Don’t Toot Your Own Horn (Proverbs 27:2)

Complete: “Let another praise you, and __________________.” Not your own mouth (Proverbs 27:2)

Every one feels underappreciated at times and it is natural to overcompensate in these moments. A segment of Proverbs addressing friends and friendships (Proverbs 27:1-10) begins by renouncing boasting (Proverbs 27:1-2).

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips. (Proverbs 27:2 NASB)

Proverbs often advises to speak carefully. In lieu of praising oneself, this proverb advises to allow a stranger to do so. The word rendered “stranger” (nokriy) suggests a foreigner or alien in its most common use. In this context, the word does not indicate someone from another country but rather signifies a broader scope: someone wholly other. It merely accentuates the distance between subject and critic as praise by unknown foreigners would likely be of little value.

David Hubbard (1928-1996) comments:

Sound evaluation can come only from others—and they ought not to be too close to us...“Stranger”...underscores the sense of distance. Neither friend, neighbor, nor family member would be described in such terms. Outside “praise”...may not always be accurate but it is always more seemly than self-praise which shades over into the boasting described in Proverbs 27:1. (Hubbard, Proverbs (Mastering the Old Testament))

Robert Jeffress (b. 1955) paraphrases:

Refuse to honk your own horn...This is one of the simplest yet most often ignored principles for success in life. Refuse to be your own press agent. Let other people handle the job for you...Admittedly, this principle can be hard to follow. We tend to think that if we don’t tell others about our accomplishments, they will go unnoticed. The truth is that when we try to shine the spotlight on ourselves, we only set ourselves up for humiliation. (Jeffress, The Solomon Secrets: 10 Keys to Extraordinary Success from Proverbs, 194)

Max Lucado (b. 1955) adds:

Demanding respect is like chasing a butterfly. Chase, it and you’ll never catch it. Sit still, and it may light on your shoulder. The French philosopher Blaise Pascal [1623-1662] asked, “Do you wish people to speak well of you? Then never speak well of yourself.” Maybe that’s why the Bible says, “Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.” (Lucado, Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear, 76)

In today’s sell yourself world, Proverbs’ synthetic admonition to keep one’s successes to onseself is counter cultural.

Praise is only as good as its source. Our own praise is too unobjective to be useful. We are too close to the situation to see ourselves clearly and as such we cannot accurately gage our own efforts.

Bruce K. Waltke (b. 1930) analyzes:

The admonition protects one against self-deception and flattery. “A person is judged by his praise.” (Proverbs 27:21), but to be of value that praise must be credible. Objective friends have no self-interest in either their positive evaluation of a person or in their celebrating his virtue...A German proverb says, “Eigen-Lob stinkt, Freundes Lob hinkt, Fremdes Lob klingt” — “self-praise stinks, a friend’s praise limps, a stranger’s praise rings.” William McKane [1921-2004] comments, “Whereas society will not take the boaster seriously, it has its own way of testing him before according him acclaim and entrusting him with power [cf. Proverbs 27:21, 25:6-7; Luke 14:7-11; John 12:43].” Moreover self-promotion through boasting may elevate a person beyond his competence, leading him to fear demotion or in fact to be demoted and shamed. (Waltke, The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 15-31 (New International Commentary on the Old Testament), 374)

There are practical as well as moral reasons for the sage’s advice. Michael V. Fox (b. 1940) observes:

Modesty is a tactical as well as moral virtue, for others are more likely to speak of a person’s virtues and accomplishments if he himself is silent on them, and “He whose spirit is humble will hold honor” (Proverbs 29:23b). A further implication is that one should act in such a way that other people, and not only his own mouth will praise him. (Fox, Proverbs 10-31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible), 803)

Relationship counselors Les (b. 1961) and Leslie Parrott (b. 1964) (naturally) apply the proverb to romantic relationships. They take the proverb’s negative and encourage the positive inverse:

This truth may not have been written with couples in mind, but the wise husband and wife will see its applicability to marriage...Loving couples praise one another in private and in public. They tell each other’s stories of accomplishment..So when you have an opportunity to bring praise to yourself in a social setting, skip it. But when an opportunity arises for you to compliment your spouse in front of others, don’t let the opportunity slip by. (Parrott and Parrott, Meditations on Proverbs for Couples, 38)

Proverbs does not discourage praise, only self praise (Proverbs 27:21). It is more fitting for someone else to place the crown on the ruler’s head. Besides, if you are good, there is no need to tell people. They will know it. And if you need to tell someone you are good, how good could you be?

Why is Proverbs 27:2 sage advice? What other tasks should you not do for yourself? When have you been tempted to brag about your own success? Why? What should you do if no one else praises your good work? Whose opinion do you most value, your own or others? Whose assessment is most accurate? Is there an implicit admonition to praise worthy acts in Proverbs 27:2? Who should we praise?

