Original Meaning
THIS CHAPTER BEGINS with another statement about parental teachers and their pupils (cf. “son” and “father” in 10:1 and musar, “discipline,” in 12:1), but it contains fewer contrasts between the righteous and the wicked and no mention of God’s involvement in human affairs.1 The arrangement of the proverbs weaves together the themes of desire and discipline, and so we might call the theme “disciplined appetite” or “disciplined desires.” Other key words (e.g., ṭob, “good” in 13:2, 15, 21, 22; the various translations of nepeš, “life,” “desire” in 13:2, 3, 4, 8, 19, 25) appear with unusual frequency.
The chapter appears to be framed by key words, especially the musar of father to son (“instruction” in 13:1; “discipline” in 13:18, 24) and “eat” (13:2, 25). This inclusio links discipline and eating, but the repetition of “longing fulfilled” (13:12, 19) extends the metaphor so that eating becomes a concrete example of all sorts of desires. The chapter can be divided into two somewhat equal parts: Verses 1–16 focus on results that come to the individual, verses 17–25 on the effect of one’s actions on others, particularly the inheritance one leaves.
More certain than any proposed outline are the clear connections made by catchwords, encouraging readers to identify pairs or small groups that highlight themes. Verses 12 and 19 repeat the phrase “longing fulfilled,” and the verses in between seem to fall out in a mirror or chiastic pattern (vv. 13 and 18 paired on the topic of refusing instruction, vv. 14 and 17 the life-giving effects of good speaking, and vv. 15 and 16 terms for knowledge). In general, the chapter follows the pattern:
Discipline and eating (13:1–6)
Riches and virtues (13:7–11)
Desire fulfilled (13:12–19)
Prosperity and inheritance (13:20–23)
Discipline and eating (13:24–25)
Repetition of word and theme matches the first and last sections as well as the second and fourth. The verbal repetitions are so varied that we must recognize that one arrangement based on word repetitions leaves out other verbal links. For example, this arrangement splits up the link of the catchword “fools” in 13:19–20. It is unlikely that those who wrote and gathered these proverbs thought in terms of outline; rather, they focused on recurrences and analogies that gave the general sense of traveling “there and back again.” When travelers use landmarks to find the path home, there is no need to draw a map.
Discipline and Eating (13:1–6)
THE KEY WORD nepeš appears four times in this section, twice in verse 4 as “craving” and “desire,” once in verse 2 as “craving,” and once in verse 3 as “life.” This word for “throat” or “neck” is used throughout Scripture to speak of life or its desires, depending on the context in which it is used. In this grouping, the term is used with images of eating and speaking to create picturesque lessons about both. Verses 5–6 contrast the righteous and the wicked.
13:1. The Hebrew word musar (“instruction, discipline”) occurs three times in this chapter (13:1, 18, 24), a frequency second only to the four occurrences in chapter 15. Throughout the contrasting proverbs in chapters 10–15, instruction is frequently paired with correction, itself a contrast that says, “this way, not that way.” The juxtaposition of the Hebrew in the first line can read, “A wise son, a father’s discipline.”2 That is, if you see a wise son, then look for a father’s teaching.
If, however, the son is a fool, do we blame the father? No, the word used in parallel to “son” is “mocker,” a scoffer, one who does not listen to correction or rebuke. While responsibility is set squarely on the learner (cf. 12:1), the parent’s responsibility to teach is upheld here and echoed in 13:24. In Hebrew, the second line of 13:1 is nearly identical to 13:8; “rebuke” or “threat” (geʿarah) is a shout or stern word that deters someone from a course of action (cf. 17:10). So Jacob rebuked the young Joseph for his proud dreams (Gen. 37:10). Typically, God’s rebuke is a loud shout that sets limits on waters or war (Job 26:10–11; Isa. 17:13).
13:2. This proverb contrasts the “fruit of the mouth” (peri pi) by which a person “eats good”3 with hunger for violence, implying that the treacherous person both speaks and eats this dangerous fruit (cf. 10:11); the pairing of “good” (ṭob) and “unfaithful” (bogedim) appears again in 13:15. The verb “eats” can be translated “may eat,” heightening the sense that if a mouth produces good, it will eat good things in turn.4 The contrast in the second line adds that good does not come to everyone who desires it (nepeš) without regard for their behavior. A similar contrast is intensified in 13:3, where the contrast is between “life” and “ruin” or destruction.
