A wise son hears his father's instruction while the scorner hears no rebuke. Wealth gotten by vanity dwindles; hope deferred makes the heart sick; and he who spares his rod hates his son.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
A wise son is instructed of his father; But a scorner hears not rebuke.
verse value 1274
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 23 letters. Verse gematria: 1274 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "son" (בֵּ֣ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "does·not·hear" (לֹא־שָׁמַ֥ע, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "and·scorner" (וְ֝לֵ֗ץ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "wise" (root חכם, 93x in Proverbs); "son" (root בן, 51x in Proverbs); "instruction·of" (root מוסר, 30x in Proverbs). First appearance of the root גערה ("rebuke") in Proverbs. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'father', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: בֵּ֣ן [son] (52) + חָ֭כָם [wise] (68) + מ֣וּסַר [instruction·of] (306) + אָ֑ב [father] (3) + וְ֝לֵ֗ץ [and·scorner] (126) + לֹא־שָׁמַ֥ע [does·not·hear] (441) + גְּעָרָֽה [rebuke] (278) = 1274.
Rashi
A wise son... his father’s discipline This is an elliptical verse: a wise son asks for and loves his father’s discipline. Some say: Because of the father’s discipline, he is wise. but a scorner does not listen to rebuke For he does not accept reproof.
Ibn Ezra
"A father's discipline" — that is, his father disciplines him, for he knows that he will accept the discipline, since he is wise. But "a scorner" — will not listen to his father's rebuke; for he (the father) does not wish to discipline him on account of his scoffing, knowing that he will not accept it; or, alternatively, he (the scorner) himself is unwilling to listen to the one who would discipline him.
Ralbag
"A wise son" — Behold, the cause of a son being wise is the discipline of the father, which he instilled in him in his childhood, for discipline directs one toward the attainment of wisdom. And the cause of a son being a scorner, and not turning to strive after the attainment of wisdom and perfection, is because he did not hear rebuke from his father — as was the case with Adonijah son of Haggith, of whom it is said, "his father had never grieved him all his days, saying, Why have you done so?"
Metzudat David
"A wise son" — if wisdom is seen in a person, he has certainly heeded the discipline of his father, and through this he became wise; and if he appears to be a scorner, he certainly did not accept the rebuke of the father who reproved him.
Malbim
"A wise son [responds to] the discipline of a father" — A wise son is one who conducts himself according to the laws of wisdom. Now, the laws of wisdom are difficult for the nature of the heart to accept and to follow, for the images of desire rise up upon the soil of the soul like thistles. And the soul must be cleansed by means of discipline (musar) — that is, [the father] disciplines his son and informs him of Hashem's punishments and of the harm that befalls one who strays from the laws of wisdom; and while he is still a youth, he chastises him with the rod until he submits to accept the laws of wisdom, for it is fear (yirah) that disciplines the soul until the images of wisdom come to rule in its heart. And when he is a wise son, this is the sign that a father's discipline has taken effect in him. But the son who has never heard a rebuke from his father — not only is he a son who is not wise, but he is a scorner who mocks the laws of wisdom.
A man shall eat good from the fruit of his mouth; But the desire of the faithless is violence.
verse value 1412
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "good" (ט֑וֹב, 3 letters) and the longest is "mouth·of·man" (פִי־אִ֭ישׁ, 5 letters). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "mouth·of·man" (root איש, 80x in Proverbs); "and·soul·of" (root נפש, 53x in Proverbs); "good" (root טוב, 52x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'good', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: מִפְּרִ֣י [from·fruit·of] (330) + פִי־אִ֭ישׁ [mouth·of·man] (401) + יֹ֣אכַל [will·eat] (61) + ט֑וֹב [good] (17) + וְנֶ֖פֶשׁ [and·soul·of] (436) + בֹּגְדִ֣ים [faithless] (59) + חָמָֽס [violence] (108) = 1412.
Rashi
From the fruit of man’s mouth he will eat good From the reward of his Torah, he will eat the good in this world and the principal will exist in the world to come. but the desire of the treacherous is violence Heb. ונפש. The desire of the treacherous is violence, as in (Gen. 23:8): “If it is your desire (נפשכם)” and (Ps. 27:12): “Do not give me for the desire of (בנפש) my adversaries.”
Ibn Ezra
"From the fruit" ... "shall eat" — stands in the place of two; thus it is to be understood: "from the fruit of his mouth a man shall eat good," meaning he shall be repaid with a good reward. "But the desire of the faithless shall eat violence" — it shall be eaten by the hand of a violent man, or, alternatively, it refers to the violence that they themselves commit.
Ralbag
"From the fruit of a man's mouth" — Through his speaking in wisdom, the speaker himself shall eat good, for by bringing the words out with his mouth, the inquiry into them is more completed for him; and how much more so does he eat good from the fruit of his intellect, from which the source and origin of speech comes. But the soul of the treacherous — its fruit shall be violence, for all the thought of their soul and their reflection is upon doing violence, and their mouth makes no mention of it, for they conceal their intent, as was stated previously — and this, too, is part of the striking, remarkable difference between the treacherous and the wise.
Metzudat David
"From the fruit" — from the fruits of the words of Torah he shall be sated with good in this world, while the principal is preserved for the World to Come; and the soul of the treacherous shall be sated with the reward of violence.
Malbim
(Proverbs 13:2): 'A man shall eat good from the fruit of his mouth' — He already said above (Proverbs 12:14): 'A man shall be satisfied with good from the fruit of his mouth,' and there it was stated with respect to a different consideration. But here he comes to say that a man's mouth is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For we have already explained that 'the mouth' (peh) alludes to wisdom (chochmah), 'the lip' (safah) alludes to knowledge (da'at), and 'the tongue' (lashon) alludes to understanding (binah) — all three appear together further on (Proverbs 18:20): 'From the fruit of a man's mouth... and the produce of his lips... in the hand of the tongue...' — see there. He means that the fruit of the mouth is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for within wisdom there are two paths — for example, pride and humility, mercy and cruelty, and the like — and one must direct them with wisdom. The man who uses his wisdom for good will eat the good of the tree; but the treacherous man, who uses his character traits in a manner opposite to the path of wisdom, will eat violence from the fruit of his mouth, and will use all his character traits for evil through the serpent that entices him toward evil. This is why he is called 'treacherous' (boged) — for the treacherous man does not keep the utterance of his mouth and his promise; and, in the allegory, he does not use the path of wisdom in the manner in which it was implanted in him. We have already explained that chamas (violence) is a general term covering anyone who wrongfully seizes what is not rightfully his, whether in money or in character traits. And he has already explained further on (there) the difference between wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, which are alluded to by the mouth, the lips, and the tongue, in what he says: 'From the fruit of a man's mouth his belly shall be satisfied,' 'and with the produce of his lips he shall be satisfied,' 'Life and death are in the hand of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat its fruit,' in that: 'Wisdom' is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and from this 'his belly shall be satisfied' — whether with good or with evil, according to his disposition; 'Knowledge' (da'at) is the finished produce, for it is clear, definite knowledge, and from it one 'shall be satisfied' with bread, to the full; but 'the tongue,' which is understanding (binah), by which one distinguishes between truth and falsehood — good and evil do not depend on it (for good and evil pertain only to matters of common repute), but rather life and death depend on it, and it is the tree of life, and 'those who love it shall eat of its fruit' and live forever. And according to the plain sense: at first (Proverbs 12:14) he spoke of the fruit of a man's mouth as referring to one who speaks words of Torah and prayer, whereas here he speaks of speech that pertains to everyday conduct: namely, that one must guard his speech and not profane the utterance of his lips, and then he will 'eat good,' for he will be trustworthy and will eat from his labor. And accordingly, above it said 'shall be satisfied' while here it says 'shall eat,' for 'satisfaction' denotes the reward of the soul, as in (Isaiah 58:11): 'and He shall satisfy your soul in drought,' whereas 'eating' denotes that he will have good to eat; whereas the treacherous man, who does not keep his faithfulness — for this is the very definition of 'treacherous' — 'his soul shall eat violence.'
He who guards his mouth keeps his life; But for the one who opens wide his lips there shall be ruin.
verse value 3177
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "he·who·guards" (נֹצֵ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "ruin·to·him" (מְחִתָּה־לֽוֹ, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "he·who·opens" (פֹּשֵׂ֥ק). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·soul" (root נפש, 53x in Proverbs); "his·lips" (root שפה, 46x in Proverbs); "his·mouth" (root פה, 34x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·soul', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: נֹצֵ֣ר [he·who·guards] (340) + פִּ֭יו [his·mouth] (96) + שֹׁמֵ֣ר [keeps] (540) + נַפְשׁ֑וֹ [his·soul] (436) + פֹּשֵׂ֥ק [he·who·opens] (480) + שְׂ֝פָתָ֗יו [his·lips] (796) + מְחִתָּה־לֽוֹ [ruin·to·him] (489) = 3177.
Rashi
one who opens his lips wide Heb. פשק, opens his lips to speak constantly all his desire, from (Ezek. 16:25): “And you spread wide (ותפשקי) your legs,” an expression of wideness.
Ibn Ezra
"He who guards his mouth" — from speaking evil things — then he preserves his life from distress. "Poseik" (opens wide) — means "opens," from "and you opened wide your legs." Meaning: one who opens his lips to speak what is improper — ruin shall come upon him.
Ralbag
"He who guards" — One who guards his mouth and keeps it from speaking guards his life from many evils and troubles, for speech is many times the cause of the arrival of evils, and a person does not know how to be saved from them completely except through silence. And one who opens his lips to speak about that from which he could have refrained will many times bring upon himself breakage and ruin.
Metzudat David
"He who guards his mouth" — from speaking a forbidden thing. "He who opens wide" — one who widens his lips to speak whatever comes to his mind, it becomes a terror to him.
