8 A king who sits on the throne of justice
[f]Disperses all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
I am pure from my sin”?
10 [g]Differing weights and differing measures,
Both of them are abominable to the Lord.
11 It is by his deeds that a lad [h]distinguishes himself
If his conduct is pure and right.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made both of them.
13 Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with [i]food.
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
But when he goes his way, then he boasts.
15 There is gold, and an abundance of [j]jewels;
But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.
16 Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger;
And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.
17 Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
As we start in v. 8, we see a king on a throne of justice, dispersing all evil. Over the next few verses we are asked, who is pure from sin, and who has conduct pure and right? But then we have these other weird verses sprinkled in. We see differing weights and differing measures, a buyer saying, “Bad, bad.” What is Solomon going on about?
If you haven’t figured it out, he’s talking about cheating in business. The first we see easily enough, though not quite like Solomon describes. A dishonest merchant in that day would use weights and measures that weren’t accurate to cheat folks, just skimming a little (or a bunch) off the top. There are plenty decrying the “robber barons” and the “greedy capitalists” in our culture, and I won’t get into that too deep.
But I will say, if you’re in business–and if you earn a paycheck, then you are–it is your duty, even your command from God himself, to carry out that business with honesty and integrity. Don’t try to hide anything, put it all out there, and let God take care of you. Turns out He is pretty good at that! We also have an admonition to the work in v. 13. Don’t “love sleep”, that is, don’t be lazy. Being lazy at work is stealing from your employer, and that’s no more excusable than the merchant with dishonest scales.
And in case the buyer thinks he is off the hook, Solomon has one more for us in v. 14. Don’t lie or cheat to get a good deal, on anything. Don’t be like the guy in this verse, moaning and complaining that the car, or the goat, or whatever, doesn’t seem worth the price, when you know full well it is. We all want a good deal, so certainly, bargain if you like. However, be honest about it, and find the middle ground where both parties feel like they got a good deal.
In all these things, v. 17 is a sobering reminder. The fruit of dishonest dealing will seem sweet, but give it a minute, and you’ll have a mouth filled with gravel, yuck! It is sweeter still when we do what God asks, and he will take care of the rewards, and there’s no bitter aftertaste with His fruit.