23 Joy `is' to a man in the answer of his mouth, And a word in its season -- how good!
From the fruit of the mouth `is' one satisfied `with' good, And the deed of man's hands returneth to him.
The Lord Jehovah hath given to me The tongue of taught ones, To know to aid the weary `by' a word, He waketh morning by morning, He waketh for me an ear to hear as taught ones.
Apples of gold in imagery of silver, `Is' the word spoken at its fit times. A ring of gold, and an ornament of pure gold, `Is' the wise reprover to an attentive ear.
Let no corrupt word out of your mouth go forth, but what is good unto the needful building up, that it may give grace to the hearers;
And David saith to Abigail, `Blessed `is' Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath sent thee this day to meet me, and blessed `is' thy discretion, and blessed `art' thou in that thou hast restrained me this day from coming in with blood, and to restrain my hand to myself.
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Commentary on Proverbs 15 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
We take these verses together as forming a group which begins with a proverb regarding the good and evil which flows from the tongue, and closes with a proverb regarding the treasure in which blessing is found, and that in which no blessing is found.
Proverbs 15:1
1 A soft answer turneth away wrath,
And a bitter word stirreth up anger.
In the second line, the common word for anger ( אף , from the breathing with the nostrils, Proverbs 14:17) is purposely placed, but in the first, that which denotes anger in the highest degree ( חמה from יחם , cogn. חמם , Arab. hamiya , to glow, like שׁנה from ישׁן ): a mild, gentle word turns away the heat of anger ( excandescentiam ), puts it back, cf. Proverbs 25:15. The Dagesh in רּך follows the rule of the דחיק , i.e. , of the close connection of a word terminating with the accented eh, aah, ah with the following word ( Michlol 63b). The same is the meaning of the Latin proverb:
Frangitur ira gravis
Quando est responsio suavis