Proverbs 19

Proverbs 19:1

Bede: Better is the poor who walks in his simplicity, etc. Better is the simple hearer of the word of God, if he completes by working those things which he could understand in the Scriptures; than any learned person, if in those things which he has acutely understood, he twists his lips to preach heresy. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 19:2

Bede: Where there is no knowledge of the soul, it is not good, etc. The knowledge of heavenly life is indeed necessary for the human soul, because without it, it surely cannot be blessed forever. But yet, those who desire to know more than what is proper with unrestrained senses of the mind, often fall into the offense of heretical foolishness through their rash pursuits, which was mystically signified in the first parents of the human race, who, in their desire for greater knowledge, hastened to touch the forbidden, deviating from the state of blessedness in which they were created, and fell into the punishment of misery and mortality. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 19:3

Augustine of Hippo: Grace is not bestowed according to human merits; otherwise grace would be no longer grace. For grace is so designated because it is given gratuitously. — ON GRACE AND FREE WILL 21:43

Bede: The foolishness of a man supplanteth his steps, etc. It is the habit of fools, that when they abandon the way of truth through sinning, they do not admit they have erred, but refer the origin of guilt to their Creator, as if He has given the opportunity for sinning, either because He made man fragile, or because He allowed a crafty enemy to tempt him. Hence also the first parent of our race, after the excess of transgression, being reproved by the Lord, instantly fled to the defense of an excuse, saying: The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate (Gen. III). And the woman said: The serpent deceived me (Ibid.). For they indeed turned against the Creator what they had sinned: he, that he had received a woman from the Lord as a companion through whom he perished; she, that the Lord had placed the serpent who deceived her in paradise. Against this the Wise Man prays to the Lord not to incline his heart to an evil word, to excuse excuses in sins. But also, he, failing his steps against God, burns with fervor in his mind, who, despising divine commands through his own inertia, even reproaches God Himself with an insane mind, as if He had imposed unbearable burdens on men. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 19:4

Bede: Riches add many friends, etc. The riches of the kingdom of heaven, which are preached to be given to the faithful by the holy doctors, gain many friends both for the preachers themselves and for the Lord, their Giver. But by the philosophers and other teachers of the Gentiles, since they know to promise nothing of certain blessedness in the future, even those whom they had are separated, namely, converted to the faith and the most certain hope of the Lord’s promise. — Commentary on Proverbs

Bede: He who only follows words will have nothing, etc. And the Apostle says: For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified (Rom. II). — Commentary on Proverbs

Evagrius Ponticus: “Richness” of knowledge and wisdom “brings us many angels,” but an impure person is even separated from the angel given to him at birth. Spiritual friendship is virtue and knowledge of God, through which we bind ourselves to friendship with the holy powers. Thus it is said that human beings who repent give cause for joy to the angels. Thus also the Savior calls his servants “friends,” since they are ready to receive greater wisdom. So also Abraham, rich in knowledge, offered that mystical table to the friends who appeared to him in the middle of the day. — SCHOLIA ON Proverbs 189:19.4

Proverbs 19:5

Augustine of Hippo: There are true martyrs and false ones, because there are true and false witnesses. But Scripture says, “The false witness shall not go unpunished.” If the false witness will not escape punishment, neither will the true witness be denied a crown. And it was, indeed, easy to bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth, because he is God; but to do so to the death, that was a great work. — SERMON 286:1

Bede: A false witness will not go unpunished, etc. He reproved him who only followed words of knowledge without the efficacy of operation; now he reproves him who corrupts the very words of divine authority by misinterpretation. But that many things are often repeated indicates firmness, as Joseph interpreting the dream of the king said: Because the word of God is established, and it will be done quickly (Gen. . . .). — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 19:7

Bede: Delight does not befit a fool, etc. Delight in the Scriptures does not befit a heretic, because he does not know how to use them well; nor does it befit him who is still proven to be a servant of sin to be preferred to the just in the governance of the Church. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 19:11

Bede: The doctrine of a man is known through patience. The perfection of ecclesiastical doctrine is shown through the patience of the teachers, for while they preferred to submit their bodies to afflictions and death rather than cease from the duty of teaching, they certainly showed how salutary it was, which they cared to defend with such great persistence. Otherwise, The doctrine of a man is known through patience, because anyone is shown to be less learned as he is convicted of being less patient. For he cannot truly impart good teaching if he does not know how to endure the evils of others with equanimity in living. Indeed, it is rightly added: — Commentary on Proverbs

Bede: “And his glory passes away unjustly.” For certainly it is characteristic of a perfect teacher to bear the wickedness of others patiently, while also skillfully preventing his own frailty from committing unjust actions. For neither does the purity of one’s own conduct suffice without the endurance of external disturbances, nor does one strongly endure external adversities if he is inwardly weakened by wicked habits. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 19:14

John Chrysostom: When a certain wise man says, “It is by the Lord that a man is matched with a woman,” he means this: God made marriage, and not that it is God that joins together every man that comes to be married with a woman. For we see many that come to be with one another for evil, even by the law of marriage, and this we should not ascribe to God. — HOMILIES ON Romans 23:13.1

Proverbs 19:17

Basil of Caesarea: If you help a poor person in the Name of the Lord, you are making a gift and at the same time granting a loan. You are making a gift because you have no expectation of being reimbursed by that poor person. You are granting a loan because the Lord will settle the account. It is not much that the Lord receives by means of the poor, but He will pay a great deal on their behalf.

