◄ Proverbs 15:28 ►
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.
Study Bible
The heart of the righteous
The phrase "the heart of the righteous" refers to the innermost being or the core of a person who is in right standing with God. In Hebrew, the word for heart is "לֵב" (lev), which encompasses not just emotions but also the mind and will. The righteous, or "צַדִּיק" (tzaddik), are those who live in accordance with God's laws and principles. Historically, the heart was seen as the seat of wisdom and moral character. In a conservative Christian perspective, this phrase emphasizes the importance of aligning one's inner life with God's righteousness, suggesting that true wisdom and discernment come from a heart transformed by God's grace.

ponders how to answer
The word "ponders" suggests a deliberate and thoughtful consideration. In Hebrew, the root word "הָגָה" (hagah) can mean to meditate or to think deeply. This implies that the righteous do not speak impulsively but take time to reflect on their words. The historical context of ancient Israel valued wisdom and careful speech, as seen in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. For Christians, this highlights the importance of seeking divine guidance and wisdom before responding, ensuring that one's words are edifying and truthful.

but the mouth of the wicked
Contrasting with the righteous, "the mouth of the wicked" refers to those who are morally corrupt or ungodly. The Hebrew word for wicked is "רָשָׁע" (rasha), which denotes someone who is guilty or hostile to God. The focus on the "mouth" indicates that the wicked are characterized by their speech, which often reveals their inner corruption. In biblical times, speech was a powerful tool, and the wicked were known for using it to deceive or harm others. This serves as a warning to believers to guard their speech and avoid the pitfalls of ungodly communication.

blurts out evil
The phrase "blurts out" suggests a lack of control or thoughtfulness, indicating that the wicked speak impulsively. The Hebrew root "נָבַע" (nava) can mean to gush forth, emphasizing the uncontrolled nature of their speech. "Evil" in Hebrew is "רָע" (ra), which encompasses harm, wickedness, and moral wrong. This phrase underscores the destructive power of words when not guided by righteousness. For Christians, it serves as a reminder of the importance of self-control and the need to speak words that reflect God's love and truth, rather than allowing evil to flow unchecked from one's mouth.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Righteous
In the context of Proverbs, the righteous are those who live in accordance with God's laws and wisdom. They are characterized by their thoughtful and deliberate actions.

2. The Wicked
This term refers to those who reject God's wisdom and live in opposition to His ways. Their actions and words are often impulsive and harmful.

3. Solomon
Traditionally considered the author of Proverbs, Solomon was the king of Israel known for his wisdom. His proverbs offer practical guidance for living a life pleasing to God.

4. Ancient Israel
The cultural and historical backdrop of Proverbs, where wisdom literature was a key component of teaching and moral instruction.

5. Wisdom Literature
A genre of biblical writing that includes Proverbs, focusing on practical and ethical living through the fear of the Lord.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Thoughtful Speech
The righteous are characterized by their careful consideration before speaking. This reflects a heart aligned with God's wisdom and a desire to edify others.

The Dangers of Impulsive Words
The wicked are described as blurting out evil, highlighting the destructive nature of thoughtless speech. This serves as a warning to guard our tongues.

Cultivating a Righteous Heart
To ponder how to answer, one must cultivate a heart that seeks God's wisdom through prayer, study, and reflection.

Reflecting Christ in Our Speech
As followers of Christ, our words should reflect His love and truth. Thoughtful speech is a testimony to our faith and character.

Practical Steps for Guarding Our Words
Implementing practices such as pausing before speaking, seeking counsel, and praying for wisdom can help us align our speech with righteousness.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of pondering before answering apply to your daily interactions with others?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a heart that aligns with the righteousness described in Proverbs 15:28?

3. Reflect on a time when impulsive words led to negative consequences. What could have been done differently?

4. How can the teachings of James 1:19 and Matthew 12:34-37 help you in practicing thoughtful speech?

5. What practical steps can you take to ensure your words reflect the love and wisdom of Christ in your life?
Connections to Other Scriptures
James 1:19
This verse emphasizes being quick to listen and slow to speak, aligning with the idea of pondering before answering.

Matthew 12:34-37
Jesus teaches about the importance of words and how they reflect the heart, similar to the contrast between the righteous and the wicked in Proverbs 15:28.

Ecclesiastes 5:2
Advises against rash words, encouraging thoughtful speech, which parallels the righteous pondering their answers.
Sermons
Religion and Common SenseE. Johnson Proverbs 15:24-33
People
Abaddon, Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Answers, Evil, Evil-doer, Gives, Gushes, Heart, Meditateth, Mind, Mouth, Ponders, Poureth, Pours, Righteous, Stream, Studieth, Upright, Uttereth, Weighs, Wicked
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 15:28

     5038   mind, the human
     5167   mouth
     5547   speech, power of
     5549   speech, positive

