CHAPTER II _The teacher promises his pupil the highest advantages, if he_ _will follow the dictates of wisdom_, 1-9. _He shall be happy in its enjoyment_, 10, 11; _shall be saved from wicked men_, 12-15; _and from the snares of bad women_, 16-19; _be a companion of the good and upright; and be... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:4. _IF THOU SEEKEST HER AS SILVER_] How do men seek money? What will they not do to get rich? Reader, seek the salvation of thy soul as earnestly as the covetous man seeks wealth; and be ashamed of thyself, if thou be less in earnest after the _true_ _riches_ than he is after _peris... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:7. _HE LAYETH UP SOUND WISDOM_] תושיה _tushiyah_. We have met with this word in Job; see Job 5:12; Job 6:13; Job 11:6; Job 12:16. _See especially Clarke's note on "_Job 11:6_"_, where the different acceptations of the word are given. _Coverdale_ translates, "He preserveth the welfa... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:9. _THEN SHALT THOU UNDERSTAND_] He who is taught of God understands the whole law of _justice, mercy, righteousness_, and _truth_; God has written this on his heart. He who understands these things by _books_ only is never likely to practise or profit by them.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:11. _DISCRETION SHALL PRESERVE THEE_] מזמה _mezimmah_. See on Proverbs 1:4. Here the word is taken in a good sense, a _good device_. The man _invents purposes_ of good; and all his _schemes, plans_, and _devices_, have for their object God's glory and the good of man: he deviseth li... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:12. _THE MAN THAT SPEAKETH FROWARD THINGS._] תהפכות _tahpuchoth_, things of _subversion_; from תפך _taphach_, to _turn_ or _change_ the _course of a thing_. Men who wish to _subvert_ the _state_ of things, whether _civil_ or _religious_; who are seditious themselves, and wish to mak... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:16. _THE STRANGER_ WHICH _FLATTERETH WITH HER WORDS_] החליקה _hechelikah_, she that _smooths_ with her words. The original intimates the _glib, oily_ speeches of a _prostitute_. The English _lick_ is supposed to be derived from the original word.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:17. _WHICH FORSAKETH THE GUIDE OF HER YOUTH_] Leaves her father's house and instructions, and abandons herself to the public. _THE COVENANT OF HER GOD._] Renounces the _true religion_, and mixes with _idolaters_; for among them prostitution was enormous. Or by the _covenant_ may be... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:18. _FOR HER HOUSE INCLINETH UNTO DEATH_] It is generally in _by_ and _secret places_ that such women establish themselves. They go out of the _high road_ to get a residence; and every step that is taken towards their house is a step towards _death_. The path of sin is the path of r... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:19. _NONE THAT GO UNTO HER RETURN AGAIN_] There are very few instances of prostitutes ever returning to the paths of sobriety and truth; perhaps _not one_ of such as become prostitutes _through a_ _natural propensity to debauchery_. Among those who have been _deceived, debauched_,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:20. _THAT THOU MAYEST MARK_] Therefore thou shalt walk.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 2:22. _TRANSGRESSORS_] בוגדים _bogedim_. The _garment men_, the _hypocrites_; those who _act borrowed characters_, who go under a _cloak; dissemblers_. All such shall be _rooted out of the land_; they shall not be blessed with _posterity_. In general it is so: and were it not so, one... [ Continue Reading ]