Proverbs 13 commentary

1: Wise children hear a father's instruction but scorners hear not rebuke 2: 'Iysh [1] shall eat good by the fruit of their mouths but the souls of transgressors shall eat violence 3: They that guard their mouths protect their lives but they that open wide their lips shall have destruction 4: The souls of sluggards desire and have nothing but the souls of the diligent shall be made fat 5: The righteous hate lying but the wicked are loathsome and come to shame 6: Righteousness keeps them that are upright in The Way but wickedness overthrows sinners 7: There are [those] who make themselves rich yet have nothing ^{Revelation 3:17} there are [those] who make themselves poor yet have great riches ^{Revelation 2:9} 8: The ransom of 'iysh’s life are their riches but the poor hears not rebuke 9: The light of the righteous rejoices but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out 10: Only by pride comes contention but with the well advised is wisdom 11: Wealth gotten by worthless means shall be diminished but they that gather by labor shall [have] increase 12: Hope deferred makes the heart sick but when the desire comes it is a tree of life 13: Whoever despises The Word ^{Psalm 100:5 [TR] [2]} shall be destroyed but they that fear The Commandment ^{Matthew 22:36-40} shall be rewarded 14: The law of the wise is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death 15: Good understanding gives favor but the way of transgressors is hard 16: The prudent deals with knowledge but fools lay open their folly 17: A wicked messenger falls into affliction but a faithful ambassador health ^{Exodus 15:26, Hebrews 8:6} 18: Poverty and shame shall be to those who refuse instruction but they that regard reproof shall be honored 19: The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil 20: They that walk with the wise shall be wise but companions of fools shall be destroyed 21: Evil pursues sinners but to the righteous good shall be repayed 22: The good leave an inheritance to their children's children and the wealth of sinners is laid up for the just 23: Much food is in the tillage of the poor but there is that is destroyed for lack of justice ^{[or careful planning]} 24: [They that] withhold [discipline, not exercising parental] authority hate their children but they who love them chastise them early [from a young age] 25: The righteous eat to the satisfying of their souls but the belly of the wicked shall lack

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[1] 'iysh H376 Hebrew for man; husband; mixed crowds of both women and men; homosapien-sapien in general; even translated by scholars as “you [thou]” in Proverbs 3:31 (KJV). The word, Iysh, has no legitimate claim as a word exclusive to males. Context alone must determine translation...In this commentary, the phonetic spelling of the Hebrew word 'iysh is used instead of the word man, mankind, or human whenever the word refers to mixed crowds of both sexes or to the human race in general. As this commentary is posted online one chapter at a time, readers may find this definition posted in footnotes for first use of in any given chapter

[2] References containing ^[TR] in bracketed superscript are alerts that some Masoretic/Minority/eclectic Hebrew and Greek texts contradict the Ben Chayyim Masoretic and Majority Texts (Textus Receptus/Received Text 3^rd Edition) that the King James Version [and other Bible versions] are based upon. In these instances, doctrines critical to Christianity, such as the Godhead, the virgin birth, and the physical resurrection of Christ, are almost always negatively impacted. As this commentary is posted online one chapter at a time, readers may find this ^[TR] alert posted in footnotes for first use of in any given chapter

Romans Chapter 14: Faith Food and the Sabbath

    1: Them who are weak in the faith receive ye but not to doubtful disputations 2: For one believes that they may eat all things another who is weak eats vegetables 3: Let not those who eat despise them that eat not and let not them who eat not judge them that eat for God has received him 4: Who are you that judges another one's servant to their own master they stand or fall Yes they shall be upheld for God is able to make them stand 5: One person esteems one day above another, another esteems every day alike Let everyone be fully persuaded in their own minds 6: They that regard the day regard it unto the Lord and they that regard not the day to the Lord they do not regard it they who eat, eat to the Lord for they give God thanks and they who eat not to the Lord they eat not and give God thanks[1] 7: For none of us lives to themselves and no one dies to themselves 8: For whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we die we die unto the Lord whether we live therefore or die we are the Lord’s 9: For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and living 10: But why do you judge your brothers and sisters[2] or why do you set at nought your brothers and sisters for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ 11: For it is written As I live saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God 12: So then every one of us shall give account of themselves to God 13: Let us not therefore judge one another anymore but judge this rather that no one put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in a brother or sister’s way 14: I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself but to them that esteem anything to be unclean to them it is unclean 15: But if your brother [or sister] be grieved with your food now walkest thou not charitably Destroy not them with your food for whom Christ died 16: Let not then your good be evil spoken of 17: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost 18: For they that in these things serve Christ are acceptable to God and approved of all 19: Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace and things wherewith one may edify another 20: For food destroy not the work of God All things indeed are pure but it is evil for that one who eats with offence 21: It is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine nor any thing whereby your brothers [and sisters] stumble or are offended or are made weak 22: Do you have faith have it to yourself before God Happy are they that condemn not themselves in that thing which they allow 23: And they who doubt are condemned if they eat because they eat not of faith for whatsoever is not of faith is sin

