Proverbs 19:11

A person’s wisdom ¹  makes him slow to anger, ²  and it is his glory ³  to overlook ⁴  an offense.

Ge 50:15-21; Pr 12:16; Pr 14:29; Pr 15:18; Pr 16:32; Pr 17:14; Pr 20:3; Pr 25:21; Mt 5:44,45; Mt 18:21,22; Ro 12:18-21; Eph 4:32; Eph 5:1; Col 3:12,13; Jas 1:19

¹ tn Or “prudence,” the successful use of wisdom in discretion. Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “good sense.”

² tn The Hiphil perfect of אָרַךְ (’arakh, “to be long”) means “to make long; to prolong.” Patience and slowness to anger lead to forgiveness of sins.

³ sn “Glory” signifies the idea of beauty or adornment. D. Kidner explains that such patience “brings out here the glowing colours of a virtue which in practice may look drably unassertive” (Proverbs [TOTC], 133).

⁴ tn Heb “to pass over” (so KJV, ASV); NCV, TEV “ignore.” The infinitive construct עֲבֹר (’avor) functions as the formal subject of the sentence. This clause provides the cause, whereas the former gave the effect – if one can pass over an offense there will be no anger.

sn W. McKane says, “The virtue which is indicated here is more than a forgiving temper; it includes also the ability to shrug off insults and the absence of a brooding hypersensitivity…. It contains elements of toughness and self-discipline; it is the capacity to stifle a hot, emotional rejoinder and to sleep on an insult” (Proverbs [OTL], 530).