He loveth transgression that loveth strife, because strife leads to many breaches of the commandments (comp. Proverbs 29:22; James 1:20). Septuagint, "He who loveth sin rejoices in battles." And he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
He who builds a sumptuous house and lives in the way that his magnificent surroundings demand draws ruin on himself, either because he affects a state which he is unable to support, or acts so as to provoke reprisals and injurious consequences.
The entrance to a Palestinian house would usually be of humble dimensions and sparse ornamentation; any doorway of great architectural pretensions would be uncommon, and would be regarded as a token of extraordinary wealth or reprehensible pride.
Aben Ezra, taking "gate" as a metaphor for "mouth," explains the hemistich of the danger of random or excessive speech. This makes a good parallel with the first clause; but it is doubtful whether the words will bear this interpretation (see Hitzig); and the two clauses may present two forms of selfishness, captiousness and ostentation, both of which lead to quarrels and ruin (comp.