Proverbs in the New Testament

Proverbs 10-11

            I’ve read the Bible for a long time, and I love it when I make a new connection. Today I noticed several connections between St. Paul and the book of Proverbs.

            First, take a look at Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” I had never noticed how much that resonated with 1 Corinthians 13:5, that love keeps no record of wrongs. (Peter makes a similar comment in 1 Peter 4:8.)

            Second, Proverbs 10:16, “The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death,” rings with Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is everlasting life in Christ Jesus.” Of course, Paul modifies it a little bit. Proverbs make life seem like a reward and Paul sees it as a pure gift, neither earned nor deserved.

            Finally, Proverbs 11:24, “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty,” reminded me of 2 Corinthians 9:6, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

            I don’t know what the great significance is. The New Testament regularly quotes the Old Testament, reminding us that our salvation is a single story about the fulfillment of a singular promise of salvation. But I looked it up, and Proverbs is quoted only four or five times in the New Testament, yet its influence goes deeper. If nothing else that teaches us that Proverbs is a book worth our time and effort.