Reading for November 7th

 Read Proverbs 17.1-28. In verse 2: Wisdom surmounts natural boundaries and limits. Slaves of the time could enter a great household and their conduct, if prudent and trustworthy, would win everyone's respect. A perversely foolish child could lose out to such wise servants. In verse 8: A neutral observation on money. A bribe can seem like a magic stone since it opens doors hitherto closed. In verse 9: A paradox: One finds friendship if one loses or hides (forgives) an affront, and loses (alienates) a friend if one finds or makes public (dwells on) disputes. Friendship has a price-being with the faults of the other. In verse 13: Paradoxically, evil stays in the house of anyone who tries to inflict it on others. In verse 19; Whoever loves an offense in the sense of dwelling on it is equivalently asking for a quarrel in the same way that any one who builds an overly high threshold is asking for injury. Comments or Questions....

Reading for November 6th

 Read Proverbs 16.1-33. In verse 1: The heart (mind) is the organ of planning and the tongue is the organ of speaking and execution. It is not fully in the power of a human being to put plans into effect or control their course. In verse 16: Tradition declares wisdom more precocious than gold and silver (3.14; Job 28). Gold and silver can buy many things, but wisdom invites God to give the priceless gifts of long life, wealth, and honor. In verse 20: The saying declares that sucess and hapiness depend both on God and on our own efforts. It does not explore theological issues arising from such assertion. In verses 27-30: Sayings on three types of wicked people and their speech and demeanor. The first three verses begin with the Hebrew word "ish," translated "man" or   "individual." The second line of each saying states the particular damage a villain's words inflict on others. The final saying (v. 30) sketches the facial mannerisms common to all malefactors; compare 6.12-15. In verse 33: A lot, similar to dice in giving varying results when thrown, was given a designation "yes" and "no" and cast for its answer. See 1 Sam 10.16-26; Num 26.55; Josh 14.2. The answer was believed to be from God. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 5th

 Read Proverbs 15.1-33. In verse 1: In responding to angry people, one might be tempted to use harsh and violent language. The verse states the paradox that when one responds to angry people, soft is strong and harsh is weak. In verse 14: Heart (mind) and mouth are often contrasted as the organ of storage-reflection (mind) and the organ of expression (mouth). Here, the wise use their minds to seek even more knowledge, whereas fools use their mouth only to feed more folly. In verse 26: Abomination, originally a ritual term for unacceptable offering, is here used metaphorically. Pure is this usage means acceptable to God. In verse 33: As one must first be low (humility) in order to be raised up (honor), so fear of the Lord comes before wisdom. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 4th

 Read Proverbs 14.1-35. In verse 5: How to assess a witness in court is a common concern of the book (6.19; 12.17; 19.28). The best criterion is the character of the witness: How does the person ordinarily act? In verse 13: As observed in v. 10, external behavior does not always mirror internal thought and feeling. People are too complex to be known completely from their actions. In verse 28: The glory of a king is not absolute but depends, surprisingly, on the people he rules. A witty critique of royal power. In verse 30: Passion can also be rendered "jealousy." Inner calmness has a beneficial effect on health. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 3rd

 Read Proverbs 13.1-25. In verse 6: Righteousness and sin are personified as forces affecting those who commit themselves to them. Fundamental options determine one's course. In verse 24: The paradox is that one hates one's children by being tender with them and loves them by being strict, especially at an early age when children can readily change. What is criticized is indulging one's children. The paradoxical language cannot be invoked to justify harsh treatment of children or corporal punishment. proverbs often states the need of parental discipline: 19.18; 23.13-14; Sir 7.23; 30.1-13. Comments or Questions.

Reading for November 2nd

 Read Proverbs 12.1-28. In verse 1: Genuine wisdom is gained through conversation with the wise (discipline) and through being criticized (rebuked). To reject this educational process is to settle for an animal level of consciousness; the Hebrew word for stupid in the second line connotes brutish. In verse 14: Normally, one's mouth is sated from the fruit of the earth, but in this saying one is sated from the words of one's mouth. Words in proverbs are the prime instance of human activity. One will enjoy the benefits of one's conduct. Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 1st

 Read Proverbs 11.1-31. In verse 4: The day of wrath is any life-threatening disaster as in Job 21.30 and Ezek 7.19. In such mortal danger riches are of no use; value attaches only to that which assures ultimate protection-righteousness. In verse 9; The difference between impiety and righteousness is so great that what is expressed by the godless harms others, whereas what is not expressed (Knowledge here is what is stored in the heart) by the righteous benefits them. In verse 22: A humorous statement that wisdom is more important than beauty in evaluating a woman. Ear and nose rings were common adornments of women. The comparison to a pig seems to have been made on the basis of sound as well as humorous incongruity, for the consonant "z" predominates in the first line; "nezem zahab be'ap hazir," literally " a ring of god in the snout of a pig." In verse 27: The persistent quest for what is good is ultimately a quest that ends in gaining divine favor, perhaps human favor as well. In other words, to seek happiness, seek excellence. to seek evil ("ra'a"), on the other hand, means only that trouble ("ra'a") will seek one out. The same Hebrew word can mean "evil" and "trouble." Comments or Questions..