Proverbs 25:20

taketh away Better, taketh off.

nitre The Heb. word nether, occurs only here and in Jeremiah 2:22, where see note in this Series. The substance meant is not saltpetre, which is now what we understand by nitre, but native carbonate of soda, which was found, as Pliny tells us, in the Soda Lakes of Egypt (Smith's Dict. of Bible, Art. nitre). The untimelinessof singing songs to a heavy heart is illustrated by the first comparison. It is doing exactly the opposite of that which the circumstances demand. It is like taking off a garment just when one ought to put it on. The second comparison teaches vividly that the action which is thus untimely is also irritating when it ought to be soothing, and hurtful when it ought to be helpful. It is like "vinegar on nitre," like acid on soda, which produces effervescence, calling into active exercise the natural antipathies of the substances, and destroying the virtue of the soda.