13:3. Two catchwords link verses 2 and 3: pi (NIV “lips/mouth”) appears in the first line of each, and the double-duty nepeš is used for “craving” (v. 2) and for “life” (v. 3). Therefore, if the first lines of each verse are compared, a wise mouth produces good fruits to eat but also knows when to keep bad from coming out. The second lines work together to portray a greedy desire (nepeš) that leads to loss of life (nepeš) and ruin. A double meaning may be intended for “speaks rashly” (lit., “opens wide the lips”), a reference to hasty speech, but it may also refer to the greedy appetite for violence of 13:2. These two sayings caution us to watch what our mouths put out in speech as well as what they take in to satisfy their desires.
13:4. A proverb about the sluggard (cf. 6:6–9; 10:26; 21:25; 26:13–16) completes this cluster of sayings about appetite and desire. Here “desire” (nepeš) by itself brings nothing; it must be accompanied by industry, which (lit.) “fattens” or fills one’s desire. The person who eschews violence and sloth in word and deed is rewarded accordingly.
13:5. Two righteous/wicked contrasts are juxtaposed in 13:5–6. The contrast in verse 5 pits falsehood against its result of shame and disgrace, with the implication that one leads to the other and the wicked bring both with them wherever they go. “What is false” is debar-šeqer, a false word or deed. The word for shame can be translated as “smell” or “stink.”5
13:6. This second contrasting saying personifies righteousness and wickedness as protector and destroyer. “Overthrow” (slp) can be translated “mislead” (cf. 11:3, where it is translated “duplicity”). This proverb and 13:18 depict the world as taking the side of the righteous against the wicked, “where the world is self-righting . . . active, rewarding and punishing people.”6 The word for “guards” (nṣr) brings the reader back to 13:3 and the guarding of lips for life.
Riches and Virtues (13:7–11)
SAYINGS ABOUT RICH and poor people are juxtaposed with sayings about righteousness and pride. Verses 9–11 are linked by a triad of virtues: righteousness, wisdom (understood in this chapter as teachability), and industry.
13:7. Verses 7 and 8 are linked by the catchwords “poor” and “rich” to show that riches are not as clear an indication of status and worth as we often believe (though we do not often admit it). In both cases, the “poor” come off better than those who have riches or desire them. Appearances can be deceiving, as verse 7 shows, and riches are no guarantee of safety, a concern of verse 8. “Has nothing” recalls the sluggard of 13:4, but here the error is not laziness but the effort that goes into acting like someone of wealth and status (cf. 12:9). Just as one person can pretend to be important, another person may have wealth yet never show it off; the latter seems to be the better choice.
13:8. This verse allows that riches can get one out of trouble, but only as it reminds us that it is better to hear no threat of trouble at all. The source of this security is not stated, perhaps because the poor have nothing to covet or steal or because the poor are protected along with the righteous (13:6). The word for “ransom” is the same one used for “compensation” of the jealous husband in 6:35 and should therefore be understood as payment for damages or trouble, a release from obligation rather than a release from bondage (but see 21:18).
In any case, the poor do not have money to buy their way out of legal entanglements and other difficulties, but they may not need to as often as those with money do. The last three Hebrew words of 13:8 are identical with those of 13:1 (lit., “does not hear a shout”), but the NIV rightly translates them differently. If there is any overlap of meaning, it is that scoffers refuse the threats of “rebuke” (13:1), whereas the poor here are depicted as not hearing any type of threat of insecurity (but see 10:15, where “poverty is the ruin of the poor”).
13:9. This contrast between the righteous and the wicked is one of four in the chapter (13:5, 6, 9, 25), and the placement of the first three place a frame around the poor/rich sayings of 13:7–8. Translations differ between light that “shines brightly” (NIV) or light that “rejoices” (NRSV); 10:1 and 15:20 use the same Hebrew root (śmḥ) for the joy that a wise son brings to his parents. The image of the lamp signifies a long and happy life, a promise made throughout the book; the snuffed-out lamp of the wicked appears in Job 18:5–6; 21:17. The saying is repeated in Proverbs 24:20.
