The king's heart is channels of water in the hand of Hashem. Although the heart of an individual is under his own control and the choice is in his hands, this is not so with the heart of a king. Since the welfare of the community depends upon his choice, and if he chooses an evil path he will destroy many and mighty people, his communal heart is therefore in the hand of Hashem, and in matters concerning the community he is deprived of free choice.

He compares it to channels of water. Water descending from lofty mountains and many springs gathers into a rushing stream. People therefore endeavor to dig a channel for it, divert it to places where it is needed, direct it, and turn it away from places where it is unnecessary—and certainly from places where it would cause harm or flooding—since this is a public necessity.

So too is the king's heart. Since the affairs of the community branch out from his actions—whether toward punishment or kindness, war or peace—they are in the hand of Hashem, and He inclines them according to His will in governing the community. If the people merit it, He inclines the king toward good, and conversely if they do not. He does not wait to alter the completed act according to His will; rather, He inclines the heart's initial tendency according to His will, just as channels of water are diverted where they first branch off.

Every way of a man is upright in his own eyes, but Hashem weighs hearts. Above (16:2) it says, All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but Hashem weighs spirits. “Pure” is the opposite of containing dross, while “upright” is the opposite of crooked. Uprightness pertains to understanding, and the straight path is the shortest route between two given points. For example, the path of humility, generosity, and mercy is the straight path, though at times one must act oppositely—with pride or cruelty toward the enemies of Hashem. A person may err in this because of the inclination of his heart and imagine that his conduct is upright because his heart and choice incline toward it. But Hashem weighs hearts: He knows the heart's disposition and weighs its circuits. There is also one who does not err and proceeds uprightly, yet is not pure—that is, he acts for ulterior motives. This depends upon the spirit that raises its images upon the heart, for the spirit is deeper than the heart. Therefore it says there, “but Hashem weighs spirits.”

To practice righteousness and justice is more desirable to Hashem than a sacrifice. People thought that bringing sacrifices was in itself a service pleasing to Hashem, and they therefore exerted themselves and multiplied their offerings. The prophets repeatedly rebuked this view and demonstrated that sacrifices are not ends in themselves but means. Through them a person displays submission, showing that he is prepared to sacrifice himself, surrender his life for the sanctity of Hashem, and obey His words and commandments concerning justice and righteousness, which encompass the commandments between man and his fellow and between man and God. That is the purpose. Therefore, practicing righteousness and justice is more desirable than a sacrifice, since the sacrifice is merely a means toward them, and the end is preferable to the means.

This also explains the preceding statement, Every way of a man is upright in his own eyes... A man who brings many sacrifices imagines that he has fulfilled the commandments of Hashem, but in truth this is not the straight path, which is the shortest path. It is a long route to the city that is justice and righteousness. The shorter path is to practice justice and righteousness themselves, without the circuitous route of sacrifices, for the act itself is not what is desired, but the heart, thought, and intention. Concerning this it says, but Hashem weighs hearts.

Haughty eyes and a broad heart. “Haughty eyes” refers to pride in theoretical intellect: a person imagines that he comprehends everything and renders decisive judgment on matters beyond human intelligence and on metaphysical matters, thereby arriving at heresy and denial of God. “A broad heart” means that his heart desires without limit and his appetites have no end. These two are the tillage of the wicked—sin. Tillage means plowing a field to uproot thorns and remove everything that obstructs the seed's growth. The wicked sow sin in the furrows of their hearts, but the seed might fail to grow if restrained either by theoretical or practical intellect. Haughty eyes are the tillage that prevents theoretical intellect from restraining him through fear of Hashem and true understanding of Him; a broad heart is the tillage that prevents practical intellect from restraining him, because the heart's appetite drives him toward sin.

The plans of the diligent surely lead to abundance. The diligent person is swift in his actions, yet a condition of true diligence is thought and consultation: he must not act hastily, but first consider every possibility and determine the best means and the one most likely to yield profit. Although this delays his action, he will always gain abundance from it, for he thereby chooses the best means to the end. But everyone who hastens—who presses the moment and the matter, acting immediately without reflection or thought—surely comes to want. Swiftness, though good in action, is not good in deliberation, which first requires delay and patience.