Metzudat Zion
'Opens wide' — an expression of opening and widening, as in 'and you opened wide your legs' (Ezekiel 16:25). 'Ruin' — an expression of breaking.
Malbim
'He who guards (notzer) his mouth,' 'he who opens wide (posek) his lips' — there is a difference between 'mouth' (peh) and 'lip' (safah): the lip is external speech, while the mouth is the internal speech that is in wisdom. And there is a difference between 'notzer' (guards) and 'shomer' (keeps): the notzer is greater than the shomer, in that he guards it with constant vigilance. And he depicts the mouth and the lips as a fortified wall around the soul, closing it off so that its adversaries and enemies cannot come near it. And it is not enough merely to guard the lips, which are the outer walls around which the enemy stands — that is, to guard the external utterance that speaks without intellect — for one must guard his mouth as well, so that even speech that is in wisdom will be kept under even greater guard, as it is written, 'For God is in heaven and you are on the earth, therefore let your words be few' — and by this he guards his soul, for it has a fortified wall around it. But 'he who opens wide his lips,' which are the outer wall, brings ruin upon himself. And it has been explained by me that 'ruin' (mechitah) is the opposite of strength and fortification. That is to say: even in Torah and wisdom one must guard the openings of his mouth, and by this he guards his soul; but he who opens wide his lips to speak slander and gossip — it is a ruin for his body as well.
The soul of the sluggard desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be abundantly gratified.
verse value 2683
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "sluggish" (עָצֵ֑ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "desires" (מִתְאַוָּ֣ה, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 436: his·soul, and·soul·of. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "desires" (מִתְאַוָּ֣ה), "diligent" (חָרֻצִ֣ים). The root נפש appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·soul" (root נפש, 53x in Proverbs); "and·nothing" (root אין, 36x in Proverbs). First appearance of the root אוה ("desires") in Proverbs. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sluggish', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: מִתְאַוָּ֣ה [desires] (452) + וָ֭אַיִן [and·nothing] (67) + נַפְשׁ֣וֹ [his·soul] (436) + עָצֵ֑ל [sluggish] (190) + וְנֶ֖פֶשׁ [and·soul·of] (436) + חָרֻצִ֣ים [diligent] (348) + תְּדֻשָּֽׁן [will·be·satisfied] (754) = 2683.
Rashi
The soul of the lazy man desires but has nothing His soul desires all good, but has nothing. but the soul of the diligent shall be sated The upright who eat from the toil of their hands. This is its meaning according to its simple interpretation. According to its allegorical meaning, in the future he will see the glory of the Torah scholar and long for it, but he will not achieve it.
Ibn Ezra
"Desires" — food. But "his soul has nothing" — that is, the sluggard's soul, and he has nothing at all. But "the soul of the diligent" — those who bestir themselves. "Shall be gratified" (tedushan) — shall be sated with fatness.
Ralbag
"Desires" — Behold, the soul of the sluggard desires possessions or wisdom, but does not find them, for his laziness prevents him from possessions. But the soul of the diligent is among the greatest of the causes by which a person acquires these perfections and possessions.
Metzudat David
"The soul of the sluggard" — the soul of the lazy person desires everything, yet has nothing, for due to his great laziness he attains nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be sated, for they attain their desire through great diligence.
Metzudat Zion
'Diligent' — quick, energetic. 'Shall be gratified' — an expression of fatness.
Malbim
'The soul of the sluggard desires, and has nothing' — the sluggard (atzel) is the opposite of the diligent one (charutz), who performs his work with alacrity and diligence. Now the sluggard, who does not want to labor at his work, should not be thought to have no desire — for in truth his soul desires more than any other person's, since desire grows stronger precisely in one who has no way to fulfill his desire. Rather, his hands, his feet, and his limbs do not obey his soul in fulfilling its will, so that his limbs are not in accord with his desiring soul; and because they wish to remain idle, they bring death upon his soul, as it is written, 'The desire of the sluggard shall kill him, for his hands refuse to labor.' He means: the sluggard's soul desires, 'and has nothing.' But the diligent, even though they weary their bodies with labor, 'their soul shall be abundantly gratified,' for they have all their desire. And in the allegory: one who is sluggish about engaging with wisdom — his spiritual soul desires and has nothing, and it dies an eternal death, because his hands do not serve his spiritual soul. But the diligent one, even though he wearies his body, his spiritual soul 'shall be abundantly gratified' — sated with the abundance of Hashem's house, and shall drink of the stream of His delights.
A righteous man hates lying; But a wicked man behaves vilely and shamefully.
verse value 2584
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "hates" (יִשְׂנָ֣א, 4 letters) and the longest is "word·of·falsehood" (דְּבַר־שֶׁ֭קֶר, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "word·of·falsehood" (דְּבַר־שֶׁ֭קֶר), "and·wicked" (וְ֝רָשָׁ֗ע), "acts·vilely" (יַבְאִ֥ישׁ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·wicked" (root רשע, 81x in Proverbs); "just" (root צדיק, 66x in Proverbs); "word·of·falsehood" (root דבר, 45x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'just', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: דְּבַר־שֶׁ֭קֶר [word·of·falsehood] (806) + יִשְׂנָ֣א [hates] (361) + צַדִּ֑יק [just] (204) + וְ֝רָשָׁ֗ע [and·wicked] (576) + יַבְאִ֥ישׁ [acts·vilely] (323) + וְיַחְפִּֽיר [and·acts·shamefully] (314) = 2584.
Rashi
The righteous man hates a false word The righteous man hates a false word, but the wicked accepts it. disgraces and embarrasses the people therewith.
Ibn Ezra
"A false matter" — means speaking false testimony. "Behaves vilely" (yavish) — the righteous man hates it like a foul, stinking thing; and similarly the word appears in "to make me odious"; that is to say, he brings shame upon the righteous.
Ralbag
"A false thing" — Behold, the righteous person hates a false thing, for the love of falsehood is a cause that prevents perfection, as stated previously. But the wicked person loves a false thing very much, to the point that he is already ashamed and disgraced by it many times, and nevertheless does not abandon it.
Metzudat David
"Hates" — the righteous man hates to accept a false report or slander; but the wicked man accepts it at once, yet spurns what is said about him and shames it.
Metzudat Zion
'Behaves vilely' — meaning: he becomes repugnant, like something that has become nivash (putrid). 'And shamefully' — an expression of shame, as in 'and the moon shall be ashamed' (Isaiah 24).
Malbim
'A righteous man hates a false thing' — the foundation of righteousness is built upon the love of truth, for if one's heart inclines toward falsehood he will not act righteously, since he will pervert judgment, listen to gossip and slander, and judge his fellow unfavorably — all of which is contrary to righteousness. Therefore the righteous man, who acts righteously, hates a false thing. But the wicked man, who does the opposite of righteousness, loves falsehood — so as to make his fellow's name stink behind his back, and to shame him to his face, through gossip, slander, and the spreading of a false report in words of falsehood. And one may also interpret it: 'the righteous man' makes the wicked man's name stink and shames him, because he hates a false thing, and therefore hates the wicked man, who lies.
Righteousness guards the one who is upright in the way; But wickedness overthrows the sinner.
verse value 3122
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "guards" (תִּצֹּ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "blameless·of·way" (תׇּם־דָּ֑רֶךְ, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "guards" (תִּצֹּ֣ר), "blameless·of·way" (תׇּם־דָּ֑רֶךְ), "and·wickedness" (וְ֝רִשְׁעָ֗ה). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "blameless·of·way" (root דרך, 74x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'blameless·of·way', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: צְ֭דָקָה [righteousness] (199) + תִּצֹּ֣ר [guards] (690) + תׇּם־דָּ֑רֶךְ [blameless·of·way] (664) + וְ֝רִשְׁעָ֗ה [and·wickedness] (581) + תְּסַלֵּ֥ף [overthrows] (570) + חַטָּֽאת [sinner] (418) = 3122.
Rashi
but wickedness brings ruin upon the sinner Heb. חטאת, lit. sin. Like חטאת, a sinner, but since he is completely wicked, he calls him חטאת, sin. The meaning is that his wickedness will bring ruin upon the sinner and humble him. Every expression of סלוף means ruin and stumbling, like (below 19:3) “A person’s foolishness ruins (תסלף) his way,” and brings evil upon him.
Ibn Ezra
"Guards the one who is upright" — refers to a man who is blameless in his way. But "wickedness overthrows the sinner" — refers to a sinful man, whom it (wickedness) subverts.
Ralbag
"Righteousness" — Behold, the character trait of righteousness that belongs to the righteous man guards the integrity of the way that he intends in every matter, for he is guided in the way of integrity because of the trait of righteousness in which he is strong. But the character trait of the wicked man that belongs to him is the opposite, for it distorts and perverts the sin toward which he treads, in such a way that what he schemed to do is withheld from him — for this is fitting to befall him on account of his wickedness — along with the fact that Hashem constantly frustrates the plans of the wicked, in order to save people from their hand, as we mentioned in our commentary to the Book of Job.
Metzudat David
"Righteousness" — righteousness itself teaches merit and guards the innocent in this way — namely, one who gives charity in innocence, not in order to boast. "And wickedness" — wickedness itself leads the sinner along a crooked path, so that he stumbles in it.
Metzudat Zion
'Overthrows' — its meaning is crooked and twisted, as in 'the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them' (above, Proverbs 11).
