Proverbs 12
Big idea: A run weighted toward two things: whether a person can be told anything, and what their hands actually do. It opens with the bluntest word in the collection — he who hates reproof is stupid — and it contains the line most readers remember from this stretch, about a kind word lifting a weighed-down heart. As everywhere in Solomon's collection, the couplets are independent; the recurrence is the editors' arrangement, not an argument.
Chapter 12 is a run about correction, speech and work. Chapter 13 is another from the same collection, turning toward wealth, discipline and hope deferred.
12:1–14 — Whoever loves correction
Fourteen couplets on being correctable and on doing real work. The opening line sets the book's sharpest test — not whether you are clever, but whether you can be told — and the run keeps returning to the gap between a reputation and a harvest. Verse 9 is the surprise: the book prefers obscurity with means to standing with an empty table.
1 Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. 2 A good man shall obtain favor from Yahweh, but he will condemn a man of wicked plans. 3 A man shall not be established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. 4 A worthy woman is the crown of her husband, but a disgraceful wife is as rottenness in his bones. 5 The thoughts of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. 6 The words of the wicked are about lying in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them. 7 The wicked are overthrown, and are no more, but the house of the righteous shall stand. 8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom, but he who has a warped mind shall be despised. 9 Better is he who is little known, and has a servant, than he who honors himself and lacks bread. 10 A righteous man respects the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 11 He who tills his land shall have plenty of bread, but he who chases fantasies is void of understanding. 12 The wicked desires the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes. 13 An evil man is trapped by sinfulness of lips, but the righteous shall come out of trouble. 14 A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. The work of a man’s hands shall be rewarded to him.
12:15–28 — A kind word makes it glad
Fourteen couplets in which the tongue is treated as an instrument that either wounds or heals, and the difference is usually timing. Verse 16 names the fool's tell — he shows his annoyance the same day — and verse 25 gives the run its best known line. The other thread is work that gets finished, ending on the sluggard who hunts and then cannot be bothered to cook what he caught.
15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who is wise listens to counsel. 16 A fool shows his annoyance the same day, but one who overlooks an insult is prudent. 17 He who is truthful testifies honestly, but a false witness lies. 18 There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals. 19 Truth’s lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only momentary. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but joy comes to the promoters of peace. 21 No mischief shall happen to the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil. 22 Lying lips are an abomination to Yahweh, but those who do the truth are his delight. 23 A prudent man keeps his knowledge, but the hearts of fools proclaim foolishness. 24 The hands of the diligent ones shall rule, but laziness ends in slave labor. 25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a kind word makes it glad. 26 A righteous person is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. 27 The slothful man doesn’t roast his game, but the possessions of diligent men are prized. 28 In the way of righteousness is life; in its path there is no death.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).