Proverbs 19:14

House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Proverbs 19:14. House and riches are the inheritance of fathers, &c. — Parents may bestow on their children houses, and lands, and riches; but a prudent wife is from the Lord — Is vouchsafed to a man by the singular providence of God, who is the only searcher and ruler of hearts, exactly discerning who are prudent or pious, (with regard to which the judgments even of wise men are frequently mistaken,) and inclining the hearts of persons one toward another. So that when such a wife falls to the lot of any one, he should look upon it as a singular favour of God to him, for which he ought to be very thankful.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

19:14. A discreet and virtuous wife is more valuable than house and riches. 15. A sluggish, slothful disposition makes men poor; it brings them to want. And this applies both to the present life and that which is to come. 16. If we keep God's word, God's word will keep us from every thing really hurtful. We abuse the doctrine of free grace, if we think that it does away the necessity and advantage of obedience. Those that live at random must die. This truth is clearly taught in words enough to alarm the stoutest sinner. 17. God has chosen the poor of this world, to be rich in faith, and heirs of his kingdom. 18. When parents keep under foolish tenderness, they do their best to render children a comfort to them, and happy in themselves.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Calamity - The Hebrew word is plural (as in Psalm 57:1; Psalm 91:3), and seems to express the multiplied and manifold sorrow caused by the foolish son.

Continual dropping - The irritating, unceasing, sound of the fall, drop after drop, of water through the chinks in the roof.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

14. A contrast of men's gifts and God's, who, though author of both blessings, confers the latter by His more special providence.

and—or, "but," implying that the evils of Pr 19:13 are only avoided by His care.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Is vouchsafed to a man by the singular providence of God, who is the only searcher and ruler of hearts, exactly discerning who are prudent or pious, in which even wise men’s judgments are commonly mistaken, and inclining the minds and hearts of persons one towards another.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Houses and riches are the inheritance of fathers,.... Which they are careful to provide and leave to their children. This they may and often do, build or purchase houses, and procure great riches, and put their children into the possession of them;

and, or but,

a prudent wife is from the Lord; one that behaves well to her husband, massages the affairs of her house with wisdom, and brings up her children in all orderly manner: such a wife no man has from the care and provision of his parents; nor so much from his own good choice and industry as from the kind providence of God, to which he should ascribe it; his parents may give him houses and lands, but it is God that gives him a wise and discreet woman to be an helpmeet to him; see Proverbs 18:22.

Geneva Study Bible

House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

14. the inheritance of] Rather, an inheritance from (R.V.); i.e. derived from.

And] Rather, But.

οἶκον καὶ ὕπαρξιν μερίζουσι πατέρες παισὶ, παρὰ δὲ κυρίου ἁρμόζεται γυνὴ ἀνδρί, LXX. Domus et divitiæ dantur a parentibus; a Domino autem proprie uxor prudens, Vulg. Comp. Proverbs 18:22; Genesis 24:12-14.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 14. - House and riches are an inheritance of (from) fathers. Any man, worthy or not, may inherit property from progenitors; any man may bargain for a wife, or give a dowry to his son to further his matrimonial prospects. But a prudent wife is from the Lord. She is a special gift of God, a proof of his gracious care for his servants (see on Proverbs 18:22). Septuagint, Παρὰ δὲ Κυρίου ἀρμόζεται γυνὴ ἀνδρί, "It is by the Lord that a man is matched with a woman." There is a special providence that watches over wedlock; as we say, "Marriages are made in heaven." But marriages of convenience, marriages made in consideration of worldly means, are a mere earthly arrangement, and claim no particular grace. Proverbs 19:14

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

14 House and riches are a paternal inheritance,

     But from Jahve cometh a prudent wife.

House and riches (opulentia), which in themselves do not make men happy, one may receive according to the law of inheritance; but a prudent wife is God's gracious gift, Proverbs 18:22. There is not a more suitable word than משׂכּלת (fem. of משׂכּיל) to characterize a wife as a divine gift, making her husband happy. שׂכל (השׂכּל) is the property which says: "I am named modesty, which wears the crown of all virtues."

(Note: The lxx translates: παρὰ δὲ ἁρμόζεται γυνὴ ἀνδοί. Here as often (vid., my Jesurun) The Arab. usus loquendi makes itself felt in the idiom of the lxx, for shâkl means ἁρμόζειν.)