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About this book

Proverbs

About this book
Chapter 12

1 The one who loves discipline loves knowledge, but the one who hates reproof is stupid. 2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord, but the Lord condemns a person with wicked schemes. 3 No one can be established through wickedness, but a righteous root cannot be moved. 4 A noble wife is the crown of her husband, but the wife who acts shamefully is like rottenness in his bones. 5 The plans of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. 6 The words of the wicked lie in wait to shed innocent blood, but the words of the upright will deliver them. 7 The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the righteous household will stand. 8 A person will be praised in accordance with his wisdom, but the one with a bewildered mind will be despised. 9 Better is a person of humble standing who works for himself, than one who pretends to be somebody important yet has no food. 10 A righteous person cares for the life of his animal, but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel. 11 The one who works his field will have plenty of food, but whoever chases daydreams lacks sense. 12 The wicked person has desired the stronghold of the wicked, but the root of the righteous will yield fruit. 13 The evil person is ensnared by the transgression of his speech, but the righteous person escapes out of trouble. 14 A person will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words, and the work of his hands will be rendered to him. 15 The way of a fool is right in his own opinion, but the one who listens to advice is wise. 16 A fool’s annoyance is known at once, but the prudent conceals dishonor. 17 The faithful witness tells what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit. 18 Speaking recklessly is like the thrusts of a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing. 19 The one who tells the truth will endure forever, but the one who lies will last only for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.⁠ 21 No harm will be directed at the righteous, but the wicked are filled with calamity. 22 The Lord abhors a person who lies, but those who deal truthfully are his delight. 23 The shrewd person conceals knowledge, but foolish people proclaim folly. 24 The diligent person will rule, but the slothful will be put to forced labor. 25 Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy. 26 The righteous person is cautious in his friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. 27 The lazy person does not roast his prey, but personal possessions are precious to the diligent. 28 In the path of righteousness there is life, but another path leads to death.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Kings 22:22 and Proverbs 12:22

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In 1 Kings, God approves a spirit’s plan to lie to Ahab through false prophecy, using it as a means to an end. This conflicts with texts like Proverbs, which rejects all lying. The contrast shows how wisdom literature can conflict with narrative texts.

Passages

1 Kings 22:22

Hebrew Bible
20 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die there?’ One said this and another that. 21 Then a spirit stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ 22 The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Kings

Proverbs 12:22

Hebrew Bible
19 The one who tells the truth will endure forever, but the one who lies will last only for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy. 21 No harm will be directed at the righteous, but the wicked are filled with calamity. 22 The Lord abhors a person who lies, but those who deal truthfully are his delight. 23 The shrewd person conceals knowledge, but foolish people proclaim folly. 24 The diligent person will rule, but the slothful will be put to forced labor.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

References

"... According to the law, “the punishment for the false witness is to be the same as the one he would have brought upon his victim if he had succeeded with his charge: ‘life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.’ In the story much care is taken to show that Ahab, upon whom the responsibility was laid for Naboth’s death, was treated in a way that closely paralleled the treatment of Naboth. Indeed the detailed attention to retaliation is remarkable. Ahab wrongfully appropriated Naboth’s land, and he died attempting to appropriate land, the city of Ramoth-gilead—one of the original cities of refuge in ancient Israel. Lies and deception in the mouths of the elders of Jezreel and certain established prophets, respectively, brought about both men’s deaths. Curiously, lies originate in the heavenly sphere as well as the earthly; for the lie that sends Ahab to his death was put on the lips of Zedekiah and the four hundred prophets in Ahab’s court by spirit” (רוח), which was sent by YHWH himself for that express purpose ... (1 Kings 22:22). The means to that end was a deliberate lie, as the spirit had already indicated ... The actions in each case have a judicial setting, an early court trafficking in lies in the case of the elders, and a heavenly one in the case of the prophets who come under its influence in speaking lies to Ahab about the successful outcome of the battle ..."
Duane L. Christensen, Word Biblical Commentary: Deuteronomy 1-21:9 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 1112–1113.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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1 Kings 22:22 and Proverbs 12:22

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