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[1] In illustrating the extraordinary liberty experienced by believers in Christ, the apostle chose two subjects of the Mosaic Law that were “big deals”—the Sabbath and the eating of meat (more specifically pork and other unclean animals, [but this illustration encompasses other issues as well])—He bluntly wrote that it did not matter what day was chosen in which to worship or not to worship. What mattered was, that one did violate the conscience in the matter. It was the same with eating food. It did not matter what one ate or did not eat. What mattered was that the conscience not be violated. In Christian love, however, he tempered this liberty by encouraging Christians to be considerate of the consciences of others. And the Holy Spirit, knowing the hearts of all, warned against haughty spirits who would condemn those who did not share their own convictions. Each believer is a servant of the Most High God, and stands or falls to their own master—Jesus Christ. And the scriptures give assurance that Jesus is well able to make his own stand.

[2] The Greek language, as are all languages, is androcentric (male centered). Because of this, the entire human race, congregation, group, or crowd is often referred to in the male vernacular. In translating such passages, there is no reason to follow the ancient lead. Therefore, in this commentary, any reference to a brother in Christ that, contextually, clearly refers to the familial relationship of all believers, will express the true meaning of brothers and sisters in Christ.

Acts Chapter 22: Visions Baptism Presecution

       1: Men brethren and fathers hear ye my defense which I make now to you 2: And when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them they kept the more silence and he said 3: I am verily a man which am a Jew born in Tarsus a city in Cilicia yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers and was zealous toward God as you all are this day 4: And I persecuted this Way unto the death binding and delivering into prisons both men and women 5: As also the high priest does bear me witness and all the estate of the elders from whom also I received letters to the brethren and went to Damascus to bring them who were there bound to Jerusalem for to be punished 6: And it came to pass that as I made my journey and was come near to Damascus about noon suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me 7: And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me Saul Saul why do you persecute  me 8: And I answered Who are you Lord And he said to me I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you persecute 9: And they that were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me 10: And I said What shall I do Lord And the Lord said to me Arise and go into Damascus and there it shall be told you of all things which are appointed for you to do 11: And when I could not see for the glory of that light being led by the hand of them that were with me I came into Damascus 12: And one Ananias a devout man according to the law having a good report of all the Jews who dwell there 13: Came to me and stoodand said to me Brother Saul receive your sight And the same hour I looked up upon him 14: And he said The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will and see that Just One and should hear the voice of his mouth 15: For you shall be his witness to all people[1] of what you have seen and heard 16: And now why do you tarry arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord 17: And it came to pass that when I was come again to Jerusalem even while I prayed in the temple I was in a trance 18: And saw him saying to me Make haste and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem for they will not receive your testimony concerning me 19: And I said Lord they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on you 20: And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed I also was standing by and consenting to his death and kept the clothing of them that slew him 21: And he said to me Depart for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles 22: And they gave him audience to this word and then lifted up their voices and said Away with such a fellow from the earth for it is not fit that he should live 23: And as they cried out and cast off their clothes and threw dust into the air 24: The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle and bade that he should be examined by scourging that he might know why they cried so against him 25: And as they bound him with thongs Paul said to the centurion that stood by Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned 26: When the centurion heard that he went and told the chief captain saying Take heed what you do for this man is a Roman 27: Then the chief captain came, and said to him Tell me are you a Roman He said Yes 28: And the chief captain answered With a great sum obtained I this freedom And Paul said But I was free born[2] 29: Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him and the chief captain also was afraid after he knew that he was a Roman and because he had bound him 30: On the morrow because he would have known the certainty of what he was accused of the Jews he loosed him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them

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[1] All languages are androcentric (male centered), and the English as well as the Greek routinely describes the human race—audawm—as man. Words matter. They shape perceptions, ideas, opinions, and world views. They effect the way we physically treat one another, and the time is long past to reject all forms of androcentricity in language. Women are not men. This verse is unarguably an example of the Greek word, anthropos, being used to describe all people—not just men. Some English examples of androcentric words include: Human (audawm) and mankind (audawm). These are embedded so deeply within the psyches of most people that, to them, it seems silly to remark upon them at all. That is all the more reason to call them to attention, in hopes that hearts will be convicted, and words that favor equality will begin to replace those that discriminate. 

[2] The Apostle Paul was a Roman Citizen who was a Jew. So, the man who took the gospel to the Gentiles was, in a sense, one of them. We know that he identified more with the Jews and received a magnificent Jewish education. This would suggest that his father was Jewish, and that his Roman citizenship came through his mother. In the previous Athenian Greek culture (from which the Roman Empire derived much of its own cultural laws and traditions), citizenship came primarily through being born to freeborn Athenian women. Athenian culture remains very much with us today in modern wedding ceremonies where the father [kyrios/lord] gives away the bride. That was not simply a traditional in those days. It was an entirely legal process, where the bride literally belonged to her father/uncle/brother/neighbor (whoever her lord [kyrios] was, until ownership of her person was legally transferred from one kyrios to another).

Additional commentary pending for this chapter. Questions and comments are welcome.