Proverbs 14

Oxen were the ancient tractors. They pulled plows to break up soil before farmers planted seeds. Then they pulled wagons that brought the harvest to barns and to market.

Some scholars say this is a verse that looks damaged by time, and it’s hard to make sense of it. A more literal translation illustrates this: “Fools mock guilt, but the upright find acceptance.” The reference to “guilt,” presumably means the seldom-mentioned guilt offering (Leviticus 6:1-7).

The writer more literally compares the “house” of the bad person to the “tent” of the good person. At first glance it looks like some kind of message about a bad person’s more “permanent” home, compared to the temporary home of a good person. But to people 3,000 years ago, a tent was a home. So, many scholars say the writer was simply using parallel words to express parallel ideas. “House” was often a way of talking about the people inside. And since the writer says the house of the good person will blossom or bloom or flourish—depending on the Bible version—that’s how we describe something that’s alive, as opposed to an inanimate object like a tent.

Repeated in Proverbs 16:25.

The writer literally says in the second line, “the wicked at the gates of the righteous.” Some versions say the wicked battle the good people and make it only as far as the city gates. Others say the wicked are taken there as humiliated captives. There’s also the possibility they face a court trial there. City gates were a popular meeting place where trials were conducted by “elders at the city gate” (Deuteronomy 21:19 NCV). But many scholars say that’s not likely the meaning here.

Scholars debate whether the message is about good people being protected even after they die (“in his death,” b moto, in Hebrew), or protected by their integrity (b tummo). The Hebrew texts read the first way, but scholars argue that Jews 3,000 years ago didn’t express belief in the afterlife. So, they suggest the text may have originally read as “integrity.” When old scrolls wore out, scribes made new copies. But if some of the letters on the old scroll were worn off, scribes had to make educated guesses. A scribe may have made that honest mistake while copying an old scroll at a time when some Jews, such as the Pharisees, taught about an afterlife. But that, too, is an educated guess.

Bible experts debate if a “not” got lost from the verse somewhere along the way. The text seems to say, more literally, that wisdom is known even to fools. But some scholars say it’s more likely that the original said wisdom is “not” made known. People of understanding have it, but the fools don’t. Some Bible versions say the people of understanding are wise “and even fools recognize it” (New Century Version)—though they don’t necessarily have it.