Original Meaning
THEMES OF DISCERNING intentions and reading the behaviors of others weave throughout this collection of proverbs that includes six Yahweh sayings (20:10, 12, 22–24, 27), four royal sayings (20:2, 8, 26, 28), and two versions of the proverb about differing weights and measures (20:10, 23).1 These reflections go beyond the practical skills of living life to pondering its mysteries. Readers will observe that more and more proverbs read like a riddle—teasing, provoking, and stimulating thought.
Foolish behaviors of brawling and loafing (20:1–4)
Discerning hidden intentions through behavior (20:5–9)
Seeing as Yahweh sees (20:10–12)
Business practices, foolish and wise (20:13–17)
Counsel, not cursing (20:18–21)
Judgment, divine and human (20:22–30)2
Foolish Behaviors of Brawling and Loafing (20:1–4)
THE WORD “MOCKER” links 20:1 with 19:25–29. It also functions as a hook-and-eye link between that section on acquiring wisdom and this section on demonstrating wisdom.
20:1. Just as the last five proverbs of chapter 19 describe the trouble caused by a human mocker, so here wine is personified as a mocker, perhaps to compare it to the one who will not learn (19:25–27), who laughs at justice only to receive just penalties (19:28–29). More important, those who are “not wise” are “led astray” (šgh) by this mocker, just as the one who stops listening to instruction “will stray [šgh] from the words of knowledge” (19:27; cf. 5:19, 20, 23; 28:10). The use of šgh suggests that to stagger from drink is to err both in one’s steps and one’s judgment (Isa. 28:7). The “brawler” (homeh) is loud and noisy, like the foolish women of Proverbs 7:11 and 9:13. This proverb recognizes that alcohol can impair one’s judgment (cf. 21:17; 23:29–35; 31:4–5) and therefore compares it to two figures known to be a negative influence.
20:2. Continuing the association of noise and danger from the previous verse, the king’s wrath is here likened to a lion’s roar. The wise take warning, but fools provoke it and pay with their lives (lit., “sins against his soul,” ḥoṭeh napšo; cf. 19:2). The first line is nearly identical to 19:12, except for the word “wrath” in place of “rage.” The earlier verse added a word about the king’s favor as life-giving dew, whereas here the threat of death is made explicit.
20:3. Juxtaposed with the warning about provoking kings is a more general warning against quarreling in any form, a reverse of the sequence in 19:11–12. The contrast between the person who is careful to avoid an argument and the one quick to find it reminds the reader that character has its tendencies or typical behaviors. “Honor” (kabod, “glory, reputation”; cf. 3:35; 11:16; 15:33; 18:12; 25:27; 26:1, 8; 29:23) comes to the one who keeps clear of quarrels but not to the fool. Implied is the wisdom of the one and the shame of the other (17:14, 19; 18:1). The bite of the saying may be that those who quarrel will not gain the respect they fight for but will actually lose standing in the community.
20:4. As in 19:11–13, the two antitheses of wisdom are quarreling and laziness. “In season” is the time after the fall rains when one plows and sows seed for next year’s harvest. The comic example of the sluggard who makes no preparation but still looks for a result recommends both foresight and industry (cf. 6:8). Coming after 20:3, it may also recommend shifting one’s energies away from conflict and toward something more productive.
Discerning Hidden Intentions Through Behavior (20:5–9)
THESE PROVERBS OBSERVE that behavior reveals character and intentions, yet discernment in such matters is not easy; it requires skill and understanding.
20:5. This proverb itself, like deep water, is difficult to fathom. Like water from the bottom of the well, human “purposes” (ʿeṣab, “counsel”; cf. 8:14; 19:20; 21:30) can be drawn out if one has the proper equipment—in this case, “understanding.” Similar to the proverb in 18:4, this comparison is between the hidden recesses of the human heart (ʿeṣab, cf. Isa. 29:15) and wisdom’s access to them. The saying is probably a paradigmatic teaser, introducing those that follow on the intention of the heart (esp. Prov. 20:9).
20:6. This proverb on faithfulness recalls the friendship themes of the previous chapter (19:4, 6–7, 22). “Unfailing love” (ḥesed) in the first line and “faithful” (ʾemunim) in the second use terms for human loyalty that are often associated with Yahweh, but the point here is that few among us live up to that standard. “Who can find” testifies that such friends are rare (cf. 31:10; cf. Job 6:14). Read along with Proverbs 20:5, this proverb suggests that careless or deceptive speech cannot hide its purposes for long.
