*11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
*12 A king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.
*13 A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain. #
*14 House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD. #
15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.
16 Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life; he who despises his ways will die.
17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.
18 Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death. #
* 19 A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
Comment: 1. Anger and wrath and quarrelling are mentioned four times in the first three and the penultimate proverbs, here recorded – I have marked them with an asterisk at the beginning. Anger is a problem for the vast majority of us. Sadly many let it reign uncontrolled. It leads to domestic violence, assault, murder, broken families, prison etc. Some allow it to smoulder under the surface where it does personal harm and sometimes ends in a volcanic type eruption! A real and lasting answer needs to be found! 2. Family life is mentioned several times – I marked the relevant proverbs with a ‘#’ at the end. They say that family members can be quarrelsome and foolish. This obviously applies to the man as well as the wife and to daughters as well as sons! A son/daughter can bring you to the point where you may feel like strangling him/her. Don’t do it! Wisely discipline him/her for there is hope. A hope which sadly isn’t always fulfilled but at least you’re not up for murder! 3. I have underlined the three words which are related to money. Starting at the second mentioned (no 15), laziness gets a negative. Generosity gets a very strong positive response! Wealth allows you to leave something for your kids or some worthy cause, but even a fortune isn’t as good as a prudent wife!
And the last one, interpreted by me for the youth class that I may be teaching “Shut Up (Be quiet!) and Listen!” Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
Prayer: Again, Father, I must pray for both wisdom and strength to choose and live the right, for Your Truth!
As I read it! 