Proverbs 28:1-2

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 28:1 The proverbs succeed each other without any connection among them. There is little new in these chapters for those who have already perused the great collection of Solomon, i.e., chapters 1–22. Perhaps the continuous reading of these disparate verses brings out more clearly the opposition between wisdom and folly, justice and evil. There is no middle ground between these two lines of life, these two modes of thought, these two ways of feeling. Whether pauper or prince, everyone belongs to one or the other. Indeed, human beings make their choice each day in their private and in their social behavior, in their education and in their duties. Wisdom is an option for authenticity, a profound comprehension of life. Since the remote time when these proverbs were fashioned, the cultural climate has changed. Yet it is still true that our age of conflict and self-indulgent desires has need of a wisdom, a rectitude, a supplement for one’s soul without which there is no respect for self, for others, and for God! These ancient texts do not give us a letter to be observed; rather they invite us to discover for ourselves a meaning to life and put it into practice.
2. Proverbs 28:2 When a nation is corrupt, its leaders have no permanency, revolts spring up, and various personages appear who scheme to win the crown at any cost.