kind of parable will we depict it in?” (Mark 4:30); therefore, a parable is a similitude of what is said. And in another place, the Lord, having said: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like,” added: “another parable” (Matthew 13:31). These are the following parables: “Like the coolness of snow during the harvest, it is a faithful ambassador to the one who sends it” (Proverbs 25:13); and again: “like clouds and winds without rain, so is a man who boasts of false gifts” (Prov. 25:14), and the like. “The sayings of the wise” are not empty speculations, not sayings that seduce with the appearance of verisimilitude, but solid ones; not expressed by order, but inquired into by the speakers themselves and expressing, as it were, the sentences pronounced by them. These are, for example, the following: “A merry heart makes a cheerful face, but with sorrow of heart the spirit becomes sad” (Proverbs 15:13); also: “The heart of a wise man seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on foolishness” (Proverbs 15:14); also: “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12); and again: “whoever neglects the word causes harm to himself; but whoever fears the commandment will be rewarded” (Proverbs 13:13). The words of other people are mostly unfounded, but the words of the wise, such as those mentioned above, are true and accurate in all respects, so that it is impossible to contradict them. Other people define deeds by their consequences, for example, they say: an unjust person is bad, an adulterer is not good, which everyone knows; and the wise reveal the causes of actions, so that everyone, having learned the causes of evils, will beware of them, and present, as it were, a brief outline of the movements of the soul. Such, for example, is the above saying: “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins,” since in a grumpy person his strife originates from hatred and no one will say that he loves a grumpy person; on the contrary, the quarrelsome person shows signs of love, and no one will say that the loving one is quarrelsome. Also the following sayings: “The soul of the lazy desires” (Proverbs 13:4); “A quick-tempered person can do foolish things” (Proverbs 14:17). Here it is expressed that the “soul of the idle” is given over to all sorts of lusts, and the angry cannot reason correctly. All these sayings mainly point to the moral side, to the reason for actions, revealing that hatred precedes strife, and love precedes quarrelsomeness; Idleness is preceded by wicked pleasure, and anger is preceded by folly; that the despised suffers contempt because he himself despises the law; that the fear of the Lord precedes health; that the cause of the death of the soul is the unbridled tongue; that timidity precedes boldness. Thus, examining each saying, you will find that it is said and written so that those who listen, knowing the reasons for evil and good, avoid evil and do good. “Fortune telling” and “dark words” are sayings said so darkly that the reader at first grieves, thinking that they do not express anything and do not contain any thought, but, having carefully delved into them, discovers the meaning in them. These are, for example: “Insatiability has two daughters: “come on, come on!” Here are three who are insatiable, and four who will not say: “Enough!” Sheol and the barren womb, the earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that does not say, “It’s enough!” (Proverbs 30:15-16); and again: “three things are incomprehensible to me, and four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of a man to a maiden” (Proverbs 30:18-19), and similar riddles. They express one thing, but give an idea about another, and although they are unclear, they have a hidden meaning. This is the content of the book of Proverbs. And the order of presentation in it is as follows. At the beginning, it talks about the “Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, so that you may know wisdom and instruction, and understand the sayings of understanding” ( Proverbs 1:1-2); further that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1:7); that one must obey the commands of the father and not neglect the advice of the mother, that one should not be mistaken and follow the same path with people who have “we will all have the same mind” (Proverbs 1:14); that “wisdom proclaims in the street, in the squares she lifts up her voice, in the main meeting places she preaches, at the entrances to the city gates she speaks her speech” (Prov. 1:20-21); that she called them, but they did not listen to her, therefore she will not listen to them when they call her. It goes on to say: “My son! if you accept my words and keep my commandments to you” (Proverbs 2:1), and “so that your ear is attentive to wisdom” (Proverbs 2:2), and “you will understand righteousness and justice” (Proverbs 2:9); grief “to walk in the ways of darkness” ( Proverbs 2:13 ) “from those who rejoice in doing evil, delight in evil depravity” ( Proverbs 2:14 ); and again: “whose ways are crooked, and who go astray in their paths” (Prov. 2:15), so that you “walk in the way of the good and keep in the paths of the righteous” (Prov. 2:20). It is also said that you should not forget to keep the law in order to have a long, peaceful life - so that you trust with all your heart in God and not be “a wise man in your own eyes” ( Proverbs 3:7 ), but honor “the Lord from your wealth” ( Proverbs 3:9 ), and “do not reject the discipline of the Lord, my son” ( Proverbs 3:11 ), “for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines” ( Proverbs 3:12 ). It says that blessed is the man who finds wisdom; that you should not indulge in bliss, but should maintain counsel and reason so that your body is healthy; that you should not refuse to do good to someone in need when your hand can help him, and you should not plot evil against your friend, because every wicked person is unclean before the Lord. It further says that “The Lord... mocks the sacrilegious, but gives grace to the humble” (Prov. 3:34); that one should listen to the father’s instructions: “My son! Listen to my words” (Proverbs 4:20); “Keep your heart above all else” (Proverbs 4:23), and the Lord “will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 4:29); about what an evil wife should not heed: “if you wanted to comprehend the path of life (Proverbs 5:6), ...keep your path further from her” (Proverbs 5:8). Also: “Drink water from your reservoir” (Proverbs 5:15), “let your fountain be blessed” (Proverbs 5:18). Also: “Go to the ant, you sluggard, look at his actions, and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6); he “prepares his bread in the summer, gathers his food in the harvest.” It is also said that you should go “to the bee and see how hardworking she is” (Proverbs 6:8). “How long will you sleep, sloth?” ( Proverbs 6:9 ). “You sleep a little, you slumber a little” (Proverbs 6:10); therefore your destruction will come suddenly. Further about keeping the commandments of the father; that “a commandment is a lamp, and instruction is a light, and instruction is a way to life” ( Proverbs 6:23 ); and again: “Can anyone take fire into his bosom so that his dress does not burn out? Can anyone walk on burning coals without having their feet burned? The same thing happens to the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife: whoever touches her will not be guiltless” (Prov. 6:27-29). Also: “they do not let a thief go if he steals to satisfy his soul when he is hungry” (Proverbs 6:30); “Whoever commits adultery with a woman has no understanding; He who does this destroys his soul” (Proverbs 6:32). Further: “Honor the Lord, and you will be strong” (Prov. 7:1), “keep my commandments” (Prov. 7:2), “write them on the table of your heart” (Prov. 7:3), “so that they will protect you from another’s wife, from a stranger who softens her words” (Prov. 7:5). It is said that you preach wisdom, because “it stands in high places” (Proverbs 8:2), “knowledge is better than choice gold” (Proverbs 8:10); and that “the fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Prov. 8:13). Also: “The Lord made me the beginning of His way, before His creatures from time immemorial” ( Proverbs 8:22 ); also: “wisdom has built herself a house” (Proverbs 9:1); and again: “Reprove a wise man, and he will love you” (Proverbs 9:8); “If you are wise, then you are wise for yourself [and for your neighbors]; and if you are violent, then you will endure it alone. [He who is established in a lie feeds the winds, he chases the birds that fly: for he has left the ways of his vineyard and wanders in the paths of his field; passes through a waterless desert and a land doomed to thirst; he gathers up barrenness with his hands]” ( Proverbs 9:12 ). “A woman is reckless, noisy, foolish and ignorant” (Prov. 9:13). “A sluggish hand makes the poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Proverbs 10:4); “He who gathers in summer is a son of understanding” ( Proverbs 10:5 ); “the memory of the righteous shall be blessed” ( Proverbs 10:7 ); “He who walks in integrity walks safely” ( Proverbs 10:9 ); “in the mouth of a wise man is wisdom, but in the flesh of a fool is a rod” (Prov. 10:13); “He who rejects reproof goes astray” ( Proverbs 10:17 ); “Whoever hides hatred has lying lips; and whoever spreads slander is a fool” (Proverbs 10:18); “To a fool, a criminal act is like a sport” (Proverbs 10:23); “The lips of the righteous flow from wisdom” (Proverbs 10:31). The following speaks of idolaters who make idols of gold and silver, stones or wood; that salvation for believers will be through the tree (of the Cross); about those who make or decorate idols, about evil of every kind that comes from idolatry, about impious worship and how much evil there is in it; about the potter and clay idols, about all the idols of pagan worship; about fierce animals, snakes, cats and the like; that God was pleased to send corncrakes to the Israelites instead of toads, etc. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: