Teks -- Proverbs 18:1-24 (NET)

18:1 One who has isolated himself seeks his own desires; he rejects all sound judgment. 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in disclosing what is on his mind. 18:3 When a wicked person arrives, contempt shows up with him, and with shame comes a reproach. 18:4 The words of a person’s mouth are like deep waters, and the fountain of wisdom is like a flowing brook. 18:5 It is terrible to show partiality to the wicked, by depriving a righteous man of justice. 18:6 The lips of a fool enter into strife, and his mouth invites a flogging. 18:7 The mouth of a fool is his ruin, and his lips are a snare for his life. 18:8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down into the person’s innermost being. 18:9 The one who is slack in his work is a brother to one who destroys. 18:10 The name of the Lord is like a strong tower; the righteous person runs to it and is set safely on high. 18:11 The wealth of a rich person is like a strong city, and it is like a high wall in his imagination. 18:12 Before destruction the heart of a person is proud, but humility comes before honor. 18:13 The one who gives an answer before he listens– that is his folly and his shame. 18:14 A person’s spirit sustains him through sickness– but who can bear a crushed spirit? 18:15 The discerning person acquires knowledge, and the wise person seeks knowledge. 18:16 A person’s gift makes room for him, and leads him before important people. 18:17 The first to state his case seems right, until his opponent begins to cross-examine him. 18:18 A toss of a coin ends disputes, and settles the issue between strong opponents. 18:19 A relative offended is harder to reach than a strong city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a fortified citadel. 18:20 From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied, with the product of his lips is he satisfied. 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love its use will eat its fruit. 18:22 The one who finds a wife finds what is enjoyable, and receives a pleasurable gift from the Lord. 18:23 A poor person makes supplications, but a rich man answers harshly. 18:24 A person who has friends may be harmed by them, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Pro 18:1 - Desire

Thro' desire of wisdom, a man having separated himself from the company, and noise, and business of the world, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom, uses all diligence, that he may search and find out all solid knowledge and true wisdom.

Wesley: Pro 18:2 - Understanding

In getting sound and saving, knowledge.

Wesley: Pro 18:2 - The discovery

In uttering that folly and wickedness which is in his heart.

Wesley: Pro 18:3 - Cometh

Into any place or company.

Wesley: Pro 18:3 - Contempt

He despiseth all instruction and reproof.

Wesley: Pro 18:3 - Reproach

And he shews his contempt by ignominious and reproachful expressions.

Wesley: Pro 18:4 - A man's

A wise man's.

Wesley: Pro 18:4 - As a brook

That wisdom which is in his heart is continually pouring forth wise and good counsels.

Wesley: Pro 18:8 - They go

They wound mortally.

Wesley: Pro 18:9 - Is brother

Though they take several paths, yet both come to one end.

Wesley: Pro 18:10 - The name

The Lord, as he hath revealed himself in his works, and in his word by his promises.

Wesley: Pro 18:14 - Sustain

Will easily support him under any outward troubles.

Wesley: Pro 18:14 - Wounded

Dejected with the sense of its own guilt and misery.

Wesley: Pro 18:18 - Parteth

Gives to every one what is right or meet.

Wesley: Pro 18:20 - Satisfied

Wise discourses tend to the satisfaction of the speaker, as well as to the good of the hearers.

Wesley: Pro 18:21 - Death and life

Are brought upon men by, the good or bad use of their tongues.

Wesley: Pro 18:21 - Lovest

That love much talking.

Wesley: Pro 18:22 - A wise

A good wife; one that deserves the name, and performs the duty of that relation.

Wesley: Pro 18:22 - Favour

Obtains her not by his own diligence, but by God's good providence.

Wesley: Pro 18:24 - A man

Heb. A man of friends; who desires the friendship of others.

JFB: Pro 18:1

(Pro. 18:1-24)

JFB: Pro 18:1 - Through desire . . . seeketh

That is, seeks selfish gratification.

JFB: Pro 18:1 - intermeddleth . . . wisdom

Or, "rushes on" (Pro 17:14) against all wisdom, or what is valuable (Pro 2:7).

JFB: Pro 18:2 - that his heart . . . itself

That is, takes pleasure in revealing his folly (Pro 12:23; Pro 15:2).

