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Note, 1. A good wife is a great blessing to a family. By a fruitful wife a family is multiplied and replenished with children, and so built up. But by a prudent wife, one that is pious, industrious, and considerate, the affairs of the family are made to prosper, debts are paid, portions raised, provision made, the children well educated and maintained, and the family has comfort within doors and credit without; thus is the house built. She looks upon it as her own to take care of, though she knows it is her husband's to bear rule in, Est 1:22. 2. Many a family is brought to ruin by ill housewifery, as well as by ill husbandry. A foolish woman, that has no fear of God nor regard to her business, that is wilful, and wasteful, and humoursome, that indulges her ease and appetite, and is all for jaunting and feasting, cards and the play-house, though she come to a plentiful estate, and to a family beforehand, she will impoverish and waste it, and will as certainly be the ruin of her house as if she plucked it down with her hands; and the husband himself, with all his care, can scarcely prevent it.

See here, 1. How we may discern a fool and discover him, a wicked man, for he is a foolish man. If we perceive not in him the lips of knowledge, if we find there is no relish or savour of piety in his discourse, that his communication is all corrupt and corrupting, and nothing in it good and to the use of edifying, we may conclude the treasure is bad. 2. How we must decline such a one and depart from him: Go from his presence, for thou perceivest there is no good to be gotten by his company, but danger of getting hurt by it. Sometimes the only way we have of reproving wicked discourse and witnessing against it is by leaving the company and going out of the hearing of it.

Every wise woman buildeth her house,.... Not only by her fruitfulness, as Leah and Rachel built up the house of Israel; but by her good housewifery, prudent economy; looking well to the ways of her household; guiding the affairs of her house with discretion; keeping all things in a good decorum; and bringing up her children in virtue, and in the fear and admonition of the Lord. So Christ, who in this book goes by the name of "Wisdom", or the wise woman, builds his house upon himself, the Rock; and all his people on their most holy faith, by means of the ministry of the word, and administration of ordinances: he guides and governs his house, where he is, as a Son in it and over it; and of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, taken care of, and wisely and plentifully provided for: and so Gospel ministers, who are wise to win souls, being well instructed in the kingdom of God; these "wise women" (y), so it is in the original text, or wise virgins; these wise master builders lay the foundation Christ ministerially, and build souls on it; and speak things to the edification of the church and people of God, and the building of them up in faith and holiness; but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands; the Vulgate Latin version adds, "being built"; this she does by her idleness and laziness; by her lavish and profuse way of living; by her negligence and want of economy; by her frequenting playhouses, and attention to other diversions; and so her family and the affairs of it go to wreck and ruin. Thus the apostate church of Rome, who is called a "woman", and may be said to be a "foolish" one, being a wicked one and a harlot; see Rev 17:2; pulls down the true church and house of God with both hands, as much as in her lies, by her false doctrines, and superstitious worship and idolatry; and by her murders and massacres of the saints, with the blood of whom she is said to be drunk; nay, not only pulls it down with her hands, but treads upon it with her feet, Rev 11:2. So likewise all false teachers do as this foolish woman does, by their impure lives and impious doctrines, defile the temple of God, subvert the faith of many; by means of whom the tabernacle of David, or house of God, is fallen down; the ruins and breaches of which Christ will repair in the latter day. (y) "sapientes mulieres", Munster, Baynus; so the Septuagint and Arabic versions.

Go from the presence of a foolish man,.... A wicked one; avoid him, shun his company, depart from him, have no fellowship with him, it, being dangerous, infectious, and hurtful; when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge; when it is observed that his lips pour out foolishness, what is corrupt and unsavoury, unchaste and filthy; what does not minister grace to the hearers, nor is for the use of edifying, nor any ways improving in useful knowledge, but all the reverse: the Targum is, "for there is no knowledge in his lips,'' in what is expressed by them; some understand this ironically, and render the words thus, "go right against a foolish man" (f); join in company with him, "and thou shalt not know the lips of knowledge", or learn anything by him; if you have a mind to be ignorant, keep company with a foolish man; so Jarchi and Gersom: or rather to this sense the words may be rendered, "go to a foolish man, seeing thou knowest not the lips of knowledge" (g), since thou dost not approve of wise and knowing men, whose lips would teach knowledge; and despisest the Gospel, and Gospel ministers the pope of Rome, as Cocceius on the text serves, and hear him, what his holiness and infallibility says; or some other false teacher. (f) "e regione viri stulti", De Dieu; so Gussetius, p. 495. and Schultens (g) "Abi ut stes cora in viro stolido", Cocceius.

Go against a foolish man, etc. Therefore the mocker does not find the wisdom he seeks because even if you openly proceed by disputing against his foolishness, he does not know how to understand what you say: like Arius, who contended that the word "consubstantiality" between the Father and the Son could nowhere be found in the Scriptures, although it was clearly objected to him, "I and the Father are one"; and "the Word was God," etc. Therefore, the doctrine of the prudent is easy because the lips of prudence with wisdom, that is, because whatever lips are governed by the moderation of prudence, they only delight in speaking and hearing wisdom, and they strive to devote themselves to its meditation with effort.

(Pro. 14:1-35) Every wise, &c.--literally, "The wisdoms" (compare Pro 9:1) "of women," plural, a distributive form of speech. buildeth . . . house--increases wealth, which the foolish, by mismanagement, lessen.

Avoid the society of those who cannot teach you.

Three proverbs regarding fools: 7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, And surely thou hast not known lips of knowledge; i.e., surely hast not brought into experience that he possesses lips which express experimental knowledge, or: surely thou must confess on reflection that no prudent word has come forth from his mouth. If 7b were intended to assign a motive, then the expression would be כּי בל־תּדע or וּבל־תּדע (Isa 44:9), according to which Aquila and Theodotion translate, καὶ οὐ μὴ γνῷς. נגד is the sphere of vision, and מנּגד denotes either away from the sphere of vision, as e.g., Isa 1:16, or, inasmuch as מן is used as in מעל, מתּחת, and the like: at a certain distance from the sphere of vision, but so that one keeps the object in sight, Gen 21:16. נגד ל denotes, as the inverted expression Deu 28:66 shows, over against any one, so that he has the object visibly before him, and מנּגד ל, Jdg 20:34, from the neighbourhood of a place where one has it in view. So also here: go away from the vis--vis (vis = visûs) of the foolish man, if thou hast to do with such an one; whence, 7b, follows what he who has gone away must on looking back say to himself. בל (with the pret. as e.g., Isa 33:23) expresses a negative with emphasis. Nolde and others, also Fleischer, interpret 7b relatively: et in quo non cognoveris labia scientiae. If וּבל־ידע were the expression used, then it would be explained after Pro 9:13, for the idea of the foolish man is extended: and of such an one as absolutely knows not how to speak anything prudent. But in וּבל־ידעתּ the relative clause intended must be indicated by the added בּו: and of such an one in whom... Besides, in this case וּלא (vid., Psa 35:15) would have been nearer than וּבל. The lxx has modified this proverb, and yet has brought out nothing that is correct; not only the Syr., but also Hitzig follows it, when he translates, "The foolish man hath everything before him, but lips of knowledge are a receptacle of knowledge" (וּכלי דּעת). It racks one's brains to find out the meaning of the first part here, and, as Bttcher rightly says, who can be satisfied with the "lips of knowledge" as the "receptacle of knowledge"?