One who acquires treasures through a lying tongue—by false testimony, forged documents, counterfeit coins, and the like—even though he thereby acquires treasures, they are vanity in themselves, having no substance. They are driven away and do not endure, for the wind will scatter them; and those treasures are seekers of death, because when his forgery becomes known he will incur death.

The robbery of the wicked terrifies them. It has already said, “What the wicked fears will come upon him.” Here it explains that the devastation and ruin destined to befall them frighten them, for their heart foretells what is coming upon them because they refuse to practice justice, practicing only robbery and murder. This may refer back to the statement that acquiring treasures through a lying tongue is a driven vapor seeking death: through this, devastation will terrify them and they will stumble into it. “Robbery” may also mean their own robbing; because they rob others, they become afraid, for transgression casts fear upon the one who commits it.

Twisted is the way of a man who is alien. This refers back to the preceding verse and explains why the robbery of the wicked terrifies them: they refuse to practice justice, and the way of man is twisted and alien to them. Man was naturally founded to follow the way of justice, not to rob or commit violence, and to love truth and righteousness, through which society can endure. But to these wicked people—and likewise to the liars just mentioned—the way of man implanted in his nature is twisted and alien. They follow the reverse of man's natural path, moving from justice toward robbery and from truth toward falsehood; the straight path is alien to them. Therefore devastation terrifies them, for all human society opposes those wicked people whose way is reversed and alien. But the pure person's conduct is upright. “Pure” means free of dross and refers to cleanliness from appetites in practical intellect; “upright” pertains to theoretical intellect. Purity belongs to wisdom and uprightness to understanding. One who is not pure in his traits and violates the laws of wisdom cannot be upright, for appetite diverts him from the straight road to its opposite. Because his way is alien through appetite, it becomes twisted; but if he is pure, he will proceed uprightly, because understanding naturally accords with uprightness.

It is better to dwell... Although it is good to dwell in a house of companionship—that is, a house containing a group of friends and companions—and not good to dwell alone, one who has a contentious wife is better off not dwelling in a house of companionship. She will quarrel with his friends until they become his enemies, stir up disputes among them, or disgrace him before them. Therefore it is better to dwell on a corner of the roof, separated from his companions. Verse 19 says that it is better to dwell in a desert land than with a contentious and angry woman. If she is also prone to anger, even dwelling on a corner of the roof in the city is not good, and he must flee from her to the desert. This verse is repeated below (25:24) and will be explained there.

The soul of the wicked desires evil; his fellow finds no favor in his eyes. Although the philosopher explained that love is found among equals, so that love should seemingly be found among the wicked, the Sage explains that the wicked man's fellow finds no favor in his eyes because the soul of the wicked desires evil. This is so for two reasons. First, every wicked person has a tendency toward a different evil—one commits adultery, another steals, and so forth—so they are not equal in their desires. Second, even the evil he shares with his fellow is not truly willed by him, for he knows that it is rejected by rational will and choice; he merely desires the evil, and his appetite compels him toward it. He knows that it is evil and disgraceful, and therefore his wicked companion is contemptible in his eyes, since he knows him to be ruled by appetite and evil.

When the scoffer is punished, the simple person becomes wise; and when the wise person gains insight, he acquires knowledge. Above (19:25) it says, “Strike a scoffer and the simple person will become shrewd; reprove one who understands and he will understand knowledge.” There is a difference between shrewdness and wisdom. Through wisdom one accepts the laws of wisdom in order to conduct himself by them, whereas shrewdness is a human faculty. If the scoffer is struck, the simple person becomes shrewd and learns stratagems to protect himself. But when the scoffer is punished—through judicial or Heavenly punishment, when it is evident that the punishment comes because of the sin—then the simple person becomes wise, accepting the laws of wisdom because he understands that reward and punishment exist and that the laws of wisdom come from God. The wise person, meanwhile, has accepted the laws of wisdom, but those laws are not known with the clarity of sensory perception, which is called knowledge. When the wise person applies insight to the scoffer's punishments and sees how Hashem punished measure for measure one who mocked the laws of wisdom—something grasped through the intellect, which can apprehend matters of wisdom—then he acquires knowledge and knows the ways of wisdom with the clarity of sensory knowledge.

