Deep Truths IV

Monday, July 25, 2022

16 Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;

    beware of accepting what a transient has pawned.

17 Stolen bread tastes sweet,

    but your mouth is full of gravel soon.

18 Form your purpose by asking for counsel,

    then carry it out using all the help you can get.

19 Gossips can’t keep secrets,

    so never confide in blabbermouths.

20 Anyone who curses father and mother

    extinguishes the light and exists benighted.

-Proverbs 20:16-20 The Message

16 Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,

    and hold it in pledge when he puts up safety for foreigners.

17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,

    but afterward, his mouth will be full of gravel.

18 Plans are established by counsel;

    by wise guidance wage war.

19 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets;

    therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

20 If one curses his father or mother,

    his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

-Proverbs 20:16-20 ESV

Verse 16 study: The garment is taken as a loan. This verse could be a warning to be careful with money in dealing with those who take risks or who are unreliable.

Verse 17 study: A metaphor for wealth. Dishonesty does not satisfy.

Verse 18 study: See gossip? Don’t give it a chance to associate with.

Verse 20 study: Death comes, either by society executing the law, by divine retribution, or by indirect consequences of sins.