JFB: Pro 18:3

So surely are sin and punishment connected (Pro 16:4).

wicked, for "wickedness," answers to

ignominy, or the state of such; and

contempt, the feeling of others to them; and to

reproach, a manifestation of contempt.

JFB: Pro 18:4

Wise speech is like an exhaustless stream of benefit.

JFB: Pro 18:5 - accept the person

(Compare Psa 82:2). "It is not good" is to be supplied before "to overthrow."

JFB: Pro 18:6-7

The quarrelsome bring trouble on themselves. Their rash language ensnares them (Pro 6:2).

JFB: Pro 18:8

(Compare Pro 16:28).

JFB: Pro 18:8 - as wounds

Not sustained by the Hebrew; better, as "sweet morsels," which men gladly swallow.

JFB: Pro 18:8 - innermost . . . belly

The mind, or heart (compare Pro 20:27-30; Psa 22:14).

JFB: Pro 18:9

One by failing to get, the other by wasting wealth, grows poor.

JFB: Pro 18:9 - waster

Literally, "master of washing," a prodigal.

JFB: Pro 18:10 - name of the Lord

Manifested perfections (Psa 8:1; Psa 20:2), as faithfulness, power, mercy, &c., on which men rely.

JFB: Pro 18:10 - is safe

Literally, "set on high, out of danger" (Psa 18:2; Psa 91:4).

JFB: Pro 18:11

Contrasts with Pro 18:10 (compare Pro 10:15). Such is a vain trust (compare Psa 73:6).

JFB: Pro 18:12

(Compare Pro 15:33; Pro 16:18).

JFB: Pro 18:13

Hasty speech evinces self-conceit, and ensures shame (Pro 26:12).

JFB: Pro 18:14 - infirmity

Bodily sickness, or outward evil. The spirit, which sustains, being wounded, no support is left, except, as implied, in God.

JFB: Pro 18:15

(Compare Pro 1:5, Pro 1:15, Pro 1:31).

JFB: Pro 18:16

(Compare Pro 17:8, Pro 17:23). Disapproval of the fact stated is implied.

JFB: Pro 18:17

One-sided statements are not reliable.

JFB: Pro 18:17 - searcheth

Thoroughly (Pro 17:9, Pro 17:19).

JFB: Pro 18:18 - The lot

Whose disposal is of God (Pro 16:13), may, properly used, be a right mode of settling disputes.

JFB: Pro 18:19

No feuds so difficult of adjustment as those of relatives; hence great care should be used to avoid them.

JFB: Pro 18:20

(Compare Pro 12:14; Pro 13:2). Men's words are the fruit, or, increase of his lips, and when good, benefit them.

JFB: Pro 18:20 - satisfied with

(Compare Pro 1:31; Pro 14:14).

JFB: Pro 18:21 - Death and life

Or, the greatest evil and good.

JFB: Pro 18:21 - that love it

That is, the tongue, or its use for good or evil.

JFB: Pro 18:21 - eat . . . fruit

(Compare Pro 18:19; Jam 1:19).

JFB: Pro 18:22

The old versions supply "good" before the "wife," as the last clause and Pro 19:14 imply (compare Pro 31:10).

JFB: Pro 18:23 - the rich . . . roughly

He is tolerated because rich, implying that the estimate of men by wealth is wrong.

JFB: Pro 18:24 - A man . . . friendly

Better, "A man . . . (is) to, or, may triumph (Psa 108:9), or, shout for joy (Psa 5:11), that is, may congratulate himself." Indeed, there is a Friend who is better than a brother; such is the "Friend of sinners" [Mat 11:19; Luk 7:34], who may have been before the writer's mind.

Clarke: Pro 18:1 - Through desire a man, having separated himself

Through desire a man, having separated himself - The original is difficult and obscure. The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Arabic, read as follows: "He who wishes to break with his friend, and seeks occasions or pretenses shall at all times be worthy of blame.

My old MS. Bible translates, Occasioun seeketh that wil go awei fro a freend: at al tyme he schal ben wariable.

Coverdale thus: "Who so hath pleasure to sowe discorde, piketh a quarrel in every thinge.