20:7. The counterpart to the previous verse, the saying assures readers that whoever walks in integrity (19:1; 28:6) is called a ṣaddiq (“righteous one”); blessed are the descendants who share in the honor. Here is a legacy or inheritance one cannot sell, buy, or lose (cf. 10:7; 13:22; 17:2). “Children” can also be the beneficiaries of a parent’s faith (14:26).
20:8. Another royal saying (cf. 20:2, 26, 28), this one depicts the king as a judge. In the ancient world it was assumed that royal decisions required wisdom sent from the king’s god (cf. Ps. 72).3 Three images serve as symbols of this judgment: the throne (Prov. 16:12; 20:28; 25:5; 29:14), the threshing floor, and the eyes that see and perceive rightly. “To judge” (din; cf. Gen. 30:6; Deut. 17:8) corresponds with “winnows,” a picture of sorting out wheat and chaff (Prov. 20:26; cf. Ps. 1:4–6), but this verb can also mean to scatter, as if the king were throwing evil away. Unlike the righteousness that shows itself to the public (cf. Prov. 20:7), evil is often more furtive, sometimes even posing as righteousness, and therefore it must be found out. The king’s work of discernment is akin to that of Yahweh, who judges in righteousness to vindicate the righteous and the poor (29:7; 31:5, 8; cf. Ps. 7:8; 9:4; 140:12; Isa. 3:13).
20:9. More than a statement that all humans sin, the rhetorical question asks who can find someone who has been cleaned and purified from sin (meḥaṭṭaʾti, “from my sin”), with the implied answer that such people are rare (cf. 20:6). The point is not so much that there are people who claim to be without sin (1 John 1:6; cf. “pure” in Prov. 16:2; “right” in 21:2), but that there are more people who claim to have dealt with it than really have. The proverb is a statement of personal accountability, suggesting that the righteous do not need to have the king find them out (20:7–8) but will root out unrighteous behavior for themselves.
Seeing As Yahweh Sees (20:10–12)
THIS TRIO SETS a puzzling proverb about children between two others about seeing the way Yahweh sees.
20:10. In the midst of sayings on the shadiness of the human mind and heart comes this saying that puts things in the clear duality of the proverbs. The point is set in two pairs, (lit.) “a stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah.” In other words, there are measures, and then there are measures, only one of which is true (cf. Lev. 19:35–36; Deut. 25:13). If the wicked are winnowed out like chaff (Prov. 20:8), then false measures are also rejected as an abomination (toʿabah; cf. 20:23) to Yahweh, who sees and knows the difference.4
20:11. Interpretation of this verse is troubled by translation problems. The first line could read, “Even by his actions a young man deceives,” but the NIV should be followed as more true to common experience.5 The theme of pure and right character in 20:9 continues into this saying, the question being how a person’s character is recognized. The “child” (naʿar, 7:7; 22:15) is most likely the young man who does not fare well in this book. While some take the proverb to mean that a person’s character is revealed in early childhood or adolescence and that this makes a case for careful teaching (true as each thought may be), the point is that whether old or young, actions reveal character to those who have learned the wise art of discernment.
20:12. The figure of “ears that hear, eyes that see” is used throughout the Old and New Testaments to signify careful attention and discernment, just as Jesus said, “If any have ears to hear, let them hear.” The form of this proverb is similar to 20:10. The duality of ears and eyes is similar to stone and ephah; the second line repeats the name of Yahweh together with the phrase “both of them” (gam-šenehem). Whereas differing weights are abomination to God, he made eyes and ears to perceive and understand, and he is pleased when they do. The opposite may be seen not so much in blindness as in the eyes closed in sleep (20:13), a figure for the refusal to acquire wisdom.
Business Practices, Foolish and Wise (20:13–17)
FOUR PROVERBS ON business practices restate the values of hard work, honesty, wise speaking, and careful dealing that have appeared throughout the book, especially in proverbs about laziness and pledges.