Malbim
"Righteousness guards the one who is upright in the way, but wickedness overthrows the sinner" — He set "the one who is upright in the way" opposite "the sinner," and "wickedness" opposite "righteousness," and "overthrows" opposite "guards." "The one who is upright in the way" is one whose way is naturally wholesome, who does not incline toward desire and deficiency — there being no deficiency in his way, for deficiency and sin are the opposite of wholesomeness. Now, wickedness does not overthrow the one who is upright in the way, for his way is naturally wholesome and he corrects his way according to rational norms, doing righteousness and justice as reason dictates, and detesting wickedness. But even so, as long as he does not walk in righteousness — that is, the commandments between man and the Omnipresent, which are not obligatory from the standpoint of [rational] convention — he has already departed from wholesomeness, since he does not know the correct way, for reason cannot judge in every matter what is good and what is bad. Rather, only "righteousness guards the one who is upright in the way" — if he walks in righteousness, it guards his wholesomeness, and he becomes a righteous, wholesome person. Likewise, righteousness without wholesomeness is not safe from stumbling, for then he performs righteousness for the sake of external motives, and when he finds gain or advantage in doing otherwise, he will turn away from it. It is necessary that he be upright in the way, and then righteousness will guard him. And "wickedness overthrows the sinner" — one who has sin in him, that is, a deficiency that inclines toward his desires (for this is the definition of sin: that it stems from desire) — then wickedness will rule, to twist and overthrow his way.
There is that pretends himself rich, yet has nothing; There is that pretends himself poor, yet has great wealth.
verse value 2952
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 25 letters. Verse gematria: 2952 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "there·is" (יֵ֣שׁ, 2 letters) and the longest is "pretends·to·be·poor" (מִ֝תְרוֹשֵׁ֗שׁ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 67: and·nothing, and·wealth. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "pretends·to·be·rich" (מִ֭תְעַשֵּׁר), "pretends·to·be·poor" (מִ֝תְרוֹשֵׁ֗שׁ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·nothing" (root אין, 36x in Proverbs); "great" (root רב, 26x in Proverbs); "all" (root כל, 23x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: יֵ֣שׁ [there·is] (310) + מִ֭תְעַשֵּׁר [pretends·to·be·rich] (1010) + וְאֵ֣ין [and·nothing] (67) + כֹּ֑ל [all] (50) + מִ֝תְרוֹשֵׁ֗שׁ [pretends·to·be·poor] (1246) + וְה֣וֹן [and·wealth] (67) + רָֽב [great] (202) = 2952.
Rashi
There is one who feigns riches He shows himself to be rich. Another explanation: There is a man who becomes rich in the end but has nothing in the beginning, and there is one who comes to poverty from great riches. Another explanation: There is one who becomes wealthy by robbing the poor, but in the end he has nothing, and there is one who becomes poor by scattering his money and giving it to the poor, but great wealth is in store for him.
Ibn Ezra
"There is" ... "a ransom" — the two are connected in sense. "Pretends himself rich" — one who presents himself as wealthy, yet has nothing at all. But "pretends himself poor" — one who presents himself as poor, yet has abundant wealth; and neither of these has an advantage over the other, for if the rich man is seized on account of his wealth, he will give his riches as a ransom for his life, whereas the poor man will not hear the rebuke of an officer or a taskmaster.
Ralbag
"There is one who pretends to be rich" — Among people there is one who presents himself as rich, yet he has no possession at all; and there is among them one who presents himself as poor, yet there is great wealth in his house. And likewise is the matter with wisdom, for there is one who presents himself as wise without truly being so, and there is one who presents himself as not wise, yet has great wisdom. Now the wise man explains here that one who feigns poverty while having great wealth is more praiseworthy, for by this he saves himself from several misfortunes that come about and befall the rich — and this is because the poor person hears no rebuke from anyone.
Metzudat David
"There is" — meaning, sometimes one who occupies himself with becoming rich will find that he has nothing at all, while one who occupies himself with making himself poor will attain great wealth through this; for one who increases wealth through robbery will become poor, and one who diminishes his wealth through charity will become rich.
Metzudat Zion
'Pretends himself poor' — from the language of rash (poor) and ani (needy).
Malbim
(7-8) "There is one who makes himself rich..." "the ransom of a man's life..." There is one who, as far as the eye can see, appears to make himself rich, but after rational examination, in truth he has nothing. And likewise it sometimes appears to the eye that a man impoverishes himself and depletes his wealth, but in truth he has great wealth. This is because the acquisition of wealth is not a true acquisition but only an imagined acquisition — like the madman who says, "This is my house and this is my property," as Maimonides writes in the Guide for the Perplexed — so that what we call a rich man, one who has many possessions, is [in fact] imagined vanity, for there is no true bond between possessions and the one who acquires them. Sometimes he loses his wealth through a bad turn of events in his lifetime, and in any case he leaves his wealth to others when he dies, so that he is only rich in appearance, but in truth he has nothing, since this is not an acquisition bound to his soul. But one who scatters his wealth in charity and kindness, and thereby acquires perfection for his soul — which is the essence of a man who lives forever — this is true wealth. And this one who impoverishes himself has great wealth stored up forever in the world of souls, and this is true wealth, a very great and abundant eternal fortune. And he explains: "the ransom of a man's life is his wealth" — the essence of wealth is whether it serves as the ransom of his own spiritual soul, if he gives it to the poor to redeem his soul from the pit. And in this, "a poor man does not hear rebuke" — he will not be angry at the poor man who comes to take from him the ransom of his own soul, in order to give himself eternal life, for he will give it to him with great joy.
The ransom of a man’s life are his riches; But the poor hears no threatening.
verse value 2842
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "ransom·of" (כֹּ֣פֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "soul·of·man" (נֶפֶשׁ־אִ֣ישׁ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "soul·of·man" (נֶפֶשׁ־אִ֣ישׁ), "his·riches" (עׇשְׁר֑וֹ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "soul·of·man" (root נפש, 53x in Proverbs); "does·not·hear" (root שמע, 30x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·riches', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: כֹּ֣פֶר [ransom·of] (300) + נֶפֶשׁ־אִ֣ישׁ [soul·of·man] (741) + עׇשְׁר֑וֹ [his·riches] (576) + וְ֝רָ֗שׁ [and·poor] (506) + לֹא־שָׁמַ֥ע [does·not·hear] (441) + גְּעָרָֽה [threatening] (278) = 2842.
Rashi
The ransom of a man’s soul is his wealth A man’s wealth is the ransom of his soul, for he performed charity with it. as long as the poor man has not heard a rebuke As long as he does not let the poor man hear a rebuke, i.e., he gives to him and does not embarrass him. Another explanation: The ransom of a man’s soul is his wealth His Torah. but a poor man in the words of Torah, did not hear a rebuke He does not know to turn away from evil, since he is not cautious. The Midrash Aggadah interprets it as speaking of the half-shekel, which Scripture levied on all Israel and made the poor and the rich equal in that respect—so that the poor does not hear a rebuke from the rich, saying to him, “My share is greater than your share in the public sacrifices.”
Ralbag
"The ransom of a life" — But the rich person has many enemies, because they covet his wealth, and he must set a ransom for his life and give them his money and appease them. And since the matter is so, behold, the one who pretends to be rich while having nothing brings the evils and rebukes upon himself, yet has no money to set as a ransom for his life; and likewise shame befalls the one who pretends to be wise in matters of wisdom while having nothing. But to the one who pretends to be poor while having great wealth, nothing befalls him except honor.
Metzudat David
"Ransom" — through his wealth a man is able to redeem his life, when he gives from it to the poor; and this is meant as: when the poor man hears no rebuke, and he does not shame him at the time of the giving.
Metzudat Zion
'Ransom' — redemption. 'Threatening' — a shout of rebuke.
The light of the righteous rejoices; But the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
verse value 1799
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "and·lamp·of" (וְנֵ֖ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "light·of·righteous" (אוֹר־צַדִּיקִ֥ים, 9 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "light·of·righteous" (אוֹר־צַדִּיקִ֥ים), "and·lamp·of" (וְנֵ֖ר). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "wicked" (root רשע, 81x in Proverbs); "light·of·righteous" (root צדיק, 66x in Proverbs); "rejoices" (root שמח, 21x in Proverbs). First appearance of the root דעך ("will·be·extinguished") in Proverbs. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'rejoices', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: אוֹר־צַדִּיקִ֥ים [light·of·righteous] (461) + יִשְׂמָ֑ח [rejoices] (358) + וְנֵ֖ר [and·lamp·of] (256) + רְשָׁעִ֣ים [wicked] (620) + יִדְעָֽךְ [will·be·extinguished] (104) = 1799.
Rashi
will ebb away Heb. ידעך, an expression of springing, for the flame springs and is cut off.
Ibn Ezra
"The light" ... "it rejoices" — by way of metaphor, for when it (the light) shines, it seems as if it is rejoicing, like "rejoices as a mighty man." And "the light of the righteous" is like the light of the World to Come, or the light of salvation, similar to "light has shined upon them" and "there was light." Another interpretation: it is possible that "the light" and "the lamp" allude to their souls, which are drawn from the light of Hashem; and he likened the soul of the righteous to the light of the rising sun, and the soul of the wicked to a lamp, which has no permanence and goes out. And he said "rejoices" as in "my soul shall exult." "But the lamp of the wicked shall be put out" — that their soul shall die before its time; and this is correct, similar to "the lamp of God is the soul of man."
Ralbag
"The light of the righteous" — The light for the righteous shall rejoice always in its attainments, which were achieved with effort, and which are acquired through the intellect; and the culmination of this joy will occur after separation from matter. But the heart of the wicked, which is used to devise schemes and cunning in order to commit wickedness with it — behold, that lamp is destroyed and extinguished.
Metzudat David
"Light" — the soul of the righteous shall rejoice in the Garden of Eden; but the soul of the wicked shall be extinguished and shall not shine.
