箴一1~4 ……所罗门的箴言：要使人晓得智慧和训诲，辨识通达的言语；使人领受训诲，处事明智，有公义、公平和公正；使愚蒙人灵明，使少年人有知识和谋略。

　　箴言是智慧人之言语的汇集。主要的著者及汇集者为所罗门（他写了箴言三千句—王上四32，参传十二9 ）和希西家（他在箴言二十五至二十九章加上一些先祖的箴言）。

　　箴言的主题是：智慧的话，教导人如何行事为人，并在为人生活中建立他们的性格。按人说，这是很大的题目。所有的宗教和哲学，都是论到这事。自从人类存在以来，行事为人和建立性格这两件事一直是人教导的主题。

　　箴言强调人借着接触神，从神所得的智慧，这智慧教导人如何在为人生活中行事为人（箴言生命读经，一至二、五页）。

　　Prov. 1:1-4 The proverbs of Solomon…: For knowing wisdom and instruction; for discerning words of understanding; for receiving instruction in wise conduct, righteousness, justice, and equity; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young man.

　　Proverbs is a collection of the words of the wise. The main writers and collectors are Solomon, who wrote three thousand proverbs (1 Kings 4:32; cf. Eccl. 12:9), and Hezekiah, who added some proverbs of the forefathers in chapters 25 through 29.

　　The theme of Proverbs is that this book consists of words of wisdom teaching people how to behave and how to build up their character in the human life. Humanly speaking, this is the great subject, and all religions and philosophies are concerned with it. The matters of behavior and the building up of character have been the subjects of teaching ever since humankind came into being.

　　Proverbs stresses wisdom that man receives of God through his contacting of God and that teaches man how to behave in his human life. (Life-study of Proverbs, pp. 1-3)

　　因为箴言主要是由律法时代两位犹大王〔所罗门和希西家〕所收集，所以箴言这卷书可视为律法的辅助。律法是神的描绘，要求神的百姓遵守，使他们能成为神的复本，好叫神得着彰显和荣耀。箴言是律法的辅助，帮助神的百姓遵守律法。

　　因为律法是照着神的所是写的，所以律法告诉人该如何行事为人，并如何照着神的属性建立自己。神是爱和光，神也是圣别和公义的。这些是神的一些属性。神按着祂自己的形像造人，意思是神照着祂的所是，即照着祂的属性造人。照着神的属性所写的律法，要求人照着神行事为人并建立自己。就这点来看，箴言是律法的辅助，指导人如何照着神的所是行事为人并建立自己。这帮助我们看见，箴言在圣经神圣启示中大概占的地位。

　　箴言……独有的特点，是向我们陈明古时许多智慧人智慧的话，所有读这卷书的人一致认为这些话是好的；但这是否真的好，乃在于你是哪一种读者。

　　你若是一个讲求伦理道德的人，有刚强的心思，并且渴慕像一个真正有道德的人那样完全，这卷书会帮助你在追求完全的事上成功。但这卷书是帮助你培养自己，就是培养属人的“明德”，这明德是神照着祂的属性，就是照着祂的所是，为人所创造的。然而，这卷书并不能帮助你成为一个照着神那住在你里面的灵而活在灵中的人，以完成神永远的经纶，就是产生并建造基督的身体，终极完成那作神心头愿望和最终目标的新耶路撒冷。在旧约里，约伯正是这样一个人。他满足于自己的纯全，满足于自己属人完全的追求。但这不是神在他身上所要的，反而顶替了神在他身上所要的；这就成了神的仇敌，使他这个神所创造的人受拦阻，不能完成神的定旨。神创造人的定旨，是要人被祂充满，好彰显祂，而不是彰显属人的完全。所以神来拆毁约伯在属人完全上的成功。神这样的拆毁，也把约伯这人拆毁了。约伯感到困惑，不知如何是好。然后神进来向约伯启示祂自己，指明祂自己才是约伯所该追求、得着并彰显的。于是约伯有了极大的转变，从追求属人的完全转到追求神自己（箴言生命读经，三至六页）。

　　参读：箴言生命读经，第一篇。

　　Since the proverbs were collected mainly by two kings of Judah in the age of the law, the book of Proverbs may be considered a subsidiary to the law. The law is the portrait of God, demanding God’s people to keep it that they might be made copies of God for His expression and glorification. Proverbs, as a subsidiary to the law, helps God’s people to keep the law.

　　Because the law was written according to what God is, the law tells man how to behave and how to build up himself according to God’s attributes. God is love and light, and God is holy and righteous. These are some of God’s attributes. For God to create man in His own image means that God created man according to what He is, that is, according to His attributes. The law, which was written according to God’s attributes, demands that man behave and build himself up according to God. Regarding this, Proverbs is a subsidiary part of the law, instructing people how to behave and how to build themselves up according to what God is. This helps us to see what the position of Proverbs probably is in the divine revelation in the Scriptures.

　　The book of Proverbs … has a particular character; that is, it presents to us the words of wisdom by many ancient wise men, which is unanimously considered good by all the people who read it. But whether it is really good or not depends upon what kind of reader you are.

　　If you are an ethical person with a strong mind and have a desire to be perfect as a genuine moral person, surely this book would help you to make a success in your pursuit of perfection. But it helps you to cultivate yourself, that is, to cultivate the human “bright virtue” created for man by God according to His attributes, that is, according to what He is. However, it does not help you to be a person who lives in his spirit according to the Spirit of God who dwells in you for the accomplishment of God’s eternal economy, that is, to produce and build up the Body of Christ which consummates the New Jerusalem as God’s heart’s desire and ultimate goal. In the Old Testament Job was exactly such a person. He was satisfied with his integrity, with his pursuit of human perfection. But that was not what God wanted of him; rather, it replaced what God wanted of him and then it became an enemy of God frustrating him, a man created by God to fulfill God’s purpose. God’s purpose in creating man is to have man be filled with Him to be His expression, not an expression of human perfection. So the success of Job in human perfection was torn down by God. In this tearing down by God, God tore down Job also. Job was perplexed, not knowing what to do. Then God came in to reveal Himself to Job, indicating that He Himself is what Job should pursue, gain, and express. Then Job had a big turn from pursuing human perfection to pursue God Himself. (Life-study of Proverbs, pp. 2-5)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 1