It is typically better to give than to take praise. The word for praise is halal from which we get the word hallelujah. Richard J. Clifford (b. 1934) notes:

The trilateral root hll in the qal conjugation means “to praise,” and the root contributes to a wordplay: Just as one cannot take tomorrow for granted (hthll in Proverbs 27:1, hithpael conjugation) so one cannot praise oneself (hll in Proverbs 27:3). Honor is granted, not taken. (Clifford, Proverbs: A Commentary (Old Testament Library), 237)

Stephen D. Renn defines:

Hālal is a fairly common verb occurring in 165 contexts with the predominant meaning “to praise,” as well as “to glory,” “boast.”...In the context of “praise” directed towards human beings hālal conveys the sense of “commend” (Genesis 12:15; Proverbs 12:8) and “admire” (II Samuel 14:25; II Chronicles 23:12; Proverbs 27:2, 31:28ff; Song of Solomon 6:9). (Renn, Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Word Studies for Key English Bible Words Based on the Hebrew And Greek Texts,748)

Though it is sometimes used of humans and even objects (Genesis 12:15; II Samuel 14:25; Proverbs 27:2), the verb is usually reserved for God.

God follows the recommendation offered in Proverbs 27:2. Instead of self praise, God allows others to do it. In fact, this is one of our primary tasks. Anything that could garner praise for us is worth us giving praise to God.

Is there anything you can take credit for that God did not do? Do you praise God for your accomplishments?

“Don’t talk about yourself; it will be done when you leave.” - Wilson Mizner (1876-1933)

There is No “I” in Heaven (II Corinthians 12:2)

Into what heaven was the man who Paul knew caught up? The third heaven (II Corinthians 12:2)

One of the many obstacles Paul faced in Corinth was responding to braggart preachers who arrived after he had departed (II Corinthians 11:16-18). In confronting these critics, Paul (almost playfully) boasts of his own accomplishments in Christ. After outlining his sufferings (II Corinthians 11:23-33), the apostle shifts to the third person for his most dramatic boast (II Corinthians 12:1-9). He famously writes of an ecstatic experience:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. (II Corinthians 12:2 NASB)

In stating that the incident occurred fourteen years ago, Paul is registering a definitive memorable experience, a happening that occurred nearly a decade before he entered Corinth. Paul may be sharing this episode for the first time as there appears to have been a gag order placed upon such visits (II Corinthians 12:4). The time marker serves as a reminder that this event was unique and not an everyday occurrence even for a spiritual guru like Paul.

Though Paul regularly experienced visions, many involving Jesus (Acts 9:3-6, 9:12, 16:9, 18:9, 22:17), the apostle does not classify this incident as a vision. In fact, he does not classify it at all. Paul asserts that God only knows how it happened conceding only that he was “caught up” (Ezekiel 8:1-3; Wisdom of Solomon 4:10-11; I Enoch 39:3, 52:1). Paul evidently asked the natural question that Talking Heads sang about in “Once in a Lifetime” - “you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?”

In refusing to speculate as to whether he was abducted or underwent an out of body experience, Paul resisted the urge to categorize his experience. Some have suggested this ambiguity is a rebuttal of the Greek notion that one’s soul could ascend to God. This discussion fits with the Corinthians’ interest in the body/spirit dichotomy (I Corinthians 15:35-44; II Corinthians 5:6-8).

Craig S. Keener (b. 1960) comments:

Not knowing whether he was in the body or out of it (II Corinthians 12:2-3) might be rhetorical aporia (feigned uncertainty), but Paul has already contrasted being at home in the body with the afterlife of being away from the body and at home with the lord (II Corinthians 5:6-8). Although in some Jewish texts only the souls were caught up to see heaven (I Enoch 71:1-6), sometimes the experience sounds as if it involves the entire body (Ezekiel 2:2, 3:14, 24, 8:3, 11:1, 24; Wisdom of Solomon 4:11; I Enoch 39:3).” (Keener, 1-2 Corinthians (New Cambridge Bible Commentary), 238).”

The modern reader must resolve that if the details were important, Paul would have shared them.

Paul further complicates the incident by mentioning “paradise” in the same breath as “third heaven” (II Corinthians 12:4). Paradise is a loan word from Persia and appears only three times in the New Testament (Luke 23:43; II Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7). In the intertestamental literature it had come to mean the realm entered upon death or the dimension where God dwells. As Paul incorporates two distinct terms, some have suggested a two step progression in which the third heaven was merely a step on the stairway to paradise.

This view is unlikely. Jewish literature often equates the third heaven with paradise (II Enoch 8:1; Apocalypse of Moses 37:5, 40:1). The fact that Paul uses the same verb for “caught up” (harpazo) in describing both places also underscores a singular experience (II Corinthians 12:1, 4). Most tellingly, as Paul is discussing the pinnacle of ecstatic phenomenons, there would be no need to reference the third heaven if it were not a watershed event. The very nature of the text screams for a single event.

