Proverbs 18

Proverbs 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is a part of the second collection of the book.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of Proverbs 18 with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation.

Verse	Hebrew	English translation
1		He that separateth himself seeketh his own desire, And snarlest against all sound wisdom.
2		A fool hath no delight in understanding, But only that his heart may lay itself bare.
3		When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt, And with ignominy reproach.
4		The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters; A flowing brook, a fountain of wisdom.
5		It is not good to respect the person of the wicked, So as to turn aside the righteous in judgment.
6		A fool's lips enter into contention, And his mouth calleth for strokes.
7		A fool's mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8		The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
9		Even one that is slack in his work Is brother to him that is a destroyer..
10		The name of the LORD is a strong tower: The righteous runneth into it, and is set up on high.
11		The rich man's wealth is his strong city, And as a high wall in his own conceit.
12		Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honour goeth humility.
13		He that giveth answer before he heareth, It is folly and confusion unto him.
14		The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; But a broken spirit who can bear?
15		The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; And the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.
16		A man's gift maketh room for him, And bringeth him before great men.
17		He that pleadeth his cause first seemeth just; But his neighbour cometh and searcheth him out.
18		The lot causeth strife to cease, And parteth asunder the contentious.
19		A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city; And their contentions are like the bars of a castle.
20		A man's belly shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; With the increase of his lips shall he be satisfied.
21		Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And they that indulge it shall eat the fruit thereof.
22		Whoso findeth a wife findeth a great good, And obtaineth favour of the LORD.
23		The poor useth entreaties; But the rich answereth impudently.
24		There are friends that one hath to his own hurt; But there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Alexandrinus.

Analysis

This chapter belongs to a section regarded as the second collection in the book of Proverbs, also called "The First 'Solomonic' Collection". The collection contains 375 sayings, each of which consists of two parallel phrases, except for Proverbs 19:7 which consists of three parts.

Verse 1

"Isolates himself": or "has separated himself”, as the Hebrew word in Niphal participle functions substantively and has a reflexive nuance.
"Wise judgment": or "sound wisdom".

A person of a misanthropic isolation described here is not merely anti-social, but becomes a problem for society since he will defy sound judgment.

Verse 5

"Not good": in form of a 'deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario' ; can be rendered as “it is terrible!”
"To favor" translated from the idiom שְׂאֵת פְּנֵי, seʾet pene, “lifting up the face of”, which means “to show partiality” in decisions, using the verbal form of the Qal infinitive construct from נָשָׂא, nasaʾ, that functions as the subject of the clause. This is probably related the custom of a ruler raising the face of a prostrate subject as a sign of favor.

While partiality in judgement is condemned in verse 5, verse 17 cautions against reaching
a premature verdict before a case carefully receives cross-examination, and if legal processes could not resolve the case, it is to
be submitted to divine arbitration.

Verse 21

"In the power of": or “in the hand of.”