8LISTEN, MY SON, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
9They will be a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
10My son, if sinners entice you,
do not give in to them.
11If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait for someone’s blood,
let’s waylay some harmless soul;
12let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
14throw in your lot with us,
and we will share a common purse”—
15my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
16for their feet rush into sin,
they are swift to shed blood.
17How useless to spread a net
in full view of all the birds!
18These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they waylay only themselves!
19Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the lives of those who get it.
Original Meaning
THE LITERARY SETTING for the instruction in chapters 1–9 is the home schooling of a young man coming of age. The education depicted here is not an example of home schooling as we know it today, with lessons in literature, science, and math, yet its life lessons have a similar goal of preparing a young person for adult life. The refrain “my son”1 that appears throughout chapters 1–7 (1:8; 2:1; 3:1; 4:1; 4:10, 4:20; 5:1; 6:1; 6:20; 7:1; 7:24) marks a call to attention, a common feature of ancient Near Eastern instructions. The parallel verse structure of 1:8 indicates that both father and mother participate in the education of this young man. This address to a “son” may refer to a parental relation or the relation between teacher and pupil,2 but the teaching of Lemuel’s mother in 31:1 suggests that mothers were also commonly seen as teachers of their sons. Still, the parents’ teaching seems to be spoken mostly by the father. Later in the instruction the father recalls when his own father introduced him to wisdom (4:1–9), making the same promises of garlands and crowns (cf. 1:9).
Three invitations appear in Proverbs 1. The young listener is told to pay attention to the teaching of his parents (1:8) and the correction of Woman Wisdom (1:33), but to ignore the offer to join violent men (1:10, 15). In essence, each invitation is a call to join or identify with a way of life. The motif of competing voices and invitations, calls and seductions runs throughout Proverbs 1–9, and the repetition urges the reader to consider the ends or consequences of these crucial life decisions.
If the prologue of 1:1–7 presents the purposes of the book and the benefits that can be gained from its study, the sections that immediately follow offer two vivid examples of wisdom instruction. The invitation to join violent men (1:8–19) and the first speech of personified Wisdom (1:20–33) are lessons in learning how to discern true speech from false. Said another way, if the prologue is about learning, with synonyms for knowledge and understanding scattered throughout, the instruction that follows teaches that knowledge is gained by paying careful attention to the speech one hears. One must attend to words, their outcomes, and the character of the persons who speak them. This concern for the right use of speech also appears in the collection of proverbs and sentences (15:1–7; 26:22–28).
1:8–9. It is important to notice that the first lessons of parental instruction do not teach directly; they quote. The parents direct attention away from themselves, turning the young man’s attention to the voices he will hear when he leaves them to make his way in the world. This sort of simulation training is designed to show where the different invitations will ultimately lead those who speak them as well as those who accept them. Politicians and other public persuaders know how to use the inoculation effect to answer objections and counterarguments before listeners encounter them somewhere else. Here the parental teachers hope to do the same by quoting and then refuting the seductive messages that will inevitably try to undo their teaching.
In 1:8–9, the parents address the young man directly. The word they use for teaching (musar, “instruction”) was used in the prologue that also spoke of young men receiving “instruction” and wise ones who “listen” (šmʿ ). The first line of verse 8, then, sums up the prologue and links it with the parental instruction that follows in chapters 1–9. The second line of verse 8, “do not forsake your mother’s teaching,” echoes the wisdom and discipline that fools despise in verse 7. Verse 8 not only summarizes the importance of heeding instruction, it also links the prologue with the issue of knowing whom to listen to. The lesson is deceptively simple. Listen to your parents. Do not listen to greedy men. More importantly, listen to wisdom, for it is wisdom that your parents teach you. Lesson number one in developing discernment about how to live is learning how to listen and to whom.
1:10–16. The writer does not use soft words to describe those who speak next. In 1:10, they are called “sinners,” and their invitation is called “enticement” (using the same Heb. root used for the “simple” in 1:4). Their call not only appeals to the simple, it makes simple those who take it to heart. The parents’ warning, “Do not give in to them,” is literally, “Do not go!” Some see this invitation to street violence as a real danger for Israelite youth in the early monarchic era,3 while others see it as symbolic and applicable to any sort of corporate violence.4 Probably both levels would be heard by ancient listeners.
