Comentários de Citação sobre Provérbios 12:8

It is written in Proverbs 12:8, “A man is praised according to his intelligence; but he that is of a distorted understanding shall be despised.” According to the commentaries,⁶⁰See Rashi ad. loc. “shall be despised,” is connected to the phrase, “he that possesses a distorted understanding.” [However], according to this interpretation], the end of the verse is not parallel to the beginning of the verse, [since the beginning of the verse deals with a proportional nature, that a man is praised according to the level of his intelligence, and then it states that if he is of “distorted understanding he shall be despised,” which is not proportional].⁶¹The Netziv is arguing that the manner in which this verse is being translated does not conform to the style of Proverbs, which employs parallelism. See Introduction to Proverbs by the Soncino Press, which summarizes the different forms of parallelism used in Proverbs: 1. Synonymous – the second clause repeating the thought of the first clause in different words. For example: “The evil bow before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous” (14:19); 2. Antithetic – the second clause presents a contrast to the first. For example: “A merry heart is a good medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” (17:22); 3. Synthetic – the second clause continues the thought of the first. For example: “It is the discretion of a man to be slow to anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression” (19:11); 4. Comparative – the point of the lesson is made clear by the use of comparison. For example: “As vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them who send him” (10:26). Rather, the verse’s proper interpretation is that “shall be despised” is connected to “according to his intelligence,” and this is how the verse should be translated: [“A man is praised according to his intelligence; but when combined with distorted understanding, he shall be despised.”]⁶²It is an aphorism written in the synthetic style. In other words, he who possesses a distorted understanding and distorts the law due to personal motives will be despised proportional to his intelligence. The greater one is [in intellect,] the more he can mislead others, for he brings down the strongholds [of the Torah] by trusting in his [superior] intellect.⁶³This last statement is a play on the words used in Prov. 21:22, “A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold wherein it trusts.”

the strainer: [This is like] a student that retains in his mind the argument that is incorrect and loses the correct one. And about this King Shlomo, peace be upon him, stated (Proverbs 12:8). "A man is praised according to his intelligence, but a twisted heart is disgraced" - that it is not fitting to disgrace [one who knows less, but it is fitting to disgrace] one whose heart is twisted. As this one's heart is twisted, in that he retains the thing that is incorrect - such that he is compared to a strainer, as it says.