13:10. The main contrast between pride and wisdom is shown in one’s attitude toward advice (cf. 11:2). By extension, quarrels come about when one refuses to listen to good counsel. We have met the man who stirs things up before (6:12–19). Here the source of his contention (“pride”) is defined as an unwillingness to listen and learn, reminding the reader of 13:1.
13:11. The second proverb to use the word wealth (hon; cf. 13:7) contrasts the one who increases wealth little by little with one whose wealth dwindles away until there is little left. A translation difficulty lies in the word hebel (NIV “dishonest”; lit., “breath, breeze,” Isa. 57:13), a word used in Ecclesiastes to signify what is both ephemeral and elusive (e.g., Eccl. 1:2–3).7 Thus, the first line can read “meaningless wealth,” echoing that use, but some would read “wealth from haste.”8 The contrast with the second line suggests that it is wealth gained from nothing, that is, from no labor—perhaps theft or speculation. The NIV’s “dishonest” fits well with the context of pride and wickedness.
Desire Fulfilled (13:12–19)
THIS SECTION IS framed by the repetition of “longing fulfilled” (taʾ ewah) in 13:12 and 19,9 associating human hopes and dreams with the benefits of wisdom.
13:12. This proverb looks at the more basic and general topic of desire and hope, a larger category that includes our desire of material goods. The sages were not ascetics, but neither were they acquisitive. Verses 11 and 12 seem to be linked in a way similar to comparison between the tree of life and material wealth in chapter 3. The tree of life in Proverbs is associated with wisdom herself (3:18) and the speech of the righteous (11:30; 15:4). Here it speaks to the goodness of our longings (taʾ ewah; cf. 13:19) that can be distorted by laziness and greed (13:4).
Although this proverb contrasts hope deferred and longing fulfilled, it does not admonish behavior but simply makes the contrasts and observes its effects. Note the link with “fountain of life” in 13:14. A similar reflection on the interior life of the heart, the seat of will and intention, occurs in 14:10: “Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.”
13:13. The contrast between one who pays and one who is paid is in view here, as is the contrast between scorning instruction and respecting (lit., “fearing”) a command. It is interesting that the tree of life and the Hebrew root of šalom both occur in 3:17–18 and in 13:12–13, where šlm is used as a verb meaning “reward.” The LXX adds: “To a crafty son there shall be nothing good; but a wise servant shall have prosperous doings, and his way shall be directed aright.”
13:14. The key word “life” (ḥayyim) here describes a fountain (cf. “tree of life” in 13:12). Both trees and fountains were signs of life in the arid climate of the ancient Near East. The presence of trees signaled that waters were near (Ps. 1; Jer. 17:8), and here the waters spring forth in a fountain. The fountain of life appears in Proverbs 10:11; 13:14; 14:27; 16:22, where it is associated with righteous speech, the fear of Yahweh, and understanding.
The saying in 13:14 is nearly identical with 14:27.10 The images are striking; one can find a fountain of life giving waters or one can find a deadly snare, depending on where and how one looks. Readers recall that married intimacy was likened to a fountain and spring (5:15–18) while the intimacy of adultery was compared to the deadly trap (7:21–26). The reference to wise teaching directs the reader back to 13:1 and the willingness to receive advice, and it looks forward to the wisdom of keeping wise companions (13:20).
13:15. Verses 15–16 are linked by the use of terms from the beginning of the book: “favor,” “prudence,” “knowledge,” “fools,” and “folly” (1:1–7); “understanding” (sekel) in 13:15 appears as “prudent living” in 1:3. The use of “good” (ṭob) and “unfaithful” (bogedim) in 13:15 is similar to 13:2; both proverbs make clear the outcomes that come to those who choose treachery. This saying compares “good understanding” that can be acquired with the “way” or actions of those who reject it. It is not clear whose favor is won, so the general favor of God and community is probably intended (cf. 3:4). The last word of the saying is difficult to translate. The NIV note reads “does not endure,” and NRSV reads “ruin” with the LXX. The latter is more in keeping with the context of the chapter, but in either case, the negative outcome is clear.
13:16. Demonstration of learning, or lack of it, is at the heart of this proverb, which uses the Hebrew roots for “prudent” and “knowledge” from 1:4. “Prudent” is paired with the Hebrew for “fool” or “foolishness” in 12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, and with “simple” in 22:3 and 27:12 to create a common motif. The contrast illustrates the truth that we display either knowledge or ignorance when we act, and so we receive either favor or shame (cf. 13:15). The public nature of a person’s actions is echoed in 13:17–18.