Metzudat Zion
'Shall be put out' — an expression of leaping and springing; this is [what happens at] the extinguishing of a lamp, for the flame leaps away from the wick; likewise, 'his lamp shall be put out' (below, Proverbs 20).
Malbim
(Proverbs 13:9): "The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out" — "the light" [or] refers to light itself, like the light of the sun, which shines constantly and does not need oil and a wick; and "the lamp" [ner] is that which is made in a lampstand by means of oil and a wick. As for the righteous, their soul shines with a constant, eternal light, and (Psalms 97:11): "light is sown for the righteous," and they do not need the lamp, which is the body, for the spiritual soul shines forever with spiritual light, and this "rejoices" always, as it is said (Psalms 97:11): "and gladness for the upright in heart," (Psalms 32:11): "rejoice in Hashem." But as for the wicked, the light of their material success exists only in this world, as long as the lamp and wick remain — that is, throughout the life of the body — but after the oil and wick are consumed, the lamp goes out, and their success perishes. This also refers back to what is said (Proverbs 13:8): "the ransom of a man's life is his wealth" — that one must give life to the soul, which is a constant light, not to the body and the lamp of its success, which is extinguished; and this one who makes himself rich in the physical sense has nothing.
By pride comes only contention; But with the well-advised is wisdom.
verse value 1710
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 26 letters. Verse gematria: 1710 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "gives" (יִתֵּ֣ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·with·well-advised" (וְאֶת־נ֖וֹעָצִ֣ים, 9 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "only·in·pride" (רַק־בְּ֭זָדוֹן), "and·with·well-advised" (וְאֶת־נ֖וֹעָצִ֣ים). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "wisdom" (root חכם, 93x in Proverbs); "gives" (root נתן, 34x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'contention', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: רַק־בְּ֭זָדוֹן [only·in·pride] (369) + יִתֵּ֣ן [gives] (460) + מַצָּ֑ה [contention] (135) + וְאֶת־נ֖וֹעָצִ֣ים [and·with·well-advised] (673) + חׇכְמָֽה [wisdom] (73) = 1710.
Rashi
Only with wickedness does one cause quarrels Heb. מצה, controversy. but there is wisdom with those who take counsel But wisdom lies with those who behave with counsel.
Ibn Ezra
"Only through pride" — on account of the pride that a man displays toward his fellow, the proud person produces strife and contention; that is to say, pride drags contention along with it. "The well-advised" — those who take counsel not to act toward one another with pride; wisdom is with them; and the word "et" ("with") here is like "ve-ʻim," another word for "with."
Ralbag
"Only through pride" — That man who associates with men of pride will acquire from them the trait of stirring up strife with people; and one who continually keeps company with men who take counsel with one another will acquire wisdom from them. Or the intent of this may be: one whose character is to stir up strife will be found only among men of pride, for this trait is among the things that guide him toward pride; and one who is a man of wisdom will keep company with those who take counsel, for the way of wisdom is to take counsel in matters from others, so that the counsel will be complete for them.
Metzudat David
"Only through insolence" — one whose deeds are only through insolence, that wicked person will produce strife among people; but with people who conduct their deeds with counsel and deliberation, wisdom will be found, for strife will not come about through them.
Metzudat Zion
'Contention' — an expression of strife, as in 'behold, you fast for strife and contention' (Isaiah 58:4).
Malbim
"By pride comes only contention" — I have already explained that the term zadon [willful presumption] refers to one who deliberately disputes the laws of wisdom and the truth in public, and does not submit to the words of the sages, as it is written: "the person who acts in willful presumption, not listening to the priest..." And there is a difference between matzah [strife] and merivah [quarrel]: matzah is the great quarrel that comes close to blows and war. Now, when a dispute and difference of opinion arise among the people, they will not come to matzah if they take counsel — that is, if they gather and consult together as to which way is good, and each states his opinion, and the deciding factor between the opinions will be according to the laws of wisdom that they received from their teachers; for after the counsel, they will see whose words are grounded in wisdom, and they will accept that counsel. This is what is meant by "but wisdom is with those who take counsel" — if they take counsel, they will follow the laws of wisdom and act accordingly, and the matter will not come to matzah. Only if there is zadon — one who disputes brazenly against the laws of wisdom and truth — is there no deciding factor, so that counsel is of no avail, and then it comes to matzah, as with Korah, who acted presumptuously, disputed the laws of wisdom, and contended against Hashem in the assembly of Korah.
Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished; But he who gathers little by little shall increase.
verse value 796
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "wealth" (ה֭וֹן, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·vanity" (מֵהֶ֣בֶל, 4 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "from·vanity" (מֵהֶ֣בֶל), "will·decrease" (יִמְעָ֑ט), "and·he·who·gathers" (וְקֹבֵ֖ץ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "little·by·little" (root יד, 24x in Proverbs). First appearance of the root הבל ("from·vanity") in Proverbs. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'will·decrease', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: ה֭וֹן [wealth] (61) + מֵהֶ֣בֶל [from·vanity] (77) + יִמְעָ֑ט [will·decrease] (129) + וְקֹבֵ֖ץ [and·he·who·gathers] (198) + עַל־יָ֣ד [little·by·little] (114) + יַרְבֶּֽה [will·increase] (217) = 796.
Rashi
Wealth gotten by vanity One who makes his study in bundles. shall be diminished For he will forget it little by little.
Ibn Ezra
"From vanity it shall diminish" — through robbery and theft it (wealth) shall not succeed. But "he who gathers by hand" — on account of the labor of the hand, he shall increase his wealth. And likewise: "Hashem has blessed you at my feet" — on account of the labor of my feet.
Ralbag
"Wealth [gained] from vanity shall be diminished" — Behold, wealth is assembled from something that is [in itself] a mere breath and very slight, as if you would say that a storehouse of grain is assembled from dust, when an enormous quantity of these [particles] combines together. For this reason, whoever gathers these practical portions one by one increases his wealth. And this is a good insight for one who strives for the completeness of his acquisitions: that he should not disdain a portion of the acquisition on account of its smallness, but should take it and gather it together with things similar to it, for in this way he will attain increase from it.
Metzudat David
"Wealth from vanity" — wealth that comes from vanity, meaning not from the labor of one's hands but from robbery and violence, that wealth will constantly diminish and will not endure; but one who gathers wealth "by hand," meaning through the work of the hand, that wealth will increase.
Metzudat Zion
'By hand' — meaning: with the hand; likewise, 'you stood upon your sword' (Ezekiel 33:26), whose sense is 'with your sword.'
Malbim
"Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished" — he states that even one who has much wealth, if he pursues vanity, his wealth will diminish, for wealth requires effort and attentiveness to increase it, and if its owners pursue vanities, they will scatter the wealth, and it will not increase, but will diminish continually until it is gone. But also one who has no wealth, yet exerts himself and gathers little by little — meaning he does not scatter but gathers and adds bit by bit, gathering by his own hands and labor — he will increase and come to great wealth. And all this is a parable for engaging in Torah study: even the great sage who has amassed much wisdom, if he pursues vanity, his wealth [of wisdom] will diminish and he will forget his Torah; but one who studies and exerts himself to add to his wisdom every day will increase and grow wise in the end.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick; But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
verse value 2018
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "and·tree·of" (וְעֵ֥ץ, 3 letters) and the longest is "sickens·heart" (מַחֲלָה־לֵ֑ב, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "deferred" (מְ֭מֻשָּׁכָה), "sickens·heart" (מַחֲלָה־לֵ֑ב), "and·tree·of" (וְעֵ֥ץ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "fulfilled" (root בוא, 35x in Proverbs); "life" (root חי, 32x in Proverbs). First appearance of the root חלה ("sickens·heart") in Proverbs. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sickens·heart', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: תּוֹחֶ֣לֶת [hope] (844) + מְ֭מֻשָּׁכָה [deferred] (405) + מַחֲלָה־לֵ֑ב [sickens·heart] (115) + וְעֵ֥ץ [and·tree·of] (166) + חַ֝יִּ֗ים [life] (68) + תַּאֲוָ֥ה [desire] (412) + בָאָֽה [fulfilled] (8) = 2018.
Rashi
Hope deferred He relies on his friend and does nothing. makes the heart sick Heb. מחלה, brings sickness to the heart. This מחלה is not a noun like (Ex. 23:25): “And I will remove sickness (מחלה) from your midst,” but like (Lev. 11:6): “bringing up (מעלת) the cud.” but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life lit. but a tree of life is a desire fulfilled. This is inverted; i.e., a desire fulfilled is like a tree of life. The hope that the Holy One, blessed be He, had hoped for Israel and looked forward for them to repent—brought them ultimately to heartsickness when they did not repent. And when His desire is fulfilled—that they comply with His will—it is a tree of life to them.
Ibn Ezra
"Makes sick" — means "causes"; the meaning is: one whose hope is prolonged — that is, Hashem prolongs it — and he cannot attain the hope, it produces sickness in the heart of the one who hopes. But "a tree of life" — just as a tree brings healing, so the desire of the one who desires, when it comes to him, is like a tree of life. And it is possible that this refers to the same person as "he who gathers by hand."
Ralbag
"Hope" — Behold, hope and expectation whose time is drawn out and prolonged, when what was hoped for has not arrived, makes the heart sick, for he is perpetually [caught up] with this expectation. But desire that comes easily is sweet to the one who desires it, as though it were a tree of life.
Metzudat David
"Hope" — one who hopes for something, and it drags on and is delayed in coming, it becomes to him a heartache; but when the desire comes, it becomes for him like a tree that grows life, and he is healed from the heartache.
Metzudat Zion
'Sick' — from the language of illness and pain.
