Proverbs 6a

I argued last week that the writer, presumably Solomon, uses metaphors, saying one thing in order to understand another thing. Good poetry often has layers of meaning that the reader is invited to explore. However layered the narrative is, all the layers are important.

I say that because Solomon was certainly talking, at a base level, about prostitution and adultery. These are prime examples of a breach of trust. When Solomon introduces Lady Strange, he characterizes her as “the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the partner of her youth, and forgets her sacred covenant….” (Proverbs 2: 16-17).

The terms ‘partner’ and ‘covenant’ represent Lady Strange’s wedding vows, on one level, vows that she is now breaking. In the Biblical narrative, we are familiar with another ‘covenant’; that is, the agreement God offered to Adam, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. Lady Strange has broken that promise too. There is a pattern, so there may be other layers of promise-breaking as well. As we read last week, she even breaks the deal with her lovers because her honey-laced words soon become bitter, and the fool is soon “at the point of utter ruin.”

Solomon warns of ruinous choices in life, of making financial pledges that one cannot keep (6: 1-5), of falling further into debt because of laziness (6: 6-11), and of being deceived by scoundrels. Here’s how you can identify a scoundrel as he tries to trap you.

6: 12-15. A scoundrel and a villain

goes around with crooked speech,

winking the eyes, shuffling the feet,

pointing the fingers,

with perverted mind devising evil,

continually sowing discord;

on such a one calamity will descend suddenly,

in a moment, damage beyond repair.

The first part of Solomon’s warning implies that you can tell scoundrels by their body language. Maybe, though one gesture may be misread. However, if certain gestures are constantly linked to the lies that a person tells, especially if that person is a public figure, then this warning makes sense. Perhaps we can learn by following the line of cause and effect. “Pointing the fingers,” “with perverted mind devising evil,” and then “continually sowing discord.” Eventually the truth will expose such a person.

6: 16-19. There are six things that the LORD hates,

seven that are an abomination to him:

haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that hurry to run to evil,

a lying witness who testifies falsely,

and one who sows discord in a family.

This paragraph begins with a common Hebrew literary form. Amos uses it repeatedly: “Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke punishment” (Amos 1: 3). So here we have a similar way of highlighting a list. This is a summary of the discussion up to this point: “There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him.”

Interestingly, most of these sub-points involve deceptive practices carried out by the body: eyes, tongue, hands, heart, and feet. As with much of Scripture, life is understood here as a whole. In the Bible, hypocrisy occurs when the whole is broken, when body and mind are split; what one professes to believe is not verified by what one actually does.

The Apostle Paul also links bodies and minds as a whole: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies, so that you obey their desires” (Romans 6: 12). “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God…” (Romans 12: 1-2).

The sum of the six things that God hates is the seventh point; that such behavior “sows discord in a family.” This repeats verse 14 where there is a curious semantic structure. There are two words for “continually” and two words for “discord.” The first set of words mean ‘all the time’ and ‘every time’. The second set involve two words that are related, and both mean ‘quarrel, contention, or strife’. So, alternate translations are “one who stirs up trouble,” “one who starts arguments,” and “one who unleashes conflicts.”

The last word in verse 19 is translated as ‘family’ in the NRSV. However, the word is larger than that, and is sometimes translated as ‘brethren’ as we might apply to all the male members of a synagogue or church. Sometimes it refers to an even larger group of people who all live in one place, small as a town, large as a nation. Paul was on to these kinds of people and would not let them get away with causing trouble.

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded” (Romans 16: 17-18).