13:17. Proof that one’s actions have their effects on others comes in the case of a messenger, where character counts for everything. Long ago, rulers and nobles trusted messengers to speak on their behalf, and so they chose carefully to make sure that the person sent represented them faithfully. Messengers like this bring healing; there is a reference to healing or health in every chapter from chapters 12–15 (12:18; 13:17; 14:30; 15:4). Closest in meaning to this proverb are 12:18 (“the tongue of the wise brings healing”) and 15:4 (“the tongue that brings healing is a tree of life”). In these proverbs, healing is often contrasted with “trouble.” Given that the basic meaning of marpeʾ is to restore, even to soothe and calm (Eccl. 10:4), it may be that faithful messengers do more than avoid causing trouble; they smooth it over. If you sent someone into a conflict situation, you would want one who would make it better, not worse.
13:18. The key word “discipline” (musar) appears, marking the beginning, middle, and end of this chapter (cf. 13:1, 24). As with the other occurrences, the word is paired with one for “correction.” The word “honor” sends the reader back to the similar word “favor” (13:15), noting that the prudent and the trustworthy envoy receive praise, not blame (13:16–17). All are linked to the theme of receiving or ignoring teaching (see 13:19). The Hebrew roots for “shame” (qln) and “honor” (kbd) contrast what is light and insubstantial with what is weighty and important.
13:19. With the phrase “longing fulfilled,” this saying marks the end of a frame with 13:12, but it is also linked with 13:20 by the catchword “fools.” What is implied in 13:12 is explicit here as desires are fulfilled or frustrated, depending on one’s response to instruction and correction. Fools who refuse to turn from evil will certainly not enjoy the sweetness of fulfilled desire; their actions will bear their fruits, but will they be sweet? According to 20:17, they will taste like gravel. Only a fool would fail to appreciate this truth after so many repetitions! The point is reinforced by the assonance between the Hebrew for “desire” (taʾ ewah) and “detest” (toʿ ebah; the w and b are both sounded as v in Hebrew), making the rhyme a strong component of the rhetoric.
Prosperity and Inheritance (13:20–23)
SAYINGS ABOUT WEALTH and inheritance (13:21–23) are juxtaposed with a profound proverb about the company one keeps (13:20), again contrasting wisdom and its rewards with the results that come when it is ignored.
13:20. Fools not only refuse to turn from evil, they also fail to choose good company. The first line shows the result in character; the second, the result in outcome. The truth that even one’s choice of companions has its consequences is harder to see for those making the decision, as both parents and their children know. Together, 13:19 and 20 connect wisdom and longing, encouraging the learner that having desires is not bad but good, yet those desires must be pursued in wise ways.
13:21. The theme of rewards links 13:21–22 through their double use of the word “good” (ṭob)—as reward of prosperity in verse 21 and as a description of the good person in verse 22. Fools and sinners not only find trouble; here trouble is personified as seeking them. In contrast, the righteous are (lit.) “rewarded with good things.” The words used in the phrase remind the reader of 13:13 (šlm, “reward”) and 13:2, 15 (ṭob).
13:22. The Hebrew word for “good” (ṭob) comes first in the proverb here and last in 13:21 to show that the reward of verse 21 can be passed on to one’s children and grandchildren. The “good” person keeps the “good” reward and passes it on, but sinners lose their wealth to the righteous and are left with nothing.11 The term “stored up” underscores the frustrated plans, while “sinner,” the last Hebrew word in this proverb and the first word of 13:21, creates a frame. The topic of gain appears again in 13:23, that of generations in 13:24.
13:23. The blessings of God and nature may favor the poor, but an astute observer will also note that their gain can be taken by injustice. The pessimism of this saying stands out from its context, yet its realistic outlook provides a counterbalance to the optimism of 13:22. We may say that verse 22 looks at the ultimate outcome while verse 23 looks at situations we often encounter in life. Proverbs describe what usually happens, not what always must happen. Said another way, it is true that we often see situations that look like verse 23, yet the unseen resolution of verse 22 is the one to bet on. Once again, learners are challenged to practice foresight, patience, and faith while maintaining a strong sense of justice.
