Proverbs 21

Proverbs 21:1

Ambrose of Milan: Entrust your soul to the hands of the Lord. Not only when it departs from the body but also when it is in the body, it is in the hands of the Lord, because you do not see it, its source or its destination. It is both in you and also with God. Therefore “the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord,” who guides it and rules it. The heart is also filled with the spirit, because the spirit is the ruling part of the soul and the strength of the soul. I say that strength lies not in the arms but in counsel, temperance, piety and justice. If the heart of a man is in the hand of the Lord, much more is his soul. — DEATH AS A GOOD 10:44

Athanasius of Alexandria: A desire to learn and a yearning for heavenly things is suitable to a religious emperor; for thus you will truly have “your heart” also “in the hand of God.” Since then your piety desired to learn from us the faith of the catholic church, giving thanks for these things to the Lord, we counseled above all things to remind your piety of the faith confessed by the fathers at Nicea. — LETTER TO JOVIAN 56:1

Basil of Caesarea: If “the heart of the king is in the hand of God,” he will not be saved through power of arms but through the divine guidance. Now, not any random person is in the hand of God but one who is worthy of the name of king. — HOMILIES ON THE Psalms 15:9 (Psalms 32)

Bede: Just as the divisions of the waters, etc. Why does he declare that the heart of the king, and not rather of all men, is in the hand of God, when it is written, “For in his hand are all the ends of the earth” (Psalms 94), unless perhaps he calls any holy person a king, who knows how to conquer the wars of vices within himself, to uproot the bushes of malice? For just as the Lord fills the ends of the earth far and wide with various divisions of waters, and also covers the heights of the heavens with waters; so he inclines the heart of the king wherever he wills, because just as he bestows the divisions of graces according to his will, both to angels and to men, so also he makes the hearts of the saints worthy of gifts wherever he wills. Nor does the Pelagianist have any place where someone can be saved without the grace of God. — Commentary on Proverbs

Jerome: [Daniel 5:19] “‘He slew whomever he would and smote to death whomever he wished to; those whom he wished he set on high, and brought low whomever he would.’” Thus he sets forth the example of the king’s great-grandfather, in order to teach him the justice of God and make it clear that his great-grandson too was to suffer similar treatment because of his pride. Now if Nebuchadnezzar slew whomever he would and smote to death whomever he wished to; if he set on high those whom he would and brought low whomever he wished to, there is certainly no Divine providence or Scriptural injunction behind these honors and slayings, these acts of promotion and humiliation. But rather, such things ensue from the will of the men themselves who do the slaying and promoting to honor, and all the rest. If this be the case, the question arises as to how we are to understand the Scripture: “The heart of a king reposes in the hand of God; He will incline it in whatever direction He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1). Perhaps we might say that every saint is a king, for sin does not reign in his mortal body, and his heart therefore is kept safe, for he is in God’s hand (Romans 6:1-23). And whatever has once come into the hand of God the Father, according to the Gospel, no man is able to take it away (John 10:28). And whoever is taken away, it is understood that he never was in God’s hand at all. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER FIVE

Jerome: The kings of the earth are those who reign over sin; consequently, they who govern sin shall give thanks. The prophet is certainly not referring to the kings of this world, for it is written, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.” Do you for one moment suppose that the heart of Julian the Apostate was in the hand of God? God forbid! Or of Nero or of Maximianus and Decius, the persecutors? God forbid! No, he is speaking of those who have control over sin, who, because their heart is in the hand of God, have conquered the vices and passions of their soul and thereby prevail over sin. — HOMILIES ON THE Psalms 49 (Psalms 137)

Jerome: The heart of Julian, the persecutor, of Nero, of Decius, are their hearts in the hand of God? No, the hearts in the hand of God are those who govern their body, who bring it into subjection and compel it to servitude, lest preaching to others they themselves should be rejected. These are the kings of whom Wisdom says in Proverbs, “He gives kingship to kings.” — HOMILIES ON THE Psalms 54 (Psalms 143)

Jerome: Was the heart of Julian, the persecutor, in the hand of God? The heart of Saul, was it in the hand of God? Was the heart of Manasseh in the hand of God? The heart of Ahab? Were the hearts of all the impious kings of Judah in the hand of God? Do you see that this verse does not admit of a literal interpretation? The kings, therefore, are the saints, and their hearts are in the hand of the Lord.… The following words of the apostle are appropriate here: “But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.” May our soul be in command, our body in subjection. Then Christ will come at once to make his abode with us. — HOMILIES ON THE Psalms 9 (Psalms 75)

