_a fool_ We are left to read in the word _rich_, from the contrast implied by the parallelism: upright poverty is better than perverse folly, by whatever advantages of wealth, of birth, or of rank, it may be accompanied. The proverb recurs, with variations, Proverbs 28:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
that _the soul_be _without knowledge_ If with R.V. text we retain this rendering, we may well recognise in the rendering of R.V. marg. a true explanation of the proverb: "Desire without knowledge is not good; And he that hasteth with his feet misseth _his way_." "The soul," however fervently and... [ Continue Reading ]
_maketh_ Rather, ADDETH; προστίθησι, LXX.; addunt (divitiæ), Vulg.; the contrast being between the new friends gained by wealth, and the existing FRIEND (R.V.) lost by poverty, ὁ δὲ πτωχὸς καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος φίλου λείπεται, LXX.; A paupere autem et hi, quos habuit, separantur, Vulg.... [ Continue Reading ]
_speaketh_ Lit. BREATHETH OUT; and so in Proverbs 19:9 below.... [ Continue Reading ]
_prince_ It is better to preserve the parallelism, and to render the Heb. word in its primary sense of princely disposition, THE LIBERAL MAN, R.V. text, than with A.V. and R.V. marg., of princely rank. The same word is rendered _liberal_, Isaiah 32:5; Isaiah 32:8. Comp. Keble's version of it in Psal... [ Continue Reading ]
_pursueth_them with _words_ sc. of persuasion and entreaty. The R.V. marg. renders, _He pursueth after words which are nought_, i.e. after the fair but false promises of his friends. _wanting_to him] Rather, ARE GONE, R.V., desert him in his time of need. The fact that this is the only example in... [ Continue Reading ]
_wisdom_ Heb., A HEART. Comp. Proverbs 7:7; Proverbs 9:4; Job 12:3; Job 34:10; in all which places the Heb. word rendered _understanding_is the same as here.... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall perish_ We have, _shall not escape_, in the otherwise identical proverb of Proverbs 19:5 above.... [ Continue Reading ]
_delight_ Rather, LUXURY, or DELICATE LIVING, R.V. οὐ συμφέρει ἄφρονι τρυφὴ, LXX. Comp. οἱ ἐν τρυφῇ ὑπάρχοντες ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις εἰσίν, Luke 7:25; as "a servant" would be if he had "rule over princes." On this second clause Dean Plumptre (_Speaker's Comm_.) quotes Claudian in _Eutrop_. 1. 183: "n... [ Continue Reading ]
_deferreth his anger_ MAKETH HIM SLOW TO ANGER, R.V.; ἐλεήμων ἀνὴρ μακροθυμεῖ, LXX. Comp. Isaiah 48:9, where the Heb. phrase is the same as here. The cognate Heb. phrase "slow to anger," occurs frequently, e.g. Psalms 103:8. Comp. James 1:19-20.... [ Continue Reading ]
_as dew upon the grass_ Comp. Proverbs 16:15; Psalms 72:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
_continual_ Lit. THRUSTING, where one drop follows so closely upon another as to thrust it forward. "In quo gutta guttam trudit," Maur.; "Tecta jugiter perstillantia litigiosa mulier," Vulg. Comp. Proverbs 27:15.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the inheritance of_ Rather, AN INHERITANCE FROM (R.V.); i.e. derived from. _And_ Rather, BUT. οἶκον καὶ ὕπαρξιν μερίζουσι πατέρες παισὶ, παρὰ δὲ κυρίου ἁρμόζεται γυνὴ ἀνδρί, LXX. Domus et divitiæ dantur a parentibus; a Domino autem proprie uxor prudens, Vulg. Comp. Proverbs 18:22; Genesis 24:12-1... [ Continue Reading ]
_despiseth_ i.e. pays no heed to them ( IS CARELESS of, R.V.; negligit, Vulg.), through a contemptuous disregard of "the commandment" which should regulate them. Similarly for _despise not_, A. V., we have _regard not lightly_, R.V. in Hebrews 12:5. Contrast Proverbs 16:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
_that which he hath given_ Better, HIS DEED, A.V. marg.; or HIS GOOD DEED, R.V. Comp. Matthew 25:34-40.... [ Continue Reading ]
_while_ R.V. _seeing:_i.e. for if done now it will not be too late. _let not thy soul spare for his crying_ Rather, SET NOT THY HEART ON HIS DESTRUCTION, R.V.; lit. ON CAUSING HIM TO DIE. This might mean, let not thy passionate and excessive correction kill or injure him; as LXX., Vulg. and Maurer... [ Continue Reading ]
_do_it _again_ Because, if you deliver him by paying for him or otherwise ridding him of the "penalty" which his passionate action has brought upon him, his unbridled temper is sure to bring him into trouble again, and so you had better let things take their course.... [ Continue Reading ]
is _his kindness_ The R.V. renders, _is_the measure of _his kindness_, in order to make the meaning clearer. The "kindness," or "benevolence" of a man is to be measured, not by what he does, but by what he desires to do (2 Corinthians 8:12). _a liar_ A poor man who would help but cannot is better t... [ Continue Reading ]
_hideth his hand in his bosom_ Rather, BURIETH HIS HAND IN THE DISH (R.V.), after the Oriental fashion of eating. See Proverbs 26:15, where this clause occurs again. Comp. Matthew 26:23. The Heb. word is rendered _dish_, 2 Kings 21:13; and (in a slightly different form) _cruse_(A.V. and R.V.) in 2 K... [ Continue Reading ]
_beware_ or, _learn prudence_, R.V. There is a triple contrast in the proverb, between the persons to be dealt with and between both the manner and the result of dealing with them. The _scorner_, or hardened scoffer (λοιμός, LXX.; pestilens, Vulg.; Proverbs 1:22; Psalms 1:1, and notes there in this... [ Continue Reading ]
_wasteth_ Rather, VIOLENTLY ENTREATETH, R.V. marg.... [ Continue Reading ]
That causeth _to err_ The Heb. is simply, _Cease to hear instruction to err_. This may mean either, with A.V., Do not listen to instruction which if you follow it will lead you astray; or better, with R.V., Do not listen to (good) instruction, only to neglect it, and err in spite of it. Comp. James... [ Continue Reading ]
_ungodly_ Rather, WORTHLESS. See Proverbs 6:12, note.... [ Continue Reading ]