Malbim
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick; But desire fulfilled is a tree of life" — There is a difference between tochelet (expectant waiting), tikvah (hope), and ta'avah (craving). One who has tikvah hopes for a thing, but there is no assurance in it that his hope will certainly come to pass; but one who has tochelet has an assurance and is confident that the thing he is waiting for will come; and one who has ta'avah has not even hope — he merely craves the thing, with no hope of attaining it. [Solomon] says that even tochelet, if it is drawn out and does not come in the near future but only in the distant future, already makes the heart sick — even though one is confident the thing will come, his heart is sick because it did not come sooner. All the more so is the heart of one who craves (ta'avah) sick, and his is a sickness with no cure, since there is no hope at all, as it is written, "the craving of the sluggard kills him." Thus, when the object of desire does come — a thing for which one had no hope at all — it is like a tree of life, reviving the soul of the one who craved it.
Whoever despises the word shall suffer for it; But he who fears the commandment shall be rewarded.
verse value 1081
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 27 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֑וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "he·who·despises" (בָּ֣ז, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·word" (לְ֭דָבָר, 4 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "he·who·despises" (בָּ֣ז), "to·word" (לְ֭דָבָר), "will·suffer" (יֵחָ֣בֶל). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·word" (root דבר, 45x in Proverbs); "he" (root הוא, 21x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: בָּ֣ז [he·who·despises] (9) + לְ֭דָבָר [to·word] (236) + יֵחָ֣בֶל [will·suffer] (50) + ל֑וֹ [to·him] (36) + וִירֵ֥א [and·he·who·fears] (217) + מִ֝צְוָ֗ה [commandment] (141) + ה֣וּא [he] (12) + יְשֻׁלָּֽם [will·be·rewarded] (380) = 1081.
Rashi
He who despises a thing will be pledged to it Heb. יחבל. He who despises one of the words of the Torah will ultimately be taken for it as a pledge. but he who reveres a commandment will be rewarded lit. will be paid. He will receive a reward. Midrash Tehillim expounds: “He who despises a thing will be pledged to it” concerning David, who said before the Holy One, blessed be He, “Of what use are the madmen that You created?” He replied, “By your life, you will ultimately need madness.” When he came before Achish to feign madness, “and he let his saliva run down upon his beard, etc.” (I Sam. 21:14).
Ibn Ezra
"He who despises the word" — meaning, he who despises discipline — shall be bound and destroyed by his own counsel. But "he who fears the commandment" — for one who fears Hashem, he fears His commandment. "Shall be rewarded" (yeshulam) — means he shall dwell in peace.
Ralbag
"He who despises the word" — Whoever despises some evil matter that is bound to come upon him, and does not strive to take counsel/precaution regarding it, will be ruined and harmed because of it. Therefore it is not fitting for a person to make light of anything and be negligent, on this account, in taking precaution regarding it. But the man who fears the commandments of Hashem, to keep them in his heart and to act [upon them] — he alone shall abide in peace, even though he disdains the things that are bound to come upon him, because he trusts in Hashem, may He be blessed.
Metzudat David
"He who scorns the word" — one who scorns anything from the commandments of Hashem harms himself; but one who fears the commandment and magnifies its importance will be paid a reward also because of this.
Metzudat Zion
'Shall suffer for it' — an expression of injury and wound.
Malbim
"Whoever despises the word shall suffer for it; But he who fears the commandment shall be rewarded" — The ancients already disputed whether a person must fulfill all six hundred and thirteen commandments, or whether it suffices that he fulfill a single commandment. And so it is written, "and has opened her mouth without limit (chok)," [concerning which] one said this refers to one who has not studied even a single chok [statute], and another said it refers to one who has not fulfilled even a single chok; and both are true. A person must believe in and be ready to fulfill all the commandments of Hashem, and if he despises even one commandment, of him it is said, "for he has despised the word of Hashem," for by despising [even one] he denies the entire Torah. And so it says, "Whoever despises the word shall suffer for it" — if he despises even a single word, calamities and punishments will come upon him. However, one who believes in the entire Torah and in all its commandments, but only a single commandment has come into his hands to fulfill, already receives reward as though he had fulfilled the entire Torah, for we know that were other commandments to come into his hands, he would fulfill them as well. And so it says, "but he who fears the commandment" — if he fears the commandment, even though he has fulfilled only a single commandment, "he shall be rewarded" and receive reward for the entire Torah.
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To depart from the snares of death.
verse value 2720
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "wise" (חָ֭כָם, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·snares·of" (מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁי, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 68: wise, life. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "wise" (root חכם, 93x in Proverbs); "life" (root חי, 32x in Proverbs); "death" (root מות, 23x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'life', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: תּוֹרַ֣ת [teaching·of] (1006) + חָ֭כָם [wise] (68) + מְק֣וֹר [fountain·of] (346) + חַיִּ֑ים [life] (68) + לָ֝ס֗וּר [to·turn·aside] (296) + מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁי [from·snares·of] (490) + מָֽוֶת [death] (446) = 2720.
Rashi
The instruction of a wise man is a spring of life for he teaches him to turn away from the snares of death.
Ibn Ezra
"The teaching" — that instructs one to turn away from the snares of death; and the transgressions are the snares.
Ralbag
"The teaching of the wise" — It is for him a fountain of life, for from it come the fruits of eternal life; and in it, too, is a fountain of life to turn him away from the snares of death, for through it, that life is attained from Hashem.
Metzudat David
"A fountain" — it is like a spring flowing with life, for you will learn from it to turn away from the snares that bring death, namely, sins.
Malbim
"The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To depart from the snares of death" — I have already explained above (10:11) that the way of wisdom is called the way of life, and its opposite, the way of folly, is the way of death of the soul; and one who draws the water of wisdom and drinks from it shall live forever. And the fountain from which the water flows forth comes about either through people seeing the deeds and conduct of the righteous man — of which it is said, "the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life" — or through fear of Hashem, as is said below (14:27). But opposed to this stands the way of death: two snares set around the soul to trap it in their net, namely the desires and the evil character traits. And to be saved from the snares of death, one must draw the water of life from the teaching of the wise (torat chacham); for the wise man, having received all the laws of wisdom, will teach them in an organized course of study, and will make known all the general rules and particulars — what is the way of wisdom and what is the way of folly. And so it says "the teaching (torah) of the wise," for torah is instruction organized in its entirety, and it is a fountain of life, so that one who draws from it will know how to depart from the snares of death.
Good understanding gives grace; But the way of the faithless is harsh.
verse value 1635
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "and·way·of" (וְדֶ֖רֶךְ, 4 letters) and the longest is "good·understanding" (שֵֽׂכֶל־ט֭וֹב, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "good·understanding" (שֵֽׂכֶל־ט֭וֹב), "harsh" (אֵיתָֽן). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·way·of" (root דרך, 74x in Proverbs); "gives·grace" (root נתן, 34x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'gives·grace', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: שֵֽׂכֶל־ט֭וֹב [good·understanding] (367) + יִתֶּן־חֵ֑ן [gives·grace] (518) + וְדֶ֖רֶךְ [and·way·of] (230) + בֹּגְדִ֣ים [faithless] (59) + אֵיתָֽן [harsh] (461) = 1635.
Rashi
but the way of the treacherous is harsh It is harsh for him and for others.
Ibn Ezra
"Understanding" — that is, he acts with insight to do good; understanding grants him favor in the eyes of Hashem and of those who see him. But "the way of the faithless is harsh" (eitan) — their way is firm, such that the person of understanding cannot turn them back from the way of treachery by means of his understanding.
Ralbag
"Good understanding" — The good understanding that the intelligent man possesses gives favor, inclining other people to walk in his ways, on account of the pleasantness of that way; but the way of the treacherous is rugged, so that it is difficult to walk in it, like a jagged rock and a stronghold. For this reason it says, "Firm is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in a rock."
Metzudat David
"Good understanding" — the good understanding that a person has grants him favor in the eyes of all; and nevertheless, the way of the faithless is very firm, and the possessor of understanding, with his understanding and his abundant favor, will not avail to remove them from that way.
Metzudat Zion
'Harsh' — an expression of strength, as in 'firm is your dwelling place' (Numbers 24).
Malbim
"Good understanding gives grace" — There is sechel (intellect) and there is sechel tov (good understanding). Sechel is the faculty possessed by an intelligent person to penetrate into any matter with sudden knowledge, and to render judgment about things hidden from the reach of chochmah (wisdom) and binah (reasoning) — and also about things that cannot be reached by way of sense perception, such as knowledge of Hashem, of spiritual beings, and the like, matters of inquiry that lie beyond nature. And sechel tov belongs to one who apprehends by ruach ha-kodesh (the holy spirit), which is above human intellect — which sometimes goes by a crooked path — but if aid from on high accompanies it, he will understand truths and know everything by the spirit of Hashem resting upon him. And this understanding comes mostly by way of favor, to one who has found favor in the eyes of Hashem. And so it says, "and find favor and good understanding in the eyes of God and man" — it calls it a "finding," because it comes from above to the one who finds favor, and then he finds good understanding to comprehend by the spirit of Hashem. But one who already possessed good understanding beforehand and perceives by ruach ha-kodesh in accordance with his own preparation — for him it "gives" grace; he does not "find" favor, but rather receives it in the manner of a gift, in that through his good understanding Hashem shows him favor, as it is written, "I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My eyes," and it says, "Then he said, 'Show me, please, Your glory.'" Now, one who has good understanding and apprehends by ruach ha-kodesh, he too shall drink from the fountain of life, and Hashem will give him grace to know how to depart from the snares of death, through divine aid from on high, by His holy spirit. And the sense of the verse is: "the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life," and also "good understanding gives grace" to depart from the snares of death. "But the way of the faithless is harsh" (eitan) — the faithless, who betray Hashem and walk in the way of death, their way is eitan. Eitan is a hard place that is not worked and not sown, whether in a riverbed or among the mighty mountains (harim ha-eitanim) — rocks and cliffs upon which no soil fit for sowing has settled; they do not drink from the water of life, for they are not fit to receive water of dew and rain. So too the way of the faithless is not fit to receive from the fountain of life.