Tertullian: This is the will of God: Look at the situation of the kingdoms and empires as arranged by God, in whose hand the heart of the king lies. Every day they plan for future income, from the registration of property, taxes in kind, gifts and taxes payable in money. But never up to this time has there been procured any such income by bringing the Christians under some sales tax for the person and the sect, when that could be a tremendous source of income because of our vast numbers, known to all. We are bought with blood, we are paid for in blood, we owe no money for our head, because Christ is our head. It is not fitting that Christ should cost us money. How could martyrdoms bring glory to God if by tribute we should pay for the liberty of our sect? And so, the one who bargains to have his freedom at a price goes counter to the divine dispensation. — ON FLIGHT IN TIME OF PERSECUTION 12:8

Tertullian: The phrase “Thy kingdom come” also refers to the same end as “Thy will be done,” namely, [that God’s kingdom may come] in ourselves. For, when does God not reign, “in whose hand is the heart of every king”? But, whatever we wish for ourselves, we direct our hope toward him, and we attribute to him what we expect from him.… This is the prayer of Christians; this shall bring shame to the heathens; this shall bring joy to the angels. It is for the coming of this kingdom that we are harassed now, or rather, it is for this coming that we pray. — ON PRAYER 5:1-4

Proverbs 21:6

Didache: Thou shalt not be double-minded nor double-tongued; for to be double-tongued is a snare of death. Thy speech shall not be false, nor empty, but fulfilled by deed. Thou shalt not be covetous, nor rapacious, nor a hypocrite, nor evil disposed, nor haughty. Thou shalt not take evil counsel against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not hate any man; but some thou shalt reprove, and concerning some thou shalt pray, and some thou shalt love more than thy own life. — The Didache, Chapter 2

Proverbs 21:8

Bede: The perverse way of a man is foreign, etc. To live justly before the Lord is proper to the human condition. Hence elsewhere it is said, “Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiasticus 12). But he who lives perversely, indeed walks a path foreign to human nature. Therefore, perverse action is foreign and against nature. But he who is pure in work rightly carries out what he originally received by nature. — Commentary on Proverbs

John Chrysostom: “For God sends crooked ways to the perverse.” … Indeed, nothing makes people so stupid as does habitual evildoing. When a person is deceitful, when he is unjust, when he is churlish (and these, to be sure, are different forms of evildoing), when, without having been wronged in any way himself, he inflicts pain, when he connives at trickery—how will he not be exhibiting signs of utter stupidity? — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF John 41

Proverbs 21:9

Bede: It is better to sit in a corner of the housetop, etc. It is so true that it is better to sit in the corner of the housetop, that is, in the secret height of a more continent life, than with a wicked woman in a house, which you share with her, so that even if the best woman is offered to you for marriage, it is better to lead a celibate life for the sake of the companionship of the Lamb, having despised marriage. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 21:13

Basil of Caesarea: Benefactions to the needy, financed by unjust gains, are not acceptable with God. Even one who refrains from committing injustices, and yet does not share the goods he possesses with anyone, is not deserving of praise.… If you will make an offering to God from the fruits of injustice and rapine, it would be better not to possess such wealth and not to make an offering. — ON MERCY AND JUSTICE

Bede: He who stops his ear to the cry of the poor, etc. This sentence should be taken generally, and not only for the needy or physically infirm: for even he who, in the face of others’ crimes, prefers to hold the judgment of a judge rather than to sympathize with the affection of mercy, shows himself not yet purified from the filth of vices, nor worthy to exist in the hearing of divine compassion. A hidden gift extinguishes anger, etc. He who desires to appease the anger of the strict judge, which he has earned by sinning, should give alms to the poor, and this without any delight in human favor, but solely out of love for the Creator, who looks upon the hidden things of the heart. For thus the hidden gift is made, thus it benefits to mitigate the wrath of the Creator, if it is given without any expectation of external reward. Thus is fulfilled what he himself commanded: “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3). — Commentary on Proverbs

Cyprian: He will not be able to merit the mercy of God who himself has not been merciful, nor will [he] gain any request from the divine love by his prayers who has not been humane toward the prayer of the poor. — Treatise VIII. On Works and Alms 5

