World English Bible
- A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools gush out folly.
- The LORD’s eyes are everywhere, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
- A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but deceit in it crushes the spirit.
- A fool despises his father’s correction, but he who heeds reproof shows prudence.
- In the house of the righteous is much treasure, but the income of the wicked brings trouble.
- The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so with the heart of fools.
- The sacrifice made by the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
- The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who follows after righteousness.
- There is stern discipline for one who forsakes the way. Whoever hates reproof shall die.
- Sheol and Abaddon are before the LORD— how much more then the hearts of the children of men!
- A scoffer doesn’t love to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.
- A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but an aching heart breaks the spirit.
- The heart of one who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
- All the days of the afflicted are wretched, but one who has a cheerful heart enjoys a continual feast.
- Better is little, with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure with trouble.
- Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a fattened calf with hatred.
- A wrathful man stirs up contention, but one who is slow to anger appeases strife.
- The way of the sluggard is like a thorn patch, but the path of the upright is a highway.
- A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.
- Folly is joy to one who is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding keeps his way straight.
- Where there is no counsel, plans fail; but in a multitude of counselors they are established.
- Joy comes to a man with the reply of his mouth. How good is a word at the right time!
- The path of life leads upward for the wise, to keep him from going downward to Sheol.
- The LORD will uproot the house of the proud, but he will keep the widow’s borders intact.
- The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but the thoughts of the pure are pleasing.
- He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.
- The heart of the righteous weighs answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes out evil.
- The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
- The light of the eyes rejoices the heart. Good news gives health to the bones.
- The ear that listens to reproof lives, and will be at home among the wise.
- He who refuses correction despises his own soul, but he who listens to reproof gets understanding.
- The fear of the LORD teaches wisdom. Before honor is humility.
Proverbs 15 begins with an answer and ends with humility. Between them lies a searching truth: wisdom is not merely knowing what is right; it is becoming the kind of person from whom life can safely flow.
The World English Bible says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life” (verse 4). The Hebrew word translated gentle, marpē, can also mean healing or medicine. The image reaches back to Eden. Human speech can never recreate paradise, yet a healed tongue can bring something of Eden into a wounded room. It can give dignity back to the shamed, courage to the frightened, and peace to those trapped in anger.
A gentle answer is therefore not passive politeness. It is spiritual resistance. Wrath attempts to reproduce itself in another person; it demands an echo. Gentleness refuses to let another’s sin dictate the shape of our response. John Chrysostom often presented meekness in this way—not as weakness, but as a power that breaks violence’s momentum. Christ embodied it perfectly: “When he was cursed, he didn’t curse back” (1 Peter 2:23, World English Bible).
Yet the chapter moves beyond speech to worship. The costly sacrifice of the wicked repulses God, while the quiet prayer of the upright delights him. In Israel, sacrifice was visible, public, and expensive. Prayer could be offered by someone with nothing. God cannot be bought by impressive religion. He desires the worshiper before the worshiper’s gift. The altar cannot compensate for cruelty at the table.
That table appears in verse 17: a meal of vegetables with love is better than a fattened calf with hatred. Meat was not ordinary fare in the ancient world; a fattened calf signaled abundance and celebration. But hatred can turn a feast into famine. Love, meanwhile, can make a poor table sacramental—a place where God’s kingdom becomes strangely tangible.
Then comes one of the chapter’s most striking reversals: God uproots the proud man’s house but secures the widow’s boundary. Boundary stones protected ancestral land and a family’s future. Across the ancient Near East, moving them was treated as a grave offense. A widow, lacking the usual social protection, was especially vulnerable. But heaven stands at her property line. God is not impressed by the powerful house; he watches the almost invisible theft at the edge of a field.
This is why God’s all-seeing eyes are good news. His gaze is not merely surveillance; it is protection. He sees hidden motives, unheard prayers, wounded spirits, and displaced boundaries.
Today, pause before answering. Weigh your words. Receive correction without self-defense. Examine whether your worship is concealing an unloving table or an unjust boundary. Wisdom begins when humility allows God to heal the heart from which our words and actions come.
Suggested cross-references: Genesis 3:22–24;
Deuteronomy 19:14; Isaiah 1:11–17; James 3:13–18; 1 Peter 2:21–23.
Suggested hymn: “Lord, Speak to Me, That I May Speak”
by Frances Ridley Havergal.
Lord of the altar, the table, and the boundary stone, heal our hearts and make our tongues trees of life. Teach us to welcome correction, resist anger, protect the vulnerable, and worship you without pretense. Give us the humility that comes before true honor. Amen.