Every prudent man deals with forethought; But a fool unfolds folly.
verse value 2380
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "does" (יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "every·subtle" (כׇּל־עָ֭רוּם, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "every·subtle" (כׇּל־עָ֭רוּם), "in·knowledge" (בְדָ֑עַת). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·fool" (root כסיל, 49x in Proverbs); "does" (root עשה, 34x in Proverbs); "in·knowledge" (root דעת, 29x in Proverbs). First appearance of the root פרש ("spreads") in Proverbs. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·knowledge', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: כׇּל־עָ֭רוּם [every·subtle] (366) + יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה [does] (385) + בְדָ֑עַת [in·knowledge] (476) + וּ֝כְסִ֗יל [and·fool] (126) + יִפְרֹ֥שׂ [spreads] (590) + אִוֶּֽלֶת [foolishness] (437) = 2380.
Rashi
Every cunning man acts with forethought He performs his deeds with forethought, like David: “Let them seek for my lord, the king, a young girl, a virgin, etc.” (I Kings 1:2). but a fool exposes [his] stupidity This is Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3): “Let the king appoint, etc.” They knew that he would not marry them all. Therefore, whoever had a daughter concealed her.
Ibn Ezra
"Every prudent man" — one whose shrewdness is in his heart acts with knowledge. But "a fool unfolds his folly" — before others. Another interpretation: he acts for the sake of knowledge; that is to say, he employs cunning in order to teach knowledge.
Ralbag
"Every prudent man acts with knowledge" — Because of this he attains what he seeks; but the fool spreads his folly over every path on which he walks, in such a way that he does not walk on any portion of the path as is proper, and therefore what he seeks is withheld from him.
Metzudat David
"Every prudent man" — the deeds of the prudent man are done with knowledge and specific intent, even though not everyone understands them; but the fool spreads out his folly so that everyone will recognize that it is folly.
Metzudat Zion
'Unfolds' — an expression of spreading out and laying open.
Malbim
"Every prudent man deals with forethought; But a fool unfolds folly" — I have already explained above (12:23) that "the prudent man conceals knowledge" — that it is the nature of the prudent man to conceal knowledge and not reveal to another what he knows. And nonetheless, "every prudent man deals with da'at (knowledge)" — he does not do anything based on doubt until he knows with clear knowledge whether his action is sound and whether it is aimed at the proper end, for this is the nature of prudence (armah), that it does not proceed in darkness and in doubts, as it is said, "the wisdom of the prudent man is to understand his way," as I explained there. And the fool (kesil) is one who strays from the laws of wisdom on account of his desire; even if he grasps the laws of wisdom, he casts doubts upon them so that he may act according to his desire. And it was said there, "and the heart of fools proclaims folly" — that besides not concealing it, he proclaims and publicizes it. And here it says that he "unfolds" folly, like [the phrase] "and they shall spread out the garment" — that he spreads out all the sides of his doubts and does his deed in darkness, on account of the folly spread out over his foolishness.
A wicked messenger falls into evil; But a faithful ambassador is health.
verse value 1827
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "wicked" (רָ֭שָׁע, 3 letters) and the longest is "faithfulness" (אֱמוּנִ֣ים, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "messenger" (מַלְאָ֣ךְ), "and·envoy·of" (וְצִ֖יר). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "wicked" (root רשע, 81x in Proverbs); "in·evil" (root רע, 69x in Proverbs). First appearance of the root מלאך ("messenger") in Proverbs. First appearance of the root ציר ("and·envoy·of") in Proverbs. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·evil', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: מַלְאָ֣ךְ [messenger] (91) + רָ֭שָׁע [wicked] (570) + יִפֹּ֣ל [falls] (120) + בְּרָ֑ע [in·evil] (272) + וְצִ֖יר [and·envoy·of] (306) + אֱמוּנִ֣ים [faithfulness] (147) + מַרְפֵּֽא [health] (321) = 1827.
Rashi
A wicked messenger falls into evil like Balaam, to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, said (Num. 22:35): “Go with the men,” but he dealt wickedly to entice Balak to follow his evil counsel; therefore, he fell by the sword. but a faithful emissary brings healing This is Moses, our teacher.
Ibn Ezra
"A wicked messenger" — if he is wicked, he shall fall into evil. But "ambassadors" (emunim) — is an abstract noun; that is to say, a faithful envoy is healing to those who send him.
Ralbag
"A wicked messenger" — Whoever is the agent of a wicked man will fall into evil and be ruined because of this wicked one who is his master; but whoever is the agent of a trustworthy man — not only will he not fall into evil, but he is a remedy for another, protecting him from the very evil for the sake of which his sender dispatched him.
Metzudat David
"A wicked messenger" — a wicked agent who alters the words of the one who sent him for the worse, he himself will fall into that harm; but an ambassador from among trustworthy men will still heal the matter of the mission — if he sees some weakness in the matter, he will heal it with the sweetness of speech.
Metzudat Zion
'Messenger' — an expression of an emissary, as in 'a messenger sent to them' (Ezekiel 23:40). 'And ambassador' — this too is an expression of an emissary, as in 'and an ambassador is sent among the nations' (Obadiah 1:1).
Malbim
"A wicked messenger falls into evil" — There is a difference between a malakh [messenger] and a tzir [ambassador]: the tzir is the one who goes and then circles back to bring a reply, whereas the wicked messenger does not carry out his mission in the place to which he was sent, but only causes damage there and does not bring back a reply as he was sent to do — like the spies, who caused damage and "fell into evil," for they were punished and died in the plague. But "a faithful ambassador," who goes in faithfulness and brings back a reply in faithfulness, is "health" for the wound inflicted by the wicked messenger — like Caleb and Joshua. And by way of metaphor: the supernal soul is sent by Hashem from the supernal world to walk here on the lowly earth and to bring back word to the One who sent it. The wicked messenger, who does not carry out his mission and causes damage here, and who is also not prepared to bring back word to the One who sent him, "falls into evil" and the punishments of Gehinnom. But "a faithful ambassador," who makes his path straight and walks in truth and faithfulness, and who is like an ambassador who returns to his master to report, "I have done all that You commanded me" — he brings healing: "and the sun of righteousness shall rise for him, with healing in its wings."
Poverty and shame shall be to the one who refuses instruction; But he who regards reproof shall be honored.
verse value 2780
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. Notable word values: "will·be·honored" (יְכֻבָּֽד) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "poverty" (רֵ֣ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·shame" (וְ֭קָלוֹן, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "poverty" (רֵ֣ישׁ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·regarding" (root שמר, 31x in Proverbs); "instruction" (root מוסר, 30x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'instruction', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: רֵ֣ישׁ [poverty] (510) + וְ֭קָלוֹן [and·shame] (192) + פּוֹרֵ֣עַ [refusing] (356) + מוּסָ֑ר [instruction] (306) + וְשֹׁמֵ֖ר [and·regarding] (546) + תּוֹכַ֣חַת [rebuke] (834) + יְכֻבָּֽד [will·be·honored] (36) = 2780.
Rashi
Poverty and disgrace Poverty and disgrace come upon him who spurns discipline.
Ibn Ezra
"Poverty and shame" — Others will disgrace him; both of these come upon the man who spurns discipline (pore'a), from the language of "mafre'a" [a term of releasing or repudiating]. "And he who keeps reproof" — [him] others will reprove. "shall be honored" — Hashem will honor him, as in the matter: "for those who honor Me I will honor" (1 Samuel 2:30).
Ralbag
"Poverty and shame, etc." — Whoever heeds reproof will be honored by people, because of the pleasantness of his character, since this leads him to become wise, and through wisdom he attains honor, as it says, "The wise shall inherit honor."
Metzudat David
"Poverty" — poverty and disgrace are destined to come upon one who casts off discipline; but one who keeps in his heart the words of rebuke will be honored by people.
Metzudat Zion
'Refuses' — an expression of neglect.
Malbim
"Poverty and shame shall be to the one who refuses instruction" — There is a difference between musar [discipline] and tochachah [reproof]: tochachah is argument by words and by proofs of reason, whereas musar chastises the powers of one's soul through fear of punishments and retribution. And kalon [shame] is the opposite of kavod [honor]. Now, one who keeps reproof, for whom it suffices to be taught according to reason, will be honored, for this is what is fitting for honor; and one who does not keep reproof will not be honored. But one who refuses instruction, who also does not fear the punishments of Hashem and casts off the yoke entirely — such a person will not only fail to be honored, but will find poverty and shame: he will lose his wealth, and his honor will be turned into shame.
The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul; And it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.
verse value 3244
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "to·depart" (ס֣וּר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·abomination·of" (וְתוֹעֲבַ֥ת, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "accomplished" (נִ֭הְיָה), "is·pleasant" (תֶּעֱרַ֣ב). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·evil" (root רע, 69x in Proverbs); "to·soul" (root נפש, 53x in Proverbs); "fools" (root כסיל, 49x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·soul', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: תַּאֲוָ֣ה [desire] (412) + נִ֭הְיָה [accomplished] (70) + תֶּעֱרַ֣ב [is·pleasant] (672) + לְנָ֑פֶשׁ [to·soul] (460) + וְתוֹעֲבַ֥ת [and·abomination·of] (884) + כְּ֝סִילִ֗ים [fools] (170) + ס֣וּר [to·depart] (266) + מֵרָֽע [from·evil] (310) = 3244.