Cyril of Alexandria: Do you not agree that poverty, as I said, is more cruel than any beast of prey? Therefore you must aid those who are fallen under it. Incline your ear to the poor and listen to them, as it is written: “For he who stops his ears that he may not hear the feeble shall also cry, and there shall be none to listen.” Give so that you may receive; hear so that you may be heard; sow the little you have so that you may reap much. Besides, the pleasure of the body is short and temporary and ends in rottenness. But almsgiving and charity to the poor crown those who practice them with glory from God and lead to that incorruptible happiness which Christ bestows on those who love him. — COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 103

Proverbs 21:15

Bede: It is a joy to the just to do judgment, etc. The just man rejoices when he labors with good works, because he hopes to be rewarded with eternal good for these. But the reprobate, while they do evil things which they know God has forbidden, though they may carnally delight in the perpetration of their lust, cannot be free from the internal fear of the mind, because they do not doubt that they will suffer evil eternally for those things they have done temporally. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 21:16

Bede: The man who strays from the way of doctrine, etc. He says that the giants are unclean spirits, about which the blessed Job says, “Behold, the giants groan beneath the waters, and those who dwell with them” (Job 26:5), that is, proud and malevolent strong spirits of demons, together with the men whom they have deceived, tormented by inflicted punishments. For to this company will be joined those who have strayed from the way of truth, with the judge himself attesting, who predicted that he would say to them: “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 21:18

Bede: The impious is given in place of the just, etc. The just and the upright seem to be the same; but there is a difference between the impious and the iniquitous, for all the iniquitous are reprobates; the impious, however, are those who, entangled in greater crimes, either never received the holy mysteries of the faith, or, after receiving them, returned to apostasy. Hence, in this place, the impious can be understood to mean all the persecutors of the faithful; furthermore, under the term iniquitous, all the wicked are generally designated. And the impious is given in place of the just, when the persecutor who gave him to death is punished for the martyr. The iniquitous in place of the upright, who, seeing their just life, did not wish to imitate them. Herod is condemned not only for the innocent whom he wickedly delivered to death; but also received the sentence of condemnation because he did not want to follow the faith of the Magi to seek the Lord, although he was among the Jews and knew the words of the prophets. Hence indeed the Lord says: “The queen of the south will rise in judgment with this generation and condemn it, etc.” (Matthew 12:42). Not that she herself by her virtue and power will condemn, but because, by comparison with her, they will be condemned, who, knowing her devotion, when they could much more easily, neglected to have concern for wisdom. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 21:19

Apostolic Constitutions: “It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and an angry woman.” You wives, therefore, demonstrate your piety by your modesty and meekness to all outside the church, whether they are women or men, in order to their conversion and improvement in the faith. And since we have warned you and instructed you briefly, whom we do esteem our sisters, daughters and members, as being wise yourselves, persevere all your lives in a blameless course of life. Seek to know such kinds of learning whereby you may arrive at the kingdom of our Lord, and please him, and so rest for ever and ever. . — CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES

Nilus of Sinai: “It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and an angry woman.” You wives, therefore, demonstrate your piety by your modesty and meekness to all outside the church, whether they are women or men, in order to their conversion and improvement in the faith. And since we have warned you and instructed you briefly, whom we do esteem our sisters, daughters and members, as being wise yourselves, persevere all your lives in a blameless course of life. Seek to know such kinds of learning whereby you may arrive at the kingdom of our Lord, and please him, and so rest for ever and ever. — CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 1:3.10

Proverbs 21:20

Augustine of Hippo: Another passage of Scripture speaks of the precious treasure of wisdom and describes ruminating on wisdom as clean and not ruminating as unclean: “A precious treasure rests in the mouth of a wise man; but a foolish man swallows it up.” Symbols of this kind, either in words or in things, give useful and pleasant exercise to intelligent minds in the way of inquiry and comparison. But formerly people were required not only to hear [of food laws] but to practice many such things. For at that time it was necessary that, by deeds as well as by words, those things should be foreshadowed which were in after times to be revealed. After the revelation by Christ and in Christ, the community of believers is not burdened with the practice of the observances but is admonished to give heed to the prophecy. This is our reason for accounting no animals unclean, in accordance with the saying of the Lord and of the apostle, while we are not opposed to the Old Testament, where some animals are pronounced unclean. — REPLY TO FAUSTUS THE MANICHAEAN 6:7

Augustine of Hippo: So those who hear and out of carelessness forget, so to say swallow what they have heard, so that they no longer have a taste of it in their mouth but just bury what they hear under forgetfulness. But those who meditate on “the law of the Lord day and night” are chewing the cud, as it were, and enjoying the flavor of the word with a kind of palate of the heart. — SERMON 149:4

