Please read the passage before reading the commentary
The language of Proverbs is that of a male parent talking with his male heir. This does not mean that it lacks value for women and girls. Much of ancient culture was patriarchal. This is shone in the ancient practice of// using masculine ending to include female persons. “Ladies and gentlemen” usually sounded more like “Men”.
Proverbs, like many books of poetry, consists of contrasts between good and bad, just and unjust, wicked-curses vs just and blessings, arrogance versus humility. Uniting opposites is a way of including everybody. Good and bad, arrogant and humble, lawless versus upright, by naming the extremes of virtue and vice, includes everyone in between.
Although we live in a grey world, where black and white represent the extremes, mostly we live between extreme goodness and extreme badness. We usually struggle to do the good, but the struggle is not bad. We struggle for what we value. Struggling to do good is a sign that we have our hearts set on the right path.
Let the speaker of Proverbs encourage us, men and women, to do the good, to plot no evil, to honor noble women and men, to bless the righteous and show kindness.