Blog Post
A H Harry Oussoren • Apr 20, 2020
Sophia Challenges Hubris
The decision to write and hand down to next generations the book of Proverbs is a sign that the Hebrew people too were beset by the problem of fellow humans – not least their leaders - who were dysfunctional and disobedient to the Torah [law] and unfaithful to God.
In our era, investigative news based on evidence and facts is dismissed by partisans, who too often undermine valid reporting as “fake news” or “false news”. The challenge of faithlessness is still extant . As a result, lies, half truths, self-interested opinions, and propaganda are peddled as authoritative and factual. Close to home and around the world, the malignant peddlers of lies, fear, hatred, bullying, abuse, and direct or indirect danger need to be challenged and held to account.
For such a time as this, the words of Sophia – the divine Wisdom - persists in calling all people to honour God and live truthfully, justly, and with integrity for the well-being of God’s one human family. “To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for Adonai [God]. Stupid people have no respect for wisdom and refuse to learn.”(1:7)
What follow is a contextually driven selection, of "… proverbs that will help you to recognize wisdom [Sophia] and good advice, and understand sayings with deep meaning. They can teach you how to live intelligently and how to be honest, just, and fair.”
(1:2f.)
Listen to what the Spirit is communicating to God’s entire human family so that we may all discern ways of faithfulness.
Chapter:Verse
12:2 The Lord is pleased with good people, but condemns those who plan evil.
12:5 Honest people will treat you fairly; the wicked want to deceive you.
12:6 The words of the wicked are murderous, but the words of the righteous rescue those who are threatened.
12:8 If you are intelligent, you will be praised; if you are stupid, people will look down on you.
12:12 What that wicked people want is to find evil things to do, but the righteous stand firm.
12:13 The wicked are trapped by their own words, but honest people get themselves out of trouble.
12:15 Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice.
12:17 When you tell the truth, justice is done; but lies lead to injustice.
12:20 Those who plan evil are in for a rude surprise; but those who work for good will find happiness.
12:22 [God] hates liars, but is pleased with those who keep their word.
12:23 Sensible people keep quiet about what they know, but stupid people advertise their ignorance.
12:28 Righteousness [justice] is the road to life; wickedness is the road to death.
13:1 A wise son pays attention when his father corrects him, but an arrogant person never admits he is wrong.
13:2 Good people will be rewarded for what they say, but those who are deceitful are hungry for violence.
13:5 Honest people hate lies, but the words of wicked people are shameful and disgraceful.
13:9 The righteous are like a light shining brightly; the wicked are like a lamp flickering out.
13:10 Arrogance causes nothing but trouble. It is wiser to ask for advice.
13:13 If you refuse good advice, you are asking for trouble; follow it and you are safe.
14:2 Be honest and you show that you have reverence for [God]; be dishonest and you show that you do not.
14:3 Proud fools talk too much; the words of the wise protect them.
14:5 A reliable witness always tells the truth, but an unreliable one tells nothing but lies.
14:6 Conceited people can never become wise, but intelligent people learn easily.
14:7 Stay away from foolish people; they have nothing to teach you.
14:8 Why is a clever person wise? Because he knows what to do. Why is a stupid person foolish? Because he only thinks he knows.
14:9 Foolish people don’t care if they sin, but good people want to be forgiven.
14:11 A good person’s house will still be standing after an evildoer’s house has been destroyed.
14:15 A fool will believe anything; sensible people watch their step.
14:17 People with a hot temper do foolish things; wiser people remain calm.
14:18 Ignorant people get what their foolishness deserves, but the clever are rewarded with knowledge.
14:19 Evil people will have to bow down to the righteous and humbly beg their favour.
14:21 If you want to be happy, be kind to the poor; it is a sin to despise anyone.
14:26 A witness saves lives when he tells the truth; when he tells lies, he betrays people.
14:29 If you stay calm, you are wise; but if you have a hot temper, you only show how stupid you are.
14:31 If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.
14:32 Wicked people bring about their own downfall by their evil deeds, but good people are protected by their integrity.
14:33 Wisdom is in every thought of intelligent people; fools know nothing about wisdom.
14:34 Righteousness makes a nation great; sin is a disgrace to any nation.
15:7 Knowledge is spread by people who are wise, not by fools.
15:9 [God] hates the ways of evil people, but loves those who do what is right.
15:12 Conceited people do not like to be corrected; they never ask for advice from those who are wiser.