20:13. The contrast as translated by the NIV communicates the point but loses some of the flavor; the one who sleeps could become dispossessed or lose the inheritance (yaraš; cf. 23:21; 30:9), and readers know that the sleeping son is shameful (10:5; 19:15). The second line can be translated, “open your eyes and be satisfied with bread,” the word “eyes” linking the proverb with 20:12. Perhaps another wise use of the eyes is in mind here rather than simply staying awake, for the cultivation of discernment is both a form of diligence and a key to success.6
20:14. The saying raises the question: Can there be disinterested communication? Can one speak for reasons other than gain? The proverb answers the question with words similar to the differing sets of weights in 20:10; here there are two kinds of speaking, one for negotiating and one for boasting. The goods are weighed by differing standards depending on whether one is a buyer or an owner. Perhaps the saying implies that both the depreciation and the boasting are exaggerated. Thus, the saying relates to others on the theme of not taking words at face value (20:6, 9).7
20:15. Coming on the heels of verse 14, the “rare jewel” (keli yeqar; cf. Isa. 61:10) of “lips that speak knowledge” suggests that there is a more profitable way of speaking than haggling and boasting. Is there disinterested speech? Yes, but it is rare (cf. Prov. 24:4; Jer. 15:19). “Abundance of rubies” shows that compared with knowledgeable lips, even precious rubies are plentiful (Prov. 3:15; 8:11; 20:15; 31:10), perhaps a connection with “food to spare” in verse 13. The proverb asks, What do we value the most?
20:16. The proverbs consistently disapprove of making pledges (6:1; 11:15; 17:18; 22:26–27; 27:13), perhaps because of the possibility of sharp dealing and other forms of evil (Ex. 22:25–26; Amos 2:8). The saying may be a parody on the teaching of Deuteronomy 24:10–13, 17, that one should not take another’s garment in security or at the least should give it back on a cold night. Ironically, one who makes an unwise pledge may well have given his shirt, for he will surely lose it (cf. Prov. 22:27).8 The “wayward woman” of the second line is translated in harmony with the nearly identical 27:13. This line can also be read, “Seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.”
20:17. “Sweet to a man, the bread of falsehood” translates the proverb woodenly, but it also reminds the reader of Woman Folly’s promise of stolen water and bread eaten in secret (9:17), particularly coming after terms similar to the names of the “stranger” and “wayward woman” in verse 16 (cf. zarah and nokriyyah in 5:20). One expects the stomach to be filled with gravel, not the mouth, but it is fitting that false speech fills the mouth that produces it with dirt and stone. “Sweet” (ʿareb) links this proverb with the “security” (ʿarab) of verse 16 (cf. “avoid,” loʾ titʿarab in 20:19).
Counsel, Not Cursing (20:18–21)
THE PROVERBS OF this cluster contrast the wisdom of seeking advice for careful planning with sins of speech that betray trust and dishonor families.
20:18. The story of Hushai and Ahithophel proves that wars are won (and lost) by strategy, not strength (2 Sam. 15:32–37; 16:15–17:23). The terms for external wisdom and counsel have been recommended before: ʿeṣab (Prov. 1:25, 30; 8:14; 12:15; 19:20–21; cf. 21:30) and taḥbulot (1:5; 11:14). Both terms appear in 24:6: “For waging war you need guidance (taḥbulot), and for victory many advisers” (ʿeṣab). While not every ancient reader would be in the position to wage war, the principle of seeking counsel goes well with the general theme of not knowing another’s motives or even one’s own (cf. 20:5). Here the emphasis is on not knowing all the details or possible outcomes of a situation; for that reason one should seek out advice, practical and ethical, from one who speaks words of knowledge (20:15).
20:19. Read next to verse 18, this proverb suggests that one should seek guidance, not gossip. Therefore, it says to treasure the friend who gives sage advice instead of the latest dirt, who helps you think through your plans and does not reveal them to others. The practical wisdom of this observation teaches that if you hear a confidence, someone else will probably hear yours.9
20:20. Here is another description of damaging speech (20:3, 6, 9, 14, 16, 17, 19), but unlike the previous proverb on gossip, this saying concludes with a metaphor instead of an imperative. The extinguished “lamp” can refer to the light that goes out when it is most needed, but it may be a metaphor for losing one’s life. The shameful son has appeared throughout the book (see esp. 19:26), but according to the Mosaic law, the man who curses parents deserves the death penalty (Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9). The metaphor leaves it for the reader to decide whether a real execution is intended (cf. Prov. 13:9). The Hebrew for “pitch darkness” appears as “dark of night” in 7:9, where danger comes to the one who did not take his parents’ advice (cf. 20:18).
