Friday, August 5, 2022
The Thirty Precepts of the Sages
Don’t Move Back the Boundary Lines
17-21 Listen carefully to my wisdom;
take to heart what I can teach you.
You’ll treasure its sweetness deep within;
you’ll give it bold expression in your speech.
To make sure your foundation is trust in God,
I’m laying it all out right now just for you.
I’m giving you thirty sterling principles—
tested guidelines to live by.
Believe me—these are truths that work,
and will keep you accountable
to those who sent you.
-Proverbs 22:17-21 The Message
Words of the Wise
17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
and apply your heart to my knowledge,
18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
if all of them are ready on your lips.
19 That your trust may be in the Lord,
I have made them known to you today, even to you.
20 Have I not written for you thirty sayings
of counsel and knowledge,
21 to make you know what is right and proper,
that you may give an accurate answer to those who sent you?
-Proverbs 22:17-21 ESV
Verse 17 study: Use your heart and think carefully. The wise probably means “a” number of wise men whose sayings follow through the use of “I” (v. 19, 20, 21). This gives a personal touch. This is a first-person reading, and probably Solomon or whoever is the first “wise man” cited.
Verse 18 study: The internalized says are ready for use.
Verse 19 study: This is the biblical view of wisdom.
Verse 20 study: Thirty sayings are split into thirty parts, similar to Amememope’s thirty-chapter arrangement.
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