THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
The wickedness of the past despised the sense of guilt. Reverence for God, when lacking a critic, marks the origin of awareness.
Proverbs 1:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
O children, how long will you love childishness, and fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate knowledge?
עַד־מָתַ֣י ׀ פְּתָיִם֮ תְּֽאֵהֲב֫וּ פֶ֥תִי וְלֵצִ֗ים לָ֭צוֹן חָמְד֣וּ לָהֶ֑ם וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים יִשְׂנְאוּ־דָֽעַת׃
The Church Fathers on this verse
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Vissarion (Nechaev)
It is commendable for individuals who are righteous and sincere to remain anchored in the truth, avoiding deviations from the straight path and resisting the allure of the ungodly who seek to lead them astray. Those who consistently walk in the light of truth will find no shame and will not regret their steadfast commitment to truthfulness. However, should they falter in this commitment and succumb to the malevolent suggestions of the wicked, they may find themselves lamenting their moral failings, perhaps when it is already too late. Their discernment and self-restraint are commendable, as they choose the rigorous demands of Divine Wisdom and their faithful conscience over the temptations of immorality.
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In contrast, those who seek to offend are truly misguided, believing it is challenging to uphold the truth in the world and that living without causing harm to others is impossible. They, in their ungodliness, rejected knowledge; their wickedness obscured their spiritual perception and extinguished their common sense. Not only did they disregard the guidance of truth, but they also fostered a hatred for the promptings of reason and conscience.
Cross references
Passages read together with this verse.
- Prov 1:29Because they have hated instruction, and received not the fear of the Lord,
- Prov 5:12Why have I hated instruction, and my heart consented not to reproof,
- Ps 1:1Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence:
- John 3:20For every one that doth evil hateth the light and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved.
- Matt 11:29Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: And you shall find rest to your souls.
- Matt 11:30For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.
- 2 Pet 3:3Knowing this first: That in the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
- Luke 19:42If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace: but now they are hidden from thy eyes.