Proverbs 15:28-29

     7150   righteous, the

Library
God, the All-Seeing One
A sermon (No. 177) delivered on Sabbath morning, February 14, 1858 At The Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens by C. H. Spurgeon. "Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?" -- Proverbs 15:11. You have often smiled at the ignorance of heathens who bow themselves before gods of wood and stone. You have quoted the words of Scripture and you have said, "Eyes have they, but they see not; ears have they, but they hear not." You have therefore argued that …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Hedge of Thorns and the Plain Way
A sermon (No. 1948) delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain."--Proverbs 15:19. You must have noticed how frequently godly people almost wear out their Bibles in certain places. The Psalms, the Gospel of John, and parts of the Epistles are favourite portions, and are thumbed in many an old believer's Bible till the fact is very noticeable. There are certain sheep-tracks …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

God, the All-Seeing One
We have in our text, first of all, a great fact declared,--"Hell and destruction are before the Lord ;" we have, secondly, a great fact inferred,--"How much more then the hearts of the children of men?" I. We will begin with THE GREAT FACT WHICH IS DECLARED--a fact which furnishes us with premises from which we deduce the practical conclusion of the second sentence--"How much more then the hearts of the children of men?" The best interpretation that you can give of those two words, "hell" and "destruction," …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

How the Humble and the Haughty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 18.) Differently to be admonished are the humble and the haughty. To the former it is to be insinuated how true is that excellence which they hold in hoping for it; to the latter it is to be intimated how that temporal glory is as nothing which even when embracing it they hold not. Let the humble hear how eternal are the things that they long for, how transitory the things which they despise; let the haughty hear how transitory are the things they court, how eternal the things they …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

And He had Also this Favour Granted Him. ...
66. And he had also this favour granted him. For as he was sitting alone on the mountain, if ever he was in perplexity in his meditations, this was revealed to him by Providence in prayer. And the happy man, as it is written, was taught of God [1112] . After this, when he once had a discussion with certain men who had come to him concerning the state of the soul and of what nature its place will be after this life, the following night one from above called him, saying, Antony, rise, go out and look.' …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Epistle cxxii. To Rechared, King of the visigoths .
To Rechared, King of the Visigoths [82] . Gregory to Rechared, &c. I cannot express in words, most excellent son, how much I am delighted with thy work and thy life. For on hearing of the power of a new miracle in our days, to wit that the whole nation of the Goths has through thy Excellency been brought over from the error of Arian heresy to the firmness of a right faith, one is disposed to exclaim with the prophet, This is the change wrought by the right hand of the Most High (Ps. lxxvi. 11 [83] …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Contention Over the Man Born Blind.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John IX. 1-41. [Some look upon the events in this and the next section as occurring at the Feast of Tabernacles in October, others think they occurred at the Feast of Dedication in December, deriving their point of time from John x. 22.] ^d 1 And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. [The man probably sought to waken compassion by repeatedly stating this fact to passers-by.] 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

"And the Life. " How Christ is the Life.
This, as the former, being spoken indefinitely, may be universally taken, as relating both to such as are yet in the state of nature, and to such as are in the state of grace, and so may be considered in reference to both, and ground three points of truth, both in reference to the one, and in reference to the other; to wit, 1. That our case is such as we stand in need of his help, as being the Life. 2. That no other way but by him, can we get that supply of life, which we stand in need of, for he …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

"Now the End of the Commandment," &C.
1 Tim. i. 5.--"Now the end of the commandment," &c. We come now, as was proposed, to observe, Thirdly,(474) That faith unfeigned is the only thing which gives the answer of a good conscience towards God. Conscience, in general, is nothing else but a practical knowledge of the rule a man should walk by, and of himself in reference to that rule. It is the laying down a man's state, and condition, and actions beside the rule of God's word, or the principles of nature's light. It is the chief piece …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"Thou Shall Keep Him in Perfect Peace, Whose Mind is Stayed on Thee, Because He Trusteth in Thee. "
Isaiah xxvi. 3.--"Thou shall keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." All men love to have privileges above others. Every one is upon the design and search after some well-being, since Adam lost that which was true happiness. We all agree upon the general notion of it, but presently men divide in the following of particulars. Here all men are united in seeking after some good; something to satisfy their souls, and satiate their desires. Nay, but they …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Authority and Utility of the Scriptures
2 Tim. iii. 16.--"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." We told you that there was nothing more necessary to know than what our end is, and what the way is that leads to that end. We see the most part of men walking at random,--running an uncertain race,--because they do not propose unto themselves a certain scope to aim at, and whither to direct their whole course. According to men's particular …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

An Exposition on the First Ten Chapters of Genesis, and Part of the Eleventh
An unfinished commentary on the Bible, found among the author's papers after his death, in his own handwriting; and published in 1691, by Charles Doe, in a folio volume of the works of John Bunyan. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR Being in company with an enlightened society of Protestant dissenters of the Baptist denomination, I observed to a doctor of divinity, who was advancing towards his seventieth year, that my time had been delightfully engaged with John Bunyan's commentary on Genesis. "What," …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also-
OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER; WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED, 1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO. WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:--the Spirit--helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26). ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. "It is …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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