20:21. This proverb is linked to the one before by the theme of family and estate, for a disgraceful son is tempted to take a shortcut to the inheritance (cf. 17:2). There is some difficulty with “quickly gained” since the marginal note in the Hebrew text (the qere), “gotten by greed,” makes more sense than the text itself (ketib) for this rare word.10 Whether the inheritance is gained quickly or greedily, the point of the proverb is that inappropriate behavior at the start cannot lead to blessing, divine or human, at the end (cf. 20:17). Choices have predictable outcomes.
Judgment, Divine and Human (20:22–30)
FOUR OF THE six Yahweh proverbs of this chapter are set in this cluster around the theme of judgment and discernment, again with a focus on the king who winnows out the wicked (20:26; cf. 20:8).
20:22. The first of a trio of Yahweh sayings11 comes after the list of wrongs in 20:10–21, particularly the mention of “the end” in verse 21. One expects Yahweh to repay evil, but instead he “delivers” (yošaʿ, “saves”) the one who hopes in him. Common to crime and the desire to avenge it is the illusion that humans are masters of their way, exercising complete control and free of moral constraints. When injured, we are tempted to act every bit as unlawfully in response—“See how you like it!” Just as wisdom teaches us to hold back our words in general, here words of vengeance are warned against specifically.12 In their place, the proverb recommends patience for those who have been wronged.
20:23. A variation on 20:10 (cf. 11:1), the Hebrew of this proverb sets the word “detests” (toʿabah, “abomination”) first. The repetition of the differing weight stones may signal that all the evil acts listed after verse 10 have not gone unnoticed, for Yahweh’s displeasure is repeated as well. Typically, the word for “dishonest” is used for intentions and speech (mirmah; e.g., 12:5, 17, 20).
20:24. This second in a pair of Yahweh sayings also presents a variation on a theme treated in earlier chapters, that humans plan their way but Yahweh directs the steps (16:9). As in 20:23, it begins with a truth about Yahweh as the background against which another statement will take shape. If human steps are directed by Yahweh, then how can we understand our own way? The simple and implied answer is to get wisdom from Yahweh. If verse 23 suggests that humans are under moral obligations and constraints, verse 24 sets limits on both human power and human understanding. The juxtaposition of human plans and intentions with God’s sovereign action in human affairs is not meant to discourage planning or activity but rather to guide it. The wise do well to seek counsel about this plan (20:18), listening instead of making rash or hurtful statements (20:19–20).
20:25. The metaphor of the trap should register with anyone who has made a promise, only later to wish he or she had been more careful. The proverb literally reads, “A snare to one who declares holiness, and only after making vows, considers it.” The rash declaration that something is holy to Yahweh reminds readers of Jephthah’s costly “vow” (neder, Judg. 11:30–40), which demonstrates that words can become a “trap” (moqeš, cf. 12:13; 18:7).
20:26. Like 20:8, this royal saying ascribes the power to “winnow out the wicked” to the king. The “threshing wheel” was used to crush husks of grain so that the pitchfork could toss up the chaff to be blown away. The metaphor carries elements of judgment and repayment, just as kings in the ancient Near East were often depicted as driving their chariots over their enemies. Yet this king is not called mighty but “wise,” hinting at his powers of discernment. To “winnow” is also to scatter the chaff to the winds; just as Yahweh scattered the people of Israel in exile (Jer. 31:10), so this wisdom is also power.
20:27. The association of the king’s discernment and judgment seen in the previous verse continues here; just as the king winnows out wicked, so Yahweh searches out the inner regions, seeking wickedness to drive it out. The image of God’s light searching human interior spaces fits in well with neighboring proverbs on the interior life (20:5–6, 8–9, 26) and the sages’ fascination with the effect of that inner life on human behavior (20:24–25).