Discipline and Eating (13:24–25)
THESE LAST TWO VERSES repeat key words from 13:1–6: musar (“discipline”), ʾokel (“eat”), and nepeš (“life, soul,” here “heart’s content”), creating a frame around what lies between.
13:24. Whereas most proverbs that use musar (“instruction,” “discipline”) put the burden of learning on the student, this verse holds the parents responsible for administering the instruction of correction, an echo of 13:1. This is not the proverb we usually cite to warn children that they will be “spoiled” if the rod is spared (a saying not found in Proverbs); rather, this saying contrasts fathers who “hate” their children and those who “love” them by teaching them. The difference is “discipline,” the accent falling on loving correction rather than a particular form of it. This verse can never be taken as support for corporal punishment. The various uses of musar throughout this chapter and the similar sayings make it clear that the issue is one of instruction, not the means used to bring it about (cf. 17:10; 19:18).12
13:25. This final saying contrasts satiation with hunger, but not without some ambiguity. Does the hunger of the wicked (lit., the “belly that goes wanting”) point to their greedy appetites or the payback for them? The contrast of this proverb and the emphasis on outcomes in this collection suggest that this hunger is indeed a reward, but given what we have seen of the wicked and their undisciplined desires, it is a just one. In this chapter’s final pairing of “eat” (ʾokel) and “stomach” (or “desire,” nepeš), the disciplined person eats to satisfaction, experiencing neither gluttony nor worry. Such is the picture of šalom drawn by this grouping of proverbs.
Bridging Contexts
MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, the collected proverbs of chapter 13 interweave sayings and images about desire and discipline, affirming that both are good and nonnegotiable elements of the world’s created order. Life lived wisely honors desire and discipline, for to deny that we have human desires and longings is to live a dishonest form of self-denial, while to ignore our need for discipline is to indulge a self-interest that is ultimately destructive. In other words, as we appropriate the message of these proverbs for our own day, we must remember the creative tension that holds together our appetites and longings with our willingness to learn and receive correction.
Desire. The first and last pair of proverbs in the chapter link sayings about parental instruction with contrasts between righteous and wicked desires. The interplay of these observations sparks insight, so the task of interpreting these proverbs includes attending to links and comparisons. One teaching strategy simply brings these two pairs together in conversation, while another explores their function as a frame for what goes between. Either way, abstract terms like “desire” and “discipline” must be made real by sticking closely to the concrete images that make the sayings so lively and evocative. For example, the “fruit of the lips” (good speech) is contrasted with a “craving for violence” (13:2). The one who guards lips guards life, but the one who opens those lips wide will come to ruin (13:3); the oral image can refer to either eating or speaking, both of which require discipline.
Because the collected proverbs in chapters 10–24 appear to be repetitive, scattering similar thoughts and pictures throughout the chapters with no apparent strategy, readers and commentaries often collect and compare proverbs on a certain topic.13 However, this topical approach draws our attention away from the distinctive character of a cluster’s themes and symbols. In this chapter, the topic of desire and its images of eating lead the reader to look more closely at proverbs about wealth and inheritance; symbols of the rod and friendship speak of the values of discipline. The composite picture presents a reflection on the legacy one leaves to future generations.
As we have seen, reflections on desire come together in the repetition of the word “eat” (ʾokel) in 13:2 and 25. The sage’s confidence in just desserts for the righteous and the wicked was most likely as hard to believe then as it is today. The satisfaction that comes from hard work, honest dealing, and saving (13:4–5, 11) often seems naive when compared to the easy gains of the proud and powerful. The unfair loss of what little the poor have goes down hard (13:23). It must have been that way in Jesus’ time also, for Mary glorified the Lord who scattered the proud, lifted the humble, filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:46–55; cf. Prov. 13:7–10, 25). God is not named in this chapter of Proverbs, but the order that leaves no righteous person to go hungry is his, even if believers often need reassurance that this is so.
