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At a glance
- Traditional author
- Solomon (traditional)
- Traditional date
- Traditional Solomonic wisdom; collected in Israelite wisdom tradition
- Traditional audience
- EOTC OT counts Proverbs as two books: Messalë (1–24) and Tägsas (25–31)
Listed in: Ethiopian 81.
Meaning of Tägsas (Reproof; Proverbs 25–31)
The second EOTC Proverbs book (Reproof), covering material corresponding to Proverbs 25–31.
Traditional understanding
In the Ethiopian Orthodox count, Tägsas ("Reproof") corresponds to Proverbs 25–31: Solomon's proverbs copied by the men of Hezekiah, with the words of Agur and King Lemuel.
Historical context
Received in the Ethiopian Orthodox Old Testament as the second Proverbs book (after Messalë, Prov 1–24). Functions as Reproof/wisdom for formation, not as Sinodos church-order material.
Setting of the writing
Traditional Solomonic wisdom collection as received in Ethiopic canon counting.
Literary shape
A short wisdom collection corresponding to Proverbs 25–31 (Tägsas / Reproof): royal sayings, comparisons, and household instruction that close the Solomonic Proverbs corpus in EOTC counting.
Themes
- wisdom
- reproof
- royal sayings
Tägsas (Reproof; Proverbs 25–31) chapter by chapter
Tägsas (Proverbs 25–31) · Thirty sayings and Hezekiah
Tägsas (Reproof; Proverbs 25–31) 1 — Glory to conceal, honor to searchTägsas (Proverbs 25–31) 25
These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah copied. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out; take away dross from silver—and the wicked from the king—and a vessel and a throne are established. Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence; a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold, and if your enemy is hungry, feed him.
Meaning: A later court rescues older sayings for a new generation. The opening cluster ties royal research to humility: power’s honor is inquiry and restraint, not self-exaltation.
Tägsas (Reproof; Proverbs 25–31) 2 — Honor unfit for a foolTägsas (Proverbs 25–31) 26
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. A whip for the horse and a rod for fools; answer a fool—and do not answer a fool—according to his folly, each in its season. The sluggard’s door turns on its hinges, and he is wiser in his own eyes than seven who can answer; without a whisperer quarreling ceases, and fervent lips with an evil heart are enamel on a potsherd.
Meaning: Misplaced honor is a weather-wrong. The chapter is a field guide to fools, sluggards, and quarrel-stokers—people you must neither crown nor endlessly argue into wisdom.
Tägsas (Reproof; Proverbs 25–31) 3 — Do not boast of tomorrowTägsas (Proverbs 25–31) 27
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring; let another praise you, and not your own mouth. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, and as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Know well the condition of your flocks; riches do not last forever, and the hay appears, then the grass.
Meaning: The opening forbids a speech the proud love. Wisdom is praised from outside, honed in friendship, and practiced as attention to ordinary herds before they vanish.
Tägsas (Reproof; Proverbs 25–31) 4 — The wicked flee; the righteous are boldTägsas (Proverbs 25–31) 28
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. When a land transgresses it has many rulers; with a person of understanding its stability will long continue, yet partiality and a piece of bread can still buy wrong. Whoever conceals transgressions will not prosper, but the one who confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy; a greedy man stirs up strife, and the one who trusts the Lord will be enriched.
Meaning: Conscience and public order open together. Boldness is not volume; it is a clear heart, and nations as well as persons come apart when transgression multiplies bosses instead of truth.
Tägsas (Reproof; Proverbs 25–31) 5 — A stiffened neckTägsas (Proverbs 25–31) 29
He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. When the righteous increase the people rejoice, and when the wicked rule they groan; a lover of wisdom makes his father glad, and the Lord gives light to poor and oppressor alike. Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is the one who keeps the law; the fear of man lays a snare, and whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
Meaning: The last Hezekian cluster warns that ignored correction ends in a snap. Peoples need righteous increase and a word that restrains; fear of human opinion is named as a trap trust can break.
Tägsas (Proverbs 25–31) · Epilogue
Tägsas (Reproof; Proverbs 25–31) 6 — The words of AgurTägsas (Proverbs 25–31) 30
Agur son of Jakeh confesses weariness and ignorance before the Holy One: who has ascended and descended, who has gathered the wind? He asks two things—keep falsehood far, and give neither poverty nor riches, lest he deny or profane the Name. A generation of mockers and devourers is sketched, then numerical sayings: things never satisfied, things too wonderful, things small yet wise—ants, rock badgers, locusts, the lizard in kings’ palaces.
Meaning: The epilogue begins in humility, not technique. Agur’s prayer for daily bread and his attention to little creatures return wisdom to creatureliness after so many royal maxims.
Tägsas (Reproof; Proverbs 25–31) 7 — Lemuel’s mother and a capable wifeTägsas (Proverbs 25–31) 31
King Lemuel reports his mother’s oracle: do not give your strength to women who destroy kings, and it is not for kings to drink and forget the law; open your mouth for the mute and judge righteously the poor. An acrostic then praises a capable wife who seeks wool and flax, feeds her household, considers a field, trades, opens her hand to the needy, and speaks with wisdom. Charm is deceitful and beauty vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised; let her works praise her in the gates.
Meaning: The book ends with a queen-mother’s politics and a household’s industry. Fear of the Lord, which opened the poems, now wears an everyday face: public justice and a life whose work can be named at the city gate.