Era 6 · The First KingsProverbs
Proverbs 15: A Soft Answer Turneth Away Wrath
Gentle words, God who sees, sacrifice and prayer, and the dinner of herbs
"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger" (15:1).
"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good" (15:3). "Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?" (15:11).
"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight" (15:8).
"Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith" (15:16–17).
Better-than sayings
"Better A than B" sayings weigh one good against another. They admit that wealth is good (a stalled ox, fattened for the table, was a luxury) and then rank it below love, peace and the fear of the LORD. They appear across the ancient Near East: the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope says "Better is poverty in the hand of the god than riches in the storehouse; better is bread with a happy heart than riches with sorrow" (Lichtheim), very close to 15:16–17 and 16:8. See the Amenemope investigation.
| Verse | The saying | Form | What to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:1 | A soft answer turneth away wrath | Antithetic | Gentle words de-escalate; not a promise that gentleness will stop every abuser |
| 15:2 | The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright | Antithetic | The fool's mouth "gushes" folly |
| 15:3 | The eyes of the LORD are in every place | Single sentence | God's watchfulness over good and evil |
| 15:4 | A wholesome tongue is a tree of life | Antithetic | "Healing tongue" (marpe); perverse speech "breaks the spirit" |
| 15:5 | A fool despiseth his father's instruction | Antithetic | Accepting reproof as prudence |
| 15:6 | In the house of the righteous is much treasure | Antithetic | Trouble in the income of the wicked |
| 15:7 | The lips of the wise disperse knowledge | Antithetic | Scattering knowledge like seed |
| 15:8 | The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination | Antithetic | Like the prophets (Isaiah 1:11–17; Amos 5:21–24): worship without justice is rejected |
| 15:9 | The way of the wicked is an abomination | Antithetic | God loves one who pursues righteousness |
| 15:10 | Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way | Synonymous | Hating reproof leads to death |
| 15:11 | Hell and destruction are before the LORD | A fortiori | Sheol and Abaddon are open to God; how much more human hearts |
| 15:12 | A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him | Synonymous | He avoids the wise |
| 15:13 | A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance | Antithetic | Heart and face; grief breaks the spirit |
| 15:14 | The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge | Antithetic | Fools "graze" on folly |
| 15:15 | All the days of the afflicted are evil | Antithetic | "A merry heart hath a continual feast": attitude and hardship |
| 15:16 | Better is little with the fear of the LORD | Comparative | Close parallel in Amenemope 9:5–8 |
| 15:17 | Better is a dinner of herbs where love is | Comparative | Vegetables with love above a fattened ox with hatred |
| 15:18 | A wrathful man stirreth up strife | Antithetic | The patient calm quarrels |
| 15:19 | The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns | Antithetic | The lazy see obstacles; the upright find a built-up road |
| 15:20 | A wise son maketh a glad father | Antithetic | Repeats 10:1a |
| 15:21 | Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom | Antithetic | The wise walk straight |
| 15:22 | Without counsel purposes are disappointed | Antithetic | Many counsellors; compare 11:14 |
| 15:23 | A word spoken in due season, how good is it! | Synthetic | Timeliness of speech; compare 25:11 |
| 15:24 | The way of life is above to the wise | Single sentence | Upward to life, away from Sheol below |
| 15:25 | The LORD will destroy the house of the proud | Antithetic | He sets the widow's boundary stone; compare 22:28; 23:10 |
| 15:26 | The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination | Antithetic | Pure words are pleasing |
| 15:27 | He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house | Antithetic | "He that hateth gifts (bribes) shall live" |
| 15:28 | The heart of the righteous studieth to answer | Antithetic | Thinking before speaking |
| 15:29 | The LORD is far from the wicked | Antithetic | He hears the prayer of the righteous |
| 15:30 | The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart | Synonymous | Good news "makes the bones fat" (healthy) |
| 15:31 | The ear that heareth the reproof of life | Single sentence | Living among the wise |
| 15:32 | He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul | Antithetic | Reproof gives "heart" (understanding) |
| 15:33 | The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom | Synthetic | "Before honour is humility": repeated in 18:12 |
15:1 and its limits
"A soft answer" is advice about de-escalation in ordinary conflict, true to experience. It is not a promise that gentleness will make an abuser stop, and it should not be used to tell victims of abuse that their tone is the problem. Proverbs elsewhere calls for rebuke (27:5) and for rescuing those in danger (24:11).
Sacrifice and prayer (15:8, 29)
Proverbs rarely mentions the temple. Here, as in 21:3, 27, it echoes the prophets: God rejects offerings from the unjust and delights in the prayer of the upright. The pairing of "sacrifice" and "prayer" does not reject sacrifice as such; it ranks character above ritual (compare 1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 51:16–17).
The library's Greek and 16:6
In the library's Greek, 15:27 ends with a line that corresponds to Hebrew 16:6: "sins are purged by faith and almsgiving." The Greek arranges several verses at the end of chapter 15 and the start of chapter 16 differently, and it has no equivalent of Hebrew 16:1 and 16:3 at the expected places; Greek verse positions in 15:27–16:9 must be found by content (D check; C check against Rahlfs).
What the evidence shows
- Proverbs 15:16–17 closely parallels a saying in the Instruction of Amenemope.Source: M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 2 (1976), "The Instruction of Amenemope"
- The library's Greek places the equivalent of Hebrew 16:6 within its 15:27.Source: The site's library: Westminster Leningrad Codex, KJV, Clementine Vulgate, Giguet's French of the Greek
- Proverbs 15:8 rejects sacrifice as such. It rejects the sacrifice of the wicked.
- Proverbs 15:1 guarantees that a gentle reply will stop any aggressor.
Continue the journey
Connected elsewhere in ScriptureIsaiah 1: Come Now, Let Us Reason TogetherIsaiah 1:11–17: "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices?"More from this lesson
Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted": the same order as 15:33b.
- "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices?"
- "Better is a little with righteousness."
- "Before honour is humility."