The passage is also problematic to modern readers as Paul assumes a subtext that is no longer common - the third heaven itself (II Corinthians 12:2). This marks the only time the third heaven appears in Scripture and there was no consensus in Jewish literature as to how meany “heavens” existed.

Craig S. Keener (b. 1960) explains:

“Because the Persian loan word ‘paradise’ meant ‘garden,’ it applied well to the garden in Eden (Genesis 2:8-3:24 LXX; Josephus [37-100]Antiquities 137). Jewish people spoke of paradise as in heaven (T. Ab. 20:14; 3 Baruch 4:6) and expected a new paradise or Eden in the future (4 Ezra 7:36, 8:52; 2 Baruch 51:11). Jewish texts placed paradise, the new Eden, on earth in the coming age, but heaven in at the present. Jewish texts ranged from 3 to 365 in the number of heavens they imagined; the most common numbers were three (Testament of Levi 2-3) and seven. Texts often placed paradise in one of these (in the third in 2 Enoch 8:1; Apocalypse of Moses 37:5, 40:1); the lowest of ‘heavens’ was the lower atmosphere. Paul presumably envisions paradise as in the third of three heavens .” (Keener, 1-2 Corinthians (New Cambridge Bible Commentary), 239)

Thomas D. Stegman (b. 1963) concurs:

“Paul declares that he was transported to the third heaven, a place he then identifies as Paradise. He thus intimates that he was temporarily taken up by God to the highest place in heaven, where the divine glory dwells. Given that Paul referred to ‘visions and revelations’ of the Lord Jesus, does he suggest here that he was set in the presence of the glorified Christ? Perhaps, although he does not register what he saw. Instead, he reports that he heard ineffable things, which no one may utter. These ‘unutterable utterances’–surmised by some commentators to be angelic praises or revelations of divine mysteries–were beyond what human language could convey. What is more, even if he were able, the Apostle states, he is not permitted to do so.” (Stegman, Second Corinthians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture), 268)

Robert H. Gundry (b. 1932) describes this cosmology succinctly, “The third heaven probably means ‘right up to the highest heaven,’ the heaven of the Lord’s abode as distinct from the starry heavens (the second heaven) and the earth’s atmosphere (the first heaven [compare I Kings 8:27]) (Gundry, Commentary on Second Corinthians).”

Paul is discussing a single event, rare even for him, that represented the apex of spiritual encounters. The number and terminology are insignificant as whether one names that abode as the third heaven, paradise or something else, Paul was transported into the very presence of God.

Do you have any spiritual experiences too sacred to discuss? Did this episode in Paul’s life occur before, during or after his profound experience on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-9)? How did Paul get to the third heaven? What was the apostle doing when he was transported? How would you explain this incident?

In its simplest form, this passage answers Paul’s bragging detractors and the message is clear - you can’t top this. Paul’s visit to the third heaven means that if the criteria is ecstatic, supernatural experience, Paul wins. Hands down.

Throughout his diatribe, Paul is aware of the foolishness of his own boasting, the same complaint he has against his detractors (II Corinthians 11:16-18, 21, 23, 12:1). He readily admits, “I am speaking as a fool (II Corinthians 11:21 NASB).” Even amidst his own “boasting”, Paul does all he can to deprecate himself. He also uses the passive voice of “caught up” to describe the happening (II Corinthians 12:1, 4), meaning it was done to him not by him. He did nothing.

Thomas D. Stegman (b. 1963) expounds:

“There is a certain playfulness with which Paul recounts his journey to the third heaven: he is not certain how he was taken up, he does not report what he saw, and he cannot repeat what he heard. He thereby suggests that, while this mysterious experience was important to him personally, it did not provide him with information he could use in his ministry. It is certainly not reason to boast about himself. Rather, he implies a critique of the intruding missionaries: ‘If their experience was the same as Paul’s, it contributed nothing to their ministry. If it was something about which they talk, it was less ineffable than his.’” (Stegman, Second Corinthians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture), 268)

In speaking of visions, Paul also reverts to the third person, refusing the word “I”. (The modern equivalent might be someone who instead of admittedly speaking on their own behalf instead says, “I have this friend....”) For Paul, there is no “I” in heaven as the apostle realizes he did nothing to generate or merit the experience.

Paul recognizes that it is the height of folly to brag of revelations from God. Only an idiot boasts of something so clearly the work of Another.

What was the purpose of Paul’s visit to the third heaven? In what ways, if any, did it benefit him? Do people still visit the third heaven? What is your most dramatic spiritual/supernatural experience? When have you taken credit for God’s handiwork?

“The less you speak of your greatness, the more shall I think of it.” - attributed to William Shakespeare (1564-1616)