Proverbs — Chapter 24

Sapientia aedificatur domus, et prudentia roboratur

By wisdom a house is built, and by prudence it is established. Lapide: The house of the family is built and consolidated by wisdom and prudence — not by wealth or physical strength. True domestic security comes from right ordering of family life according to the divine law. Lapide: \"House\" includes both the physical household and the spiritual household — the souls of the family members. The wise husband and father builds the souls of his family by instruction in the faith, discipline, example, and prayer; the wise mother by love, patience, and constant care.

Septies enim cadet justus, et resurget: impii autem corruent in malum

For a just man falls seven times, and rises again; but the wicked stumble into evil. Lapide: \"Septies cadet\" (falls seven times) = not seven literal falls but the indefinite number of human failures and sins — the \"seven\" being a symbolic totality. The just man falls (through venial sin, weakness, adverse circumstances) but ALWAYS rises again, because he retains divine grace, repents quickly, and relies on God's mercy. The wicked \"stumble into evil\" = they fall and remain fallen, because they lack the grace and the will to rise. Lapide: This verse is a great consolation for those discouraged by their repeated failures — the mark of the just is not sinlessness but the habit of repentance and rising.