The NIV text note indicates that the first line phrase is not easy to decipher (lit., “lamp of the LORD, breath/spirit of the human”). The question is whether the lamp searches the spirit (NIV) or is to be identified with it (NIV text note). Most commentators take the latter approach: “The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD.”13 That our inmost secret places are not hidden from Yahweh is never disputed (15:11; 16:2; 17:3; 18:8; 21:2), and some liken the breath that fills our bodies to the lamp that lights dark chambers.14
A second question follows: Is the lamp a symbol for God’s knowledge of us or for our own self-knowledge and conscience, or for both?15 The key in my view is the link between that which is hidden in deep waters (20:5) and dark rooms (20:27; cf. Jer. 17:10). Wisdom allows a person to do what the lamp does—to reveal what is hidden.16 The reappearance of “inmost being” in Proverbs 20:30 suggests that while blows will purge evil, the discernment of wisdom can accomplish the same through teaching and self-correction.
20:28. The famous pair of “love and faithfulness” (ḥesed and ʾemet), split up in 20:6, is reunited here. If the former saying took a pessimistic look at the human capacity for love and faithfulness, here the sages observe that kings depend on them for security. It is not clear whose love and faithfulness bring this security, but more likely the primary reference is to the king’s character, with perhaps a secondary reference to the faithfulness of the court and citizenry. The pair of love and faithfulness is often used to describe God, and its use here may imply another source of support. The overlap of king and Yahweh is prominent in both this chapter and larger subsection of 20:16–22. The same throne that winnows out evil (20:8) is protected by love.
20:29. Time offers every young person an exchange; if strength is spent wisely, the return is a long life, symbolized by the gray (lit., “hoary”; cf. 16:31) head. Does the saying encourage old and young alike to take a look at the glory of the other? Just as a great king is kept safe by love and faithfulness, so wisdom grants every person a measure of glory.
20:30. Even as Yahweh’s lamp searches out the “inmost being” (ḥadre—beṭen, “the inner chambers of belly”; cf. 20:27), so blows and beatings purge the “inmost being” of evil. The juxtaposition of discernment and judgment that runs throughout the chapter (see 20:8, 26) suggests that one can either acquire the capacity for discernment to discipline self or fail to learn discernment and suffer the discipline of another who has. Translators are not certain about the one verb in this saying, which may mean simply “to rub.”17
Bridging Contexts
THE MANY DOUBLED proverbs and images of this chapter suggest that a clue for reading can be found by attending to the repetition. So we observe that two pairs of royal proverbs (20:2 and 8; 20:26 and 28) frame two clusters of Yahweh proverbs (20:10 and 12; 20:22–24 and 27), with a list of speech sins running throughout and gathering at the center: quarrels (20:3), self-deception (20:9), sharp bargaining (20:14), unwise pledges (20:16), falsehood (20:17), tale-bearing (20:19), cursing (20:20), threat (20:22), and rash vows (20:25). We also notice that there are two proverbs about the king’s winnowing (20:8, 26), two on Yahweh’s hatred for false weights and measures (20:10, 23), and two on the sluggard who goes without food (20:4, 13).18 Therefore we will look at Yahweh’s work of watching and searching, the king’s work of winnowing, and the failure to work by sluggards of all kinds, especially those who do not discipline their speech.
Yahweh’s work of watching and searching. The Yahweh proverbs of this chapter (and the next, 21:1–3) reassure the reader that God watches, searches, and knows when weights are different and knows when hearts are not in line with his purposes. Moreover, he will deliver those who reject revenge in favor of waiting and trust (20:22); yet, in ways that are mysterious and difficult to understand, a person’s steps are “from the LORD” (meyehwah, 20:24; cf. 16:1–4; 19:21). Extending the teaching of earlier chapters that God’s purposes will stand and not be thwarted, the sayings of this chapter add new insight into Yahweh’s examination of human purposes. Recognizing that many boast of faithfulness and purity (20:6, 9), these proverbs suggest that God knows our own hearts better than we do. For that reason the guidance of his gift of wisdom is indispensable (20:24).
The king’s work of winnowing. Like Yahweh, the wise king also judges, winnowing out evil with his eyes and winnowing out the wicked with a threshing wheel (20:8, 26). That king’s wrath is like a lion’s deadly roar, yet love and faithfulness make the throne secure—perhaps a sign that the righteous king’s purposes will also be established. This portrait of the king suggests that he is a man of understanding who can draw out the purposes and intentions of persons from the deep well of human hearts (20:5). Behavior is a good indicator of character, but the discerning person is also able to see through boastful and deceptive speech, even as Yahweh knows when someone is carrying two sets of weights.