Rashi
pleases the soul When a person’s desire comes to him it pleases his soul. Therefore, it is an abomination to a fool to turn away from evil because it pleases him to gratify his desire. fulfilled Heb. נהיה, lit. is. Another explanation: a desire fulfilled The Holy One, blessed be He, desires that Israel do His will, and when His desire is fulfilled, it pleases Him. And it is the abomination of the wicked that they turn away from their evil to gratify their desire.
Ibn Ezra
"Desire fulfilled" — connected to the verse above. And thus it is: whoever desired to keep reproof, and it came to be — since the desire is sweet to his soul and pleasant to him. "and an abomination to fools" — one who turns away from doing evil; "turning away" (sur) is a passive form.
Ralbag
"Desire fulfilled" — The desire of a man that is fulfilled and satisfied, without his having been [excessively] drawn after it, is sweet to the rational soul, when it has overpowered the desiring soul. And this itself is a repugnant thing to fools — that is to say, "the abomination of fools is to turn away from evil."
Metzudat David
"Desire fulfilled" — when a person's bodily desire is broken, it then becomes sweet to the intelligent soul, for then it gains understanding; but to the wicked it is an abhorrent thing when they turn away from evil for lack of desire, for they would rather desire to sin and do it.
Metzudat Zion
'Accomplished' — an expression of breaking, as in 'I was broken and sickened' (Daniel 8). 'Is sweet' — an expression of sweetness, as in 'and the offering... shall be sweet to Hashem' (Malachi 3:4).
Malbim
"Desire fulfilled" — This informs us that the fool is not a simpleton, for he knows the laws of wisdom, and were it not for the desire that compels him, he would turn away from evil in accordance with the laws of wisdom. But because "desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul" — even though there is no good or benefit in the desire, it holds a sweetness for the animal soul — he is unable to overcome his desire on account of this sweetness, for he chooses the sweet over the good and beneficial. Therefore, "it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil," for he desires the sweet, pleasurable thing.
He who walks with wise men shall be wise; But the companion of fools shall smart for it.
verse value 1530
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. Verse gematria: 1530 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "walking" (הוֹלֵ֣ךְ, 4 letters) and the longest is "with·wise" (אֶת־חֲכָמִ֣ים, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "with·wise" (אֶת־חֲכָמִ֣ים), "will·be·harmed" (יֵרֽוֹעַ). The root חכם appears 3 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "with·wise" (root חכם, 93x in Proverbs); "fools" (root כסיל, 49x in Proverbs); "walking" (root הלך, 35x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'will·be·wise', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words.
Rashi
He who goes with the wise will become wise, but he who befriends the fools Who joins fools to be his friends. will be broken Heb. ירוע, will be shattered.
Ibn Ezra
"and a companion" (ve-ro'eh) — from the language of "re'akha" ("your friend"). "shall smart" (yeroa) — [meaning] shall be broken (yishaver).
Ralbag
"He who walks with the wise" — Whoever pursues the wise and pursues their company will undoubtedly become wise from what he learns of the wisdom of the righteous; Hashem will grant him a good reward, and that is the great good, namely, wisdom. But whoever walks with fools and pursues their company will be broken and ruined.
Metzudat David
"Shall be wise" — for he will learn from them. "And a companion" — one who joins himself to fools to have them as companions will be broken and crushed together with them, for he will learn from them, and their recompense will come back upon him.
Metzudat Zion
'Shall smart for it' — an expression of breaking and crushing, as in 'you shall break them with a rod of iron' (Psalms 2:9).
Malbim
"He who walks with the wise shall be wise" — one who walks with the wise will learn from their deeds and their wisdom, and will act according to the laws of wisdom. But one who joins with fools "shall be broken," for he will learn from them to pursue desire, and they will teach him folly, and he will not know the laws of wisdom at all. And it says "walks with [holekh et]" the wise but "[becomes] companion of [ro'eh]" fools — with the wise, one does not become their close companion right away, but only walks after them, whereas with fools, one becomes a close companion right away, because wisdom is difficult to learn, but folly is not so. It can also be explained that "ro'eh kesilim" [companion of fools] relates to the sense of ro'eh [shepherd, one who tends and leads them] — that although he may seem to be a shepherd leading them, in the end he shall be broken (yeiroa), along the lines of the teaching: "Be a tail to lions, and do not be a head to foxes."
Evil pursues sinners; But to the righteous good shall be repaid.
verse value 2085
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "evil" (רָעָ֑ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·righteous" (וְאֶת־צַ֝דִּיקִ֗ים, 9 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "pursues" (תְּרַדֵּ֣ף), "and·righteous" (וְאֶת־צַ֝דִּיקִ֗ים), "repays·good" (יְשַׁלֶּם־טֽוֹב). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·righteous" (root צדיק, 66x in Proverbs); "evil" (root רעה, 25x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'evil', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: חַ֭טָּאִים [sinners] (68) + תְּרַדֵּ֣ף [pursues] (684) + רָעָ֑ה [evil] (275) + וְאֶת־צַ֝דִּיקִ֗ים [and·righteous] (661) + יְשַׁלֶּם־טֽוֹב [repays·good] (397) = 2085.
Rashi
Evil will pursue the sinners As for a wicked man, his wickedness pursues him to his destruction.
Ibn Ezra
"pursues" (tirdof) — a transitive verb; that is, the evil that sinners do causes it to pursue after them. "but to the righteous" — those who do righteousness, Hashem will repay them with good reward.
Ralbag
"Evil pursues sinners" — Behold, evil pursues sinners and comes to them, to the very place where they are; and the opposite is true of the righteous, for Hashem, may He be blessed, repays the righteous with good on account of His providence over them, and that good pursues them and comes to them in the place where they are.
Metzudat David
"Evil pursues" — the evil that sinners do will pursue them until they are destroyed, for it will prosecute them. "But to the righteous" — the merit that is with the righteous will repay them with good reward, for it will speak well on their behalf.
Malbim
"Evil pursues sinners" — This states that the punishment of sinners does not come from Hashem, for evil does not go forth from Him; rather, the evil that they themselves committed pursues them continually until it overtakes them, such that the punishment is bound up in the very nature of the evil itself. This is the meaning of the saying: "He is the Satan, he is the Angel of Death" — it is not the serpent that kills, but the sin itself that kills. But the reward of the commandments comes from Hashem specifically, and "to the righteous good shall be repaid" — by way of recompense, even at a time when the reward is not found within the nature of the commandment itself, Hashem repays them good specifically, beyond the good bound up in the nature of the commandments. This is like the parable of a king who commanded his servants not to eat the fruit of a certain tree, for it is a deadly poison, and to eat the fruit of another tree, which is beneficial for the health of the body: those who eat the deadly poison receive their punishment from the deadly poison itself, while one who eats the good fruit — beyond the fact that what he ate is good and beneficial — receives reward for having heeded the king's command.
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children; And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous.
verse value 827
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "good" (ט֗וֹב, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·sons" (בְּנֵֽי־בָנִ֑ים, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "bequeaths" (יַנְחִ֥יל), "sons·of·sons" (בְּנֵֽי־בָנִ֑ים), "and·laid·up" (וְצָפ֥וּן). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·righteous" (root צדיק, 66x in Proverbs); "good" (root טוב, 52x in Proverbs); "sons·of·sons" (root בן, 51x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sons·of·sons', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: ט֗וֹב [good] (17) + יַנְחִ֥יל [bequeaths] (108) + בְּנֵֽי־בָנִ֑ים [sons·of·sons] (164) + וְצָפ֥וּן [and·laid·up] (232) + לַ֝צַּדִּ֗יק [to·the·righteous] (234) + חֵ֣יל [wealth·of] (48) + חוֹטֵֽא [sinner] (24) = 827.
Rashi
A good man will leave an inheritance of his merit and his property to his sons’ sons, but a sinner does not leave over an inheritance to his sons, for his wealth and his property are laid away for the righteous, as it is written (Esther 8:2): “And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.”
Ibn Ezra
"A good man" — a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. "and is laid up" (ve-tzafun) — Hashem lays up for the righteous the wealth of the sinner, as in the matter: "the wicked prepares, and the righteous wears it" (Job 27:17).
Ralbag
"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children" — The good man bequeaths his possessions to his children's children, not to his children alone; but the sinner does not bequeath his possessions even to his own children, for his wealth is hidden away and reserved to belong to a righteous man.
Metzudat David
"Good" — a good man. "Shall bequeath" — his inheritance even to his children's children; but the wealth of the sinner is hidden away for the righteous, and he will not bequeath it even to his own children.
Metzudat Zion
'Is laid up' — an expression of concealment. 'Wealth' — riches.
Malbim
"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children" — After having said that evil pursues the sinner and that Hashem repays good to the righteous, [Scripture] now responds to what we sometimes observe — that the righteous suffer afflictions while the wicked dwell in tranquility. On this it says: if you see that the righteous man has not received his reward, it is because "a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children" — Hashem pays his reward to his children and to his generations after him. (And so it is said in the Midrash that Hashem answered Moses: "If I were to give the Patriarchs their reward in their lifetime, what would they leave to their children?") And if you see the wicked man secure in his wealth, know that "the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous" — it is only being kept for him, until the righteous man comes and inherits it, as it is written: "he prepares it, but the righteous shall wear it."
Much food is in the tillage of the poor; But there is that is swept away by want of righteousness.
verse value 2037
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "tillage·of" (נִ֣יר, 3 letters) and the longest is "much·food" (רׇב־אֹ֭כֶל, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "much·food" (רׇב־אֹ֭כֶל), "tillage·of" (נִ֣יר), "poor" (רָאשִׁ֑ים). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "without" (root לא, 61x in Proverbs); "judgment" (root משפט, 20x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'poor', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: רׇב־אֹ֭כֶל [much·food] (253) + נִ֣יר [tillage·of] (260) + רָאשִׁ֑ים [poor] (551) + וְיֵ֥שׁ [and·there·is] (316) + נִ֝סְפֶּ֗ה [is·swept·away] (195) + בְּלֹ֣א [without] (33) + מִשְׁפָּֽט [judgment] (429) = 2037.
