Posted by Jeff Short on August 19, 2020 · Leave a Comment
An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
– Proverbs 29:22
Anger and fury here describe the disposition of the man who seeks strife and transgression. The saying describes one whose practiced habit is anger. The word for
transgression means revolt, or rebellion. The word is often used to describe rebellion against God. Love for this sort of rebellion is coupled with a love for strife (Proverbs 17:19). The eagerness of such a man to stir up strife is captured by the saying that speaks of a man wringing blood from the nose (Proverbs 30:33). He loves strife so much, he will wring it out and force it if he has to.
Posted by Jeff Short on April 9, 2020 · Leave a Comment
Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.
– Proverbs 29:8
Verses 8-11 have sayings with anger as a common theme. A scorner is a determined fool among the wisdom sayings whose persistent resistance to correction (Proverbs 9:7-8; 13:1; 15:12) keeps him from acquiring wisdom (Proverbs 14:6). Kidner called the scorner a deliberate trouble-maker (Proverbs 21:24; 22:10), and here he inflames the city, as the word for
snare indicates. By contrast, the wise man is calming and turns wrath away. Wisdom understands and values the power of calm words (Proverbs 17:27; 15:1; 25:15).
Posted by Jeff Short on December 12, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
– Proverbs 27:4
The first phrase summarizes the previous verse. The word for
cruel means fierce, and the word for
outrageous means a flood, or overflow. The saying highlights the excessive extremity of wrath, but contrasts it with
envy, or jealousy. Jealousy can be positive (Proverbs 6:32-35), or negative (Proverbs 14:30). Even in the positive usage, the extreme character of jealousy is proven. Jealousy is a violent and unreasonable emotion, capable of great violence and destruction.
Posted by Jeff Short on December 11, 2018 · Leave a Comment
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
– Proverbs 27:3
Verses 3-4 speak to things unbearable. The
stone and
sand are heavy and difficult burdens to workers. Carrying them and moving them about is exhausting work. Dealing with a
fool’s wrath is worse. The word heavier indicates the fool’s wrath is excessive. The difficulty portrayed in the image of heavy stone and sand indicates the fool’s wrath is unreasonable and vexing as well (Proverbs 12:16; 17:12).
Posted by Jeff Short on February 20, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.
– Proverbs 21:24
The wording of this proverb is awkward. The word for
name indicates the reputation or character of a person by figure. The
scorner, or scoffer, is at the far end of the spectrum of fools in Proverbs. They are not simple or ignorant, but
proud and
haughty, which means they obstinately refuse wisdom (Proverbs 9:7-8; 13:3; 15:12). The word for
wrath means outburst of passion. The
scorner is marked by arrogantly pouring out his anger. He is ripe for judgment (Proverbs 16:18; 18:12; 19:29).
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Posted by Jeff Short on December 13, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
– Proverbs 20:2
This proverb highlights another folly with deadly consequences. The
roaring of a lion is a fitting image for the wrath of a king because the lion’s roar is backed up with the ability to kill (Proverbs 16:14-15; 19:12). A king has great power and it is foolish to provoke him. Sinning against your own soul is a figure of speech that refers to death, as in the warning of wisdom (Proverbs 8:36). To carelessly provoke the anger of a king is to put your life at risk.
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Posted by Jeff Short on August 7, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.
– Proverbs 16:14
A king is in a position of power, which means he has great power to do good or evil (Proverbs 19:12). It is unwise then to provoke a king or powerful leader (Proverbs 20:2). This power can give way to a tyrant using it for his own whims and purposes. The word for
pacify is a word used for atonement, or covering. The
wise man seeks to cover, or alleviate the
wrath of a king. Wisdom seeks peace rather than inciting strife (Proverbs 25:15).
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Posted by Jeff Short on June 22, 2017 · Leave a Comment
Introduction
Chapters 10 to 22 are the second major section of the Proverbs, known as “The proverbs of Solomon.” This section divides into two parts. Chapters 10 to 15 are the first division with 185 proverbs that are primarily two-line, antithetical parallel phrases. Chapter 15 is the last chapter of the first division and has proverbs on various subjects, such as speech, correction, laziness, bribes, God’s omniscience, and teachability.
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
– Proverbs 15:1
The word for soft means tender, and when used of words, refers to gentleness. An answer is a reply and the word for turneth away means to turn back, or in this case, to prevent wrath. A wise man is a calm, clear thinking man who controls his speech (Proverbs 17:27) and chooses his words carefully (Proverbs 15:23, 28). The soft answer here is wise speech that calms anger and restores reasonableness. The contrast is grievous, or painful words. These are words that provoke. The word for stir up means to go up and refers to increasing anger. The stirring up of anger comes from pride (Proverbs 28:25), hatred (Proverbs 10:12), and an angry temperament (Proverbs 29:22). It is the mark of a fool (Proverbs 14:17).
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Posted by Jeff Short on June 21, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The king’s favor is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.
– Proverbs 14:35
This proverb is a truism, or a general rule that competence and diligence are rewarded (Proverbs 22:29). People often think that promotion comes to a person because of luck, connections, or back room dealings. Those things do happen, but we generally receive what we have earned, or reap what we sow (Proverbs 17:2). The two phrases show both sides—
favor and
wrath. A servant causes shame by being unreliable, lazy, incompetent, etc. (Proverbs 10:5). Everyone makes mistakes and has to learn from them. The servant who does this will be rewarded with favor, and the obstinate servant with wrath (Proverbs 13:18).
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Proverbs 29:22
Posted by Jeff Short on August 19, 2020 · Leave a Comment
An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
Anger and fury here describe the disposition of the man who seeks strife and transgression. The saying describes one whose practiced habit is anger. The word for transgression means revolt, or rebellion. The word is often used to describe rebellion against God. Love for this sort of rebellion is coupled with a love for strife (Proverbs 17:19). The eagerness of such a man to stir up strife is captured by the saying that speaks of a man wringing blood from the nose (Proverbs 30:33). He loves strife so much, he will wring it out and force it if he has to.– Proverbs 29:22
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