Moreover, lips that speak knowledge, though rarer than gold and rubies, are worth more than both (20:15), suggesting that this discernment is not only good for protection against evil but also for speaking and teaching the wisdom of the right way, perhaps in the form of counsel and advice (20:18). Once again, the royal proverbs show that the king is the human model of Yahweh’s intention to establish righteousness, justice, and equity on the earth (cf. ch. 16). While the responsibilities of the king to enact these characteristics of the good society apply to political leaders today, we have noted before that they also are important for anyone who carries responsibility for leadership.
On sluggards. The pair of proverbs on the sluggard hints at his failure to use the eyes that God gave him (20:12), for he would have food to spare if he kept his eyes open instead of sleeping (20:13). Instead, he fails to plow and looks for a harvest that never materializes (20:4). Contrasted with the wise king who winnows evil with his eyes, the symbolism suggests that the foolish sluggard has neglected to learn the art of discernment and therefore cannot even take care of himself, let alone others. If the wise king ensures that justice prevails, the sluggard’s inattention does nothing to prevent the social disorder depicted at the chapter’s center. Unwise pledges, fraudulent gain, gossip, cursing, threats, and rash vows are all signs of two kinds of failure: the lack of self-understanding and discipline (20:6, 9, 27) and the failure to restrain others from doing harm with their words and actions (20:8, 26, 30).
The proverbs of chapter 20 together suggest that if we will not allow the lamp of Yahweh to search our inner being and drive out the darkness of sin, more extreme forms of external discipline are required. Put another way, the symbolism of this chapter’s collection of proverbs sets out both internal self-discipline and the external discipline of law and judgment. The first is always preferred, but experience told the sages that both are necessary.
However, the speaker in Psalm 1 was not sad that the law had been given; rather, he celebrated it as a resource for meditation. The one who meditates on the law of Yahweh will not be led astray by mockers of any sort, human or alcoholic (Ps. 1:1; cf. Prov. 20:1). That person will stand in the judgment, the assembly of the righteous, while the wicked will be blown away like winnowed chaff (Ps. 1:4; cf. Prov. 20:8, 26). The psalmist is a person who knows that Yahweh watches and that wickedness will perish (Ps. 1:6; cf. Prov. 20:27). Therefore, rather than being led astray by strong drink, the wise will choose to be led in the way of the righteous.
Contemporary Significance
POWER AND WISDOM. The sayings in the chapter touch on drunkenness, brawling, laziness, and cheating, which to our ears may sound more like country music or a cowboy movie than holy Scripture! It may be intentional that two of these proverbs speak of honor and glory (the honor of avoiding strife in 20:3 and the glory of youthful strength juxtaposed with the splendor of gray hair in 20:29). Both recommend the life of wisdom that rejects the foolish, greedy, and shortsighted behaviors that make up so much of this chapter’s collection of pictures. Strength may be the glory of youth, but it is the wisdom symbolized by the gray head that leads both young and old away from the deception that we can do whatever we want, “because we can.”
There may be something about the unwarranted boast of power in the many negative speech acts listed in this chapter: “Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back’ ” (20:22) reminds the reader of Lamech’s boast (Gen. 4:23–24) and the warning of James against boasting of tomorrow’s deeds (James 4:13–17). Jesus warned against oaths, telling his listeners that “you cannot make even one hair white or black” (Matt. 5:36; cf. James 5:12). The Yahweh proverbs in particular carry a message about the folly of assuming that our limited power allows us to act in ways that have no limits. In other words, because our powers over the future are set within limits, our behavior must also find its way within a set of limits, moral guidelines that teach us to not act as though we believe we have power over one another. The idolatry of sin is imagining we have ultimate authority to make our own way and therefore to exercise ultimate authority over our behavior, becoming a law unto ourselves. It begins in boasting when our talk is bigger than the strength we actually have.
