Font Size
Proverbs 16:15-17
New Catholic Bible
Proverbs 16:15-17
New Catholic Bible
15 When a king’s face brightens it spells life,
and his favor is like a rain shower[a] in spring.
The Path of the Upright[b]
16 It is better to acquire wisdom rather than gold,
and more desirable to acquire understanding rather than silver.
17 The path of the upright avoids evil;
he who treads carefully preserves his life.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 16:15 Rain shower: bringing the awaited rain for the growth of the vegetation.
- Proverbs 16:16 The maxims follow one another, in no real order, to oppose the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the foolish. Under different formulas, the same virtues are always set forth. In this group, we will see above all the recommendations to be attentive to what one says and to hold in the cry of anger, which is reputed as wisdom (Prov 16:32). We will have discerned little by little that the Book of Proverbs contains a complete morality of the human word. Humility is placed in value (notably in Prov 17:19), and at times we divine better the meaning of poverty (Prov 17:5), pardon (Prov 7:9), and understanding (Prov 16:16, 22, 27).