Bede: “He who has mercy on the poor lends to the Lord,” etc. The Lord himself proves the truth of this statement, when he predicts that he will say to those who give alms: “Insofar as you did it to one of these least of my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt. XXV). “Discipline your son, lest you despair; but do not set your heart on putting him to death.” Be diligent in chastising any subject whom you see erring. But if he refuses correction, act towards him with such caution and temperance that he may find nothing in your words or actions wherewith he might sin more. The following also supports this sense: — Commentary on Proverbs

Caesarius of Arles: If a trustworthy man said to you, Give me one gold coin, and I will repay you one hundred solid gold coins, would you not gladly give him the one in order that you might receive the hundred? Now the God of heaven and earth says to you, “He who has compassion on the poor lends to God”; moreover, “As long as you did it for one of the least of these, you did it for me”; and in the Psalms, “Well for the man who is gracious and lends.” How much more, then, should you lend to God on earth, in order that you may receive a manifold return in eternal life? Then you will deserve to come before the tribunal of the eternal judge in the sight of the angels and can say with assurance and a clear conscience, Give, Lord, because I have given; have mercy because I have shown mercy. — SERMON 158:6

Cyril of Alexandria: The lesson, therefore, which he teaches us is love for the poor, which is precious in the sight of God. Do you feel pleasure in being praised when you have any friends or relatives feasting with you? I tell you of something far better: angels shall praise your bounty, and the rational powers above, and holy men as well; and he too shall accept it who transcends all, and who loves mercy and is kind. Lend to him fearing nothing, and you will receive with interest whatever you gave, for “he,” it says, “who has pity on the poor lends unto God.” — COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 103

John Chrysostom: Let us lend to God almsgiving so we may receive from him clemency in exchange. Oh, how wise is this statement! “Whoever has mercy upon the poor lends to God.” Why did he not say, “Whoever has mercy upon the poor gives to God” instead of “lends”? Scripture recognizes our greediness; it understood that our insatiate desire, which looks longingly toward greediness, asks for an excess. This is why it did not say simply, “Whoever has mercy upon the poor gives to God,” so you may not think that the recompense will be customary; rather, it said, “Whoever has mercy upon the poor lends to God.” Since God borrows from us, then, he is our debtor. How do we want to have him, as judge or debtor? The debtor is ashamed before his lender; the judge does not put to shame the one who borrows. — HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 7:6.23

Proverbs 19:18

Bede: “He who is patient will sustain loss,” etc. For if provoked by the hardness of the opposing brother, whom you began to teach, you fall into the vice of impatience, you indeed incur the loss of your own virtue. And when by scolding him too harshly, you snatch away the hope of obtaining salvation and fulfilling repentance that he had, you will give an account for having scandalized your brother to the strict judge. The sense of the text is clear, because he who by impatience serves the theft of poverty or robbery, causes harm to his own soul, and when he takes the property of his neighbor; and if not to man through this, surely he will have to give an account to the eternal judge. Hence another version has translated this verse as: A man thinking evil will be afflicted with much loss; and if he is pernicious, he will also add his soul, because evidently, when he violently takes away money, he will unwillingly give his life for it. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 19:21

Augustine of Hippo: What lies hidden in the designs of God I confess I do not know—I am only a man—but this I know with full certainty, that, whatever it is, it is more just, more wise, and more solidly based on incomparable perfection than all the judgments of people. — LETTER 104

Proverbs 19:22

Bede: A needy man is merciful. He calls the needy humble, who continually remembers that he is in need of eternal goods. Such a one, so that he may obtain mercy from the Lord, never refuses to show mercy to his neighbor. About whom he subsequently adds: — Commentary on Proverbs

Bede: And a poor man is better than a lying man. Indeed, better is the humble in heart, who trusts nothing in his own works, than he who, by the excellence of virtues, considering himself worthy of the name of man, is deceived; unaware that while he transfers the glory of God to himself, by pride he loses the goods he has done. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 19:24

Bede: The slothful man hides his hand under his armpit, etc. No one is so slothful that he considers it labor to bring his hand to his mouth while eating. But for the slothful, it is labor to bring the hand to the mouth, for a lazy preacher does not even want to do what he says. To bring hand to mouth, indeed, means to align actions with words. A false witness mocks judgment, namely, that which is said, “You shall not bear false witness.” Or certainly the future judgment, of which it is said above, “A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he who speaks lies shall perish; and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.” As a hungry man desires to be filled with food, so the wicked eagerly seek to be satisfied with the excuse of iniquity. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 19:25

Origen of Alexandria: If you want to take Scripture as a witness that sinners are punished for the education of others, even if those unabashed may be beyond treatment, hear Solomon in the Proverbs who says, “When a pest is being whipped, the fool will be more astute.” He did not say that he who is being whipped will be more astute and more sensible through the whips, but he said that the fool will change from foolishness into common sense through whips employed on the pest. For this is signified here by the term astute, and the fool changes because he sees others who are whipped. Hence the punishment of others is useful for us if we learn greater readiness for salvation through others who are punished. — HOMILIES ON Jeremiah 12:6

Proverbs 19:29

Bede: Judgments are prepared for scoffers, etc. Even if the reprobates, as has been said before, mock the divine judgment of either command or threat, nonetheless, the judgments of damnation prepared for them await, which, like a hammer on glowing iron, will strike them endlessly in the furnace of Gehenna. — Commentary on Proverbs