Bible by Barker, 1615: "Fro the desire thereof he will separate himself to seeke it, and occupie himself in all wisdome."Which has in the margin the following note: "He that loveth wisdom will separate himself from all impediments, and give himself wholly to seek it.

The Hebrew: לתאוה יבקש נפרד בכל תושיה יתגלע lethaavah yebakkesh niphrad , bechol tushiyah yithgalla . The nearest translation to the words is perhaps the following: "He who is separated shall seek the desired thing, (i.e., the object of his desire), and shall intermeddle (mingle himself) with all realities or all essential knowledge."He finds that he can make little progress in the investigation of Divine and natural things, if he have much to do with secular or trifliing matters: he therefore separates himself as well from unprofitable pursuits as from frivolous company, and then enters into the spirit of his pursuit; is not satisfied with superficial observances, but examines the substance and essence, as far as possible, of those things which have been the objects of his desire. This appears to me the best meaning: the reader may judge for himself.

Clarke: Pro 18:2 - But that his heart may discover itself

But that his heart may discover itself - It is a fact that most vain and foolish people are never satisfied in company, but in showing their own nonsense and emptiness. But this verse may be understood as confirming the view already given of the preceding, and may be translated thus: "But a fool doth not delight in understanding, though it should even manifest itself:"so I understand כי אם בהתגלות ki im behithgalloth . The separated person seeks understanding in every hidden thing, and feels his toil well repaid when he finds it, even after the most painful and expensive search: the other regards it not, though its secret springs should be laid open to him without toil or expense.

Clarke: Pro 18:3 - When the wicked cometh, etc.

When the wicked cometh, etc. - would it not be better to read this verse thus? "When the wicked cometh contempt cometh; and with ignominy cometh reproach."A wicked man is despised even by the wicked. He who falls under ignominy falls under reproach.

Clarke: Pro 18:4 - The words of a man’ s mouth

The words of a man’ s mouth - That is, the wise sayings of a wise man are like deep waters; howsoever much you pump or draw off, you do not appear to lessen them

Clarke: Pro 18:4 - The well-spring of wisdom

The well-spring of wisdom - Where there is a sound understanding, and a deep, well-informed mind, its wisdom and its counsels are an incessant stream, מקור חכמה mekor chochmah , "the vein of wisdom,"ever throwing out its healthy streams: but מקור חיים mekor chaiyim , "the vein of Lives,"is the reading of eight of Kennicott’ s and De Rossi’ s MSS., and is countenanced by the Septuagint, πηγη ζωης, "the fountain of life."And so the Arabic. This is the more likely to be the true reading, because the figure of the heart propelling the blood through the great aorta, to send it to all parts of the animal system, is a favourite with Solomon, as it was with his father, David. See the note on Psa 36:9; Pro 10:11, etc.

Clarke: Pro 18:5 - To accept the person of the wicked

To accept the person of the wicked - We must not, in judicial cases, pay any attention to a man’ s riches, influence, friends, offices, etc., but judge the case according to its own merits. But when the wicked rich man opposes and oppresses the poor righteous, then all those things should be utterly forgotten.

Clarke: Pro 18:8 - The words of a tale-bearer

The words of a tale-bearer - דברי נרגן dibrey nirgan , "the words of the whisperer,"the busy-body, the busy, meddling croaker. Verba bilinguis , "the words of the double-tongued."- Vulgate. The wordes of the twisel tunge - Old MS. Bible. "The words of a slanderer."- Coverdale

The words of a deceiver, the fair-spoken, deeply-malicious man, though they appear soft and gracious, are wounds deeply injurious

The original word is כמתלהמים kemithlahamim ; they are as soft or simple, or undesigning. But Schultens gives another meaning. He observes that lahamah in Arabic signifies to "swallow down quickly or greedily."Such words are like dainties, eagerly swallowed, because inviting to the taste; like gingerbread, apparently gilded over, though with Dutch leaf, which is a preparation of copper; or sweetmeats powdered over with red candied seeds, which are thus formed by red lead; both deeply ruinous to the tender bowels of the poor little innocents, but, because of their sweetness and inviting color, greedily swallowed down. This makes a good reading, and agrees with the latter clause of the verse, "they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."