Rashi
An abundance of food is the result of the plowing of the poor I saw in the great Masorah [on the words רב אכל]: The word רב appears thirty-three times with a “kamatz,” but this one has a short “kamatz,” and it is joined to the word אכל, food, with a “makkaf” (hyphen); and I saw there that אכל is vowelized with a “pattah” (i.e., a “segol” which is a small “pattah”), and it is accented on the first syllable, as in (Gen. 41:35): “all the food (אכל) of the good years.” According to its vowelization, this is its interpretation: Much grain comes to the world through the plowing of the poor people; i.e., much Torah emanates from pupils whose teachers learn from them through their debate concerning the halachah. and some perish And many of them perish from the world because [they have] no propriety, for they do not behave properly; and concerning the grain, some grain suffers because of its owner, who does not separate its tithes and its gifts for the poor as is proper. Our Sages explained in tractate Hagigah (4b) “And some perish without justice,” concerning the messenger of the angel of death, who changes one name for another and causes the death of one whose time has not come. But, if it [this explanation] is so, the end of the verse has nothing to do with its beginning.
Ibn Ezra
"the tillage of the poor" (nir rashim) — it is possible that this is an infinitive form from [the term] "niru lachem nir" ("break up your fallow ground," Hosea 10:12), meaning: much food will be for the poor, at the time when they plow and work the land, as in the matter: "he who works his land shall be satisfied with bread" (Proverbs 12:11). "but there is one who is swept away" — because he does not know the mishpat [proper method] of plowing and sowing, as in [the verse]: "for his God instructs him rightly, [and] teaches him" (Isaiah 28:26), which speaks of the matter of sowing.
Ralbag
"Much food" — Behold, much food is found because of the plowing of the poor, for they labor in the plowing, and so the food comes to belong to the owners of the fields, who did not labor over it. And likewise, there are among men some who are swept away by evil unjustly, for he did not do the thing on account of which he is swept away, and this happens often. Or, the intent of this may be: when much food is found, behold, it is [due to] the tilled ground of the poor and their plowing, for because of the abundance they will find plenty when gleaning among the ears of grain, and the like; and thus good comes to them justly, yet [also] through kindness. And in this way a man is found swept away without justice, as was stated before.
Metzudat David
"Much food" — much food comes into the world through the plowing of the poor, who plow the field of grain; and behold, the rich, who did not labor over it, eat it. And so too there is one who is taken from the whole world without a sentence of death, for he did nothing for which he deserved to die, yet he is caught [and punished] for another sin.
Metzudat Zion
'Tillage' — an expression of plowing, as in 'break up your fallow ground' (Jeremiah 4). 'Poor' — from the language of rash (poor) and ani (needy). 'Is swept away' — an expression of death, as in 'I am gathered to my people' (Genesis 49).
Malbim
"Much food is in the tillage of the poor, but there is that is swept away for lack of justice" — This refers back to the preceding verse. It says: and should you ask, why does Hashem not pay the reward to the righteous man himself? And why do we see that the righteous man, by whose merit the world is sustained, is himself not sustained even by his own merit — as with Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, of whom it was said: "The whole world is sustained for the sake of my son Chanina, yet my son Chanina has only a kav of carobs from one Sabbath eve to the next"? [Scripture] answers that indeed we see in reality that abundant food comes about through "the tillage of the poor," for the lowly of the people till the ground to remove from it thorns and thistles — this being hard labor that the poor perform, and through them comes abundant food. And nonetheless, there are among the poor those who are "swept away for lack of justice," who die of hunger and have no food, even though all the food comes about through their labor. So too, even though abundant food comes through the righteous and their merit — for they remove the thorns that impede the divine bounty — nevertheless there is found among them one who is swept away by hunger, for whom a kav of carobs suffices. And this is because Hashem knows that if he had wealth, his merit would not suffice to bring down the bounty to the same degree — just as, if the poor had bread, they would not hire themselves out to plow and till the soil. And this is among the wonders of divine governance; yet nevertheless, "the Rock, His work is perfect, and all His ways are justice."
He who spares his rod hates his son; But he who loves him chastens him promptly.
verse value 1906
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "his·son" (בְנ֑וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·loves·him" (וְ֝אֹהֲב֗וֹ, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "his·rod" (שִׁ֭בְטוֹ), "his·son" (בְנ֑וֹ), "and·loves·him" (וְ֝אֹהֲב֗וֹ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·son" (root בן, 51x in Proverbs); "and·loves·him" (root אהב, 31x in Proverbs); "discipline" (root מוסר, 30x in Proverbs). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·son', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: חוֹשֵׂ֣ךְ [spares] (334) + שִׁ֭בְטוֹ [his·rod] (317) + שׂוֹנֵ֣א [hates] (357) + בְנ֑וֹ [his·son] (58) + וְ֝אֹהֲב֗וֹ [and·loves·him] (20) + שִׁחֲר֥וֹ [seeks·him] (514) + מוּסָֽר [discipline] (306) = 1906.
Rashi
He who holds back his rod His end will be that he will hate his son because he will see him getting into mischief. disciplines him early He always chastises him in the morning.
Ibn Ezra
"chastens him promptly" (shicharo) — he disciplines him every morning (shachar).
Ralbag
"He who spares his rod" — Whoever withholds his rod from striking his son to discipline him hates him, for on this account the son will be left without discipline; but whoever loves him seeks him out with discipline from his childhood, to train him in discipline according to his way.
Metzudat David
"He who withholds" — one who withholds the rod of discipline from his son, behold, this is counted as hatred, for in the end he will go out to bad ways and die for his iniquity. "But he who loves him" — one who loves his son disciplines him early, meaning in his childhood, a time when he can still direct him to whatever he wishes.
Metzudat Zion
'Spares' — withholds. 'Promptly' — its meaning is the days of childhood, which are at the beginning of one's days; the term is borrowed from shachar (dawn) of the morning; likewise, 'childhood and youth, the dawn of life, are vanity' (Ecclesiastes 11:10).
Malbim
"He who spares his rod hates his son" — One who spares his rod out of tender feeling for his son actually hates him, because through this the son will not learn wisdom, for "a wise son [heeds] a father's discipline" (Proverbs 13:1). This is a sign that his own tenderness toward his son — his inability to bear seeing him in pain — matters more to him than his son's actual benefit. If so, he loves himself more than his son, and hates his son. But one who loves his son "disciplines him betimes" (shicharo, from the root meaning "morning," shachar) — disciplines him every morning, so as to benefit him in the end. This is also an answer to the question of why Hashem brings sufferings upon the righteous, and "there is one who perishes without justice" (Proverbs 13:23): this is out of His love for him, as it is written, "For as a man chastens his son, Hashem your God chastens you" (Deuteronomy 8:5). Therefore He chastens him with sufferings, so that they serve him as discipline and benefit him in the end.
The righteous eats to the satisfying of his desire; But the belly of the wicked shall want.
verse value 2448
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 28 letters. Verse gematria: 2448 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "eats" (אֹ֭כֵֽל, 3 letters) and the longest is "wicked" (רְשָׁעִ֣ים, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Proverbs. Unique to this verse in Proverbs (hapax): "to·satiety·of" (לְשֹׂ֣בַע), "and·belly·of" (וּבֶ֖טֶן), "will·lack" (תֶּחְסָֽר). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "wicked" (root רשע, 81x in Proverbs); "righteous" (root צדיק, 66x in Proverbs); "his·soul" (root נפש, 53x in Proverbs). First appearance of the root בטן ("and·belly·of") in Proverbs. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·soul', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: צַדִּ֗יק [righteous] (204) + אֹ֭כֵֽל [eats] (51) + לְשֹׂ֣בַע [to·satiety·of] (402) + נַפְשׁ֑וֹ [his·soul] (436) + וּבֶ֖טֶן [and·belly·of] (67) + רְשָׁעִ֣ים [wicked] (620) + תֶּחְסָֽר [will·lack] (668) = 2448.
Rashi
to sate his appetite It always seems to him that he is satisfied. ( shall feel want It does not seem to them that they are satisfied.)
Ibn Ezra
"the righteous eats" — until he is satisfied. "shall want" (techsar) — food, such that he will not be satisfied.
Ralbag
"The righteous man eats" — Behold, the righteous man eats to the satisfaction of his soul, for because of Hashem's attachment to him, he finds his sustenance, even though he is also diligent in obtaining proper food through proper means. But indeed, the belly of the wicked shall lack, for they rely on their acts of violence to bring them sustenance through violence, and therefore their belly shall lack.
Metzudat David
"To satiety" — he does not desire delicacies, but only whatever satisfies the soul; but the wicked delight in eating sweet and pleasant delicacies, and his belly is always lacking, for [as the saying goes] "there is always room for something sweet," and he can still fill it more.
Malbim
"The righteous eats to the satisfying of his desire" — The righteous person does not eat to fill his belly, but only to satisfy his soul — that is, [eating] enough for sufficiency, not for excess. It also hints that he eats to satisfy his spiritual soul, [taking] only what is necessary to sustain his soul. But the wicked, who eat to fill their belly, their belly is always lacking, for whatever a person has, he desires still more, and there is no end to his desire. This too is an answer to the question mentioned above: this is why Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa was truly content with a kav of carobs and wanted no more, for he wanted only to satisfy his soul, and the pleasures of this world were as nothing in his eyes, since the essential pleasure is the pleasure of the soul in the World to Come.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Ralbag
Metzudat David
Malbim