Proverbs 9:12 - Exposition

If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself. A transition verse. Wisdom will bring thee good; as thou hast laboured well, so will be thy reward ( 1 Corinthians 3:8 ). The LXX . (Syriac and Arabic), with the idea of perfecting the antithesis, adds, καὶ τοῖς πλησίον , "My son, if thou art wise for thyself, thou shalt be wise also for thy neighbours"—which contains the great truth that good gifts should not be selfishly enjoyed, but used and dispensed for the advantage of others ( Galatians 6:6 ). In support of our text we may quote Job 22:2 , "Can a man be profitable unto God? Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself." But if thou scornest, thou alone shalt hear it; i.e. atone for it, bear the sin, as it is expressed in Numbers 9:13 , "Forevery man shall bear his own burden" ( Galatians 6:5 ). Thus Wisdom ends her exhortation. Septuagint, "If thou turn out evil, thou alone shalt bear ( ἀντλήσεις ) evils." And then is added the following paragraph, which may possibly be derived from a Hebrew original, but seems more like a congeries made up from other passages, and foisted by some means into the Greek text: "He that stayeth himself on lies shepherdeth winds, and himself pursueth flying birds; for he hath left the ways of his own vineyard, and hath gone astray with the wheels of his own husbandry; and he goeth through a waterless desert, and over a land set in thirsty places, and with his hands he gathereth unfruitfulness."