15:14 Intelligent people want to learn, but stupid people are satisfied with ignorance.
15:21 Stupid people are happy with their foolishness, but the wise will do what is right.
15:24 Wise people walk the road that leads upwards to life, not the road that leads downwards to death.
15:26 [God] hates evil thoughts, but is pleased with friendly words.
15:27 If you try to make a profit dishonestly, you will get your family into trouble. Don’t take bribes and you will live longer.
15:29 When good people pray, [God] listens, but ignores those who are evil.
15:31 If you pay attention when you are corrected, you are wise.
15:33 Reverence for [God] is an education in itself. You must be humble before you can ever receive honours.
16:2 You may think everything you do is right, but [God] judges your motives.
16:4 Everything [God] has made has its destiny; and the destiny of the wicked is destruction.
16:5 [God] hates everyone who is arrogant and never lets them escape punishment.
16:8 It is better to have a little, honestly earned, than to have a large income gained dishonestly.
16:18 Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.
16:19 It is better to be humble and stay poor than to be one of the arrogant and get a share of their loot.
16:21 A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is.
16:22 Wisdom is a fountain of life to the wise, but trying to educate stupid people is a waste of time.
16:29 Violent people deceive their friends and lead them to disaster.
17:4 Evil people listen to evil ideas, and liars listen to lies.
17:5 If you laugh at poor people, you insult the God who made them. You will be punished if you take pleasure in someone’s misfortune.
17:7 Respected people who not tell lies, and fools have nothing worthwhile to say.
17:10 An intelligent person learns more from one rebuke than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times.
17:12 It is better to meet a mother bear robbed of her cubs than to meet some fool busy with a stupid project.
17:13 If you repay good with evil, you will never get evil out of your home.
17:16 It does a fool no good to spend money on an education, because he has no common sense.
17:20 Anyone who thinks and speaks evil can expect to find nothing good – only disaster.
17:23 Corrupt judges accept secret bribes, and then justice is not done.
18:1 People who do not get along with others are interested only in themselves; they will disagree with what everyone else knows is right.
18:2 A fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is to show how clever he is.
18:3 Sin and shame go together. Lose your honour, and you will get scorn in its place.
18:4 A person’s words can be a source of wisdom, deep as the ocean, fresh as a flowing stream.
18:7 When a fool speaks, he is ruining himself; he gets caught in the trap of his own words.
18:10f. [God] is like a strong tower, where the righteous can go and be safe. Rich people, however, imagine that their wealth protects them like high, strong walls round a city.
18:20f. You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say. What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so, you must accept the consequences of your words.
19:1 It is better to be poor but honest than to be a lying fool.
19:3 Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then blame [God].
19:17 When you give to the poor, it is like lending to [God], and [God] will pay you back.
19:20 If you listen to advice and are willing to learn, one day you will be wise.
19:22 It is a disgrace to be greedy; poor people are better off than liars.
19:25 Arrogance should be punished, so that people don’t know any better can learn a lesson. If you are wise, you will learn when you are corrected.
20:17 What you get by dishonesty you may enjoy like the finest food, but sooner or later it will be like a mouthful of sand.
20:21 The more easily you get your wealth, the less good it will do you.
20:28 A king will remain in power as long as his rule is honest, just, and fair.
21:4 Wicked people are controlled by their conceit and arrogance, and this is sinful.
21:10 Wicked people are always hungry for evil; they have no mercy on anyone.
21:15 When justice is done, good people are happy, but evil people are brought to despair.
21:18 The wicked bring on themselves the suffering they try to cause good people.
21:24 Show me a conceited person and I will show you someone who is arrogant, proud, and inconsiderate.
22:8 If you sow the seeds of injustice, disaster will spring up, and your oppression of others will end.
22:10 Get rid of a conceited person, and then there will be no more arguments, quarreling, or calling of names.
22:12 [God] sees to it that truth is kept safe by disproving the words of liars.
*Source of texts: The Bible in English and French published as Bible, Bilingual Edition.
Nairobi, United Bible Societies, 2013. Copyright: The British & Foreign Bible Society, 1996.
Pilgrim Praxis
The genocide in apartheid and settler colonial Palestine urgently calls for urgent discernment and action. Could the ongoing rounds of blood letting and destruction finally end to begin a journey toward truth, and justice-based peace? I hope so for the sake of all who dwell in this (un)Holy Land.