12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with crooked speech,
13 winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
points with his finger,
14 with perverted heart devises evil,
continually sowing discord;
15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
The man who is careless about his own affairs, whether asking for surety or giving it, may well be the kind of person who will be tempted to interfere altogether too much with the affairs of others. Irresponsibility in business matters is not likely to be confined to the business realm, but will spill over into the rest of life. We should note the implied progression in these three sections of the chapter: in 1-5, easygoing thoughtlessness; in 6-11, laziness and slothfulness; and now here, troublemaking and mischief. Is it not re- markable how these characteristics mark so much of modern life today? Can it be a co- incidence that this sequence is so evident in the industrial scene at the present time? The connection of 16-19 with 12-15 is indicated in 19. The man of 12-15 is the worst of the seven abominations in the eyes of the Lord. We should note particularly the reference to the various parts of the body in these verses -mouth, eyes, feet, fingers, heart in 12-14, and eyes, tongue, hands, heart, feet, lips in 17-19. These should he compared and con- trasted with those mentioned in 4:20-27 (see Note for Wednesday, August 12th). The fa- ther is setting the contrasts and the alternatives before his son, and reminding him that his members can be given to the service of good or evil, and in showing him in each case what these alternatives lead to and end, urges him to choose wisdom rather than folly. One old commentator suggests there may be a parallel between the seven abomi- nations in 17-19, and the Beatitudes in Matthew. It may be reading more into the text than is there to suggest that Jesus may have had this passage in mind when He preached the Sermon on the Mount, but is at least striking and significant to notice that a proud look is the antithesis of being poor in spirit, and sowing discord among brethren the an- tithesis of being peacemakers.