The righteous person considers the house of the wicked. Even when the house of the wicked is firmly established in tranquility—as implied by calling it a “house” of the wicked—the righteous person applies insight and contemplates the reason: this prosperity is in order to overturn the wicked toward evil, for through it they increase their wrongdoing. Had they been punished immediately, they would have feared to do evil. It also means that their tranquility hastens their punishment, as it is written, He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them (Deuteronomy 7:10). Their prosperity thus brings evil upon them, in accordance with the many explanations given for the success of the wicked, all of which serve to hasten their calamity and complete their punishment.

One who seals his ear against the cry of the poor. There is a difference between the dal and the rash. The dal has been reduced from his possessions, generally through oppression and violence, and he cries out to the judges to rescue the oppressed from his oppressors. A judge who seals his ear and does not save him though it is within his power will be punished by himself being oppressed: he too will call and not be answered. This will occur either through Heavenly judgment, measure for measure, or through earthly judgment: just as he did not administer justice, he will be crushed at the gate with no one to save him.

A gift in secret subdues anger, but a bribe in the bosom arouses fierce wrath. Money given in secret is sometimes for good and sometimes for evil. If it is a gift in secret—for “gift” denotes something given without receiving anything in return, such as money given to a poor person or a gift given to officials and wealthy people—it subdues anger: a charitable gift subdues anger Above, while a gift to a judge or official subdues anger below. But money secretly given to bring about perversion of law and distortion of justice is called a bribe, placed in the bosom of the judge. This arouses fierce wrath, whether Above or below, when the matter becomes known to the king of the land.

Practicing justice is joy to the righteous, but ruin to workers of iniquity. A righteous person is one who conducts himself according to the laws of righteousness, while workers of iniquity use force to oppress and rob, the opposite of righteousness. When Hashem extends the line of justice and judges according to deeds, or when earthly judges administer justice below, the righteous person rejoices because he desires justice and knows that he will be vindicated when judged, whereas judgment will be ruin to the workers of iniquity.

A man who strays from the path of intellect will rest in the congregation of the shades. Intellect differs from wisdom, understanding, and the other faculties of the soul. It is the acute power found in man by which he apprehends Divinity, spiritual matters, and wonders—things that understanding cannot grasp through syllogisms and proofs, nor knowledge through recognition by the senses. Through this power he apprehends Providence and all beliefs concerning Divinity. The holy spirit generally accompanies it, and it is then called “good intellect,” as it says, “You gave Your good spirit to give them understanding.” A man who strays from the path of intellect errs concerning Divine beliefs, denying Providence, Hashem's knowledge, His governance, and His wonders. These are the heretics who have no share in the World to Come and no remedy; he will rest in the congregation of the shades, for he will descend to Gehinnom.

A man of want. One who loves merriment and wishes always to rejoice is a man of want, because joy does not last. Anything that gladdens him when he first attains it will no longer gladden him after he has seen or possessed it for several days. He will then wish to see another new thing to gladden him and will always feel lacking. But one who loves wine and oil, drinking and anointing his body with luxuries, will not become wealthy, because he will consume his money. Beyond being a man of want, he will also exhaust his wealth, whereas it is possible for one who merely loves merriment not to consume his money.

The wicked is a ransom for the righteous. A substitute is of the same kind as the liability, as in life for life, whereas a ransom need not be of the same kind and may even be monetary and provide atonement. When Hashem judges the world, He judges between the righteous and the wicked, and the one who emerges wicked in the judgment atones through his death for the righteous. “Righteous” and “wicked” are relative designations in that particular case; even if the righteous person might otherwise have been found guilty, he is vindicated relative to the wicked, who becomes his ransom. The traitor is in place of the upright. Uprightness is not relative: the upright person is inherently upright and requires no ransom or atonement. Yet in worldly affairs it can happen that the traitor seeks to kill the upright, but he himself dies in their place—life for life—and they are saved, as it says, “The righteousness of the upright will save them, while traitors will be trapped in their own destruction.”

It is better to dwell in a desert land than with a contentious and angry woman. It already said above that it is better to dwell on a corner of the roof than with a contentious woman. If she is not prone to anger but merely stirs up disputes with her neighbors and household members, he must distance himself from company and live with her on a corner of the roof, where she will find no one with whom to quarrel. But if she is also prone to anger, she will anger him even there, and he must flee from her to the desert.

A precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the wise. According to the parable, the wise person does not lose his store and treasure but guards it, so that a precious treasure, such as gold and spices, and fine oil, which is also kept in a treasury—as it says, “He showed them the gold and the fine oil in his treasuries”—remain in his dwelling. But a foolish man swallows it up and destroys the treasure. In the application, regarding physical treasure and oil, the wise person devises means for the treasure always to remain in his dwelling: he gives it in charity to the poor and practices lovingkindness with it, and thus it remains his forever. As the Sages said, “My ancestors stored below, but I stored Above; my ancestors stored where a hand can reach it...” The foolish person who keeps it for himself swallows it up, for in the end strangers inherit his wealth and nothing remains in his hand after death. The verse is also a metaphor for precious spiritual treasure and oil: the soul's virtues and the sacred anointing oil, symbolizing the holy spirit and intellectual attainment, remain in the dwelling of the wise person, who follows the laws of wisdom. But the fool, who departs from those laws because of his appetite, swallows up and destroys the treasure. The next verse explains what the treasure and oil are.

One who pursues righteousness and kindness. The wise person pursues righteousness, meaning commandments between man and God, and kindness, meaning acts of lovingkindness between man and his fellow. Through kindness, his precious physical treasure and oil remain his; through righteousness, his precious spiritual treasure and oil remain his. Consequently, after he enters the world of recompense, there he will find life—eternal life—righteousness from Above, which I define as the boundless good Hashem performs according to His great righteousness, and honor, the soul's eternal happiness, which Scripture calls honor: the true future reward, when the righteous sit with their crowns upon their heads.

A wise man ascended a city of warriors... One who guards his mouth and tongue... According to the parable, it depicts one wise man conquering a city of warriors and the fortress in which they trusted, as it says, Wisdom strengthens the wise man more than ten rulers who were in the city (Ecclesiastes 7:19).

It says:

• Although it was a city filled with people, a single wise man conquered it;

• although they were warriors;

• although the city was situated on a mountain and therefore difficult to conquer, as indicated by a wise man ascended;

• and although they possessed a mighty tower in which they trusted, as indicated by and brought down the strength of its confidence.

In the application, it speaks of the soul's battle.

He already used this parable in Ecclesiastes: There was a small city with few men in it (Ecclesiastes 9:14), where he spoke of the battle waged by the evil inclination and appetite against the soul:

• He depicts the soul as dwelling in a city, and it is a small city with few men in it, because the soul's powers are few;

• the attacker who comes from outside to conquer it is a great king, and he builds great siegeworks, because the powers of the flesh are many and all of nature and the senses assist them;

• only a poor wise man saved the city through his wisdom (Ecclesiastes 9:15). This means that wisdom saves the soul so that the foolish old king does not conquer it.

Here, however, he presents the foolish prince and his warriors as being inside, while the wise man comes and conquers the city.

This battle is perpetual, and each side has a fortified city. In truth, however, the first is a small city and the second a city of warriors. The powers of the soul and intellect are few; they are strangers in this world and have few helpers. The powers of matter, by contrast, are mighty and are inhabitants of this world, dwelling on a fortified mountain. Nevertheless, one who conducts himself according to the laws of wisdom will conquer the city, compel the children of the flesh and the powers of appetite to obey him, and dispossess them with the sword of wisdom and the shield of understanding, knowledge, and fear of Hashem. The surging forces of appetite will not stand before him.

There is, however, a condition: he must then guard against the conquered forces returning to conquer the city. He does this by guarding his mouth and tongue, which are the fortress of wisdom—the speaking soul—for through them the enemies enter to besiege the soul. This refers both to guarding speech in its literal sense and to the fact that the mouth alludes to the speech of wisdom, while the tongue alludes to the speech of understanding; he must guard them so that they do not depart from the paths of wisdom and understanding. In this way he guards his spiritual soul from troubles, preventing her constantly warring enemies from besieging her when her wall is torn down and her protection exposed.

