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Proverbs 10:20
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- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
- Tyndale
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
20 Choice silver is the tongue of the righteous; But the heart of the godless is little worth. Choice silver is, as Pro 8:19, cf. 10, pure, freed from all base mixtures. Like it, pure and noble, is whatever the righteous speaks; the heart, i.e., the manner of thought and feeling, of the godless is, on the contrary, like little instar nihili, i.e., of little or no worth, Arab. yasway kâlyla (Fl.). lxx: the heart of the godless ἐκλείψει, i.e., ימעט, at first arrogant and full of lofty plans, it becomes always the more dejected, discouraged, empty. But 20a leads us to expect some designation of its worth. The Targ. (according to which the Peshito is to be corrected; vid., Levy's Wrterbuch, ii. 26): the heart of the godless is מחתא (from נחת), refuse, dross. The other Greek versions accord with the text before us.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Right speech is the fruit of a good heart, but the wicked show theirs to be useless.
John Gill Bible Commentary
The tongue of the just is as choice silver,.... Which utters things precious, pure, pleasant, and profitable; things for worth and value as choice silver; the doctrines of the Gospel, the power of which he has felt upon his heart; the precious promises of it, which have been applied unto him; and the rich experience of grace he has been favoured with: things pure and incorrupt, like silver free from dross; as the doctrines of grace, fetched out of the mines of the sacred Scripture, free from the dross of error, without any human mixture; consistent and all of a piece, and which tend to purity of heart and life; things the reverse of a corrupt communication, nothing filthy and unclean; a pure language, the language of Canaan; the language of repentance, faith, and love, of prayer and thankfulness: things which are grateful and acceptable, are with grace, and minister grace to the hearers; things profitable and edifying; for the righteous man's mouth speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of judgment; and his lips feed many, as in Pro 10:21; see Psa 37:30; the heart of the wicked is little worth; good for nothing, as the Vulgate Latin version. The righteous man's tongue is better than the wicked man's heart; there is no good thing in his heart naturally; all manner of evil is in it, and comes out of it; no sin can be named but what is in his heart; all that is in it is sinful; the thoughts of it, and the imagination of his thoughts, are only evil, and that continually; the affections are inordinate, and set on sinful lusts and pleasures; the mind and conscience are defiled with sin; the understanding is darkened with it, and the will is obstinate and perverse, and bent upon it: his heart is wicked, and exceedingly wicked; it is wickedness itself, very wickedness, desperately wicked, incurably so without the grace of God. Such therefore know not their hearts who say they have good hearts; and they are fools that trust in them: this shows the necessity of regeneration, and that powerful and efficacious grace is requisite to it.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
We are here taught how to value men, not by their wealth and preferment in the world, but by their virtue. I. Good men are good for something. Though they may be poor and low in the world, and may not have power and riches to do good with, yet, as long as they have a mouth to speak, that will make them valuable and useful, and upon that account we must honour those that fear the Lord, because out of the good treasure of their heart they bring forth good things. 1. This makes them valuable: The tongue of the just is as choice silver; they are sincere, freed from the dross of guile and evil design. God's words are compared to silver purified (Psa 12:6), for they may be relied on; and such are the words of just men. They are of weight and worth, and will enrich those that hear them with wisdom, which is better than choice silver. 2. It makes them useful: The lips of the righteous feed many; for they are full of the word of God, which is the bread of life, and that sound doctrine wherewith souls are nourished up. Pious discourse is spiritual food to the needy, to the hungry. II. Bad men are good for nothing. 1. One can get no good by them: The heart of the wicked is little worth, and therefore that which comes out of the abundance of his heart cannot be worth much. His principles, his notions, his thoughts, his purposes, and all the things that fill him, and affect him, are worldly and carnal, and therefore of no value. He that is of the earth speaks of the earth, and neither understands nor relishes the things of God, Joh 3:31; Co1 2:14. The wicked man pretends that, though he does not talk of religion as the just do, yet he has it within him, and thanks God that his heart is good; but he that searches the heart here says the contrary: It is nothing worth. 2. One can do no good to them. While many are fed by the lips of the righteous, fools die for want of wisdom; and fools indeed they are to die for want of that which they might so easily come by. Fools die for want of a heart (so the word is); they perish for want of consideration and resolution; they have no heart to do any thing for their own good. While the righteous feed others fools starve themselves.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
10:20 Words are an expression of the heart.
Proverbs 10:20
Solomon’s Proverbs: The Wise Son
19When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise. 20The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked has little worth.
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"Book of Remembrance" by Leonard Ravenhill
By Compilations4.2K05:17PRO 10:20MAL 3:16MAT 12:361CO 3:121CO 4:52CO 5:101TH 5:171PE 2:5
This sermon emphasizes the importance of living a life that is devoted to God, comparing our actions and words to materials like wood, hay, stubble, silver, gold, and precious stones. It challenges believers to consider the quality of their devotion, speech, and actions, as they will be tested by fire. The speaker highlights the significance of prayer, the purity of our words, and the eternal impact of our lives. It calls for a deep commitment to God, living with an awareness of eternity and the accountability we will face before God.
Purified by Leonard Ravenhill
By Compilations1.5K07:18EXO 28:15PRO 10:20MAL 3:161CO 3:121CO 4:52TI 2:20JAS 4:81PE 1:71PE 4:17REV 20:12
This sermon emphasizes the importance of living a life devoted to God, comparing the value of our actions and words to wood, hay, stubble, silver, gold, and precious stones. It challenges believers to invest in what truly matters, such as devotion to God, purity in speech, and a deep prayer life, rather than seeking worldly entertainment or approval. The speaker highlights the accountability every individual will face before God, urging a commitment to a life that reflects true holiness and dedication to Christ.
