World English Bible
- Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
- He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, but he who is perverse in his ways despises him.
- The fool’s talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.
- Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
- A truthful witness will not lie, but a false witness pours out lies.
- A scoffer seeks wisdom, and doesn’t find it, but knowledge comes easily to a discerning person.
- Stay away from a foolish man, for you won’t find knowledge on his lips.
- The wisdom of the prudent is to think about his way, but the folly of fools is deceit.
- Fools mock at making atonement for sins, but among the upright there is good will.
- The heart knows its own bitterness and joy; he will not share these with a stranger.
- The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
- There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
- Even in laughter the heart may be sorrowful, and mirth may end in heaviness.
- The unfaithful will be repaid for his own ways; likewise a good man will be rewarded for his ways.
- A simple man believes everything, but the prudent man carefully considers his ways.
- A wise man fears and shuns evil, but the fool is hot headed and reckless.
- He who is quick to become angry will commit folly, and a crafty man is hated.
- The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
- The evil bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
- The poor person is shunned even by his own neighbor, but the rich person has many friends.
- He who despises his neighbor sins, but he who has pity on the poor is blessed.
- Don’t they go astray who plot evil? But love and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.
- In all hard work there is profit, but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.
- The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools crowns them with folly.
- A truthful witness saves souls, but a false witness is deceitful.
- In the fear of the LORD is a secure fortress, and he will be a refuge for his children.
- The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death.
- In the multitude of people is the king’s glory, but in the lack of people is the destruction of the prince.
- He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a quick temper displays folly.
- The life of the body is a heart at peace, but envy rots the bones.
- He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.
- The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.
- Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, and is even made known in the inward part of fools.
- Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
- The king’s favor is toward a servant who deals wisely, but his wrath is toward one who causes shame.
Proverbs 14 is not merely a collection of detached sayings. Its images form a moral landscape: a house is built, a manger is soiled, gates become places of judgment, a fortress rises, and a fountain flows. Wisdom makes life inhabitable; folly slowly turns it into ruins.
The chapter opens with a woman building her “house.” The Hebrew bayit means more than a building; it can include a family, estate, livelihood, and future generations. In an ancient Israelite household—often a multi-generational “four-room house,” as archaeologists call the common design—the wise woman was not simply decorating domestic space. She was sustaining the economic, relational, and spiritual life of the household.
Then comes the ox and its dirty feeding trough. An empty stall is wonderfully clean, but it produces nothing. Fruitfulness creates disorder. Children interrupt schedules. Hospitality soils linens. Ministry complicates lives. Loving wounded people rarely leaves our plans untouched.
We often ask God for a harvest while resenting the ox that makes the harvest possible. Yet the gospel itself enters the world through a feeding trough. God did not save us from a safe distance; Christ entered our bodily, crowded, costly disorder. A church may remain tidy by welcoming no difficult people, but such cleanliness can be another name for barrenness.
The heart knows bitterness and joy that no outsider can fully share. This is not a command to isolation; it is an acknowledgment that every person contains a hidden chamber. Even laughter may conceal grief. Wisdom therefore refuses shallow judgments based on appearances.
Only God knows that inward room completely. Jesus, the true Wisdom of God, does not merely observe our sorrow; He enters it. Hebrews 4:15 teaches that our High Priest sympathizes with our weakness. Christian fellowship is not pretending we understand everything another person feels. It is remaining near them reverently, without forcing open what only grace can unlock.
The fear of the Lord appears as both fortress and fountain: protection from death and a source of life. This fear is not frightened distance but awakened reality—the creature standing truthfully before the Creator.
That is why oppression of the poor is treated as contempt for God Himself. The needy person may lack social honor, yet still bears the Maker’s mark. To humiliate the poor is a kind of practical blasphemy; to show mercy is worship. As Matthew 25:40 later reveals, Christ receives what is done to “the least” as done to Him.
Verse 9 uses the Hebrew ’asham, which can mean guilt or a guilt offering. Fools mock not only sin but also the need for repair. Grace, however, does not make atonement unnecessary—it provides it. At the cross, Christ bears our guilt and begins rebuilding the house our own hands had torn down.
Consider: What fruitful mess are you avoiding? Whose hidden sorrow have you judged? Where has a seemingly right path excused contempt or indifference?
Cross-references: Isaiah 58:6–12; Matthew 25:31–46;
Hebrews 4:14–16; James 3:13–18
Suggested hymn: “Be Thou My Vision”
Lord of wisdom, expose the paths that seem right but end in death. Make our hearts peaceful, our hands merciful, and our homes fruitful. Teach us to welcome holy disorder, honor Your image in the poor, and take refuge in Christ, our atonement and living fountain. Amen.