Presumptuous, arrogant scoffer is his name. The presumptuous person knowingly disputes the laws of wisdom, argues against the laws of wisdom and faith, denies Providence and reward and punishment, and commits sins defiantly. As long as he is not arrogant, however, he is not yet a scoffer, for he argues with claims and proofs rather than mockery, and if refuted he will be silent. But if he is arrogant, he pays no attention to reasons or proofs at all and merely mocks the wise and the faithful. He then acts with overflowing presumption. “Overflowing” means crossing a boundary: he performs evil deeds for which he has no need and which oppose the nature of the soul, solely because his presumption overflows. His willfulness crosses the human boundary, leading him to acts contrary to human nature in general.

The desire of the lazy man kills him... All day long he desires desire. A person is lazy about doing something that he considers unimportant and unnecessary. Do not think that the lazy man neglects work because he has no desires and considers worldly things trivial, and therefore will not labor to obtain them. The opposite is true: his desire is greater than that of one who is not lazy, for one who has bread in his basket is not like one who does not. Rather, he lacks dominion over his hands and the bodily instruments of action, which refuse to obey the ruling power of the soul. Therefore his desire kills him, because his hands, which could save him from death by working so that he may obtain what he desires, refuse to obey him. It adds that all day long he desires desire: while the diligent person works all day and desires only at night when free from his occupation, the lazy man desires all day and does nothing. The verse then praises the righteous person, who gives charity to the lazy man and does not withhold. No one has compassion on this lazy man; even if he dies of hunger, people do not pity him, saying that he could work. But the righteous person has mercy on him, for he is like a sick man unable to work, since his hands are slack and do not obey him. He therefore gives him charity and has mercy upon his affliction.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with an evil scheme. A sacrifice brought by the wicked is an abomination even if he brings it wholeheartedly, so long as he remains wicked—that is, he has not repented of his earlier wickedness. It resembles an enemy of the king bringing him a gift: the gift is abominable in the king's eyes even though the enemy brings it wholeheartedly, because the giver is hated by him.

All the more is this so if he brings it with an evil scheme. An evil scheme means the mind's deep absorption in thoughts of sin. Even while bringing the sacrifice, his intention is toward immorality and sinful counsel. Beyond not being accepted because of the person who brings it, it is not accepted because of the offering itself, whose purpose is evil.

A false witness will perish... A wicked man hardens his face. It has already said several times, “One who breathes lies will not escape” and “One who breathes lies will perish,” which we explained in each place according to its context. Here it speaks of the tradition transmitted from generation to generation back to the first foundation of Israel regarding commandments, beliefs, and opinions. If a person testifies to true matters that his ear heard and that were received from the ancient mountains, they will endure forever. Sometimes, however, a man testifies about something he did not hear and seeks to bequeath a false tradition, whether concerning commandments, beliefs, or opinions. Therefore it says, A false witness will perish, for it is part of Hashem's Providence that truth endures while falsehood vanishes like smoke. But a man who listens—whose statement is something he heard through tradition—will speak forever, and his tradition will endure eternally. At times a wicked man hardens his face to deny the received tradition, for in every generation deniers have arisen to reject tradition because it is not apprehended independently but received from the fathers. The upright man, however, understands his way. As explained, the upright person is one who is naturally straight. The term is used regarding the path of understanding: he derives one thing from another with sound intellect, and his character traits are also upright. Through the breadth of his understanding he comprehends the path of truth and can prevail over the deniers by the power of his upright understanding.

There is no wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel against Hashem. A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to Hashem. Although choice was given to man, and in private matters he succeeds through preparation and diligence, this is not so in matters decreed by Hashem and fixed by Providence, such as general matters affecting an entire people, nation, or state. There a person must indeed do his part and make natural preparations—as in warfare, a public matter, where he must prepare military tactics, horses, and chariots—yet the counsel of Hashem will stand and human effort will not avail. Naturally, a person succeeds either through wisdom, by receiving from his teachers the proper modes of conduct; through understanding, by contemplating independently, deriving one thing from another, and examining matters to which truth and falsehood apply; or through counsel, which comes from perfection of the imaginative and estimating faculty, through which future developments become known to him—how an event will occur and how he should act wisely. Nevertheless, none of these avail against Hashem, meaning in matters decreed and determined by Him. The verse proves this: although a horse is prepared for the day of battle—the natural means by which one succeeds in war—nevertheless victory belongs to Hashem. Since war is a public matter through which a people either falls or rises, victory comes through Providence, and natural means do not determine it.