The parental instructor knows well what those men will say and gives the young listener a preview. They will declare their intent to lie in wait, to ambush the innocent, and to swallow them the way the underworld (šeʾol) swallows the dead. Perhaps this violence is planned for its own thrill, but the gang also hopes to gain valuable plunder. By quoting their hopes for easy riches, the gains of 1:13 are set in contrast with the rewards of 1:9. Unlike the garland and chain that are won through study and discipline, these goods come at bitter cost to the victims.
Therefore, there is a tragic irony as this gang of thieves proclaims loyalty to one another through the promise of a common purse. It is a promise of community, but what community can you have with people who are enemies of community? Others have to pay the price for your fellowship. Their community does not build, it destroys. It does not embrace, it eliminates. The promises of these violent men repeats first plural pronouns; “we” and “us” seek to create a sense of comradery, but it is, as Kenneth Burke once described war, a “disease of cooperation.”
Along with quick riches and a sense of belonging, another enticement may be the lure of excitement and power.5 The quotation seems to end abruptly, but perhaps this is because enough has been heard, we know the purpose of this group of men. They promise the power of violence, the riches of stolen gain, and the fellowship of thieves.
Parental instruction resumes in 1:15, repeating terms from 1:10: “My son, do not go along with them.”6 Literally, the phrase reads, “do not walk in their way,” a parallel to “do not set foot on their paths.” Verse 16 adds that their feet rush along that path to sin and bloodshed, but it is not clear why the parents repeat what readers have already learned from verse 11. Genesis 9 warns against taking the blood of another human, and we know that bloodshed was a common metaphor for crime and injustice in the prophets, but why do the parents stress the matter of walking and running? It is because these men are rushing into a trap.
1:17–19. Verse 17 contains the first real proverb of the book of Proverbs. This lesson-in-a-saying departs from the typical instruction form in that it speaks no imperative and offers no reward. Yet this simple saying is difficult to understand, in part because it seems to intrude on its context. It does not seem to fit, and so it works like a riddle. Riddles use a cipher language that offers a clue at the same time that it conceals a trap.7 Therefore, we read this proverb about a trap, watching for ways that it may work as a trap itself.
A net or trap often appears in the Bible as a metaphor for the violence of the wicked (Mic. 7:2) as well as their judgment (Job 18:8–10; Ps. 141:10; Hos. 7:12). Trapping is a form of hunting with a long history in the ancient Near East, and even today there are many varieties of birds in Palestine. The net used in ancient times was probably strewn with seeds, and birds were caught when the hunter pulled the drawstrings.8
Part of the difficulty of interpreting the proverb and its riddle is a problem of translation. The term for “useless” (ḥinnam) can also mean “for no reason” or “for nothing.” It is also used in 1:11 of the “harmless soul,” who has done nothing to provoke attack.9 Then there is the matter of how to interpret “in full view of all the birds.” The phrase literally reads, “in the eyes of.” Most take the saying as a jab at the foolishness of scattering seed on the net while the birds are watching, assuming that the birds see the would-be-trappers and stay away. How true to nature is this? Once the trappers have left, the birds head for the seed, because they do not understand the difference between food and bait. This is the whole idea of the trap; birds are caught unaware. Therefore, the phrase “in the eyes of” may refer to the bird’s understanding (or lack of it). The saying could follow the Hebrew word order and read, “For nothing is the net spread in the eyes of every bird.”10 Whatever translation is chosen, the point of the proverb is that birds are only trapped when they are unaware that there is a trap.
Now we begin to see the connection between this saying about birds and traps and the invitation of this gang. Notice that the proverb is framed with blood in 1:16 and 18. Seeking the blood of others, the gang actually lies in wait for its own; it will fall into its own trap. Traps work when the prey does not know what is happening, and so the violent men do not know they will be caught themselves. They believe they lie in wait for someone’s blood, for “no reason” (1:11), yet they lie in wait for their own (1:18 repeats the terms for “lie in wait” and “waylay”). Like the birds that see “no reason” to avoid a net strewn with seed, these men are caught unaware. A proverb (or riddle) about traps is used to demonstrate that the way of violent gain is a trap itself.