The Evil Tongue
By Thomas Watson0PSA 139:23PRO 10:20PRO 26:24PRO 26:26MAT 12:36MAT 15:19ACT 2:41CO 10:10JAS 3:6REV 20:12Thomas Watson preaches about the destructive power of the evil tongue, describing it as a fire fueled by hell that corrupts the whole person. He delves into various aspects of the evil tongue, highlighting its silent nature in matters of religion, its focus on worldly matters, its hasty and angry expressions, its tendency towards vanity, censure, slander, uncleanness, lying, flattery, boasting, swearing, railing, seduction, cruelty, murmuring, scoffing, cursing, injustice, and more. Watson emphasizes the need for a transformed heart to produce better speech, as the tongue reflects the deep wickedness within the heart, and warns of being held accountable for every word spoken on the day of judgment.
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
- Tyndale
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
20 Choice silver is the tongue of the righteous; But the heart of the godless is little worth. Choice silver is, as Pro 8:19, cf. 10, pure, freed from all base mixtures. Like it, pure and noble, is whatever the righteous speaks; the heart, i.e., the manner of thought and feeling, of the godless is, on the contrary, like little instar nihili, i.e., of little or no worth, Arab. yasway kâlyla (Fl.). lxx: the heart of the godless ἐκλείψει, i.e., ימעט, at first arrogant and full of lofty plans, it becomes always the more dejected, discouraged, empty. But 20a leads us to expect some designation of its worth. The Targ. (according to which the Peshito is to be corrected; vid., Levy's Wrterbuch, ii. 26): the heart of the godless is מחתא (from נחת), refuse, dross. The other Greek versions accord with the text before us.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Right speech is the fruit of a good heart, but the wicked show theirs to be useless.
John Gill Bible Commentary
The tongue of the just is as choice silver,.... Which utters things precious, pure, pleasant, and profitable; things for worth and value as choice silver; the doctrines of the Gospel, the power of which he has felt upon his heart; the precious promises of it, which have been applied unto him; and the rich experience of grace he has been favoured with: things pure and incorrupt, like silver free from dross; as the doctrines of grace, fetched out of the mines of the sacred Scripture, free from the dross of error, without any human mixture; consistent and all of a piece, and which tend to purity of heart and life; things the reverse of a corrupt communication, nothing filthy and unclean; a pure language, the language of Canaan; the language of repentance, faith, and love, of prayer and thankfulness: things which are grateful and acceptable, are with grace, and minister grace to the hearers; things profitable and edifying; for the righteous man's mouth speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of judgment; and his lips feed many, as in Pro 10:21; see Psa 37:30; the heart of the wicked is little worth; good for nothing, as the Vulgate Latin version. The righteous man's tongue is better than the wicked man's heart; there is no good thing in his heart naturally; all manner of evil is in it, and comes out of it; no sin can be named but what is in his heart; all that is in it is sinful; the thoughts of it, and the imagination of his thoughts, are only evil, and that continually; the affections are inordinate, and set on sinful lusts and pleasures; the mind and conscience are defiled with sin; the understanding is darkened with it, and the will is obstinate and perverse, and bent upon it: his heart is wicked, and exceedingly wicked; it is wickedness itself, very wickedness, desperately wicked, incurably so without the grace of God. Such therefore know not their hearts who say they have good hearts; and they are fools that trust in them: this shows the necessity of regeneration, and that powerful and efficacious grace is requisite to it.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
We are here taught how to value men, not by their wealth and preferment in the world, but by their virtue. I. Good men are good for something. Though they may be poor and low in the world, and may not have power and riches to do good with, yet, as long as they have a mouth to speak, that will make them valuable and useful, and upon that account we must honour those that fear the Lord, because out of the good treasure of their heart they bring forth good things. 1. This makes them valuable: The tongue of the just is as choice silver; they are sincere, freed from the dross of guile and evil design. God's words are compared to silver purified (Psa 12:6), for they may be relied on; and such are the words of just men. They are of weight and worth, and will enrich those that hear them with wisdom, which is better than choice silver. 2. It makes them useful: The lips of the righteous feed many; for they are full of the word of God, which is the bread of life, and that sound doctrine wherewith souls are nourished up. Pious discourse is spiritual food to the needy, to the hungry. II. Bad men are good for nothing. 1. One can get no good by them: The heart of the wicked is little worth, and therefore that which comes out of the abundance of his heart cannot be worth much. His principles, his notions, his thoughts, his purposes, and all the things that fill him, and affect him, are worldly and carnal, and therefore of no value. He that is of the earth speaks of the earth, and neither understands nor relishes the things of God, Joh 3:31; Co1 2:14. The wicked man pretends that, though he does not talk of religion as the just do, yet he has it within him, and thanks God that his heart is good; but he that searches the heart here says the contrary: It is nothing worth. 2. One can do no good to them. While many are fed by the lips of the righteous, fools die for want of wisdom; and fools indeed they are to die for want of that which they might so easily come by. Fools die for want of a heart (so the word is); they perish for want of consideration and resolution; they have no heart to do any thing for their own good. While the righteous feed others fools starve themselves.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
10:20 Words are an expression of the heart.