Proverbs 11 explained: Honesty, Kindness and What Lasts

Fair scales, humble hearts (vv. 1-8)

Traders weighed goods on hand scales, and a rigged weight quietly cheated the buyer, something the LORD is said to hate. The sayings that follow claim honesty keeps a person's path clear, while pride, crookedness and trust in money trip people up, especially in a "day of wrath", likely meaning a time of disaster, death or God's judgment.

Words that build or wreck (vv. 9-14)

Mocking, gossip and smooth lies can ruin a neighbor or a whole town, while people who keep confidences and give good advice hold a community together. A city cheers when decent people do well and when cruel ones fall.

Risky promises and real gain (vv. 15-21)

Backing a stranger's loan meant promising, often with a handshake, to pay his debt if he failed to, and the writer warns against it. Kindness is said to come back to the kind, while cruel or crooked gain is like wages that slip away.

A ring on a pig (v. 22)

Nose rings were ordinary jewelry then, so the picture is a lovely ornament wasted on a pig: beauty without good judgment loses its worth. The saying is blunt and aimed only at women, since much of this book's advice is addressed to young men.

Generous versus grasping (vv. 23-28)

Giving freely is said to bring more in return, while holding on too tightly leads to want. In a food shortage, someone who held back grain to push prices up was cursed, and someone who sold it at a fair price was blessed.

What actually lasts (vv. 29-31)

Someone who wrecks their own household is left with nothing but "wind", while a good person's life is like a "tree of life" that nourishes others. The last verse reasons that if good people are repaid for their deeds in this life, the wicked surely will be too.

Key verse: Proverbs 11:3

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether promises that goodness rescues from death describe how life usually tends to go, or point mainly to judgment and reward after death.

Something to think about

When have you seen honesty or generosity pay off, when have you seen it cost someone, and what do you make of the difference?