The afterword or coda in 1:19 adds focus to what has already been said in 1:18, repeating the word for life (nepeš) used there. Just as the violent people “waylay only themselves” (lit., “their own life”), so “ill-gotten gain . . . takes away the lives of those who get it.” The young man, hearing this last teaching of the parents, should also make a comparison between the deadly lure of ill-gotten gain and the garland and chain of instruction. The one reward leads to death, while the other, by implication, leads to life.
Thus, the first instruction ends by urging the young learner to consider the outcomes and consequences that follow from the way of life one chooses. The instruction reveals the self-deception at work in the gang’s invitation and intends to teach the young student how to discern truth from falsehood. There is more here than learning to avoid trouble; it also means learning to listen to the words of others with wisdom. Only the simple believe everything they hear. One chooses a way in life, in large measure, by what one chooses to listen to and believe.
THE READER’S ROLE. With this first encounter with the words “my son,” readers are asked to identify with a boy coming of age and preparing to make his way in the world. Younger or older, male or female, this readerly role here is necessary, for all that follows in the book is cast in terms of the young man’s education. We may find it strange that such a role is required of us as readers, but we will see that the concerns of Proverbs transcend the boundaries of gender and age as well as those of time and place.
The concerns of the young man ultimately are the concerns of all believers. So, for example, the parents’ concern for listening carefully to the invitations that come one’s way are not much different from those of parents today. One of the most important marks of wisdom is the ability to discern truth from error; one uses it to distinguish sincerity of character from motives less noble. While this lesson must be learned by the young, the work of critical listening is equally important for adults. It helps one learn the difference between wisdom and folly.
We have seen that the parents want their son to consider the character of those who speak as well as the outcomes of the words he will hear. Words reveal the intentions of the heart, but also, as we noted earlier, the direction of one’s life, symbolized in the way or path one walks. The proverb of the net uses the images of bait and trap to argue that quick and easy stolen gain exacts its cost sooner or later. The timeless issues touched here are false and enticing speech, its indications of character, the deadly ends of violence and ill-gotten gain, and the self-deception necessary to walk this path of life.
Why begin with theft and violence? Gangs succeed because they promise to meet needs for security and identity that are neglected in families and homes. One inner-city principal recommends the three R’s of recognition, respect, and routine, a balance of affection and discipline. When these are lacking, children and adolescents turn to the gang that uses the language of family to express loyalty to one another. Recruiters make promises that the gang will provide and look out for these kids while downplaying the threats and violence that come to any who want to leave.11
In seeking to bridge contexts, readers may ask why this ancient picture of theft and violence comes first in the instruction of the young man. While there are many parents today who are afraid that their sons and daughters will join gangs, most readers of this commentary would probably say that their children do not find the invitation attractive. When I preach and teach from Proverbs in churches, I jokingly ask if anyone there has been tempted to join the Mob. No one ever answers yes, and then I observe that it is strange to begin a book of teaching by warning against a way of life that few readers find tempting.
As Scripture, the book of Proverbs must be read and studied in the context of the Hebrew canon, and so we should look for similar themes and references to other biblical texts. Thus, for example, the old cartoon plot of the coyote who falls into the trap he set for the roadrunner can be found in the Psalms. Prayers for deliverance often ask for this form of poetic justice: “Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from men of violence who plan to trip my feet. Proud men have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path. . . . May disaster hunt down men of violence” (Ps. 140:4–5, 11b; see also 35:5–8; 64:1–10).