Therefore, we too can see God’s hand in the rewards of work and its prosperity, yet we will refuse to trust in them for status or security (13:7–8). Then as now, riches served as validation of one’s efforts and merits, even as they appeared to promise hope and safety for future days. The sages affirmed having enough, even enough to leave to one’s children (13:22, 25), but they also saw the dangers of stockpiling riches, hoping to buy what God alone provides. Worse off in their view are those who, following this misunderstanding of wealth, crave riches and end up with nothing (13:4, 7). The final proverb suggests that the righteous not only eat until their stomachs are filled, but literally to the satisfaction of their souls/appetites (nepeš, 13:25). Again, our desires are not evil but an aspect of this creation God has called good, especially when they include a desire for wisdom and righteousness.
However, there is also a desire that is not informed by wisdom, as Jesus warned, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15, TNIV) The Greek word for that greed (pleonexia) has been described as a “passion for more . . . an insatiability for more of what I already experience or have. If I just had a little bit more, I would be happy. . . . ‘Avoid pleonexia in all its forms.’ ”14 Even as Jesus warned against greedy desires that could never be fulfilled, these proverbs affirm that there are longings that are fulfilled and should be (Prov. 13:12, 19).
I can’t help but believe that the sages intended to pass on an attitude toward wealth and good things that enjoys them without compromising their integrity and, for that matter, our own. That attitude sees the goods of life as happy by-products, perhaps even rewards, for the primary goods of virtue. The sages watched outcomes and listened to opinions, noting that the outlook of those who live for gain is very different from those who live for integrity. They paid attention to results and said, “This is wisdom; this is our observation on the way life works.” They remind us that so much trouble in life is the failure to look down the road at long-term results. Excessive craving is incomplete, for it falls short of desiring all that God has set out for us.
Discipline. The threefold emphasis on instruction and discipline (musar, 13:1, 18, 24) speaks to the human need for correction, honor, and love. Such input can come from parents or from one’s companions. In both cases, the learner (here, the “son”) exercises choice, first in attending to wisdom teaching at home, then in choosing wise teachers and friends (13:14, 20).
According to the sages, these choices turn one from death and keep one from suffering the harm that comes to fools. They understand the power of influence and make it clear that we not only select a path, but we also choose persons to walk that path with us. Wisdom never exists in the abstract realm; it most often comes to us in the form of a wise person. Moreover, we become those wise persons as we learn to avoid prideful disputes and humbly receive advice (13:10, 18). The sayings of this chapter assume that wisdom walks and talks in human form and that we learn wisdom so that we can become counselor friends and teachers ourselves.
Therefore, the discipline of desire taught in this chapter was never intended to be practiced in isolation but rather in partnership with those whose pathway is clear. This does not mean that one looks for faultless friends and teachers, for, of course, none exists. Rather, we learn to discern the direction of their lives as we listen to their words and watch their actions. We can ask whether this person’s desires are informed by the larger picture these proverbs present. Is there a sense of struggle in seeking to put their principles into practice? We may even look for the kind of honesty that sometimes wonders out loud if these principles really do work. A person honest in this way is kin to the psalmists, who often wrote about justice before God and the community of believers; a person like that is more likely to show honesty in other areas of life as well. In sum, the sages urge their learners to practice wisdom in the choice of wise companions and mentors.
Leaving a legacy. The reward of 13:13 is followed by a proverb about teaching others, and the reward of prosperity in 13:21 is followed by an observation on who gets to leave that prosperity to the next generation in the end. As parents and children alike are encouraged to enter into the transfer of wisdom from one generation to the next, they are also shown that wisdom’s rewards of life, wealth, and honor are passed on as an inheritance. Those who only hope to leave wealth and who discount the greater value of wisdom will end up disappointed.
We joke when we say, “The one who dies with the most toys wins,” but I suspect such joking often reveals a lack of attention to the matter of legacy. What would happen if children were raised with the idea that they are receiving a way of life that has come down through the generations, tested and sure, and that they are being taught not only how to live it but how to pass it on? This thought redirects our efforts to provide both materially and spiritually for our children.
We often observe the disastrous results when parents work to provide material goods but neglect to provide the presence and guidance children take as signs of love. Harry Chapin’s song “Cat’s in the Cradle” speaks of a boy who wants to grow up to be just like his dad, but his dad never has time for him; as they both grow older, his wish comes true. The adult son has no time for his lonely father. These proverbs charge us to examine our desires, not only because they will direct our lives but also because they will be fulfilled. If our deepest desire is for a life lived wisely, we will have it, and if we wish to live in what the wise call folly, we will have that as well. Yet the proverbs of the sages will not leave us there, for they remind us of the rewards that come with wisdom and folly—rewards that come not only to us but to those who follow us.