Marva Dawn and Eugene Peterson express their concern for such an unrealistic sense of effectiveness in The Unnecessary Pastor, using the word “unnecessary” to challenge what the culture, we ourselves, and our congregations often presume is most important for pastoral ministry: leading, managing, and getting things accomplished. Part of the problem, they observe, is a confusion between two kinds of language: scientia, words that describe an abstract reality, usually to exercise power over it, and sapientia, words that enter into reality, experiencing and expressing it in relationship with it, interacting with reality rather than pushing it into submission. It is the language of relationship, the difference between science and wisdom. The former depersonalizes knowledge, the latter makes it personal. The view we choose about knowledge determines our attitude toward it; we can look at knowledge as information or knowledge as wisdom.19
The view we take of knowledge will ultimately write our job descriptions. If, in our ministries, we believe that it is most important to achieve a growing membership roster, an increase in program development with its accompanying budget, we may be doing the right things for the kingdom but for the wrong reasons, and we may be missing opportunities to address the misunderstandings of power and effectiveness that the sages worked so hard to correct. But if in our many activities we are also teaching people the difference between success and faithfulness, the difference between self-deception and self-awareness, and most important the difference between lips that speak knowledge (20:15) and lips that boast, curse, and defraud (20:6, 9, 14, 17, 19, 20), seeking to make the difference known in our lives, then by God’s grace, we may find our steps directed by the Lord and, as a result, understand our way (20:24). Here is one way we can allow the lamp of Yahweh to search our inmost being.
Self-examination. The proverbs about the king’s winnowing eye can also alert us to the need to examine motives and root out boasting and other forms of self-deception (20:8, 26). The capacities of the human heart in this regard are astounding. The church needs ministers and leaders who are good at smelling the proverbial rat but who also make themselves available to offer positive advice and counsel (20:18) to those who will seek it. Put simply, we need one another, not only to offer insight and fresh perspective on our plans but also to tell us when we are kidding ourselves, especially if we seek justifications for our sins.
As an extreme example of the human tendency to hide from the truth, we might consider the films of Errol Morris. In The Thin Blue Line, a murderer talks about his wild behavior as a young man: “I wasn’t doing nothing but hurting myself.” Morris calls the moment “one of the most ironic lines I’ve ever put on film, and people never comment on it. . . . Whenever I hear the line, I think, ‘Not quite. . . . [You’ve hurt] others as well.’ This moment of self-knowledge seems to be a moment of self-deception.” A later film, Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr., recounts Leuchter’s efforts to prove that the gas chambers at Auschwitz were not used for executions; his report is often cited by those who deny that a Jewish holocaust took place.20
Again, the church and its leaders do their job when they teach the importance of self-examination and confession and when they risk stating the obvious by declaring some behaviors right and others wrong. So, for example, someone might hear the proverb that food gained by fraud only tastes sweet for a while (20:17) and wonder who wouldn’t know that already, yet pastors and other counselors of the church can testify that embezzlements and extramarital affairs are only some of the forms that self-deception takes. Remembering that the king winnows out the wicked, we can appropriate its example, not to eliminate all sinners from the church but to use the discipline of the church to redeem and restore those who might otherwise be lost. Teaching can be preventative, but it can also be corrective.
Diligence and discipline. Finally, the example of the sluggard can be a motivation toward diligence and discipline in general, but especially toward the development of discernment of our own spirits. If the proverbs of this chapter recommend openness to the searching lamp of Yahweh and the wise and discerning counsel of others, they also urge believers to “understand [their] own way” (20:24), as difficult as it may be. Perhaps the best way to practice wise speaking is to learn to speak truth to ourselves, praying for eyes that see and asking that we become aware of the dark areas in our inner being.
This may be what Jesus had in mind when he called the eye the “lamp of the body,” reminding us to be sure that our eye is good, so the body will be full of light (Matt. 6:22–23). Daily prayer for self-understanding need not be a sign of self-hatred or despair but a mark of growing perception of grace, as the famous hymn testifies, “Once I was blind, but now I can see.”
The proverbs of this chapter are, like the purposes of the heart, deep waters, difficult to fathom (Prov. 20:5). Their reflections go beyond teaching the practical skills of life to pondering its mysteries, optimistic that what is dark can become a little more light and the unknown can indeed become known, if only in part. As they urge their readers to meditate on the wonders of God’s work within human society as well as the human heart, they also help us become less of a mystery to ourselves.