Proverbs 5 - Introduction
_SOLOMON EXHORTETH TO THE STUDY OF WISDOM; HE SHEWETH THE MISCHIEF OF FORNICATION AND RIOT: HE EXHORTETH TO CONTENTEDNESS, LIBERALITY, AND CHASTITY. THE WICKED ARE OVERTAKEN WITH THEIR OWN SINS._... [ Continue Reading ]
_SOLOMON EXHORTETH TO THE STUDY OF WISDOM; HE SHEWETH THE MISCHIEF OF FORNICATION AND RIOT: HE EXHORTETH TO CONTENTEDNESS, LIBERALITY, AND CHASTITY. THE WICKED ARE OVERTAKEN WITH THEIR OWN SINS._... [ Continue Reading ]
MY SON ATTEND, &C.— There being nothing to which youth is so prone as to give up themselves to their fleshly desires, and nothing so pernicious to them as to converse with harlots, the wise man renews his cautions against impure lusts, as destructive of true wisdom; and with repeated entreaties begs... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT THY LIPS MAY KEEP KNOWLEDGE— The LXX read, _The understanding of my lips commands thee; have nothing to do with a strange woman; for honey distilleth from the lips of a woman who is a fornicator, which may for a time fatten thy cheeks._ See Wall and Houbigant.... [ Continue Reading ]
LEST THOU SHOULDEST PONDER THE PATH OF LIFE— Houbigant renders this, _She is far from following the way of life: her steps wander whither she herself knoweth not:_ which is very like the Chaldee. The design of the wise man seems to be, to point out the inconstancy, irregularity, and wickedness, of t... [ Continue Reading ]
LEST THOU GIVE THINE HONOUR UNTO OTHERS— The word _others_ אחרים _acheirim,_ denoted, among the Israelites, _strangers;_ aliens from the true religion, and also its enemies. I suppose it has respect to selling into slavery, by which a person puts himself under the yoke of strangers. It was a great c... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THOU MOURN AT THE LAST— When in the decline of life thou shalt be without strength, without vigour, without children, without support, without resource. We must recollect the great desire which the Hebrews had for children and a numerous family, in order fully to conceive the remorse of the man... [ Continue Reading ]
I WAS ALMOST IN ALL EVIL— _I am plunged into almost all evils in the midst of the assembly of my people._ Calmet. Houbigant renders it, _I am well nigh become the most miserable of all those amongst whom I live._ "What a wretched man am I! There is scarcely any misery in respect of estate, or body,... [ Continue Reading ]
DRINK WATERS OUT OF THINE OWN CISTERN— The allegory here begun is carried on through several verses. It has been differently understood; but the interpretation which seems most generally followed, is that of those who conceive that the wise man here subjoins a commendation of matrimony and the chast... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THEM BE ONLY THINE OWN— _Possess them alone:_ "Love only your wife, and give not to her any occasion, by your irregularity, to charge you with infidelity; guard her in such a manner, that she may not be exposed to the seduction of evil men.... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THY FOUNTAIN BE BLESSED— _That your wife may be fruitful, and God may bless you with a numerous posterity._ The next clause very clearly points out the meaning of the metaphor.... [ Continue Reading ]
LET HER BE AS THE LOVING HIND— Bishop Patrick observes, that the wise man describes allegorically the felicities of the nuptial state under the comparison of a domestic fountain, where a man may quench his natural thirst, and from whence streams, that is, children, may be derived to serve the public... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE WAYS OF A MAN ARE BEFORE THE LORD— See Psalms 139. Instead of _pondereth,_ in the next clause, we may read _measureth._... [ Continue Reading ]