Bede: A desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the just, etc. The cheerfulness of good works, always lovable to God; and the fatness of love shines in the church of the saints. This verse the blessed Pope Gregory in his Homilies on the Gospel placed according to the ancient translation: “A desirable treasure will rest in the mouth of the wise.” But the reprobates not only do not attain virtues but also persecute, and as much as they can, hasten to overthrow the good. This verse can certainly be understood about any martyr, in whose dwelling, that is, body, the holy soul, namely the treasure of God, is kept, and the anointing of spiritual grace abounds. But the imprudent persecutor can break such a dwelling; but he cannot touch the treasure and the oil that was held in the dwelling. Hence the Lord teaches not to fear those who kill the body, and after these things have nothing more they can do (Luke 12:4). — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 21:22

Bede: The wise man ascends the city of the mighty, etc. The city of the mighty, he calls the world, which once, subjected to the tyranny of evil spirits, foolishly served, having confidence in the worship of those who are not gods, but the works of human hands (Psalms 115). This city was entered by the one born in the flesh, who is the power of God, and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). He destroyed through his preachers the worship of the gods, in whom they had trusted, ignorant of the truth, and taught that confidence should be placed in heavenly things, which could never be destroyed. But every day the wise man ascends the city of the mighty, and destroys the strength of its confidence, when any faithful teacher refutes the arguments of philosophers or heretics, or even the obstinate contradictions of carnal brothers, by which they strive to defend and alleviate their crimes, by the assertion of faith and the discipline of ecclesiastical correction, and, laying bare, annuls them. — Commentary on Proverbs

Origen of Alexandria: “The wise person assaults strong cities and demolishes the fortifications in which the ungodly trusted.” Do you think when Solomon said this he wanted to teach us that the wise person seized cities and demolished fortifications built from stones? Or, rather, is he indicating that the city and the walls are the doctrines of the ungodly and the syllogisms of philosophers, with which they augment every impiety that is contrary to the divine law and that is observed among pagans or barbarians? And those things that the heretics, with attestations from the Scriptures, place as if in high mountains must also be considered to be among these cities that are both fortified and placed in the mountains. Cities such as these, therefore, are demolished by every wise person who proclaims the word of truth. — HOMILIES ON Joshua 18:3

Proverbs 21:23

Desert Fathers: Pambo said to Antony, ‘What shall I do?’ Antony said, ‘Do not trust in your own righteousness. Do not go on sorrowing over a deed that is past. Keep your tongue and your belly under control.’ — The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

Desert Fathers: Gregory said, ‘God asks three things of anyone who is baptized: to keep the true faith with all his soul and all his might; to control his tongue; to be chaste in his body.’ — The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

Proverbs 21:26

Evagrius Ponticus: It belongs to angels never to have evil desires; it is human sometimes to have evil desires and other times not to have them; it belongs to demons always to have evil desires. The expression “all the day” signifies the entire life. So also, “continue in the fear of the Lord all the day” applies to the whole life. — SCHOLIA ON Proverbs 231:21.26

Gregory the Dialogist: For, because it braces not itself towards higher things, it lets itself run loose uncared for in lower desires; and, while not braced with the vigour of lofty aims, suffers the pangs of the hunger of low concupiscence, and, in that it neglects to bind itself up by discipline, it scatters itself the more abroad hungry in its craving after pleasures. Hence it is written again by the same Solomon, “The idle man is wholly in desires.” — The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3 (Admonition 16)

Proverbs 21:28

Bede: The false witness will perish, etc. He who testifies that he serves God, but does not follow through with deeds, will perish. But he who faithfully, as he promises, submits to divine commands, his speech reaches victory, because while he strives through obedience to conquer his desires, he later receives the palm of victory through the justice of the judge. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 21:29

Bede: The impious man insolently stiffens his face, etc. Judas, because he was impious in heart, although reproved by the Lord himself, did not wish to restrain his evil beginnings; but Peter, because he was upright in heart, that is, a lover of uprightness, corrected himself at once with repentance when the Lord looked at him, having erred by denying. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 21:30

Bede: There is no wisdom, no prudence, etc. Whatever the heretics counsel and think is nothing, and vain and useless. — Commentary on Proverbs

Proverbs 21:31

Bede: The horse is prepared for the day of battle, etc. Indeed, it is man’s duty to prepare a soul devoted to God in times of persecution, to offer the body to danger; but it is of divine assistance that to the effort of labor, the victory of the contest, and salvation succeed. — Commentary on Proverbs