In addition, certain words and phrases of this first instruction lead the reader to other biblical pictures of violence. Joseph’s brothers overpowered him and sold him into slavery for twenty shekels of silver (Gen. 37:19–28). Many of the words used by the brothers are echoed in the words of the gang here—most notably “blood” (dam), “pit” (bor), “profit or gain” (baṣaʿ ), and “life” (nepeš).12 Furthermore, Proverbs 1:16 uses virtually the same Hebrew words as Isaiah 59:7, “their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood.”13 The larger context of the chapter calls a wayward Israel to account for its sins against its citizens, repeating the absence of justice (Isa. 59:6, 8, 9, 14). Bloodshed and betrayal are stressed.14
These two quotations from Israel’s biblical tradition suggest that from beginning to end, Israel’s story included violence for the sake of gain. The ideal of justice and neighbor love mandated in Proverbs 1:3 was perverted into abuse of sibling and neighbor. Prophets pronounced their judgment on a society that went after “ill-gotten gain” (1:19). Jeremiah 6:13 and 8:10 use the term, not as a synonym for violence but as its possible motivation, “greedy for gain.”
These intertextual references15 in particular portray Israel at its worst, selling and betraying brothers for gain. By directing the reader to the beginning and end of Israel’s history, this text in Proverbs suggests that the violence and greed of a marauding band is a picture of what Israel (and Judah in particular) had become. Joseph’s brothers become a symbolic type of later Israel, whose violence of greed and injustice Isaiah laments (Isa. 59:6–14).
In sum, the references to texts from the Torah and the Prophets suggest that violence like that practiced by the gang has been present in Israel’s history from inception to the Exile. Could it be that readers were to see in this warning against gang violence the consequences of Israel’s own story, in particular, Israel’s own entrapment in the net of greed? If we are to hear the message of this parental instruction in its biblical context, we will recognize the potential to be greedy for gain in ourselves and will also acknowledge the temptation to ill-gotten gain, even though temptations to violence are rarer.
Contemporary Significance
GREED AS A TRAP. We are now in a better position to suggest a reason that the instruction begins with a warning against violent gangs. Even as we join with the parental teachers in deploring this way of life, we should be careful about equating this gang with modern gang life, especially if it leads us to see gang members as anything other than humans who need love, correction, and redemption. One volunteer in a college one-on-one program spoke of the lessons she learned in trying to befriend an eighth-grade girl struggling to stay in school and avoid the gangs: “How can we dissuade young people from such an appealing and welcoming option when there are no favorable alternatives? It is unfair to criticize gang members for poorly choosing their path in life if we are unwilling to give them some favorable choices.”16 Gang members themselves say that they are seduced by the promises of wealth, power, and belonging because they see little hope in meeting any of their needs for security any other way. Churches can and should support those ministries that attempt to offer “favorable choices,” remembering that for many, the temptation is real.
Still, the warning seems extreme: Who of us reading this book is tempted by violent crime? Tempted to join the Mob or a street gang? Who of us would say, “Yes, that’s what I want”? So we read along, ready to pass by the words of the gang and go on to whatever else the text has for us. We read on and find a proverb. As we look more closely at it, we see the folly of the gang compared with birds trapped in a net. But we aren’t ready for what comes next. This is the end of all who are greedy for gain, ill-gotten and otherwise, for greed takes the life of its possessors (1:19)! Now we see that violence is a symptom, an end result of greed, desire that has gone out of bounds. To hear the prophets tell it, greed for gain leads to violence and bloodshed. To hear James tell it, evil desire entices, conceives, and gives birth to sin. Desires that battle within lead to battles and quarrels without (James 1:13–15; 4:1). Finally, adds the proverb, violence becomes its own trap.
Perhaps we have walked into a trap. The trap of the proverb is that we believe we would reject violence, but then few are enticed by violence. We would reject ill-gotten gain, although we might understand the temptation to cut corners to come out ahead. We read on, perhaps even past the proverb, and miss its point about greed. Greed can be defined as desire that knows no bounds, desire so strong that it does not care what is done to satisfy it or what harm it does to others. There’s a trap that can catch us unaware. If we put this truth in our minds and then listen to the media barrage for a week, we may well be surprised at the desire, if not blatant greed, that we find, not only in the commercials but also in the programming itself.
Birds unaware, caught in a trap. While we may distance ourselves from greed and violence, most who will read this are Americans, people whose set of expectations of what we need is probably higher than much of the rest of the world. Juliet B. Schor, in her book The Overworked American,17 argues that Americans over the last fifty years have always chosen higher pay over time off; we work more so we can have more. Expectations of what we need have risen and so have expectations of how long we need to work for it, leading to an ever escalating cycle of “work and spend.”
