Proverbs 14 Bible Commentary

14:1 Every wise woman ^a buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

(a) That is, takes pains to profit her family, and to do that which concerns her duty in her house.

14:2 He that walketh in his ^b uprightness feareth the LORD: but [he that is] perverse in his ways despiseth him.

(b) That is, in uprightness of heart, and without hypocrisy.

14:3 In the mouth of the foolish [is] a ^c rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

(c) His proud tongue will cause him to be punished.

14:4 Where no ^d oxen [are], the crib [is] clean: but much increase [is] by the strength of the ox.

(d) By the ox is meant labour, and by the crib the barn, meaning, without labour there is no profit.

14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but ^e a false witness will utter lies.

(e) For the maintenance of his own ambition, and not for God's glory, as Simon Magus.

14:9 Fools make a mock at ^f sin: but among the righteous [there is] favour.

(f) Does not know the grievousness of it, nor God's judgments against the same.

14:10 The heart knoweth its own ^g bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with its joy.

(g) As a man's conscience is witness to his own grief, so another cannot feel the joy and comfort which a man feels in himself.

14:13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; ^h and the end of that mirth [is] heaviness.

(h) He shows the allurement to sin, that it seems sweet, but the end of it is destruction.

14:14 The backslider in heart ⁱ shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man [shall be satisfied] from himself.

(i) He who forsakes God will be punished, and made weary of his sins, in which he delighted.

14:19 The evil bow before the good; and the wicked ^k at the gates of the righteous.

(k) If this come not daily to pass, we must consider that it is because of our sins, which hinder God's workings.

14:28 In the multitude of ^l people [is] the king's honour: but in the lack of people [is] the destruction of the prince.

(l) That is, the strength of a king stands in many people.

14:33 Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but [that which is] ^m in the midst of fools is made known.

(m) Forasmuch as they are convicted by it, and silenced.