To summarize, the proverbs of this chapter make clear that we are not called to leave an inheritance of wealth but a legacy that includes so much more, a way of life: “The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry” (13:25). But there is a caution: As we read, we may take the many contrasts of the chapter too lightly, putting ourselves on the path with the righteous too readily. These polarities are a teaching device, exaggeration to make a point, but we will miss the point if we fail to appreciate the various repetitions that we too are “prone to wander” and can be tempted to take little shortcuts in order to preserve our accounts or our reputations. To the sages, outright rebellion is not the enemy so much as compromise. The fact that the wisdom writers worked so hard to make these contrasts stark and clear shows that human nature often loses sight of their clarity and makes fuzzy choices.
Contemporary Significance
DISCIPLINE OF DESIRE. As we have seen, the proverbs of this chapter gather around the central contrast drawn in the last pair of sayings. The last word in each compares the one who loves and administers “discipline” (musar, 13:24) with the wicked one who only craves and goes “hungry” (teḥsar, 13:25). It is the discipline of loving instruction that makes the difference between a “longing fulfilled” (13:12, 19) and “craving” that is not (13:2, 4). We who read these proverbs today are called to receive this discipline, shaping our lives around it so that we offer it to those who come after us as a legacy.
In other words, the teaching of these ancient sages invite us to a discipline of desire, affirming that it is good to enjoy the world God has made and given us as a home. We do not need to feel guilt or shame about the delight of our senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste, we need only to set that delight in its home of wise living. If our desires are a combination of the delight of our senses and the cultural framework that shapes our experience of them, we can speak of desires that are educated, instructed in values of love and justice by these witty and memorable sayings.15
(1) The proverbs teach us to temper our pleasure in this good world with honesty and humility (13:10–11), diligence and faithfulness (13:4, 15, 17). Infants seek total and immediate gratification until they are taught otherwise, yet commercial media would rather we stay in a state of perpetual immaturity. Commercials and programming alike tell us that we must have more than we have, and we must have it right away. “The world is one great object for our appetite, a big apple, a big bottle, a big breast, we are the sucklers, the eternally expectant ones, the hopeful ones—and the eternally disappointed ones.”16
Let’s face it, we live in a culture that tries to turn all it can into a commodity, even “real life.” I’m speaking here of the television show Real World, which puts a group of young adults together in a home and starts the cameras rolling, hoping for some conflict and drama to attract viewers. As I write, the latest version of the program is set up in a trendy neighborhood of Chicago. When some residents hit the streets to protest that this mediated vision of life was decidedly controlled and unreal, they were whisked away by police, but not until they invited the “actors” to come and join them in the real world. The protesters knew that cameras rarely go to the poorer parts of the city, except to report a fire or crime. Does anyone want to listen to the concerns of people who are not young and hip?
The proverbs about eating can be set in the contemporary context of consumer culture and instruct us in the art of discerning what we take in, including the media diet that urges us to consume more of everything, including itself (I am embarrassed to think of the number of times I have gone without hours of needed sleep to flip around the channels, watching nothing in particular). Again, the question is not so much what we consume but how we go about fulfilling desires, the purpose behind our actions. We must also examine the outcome of our choices, asking whether they move us closer to a life of love and faithfulness or away from that life. As an example, consider the Lord’s Supper,17 itself a form of eating that celebrates God’s good gifts as it holds up Christ’s life of disciplined desire: “yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
(2) We have seen that the discipline of desire comes as we choose to “walk with the wise” (13:20), learning the ways of wisdom from both teachers and companions. A friend of mine likes to say that we can tell what we will be like in five years by looking around at the people we choose to spend time with. Their concerns will become ours and will influence even the way we look at the world around us. Stephen Fowl has shown that ethical concerns push interpreters to pursue particular interests in their work of biblical interpretation, but also that those ethical concerns are to be understood in terms of real communities in particular historical situations. In part, the concerns of those communities determine which interests receive attention.18 In other words, our work of interpretation is influenced, at least in part, by the way we assess the situations that confront us.
The sayings about the rich and poor challenge us to try to see life through the eyes of those who have less than we do. In Chicago, where I live and teach, a newspaper called Streetwise is sold by people who earn sixty-five cents of the dollar price. The mission statement of the paper reads: “To empower men and women who are homeless or at risk of being so as they work towards gainful empowerment and self-sufficiency.” The self-sufficiency held up here is not that of boastful trust in riches but the hope of being able to work and receive reward for their labors—a longing fulfilled rather than a boast. The paper shows how life looks to those who do not enjoy the privileges of wealth and influence, let alone the comforts of home and pantry that we take for granted. It reports local and national news with a focus on how decisions and policies affect the lives of persons who earn low income.19 Where you stand influences what you see.
Are the poor always righteous, the rich always wicked? Not in the book of Proverbs, and not in the world we inhabit either. Just as the homeless of Chicago work to make their voices heard, some time ago another group with considerable means gathered to reflect on the responsibilities of wealth. The conference speaker invited them to seek out a “wisdom partner” to help with discerning how best to use such wealth, but also to form a deep friendship with someone who does not reap benefits from the present economic system. Friendships help broaden one’s perspective; a wisdom friend is able to discern motives behind actions, particularly impulsive actions that may be motivated by false guilt rather than grace. Seeing life through the eyes of someone excluded by the system clarifies its purposes and failures.20 In other words, one needs help to gain a healthy perspective on wealth. To acquire wisdom’s outlook, we need friendships with persons from all walks of life.
Recently I attended a conference of teachers, many of whom had chosen to work in poorer school districts. Their insight into what it means to have a heart sick from hopes deferred challenged me to learn about wealth by listening to the poor. My conversations with the woman who sells me Streetwise week after week are not deep, but I have learned something about the cares of finding adequate medical treatment for children in the public aid system. Like those conversations, the cumulative effect of this cluster of proverbs challenges the adequacy of our own outlook as it encourages us to “walk a mile in another’s shoes.” They also prod readers with truths held in tension. While holding up the virtues of work and its rewards of wealth, these sayings also warn us away from a simple, one-sided view of life that equates wealth and virtue. They also warn us about pride and pretense, the first steps toward the greater dangers of violence and injustice.
(3) We have noted a twofold aspect to the discipline set out in Proverbs 13. Readers are told to learn discipline for themselves and offer instruction to others. In the same way, those who walk with the wise are rewarded with good things and leave good things to others. Material goods are not separated from matters of wisdom and virtue; rather, they are united. If it is a mistake to equate wealth and virtue, it is also misguided to separate them so that the wealthy are not included among the righteous. If things were that simple, there would not be the need for so many proverbs! As it is, the collection of proverbs urges readers to leave not a hoard but a legacy, for it is the combination of wealth and wisdom that endures (13:23).
An ancient version of “you can’t take it with you” can be found in Psalm 49, in which the singer claims to “speak words of wisdom” and “give understanding” in proverb and riddle (Ps. 49:3–4). The psalm asks why it is that we become afraid when people boast of their wealth and riches, since no one can buy their way out of death (49:5–12), “the fate of those who trust in themselves” (49:13). The psalmist, however, trusts in God, who will redeem life from the grave and take the singer to himself (49:15). This, he says, is understanding; those without it are like the beasts that perish (49:20; cf. v. 12).
Put another way, Psalm 49 agrees with Proverbs that while circumstances around us may be complicated and hard to read, the choice before us is more simple than we think. The way we live reveals whether or not we have placed our futures in God’s hands. A life spent focused on accumulation shows that we trust in our own powers to build a hedge against whatever may come—folly indeed! Likewise, it is folly to think that we can leave that kind of security to our children if we name them in our wills but fail to pass on wisdom, which allows them to “eat to their heart’s content” (Prov. 13:25).
It is not easy to prescribe a course of action based on these principles, because not everyone has great material possessions to leave and not everyone has descendants to leave it to, but everyone can think of those who can benefit from our giving. “Longing fulfilled” can be sweet for others as well as ourselves, and we can become the means by which they are fulfilled—sweetness indeed. The efforts of some may be focused on matters of food, shelter, and economic opportunity; others may focus on teaching and counsel, but each is a part of the church that as a corporate body seeks to leave its legacy of disciplined desire.