In a sequel, The Overspent American,18 Schor uses her own research to tell us what we may wish we didn’t already know: We are still keeping up with the Joneses, but the Joneses are no longer the people who live next door (we hardly know them). Rather, the “reference groups” that we form at work and play tell us what we should acquire to show that we are successful. Schor claims that even children’s play groups and preschools can whet the appetite for designer clothes and expensive shoes. Add television and other media examples to the picture, and our reference groups expand to two or three economic levels above us.
After surveying a telecommunications corporation with 85,000 employees, Schor found that each hour of weekly TV viewing reduced annual savings by $208. Those surveyed reported that it was not the commercials but the lifestyles portrayed in the programs that had the greatest effect on their attitudes toward spending. Lest we think that television viewing is the only factor that increases spending and reduces savings, note that Schor also found that each additional level of education beyond high school reduces annual savings by $1,148. She also gives some examples of people who have “downshifted,” either out of choice or as victims of corporate downsizing. Over half of those she surveyed told her the change enhanced their lives so much that they hoped to make it permanent.
Now this is not a putdown of hard work or the realization that simply making it these days is not easy; it takes work and it takes time. But the proverb asks that we always examine the results of our choices and that we keep vigilant watch on our desires. Desires are not bad, but they become greedy desires when loved ones are given second place and relationships suffer—family and friends, churches and communities. Given that we live and breathe in a culture of consumerism, it is not too much to ask that we keep watch over our response to it.19 Greed is a trap, and traps only work when they are not seen for what they are. The proverb keeps us from walking on blindly—the point of birds trapped unaware. It is a warning that the power of greed can sneak up on us. Greed can crowd out the more important parts of our lives, such as community, virtue, and integrity.20
Thus, the proverb is like a trap for us. If we rush by and say, “That does not tempt me,” the proverb reminds us that birds are trapped because they are unaware of the danger. But we are caught by a merciful trapper. Can you imagine anyone who would go through all the trouble to bait a net, catch the bird, and then let it go? Yet that is what the Lord is doing here. We are caught so that we can go free. We are caught in this trap of a proverb so we might be spared the real one, the larger one of getting caught up in greed unawares. We then become aware of the dangers that might ensnare us and take the warning.
We might generalize one step further. The proverb is about being aware, having the ability to see the trap, and therefore having the ability to choose another way. If the proverb is designed to make us aware of the trap of greed, the larger context of this passage also instructs us to learn wisdom by practicing discernment. Just as the young learner was urged to recognize the enticements of the gang for what they were, we are being taught to listen critically to persuasive messages that come at us daily. Certainly we can point to advertising, but as Schor has shown, the ethos of consumerism permeates our culture. Careful and critical listening is one way that Christians can practice discernment in weighing the promises and claims set before us.
According to many, our standard of living is derived at great cost to the rest of the world. How, then, do we listen to voices all around telling us to improve our lot when the voice of Jesus tells us to look out for the least of his brothers and sisters? Jesus warns us about the dangers of greed, also asking us to watch the birds. They don’t work too many hours; they don’t gather too much and then have garage sales; they don’t even have barns. What are you worried about? What do you think you lack that you need all these things? Aren’t you more valuable than these birds that God cares for? Two are sold for a penny, yet not one falls to the ground that God does not see! Don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows (Matt. 6:25–34; 10:29–31; Luke 12:22–34).
In sum, the parent’s first lesson in wisdom asks its readers, both ancient and contemporary, to practice discernment in listening, to pay attention to outcomes, and especially to do these while watching out for temptations to greed. This first lesson in wisdom, then, asks each of us to think about the messages we hear. Can we tell the difference between truth and deception, between promise and seduction? It asks us to think about the consequences that will come if we follow the urgings of those messages. Do they bring life to ourselves and our communities, or do they take it away? It asks us to think about what we really want in life. Finally it urges us to consider the choices we make to fulfill our desires, mindful of the danger that those desires can get hijacked by greed. Wisdom offers to guide us in asking those questions, as we will see in the following section.