Clarke: Pro 18:9 - He also that is slothful

He also that is slothful - A slothful man neglects his work, and the materials go to ruin: the master, he destroys the materials. They are both destroyers.

Clarke: Pro 18:10 - The name of the Lord is a strong tower

The name of the Lord is a strong tower - The name of the Lord may be taken for the Lord himself; he is a strong tower, a refuge, and place of complete safety, to all that trust in him. What a strong fortress is to the besieged, the like is God to his persecuted, tempted, afflicted followers.

Clarke: Pro 18:11 - The rich man’ s wealth

The rich man’ s wealth - See Pro 10:15.

Clarke: Pro 18:12 - Before destruction

Before destruction - See on Pro 11:2 (note); Pro 16:18 (note).

Clarke: Pro 18:13 - He that answereth a matter

He that answereth a matter - This is a common case; before a man can tell out his story, another will begin his. Before a man has made his response, the other wishes to confute piecemeal, though he has had his own speech already. This is foolishness to them. They are ill-bred. There are many also that give judgment before they hear the whole of the cause, and express an opinion before they hear the state of the case. How absurd, stupid, and foolish!

Clarke: Pro 18:14 - The spirit of a man will sustain

The spirit of a man will sustain - A man sustains the ills of his body, and the trials of life, by the strength and energy of his mind. But if the mind be scoundrel, if this be cast down, if slow-consuming care and grief have shot the dagger into the soul, what can then sustain the man? Nothing but the unseen God. Therefore, let the afflicted pray. A man’ s own spirit has, in general, sufficient fortitude to bear up under the unavoidable trials of life; but when the conscience is wounded by sin, and the soul is dying by iniquity, who can lift him up? God alone; for salvation is of the Lord.

Clarke: Pro 18:16 - A man’ s gift maketh room for him

A man’ s gift maketh room for him - It is, and ever has been, a base and degrading practice in Asiatic countries, to bring a gift or present to the great man into whose presence you come. Without this there is no audience, no favor, no justice. This arose from the circumstance that men must not approach the altar of God without an offering

Potentates, wishing to be considered as petty gods, demanded a similar homage: -

Munera, crede mihi, capiunt hominesquedeosque

Placatur donis Jupiter ipse suis

Ovi

"Believe me, gifts prevail much with both gods and men: even Jupiter himself is pleased with his own offerings."

Clarke: Pro 18:17 - He that is first in his own cause

He that is first in his own cause - Any man may, in the first instance, make out a fair tale, because he has the choice of circumstances and arguments. But when the neighbor cometh and searcheth him, he examines all, dissects all, swears and cross-questions every witness, and brings out truth and fact.

Clarke: Pro 18:18 - The lot causeth contentions to cease

The lot causeth contentions to cease - See note on Pro 16:33.

Clarke: Pro 18:19 - A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city - Almost all the versions agree in the following reading: "A brother assisted by a brother, is like a fortified city; and their decisions are like the bars of a city."Coverdale is both plain and terse: "The unitie of brethren is stronger then a castell, and they that holde together are like the barre of a palace."The fable of the dying father, his sons, and the bundle of faggots, illustrates this proverb. Unity among brethren makes them invincible; small things grow great by concord. If we take the words according to the common version, we see them express what, alas! we know to be too generally true: that when brothers fall out, it is with extreme difficulty that they can be reconciled. And fraternal enmities are generally strong and inveterate.

Clarke: Pro 18:20 - With the fruit of his mouth

With the fruit of his mouth - Our own words frequently shape our good or evil fortune in life.

Clarke: Pro 18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue

Death and life are in the power of the tongue - This may apply to all men. Many have lost their lives by their tongue, and some have saved their lives by it: but it applies most forcibly to public pleaders; on many of their tongues hangs life or death.

Clarke: Pro 18:22 - Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing - Marriage, with all its troubles and embarrassments, is a blessing from God; and there are few cases where a wife of any sort is not better than none, because celibacy is an evil; for God himself hath said, "It is not good for man to be alone."None of the versions, except the Chaldee, are pleased with the naked simplicity of the Hebrew text, hence they all add good: "He that findeth a Good wife findeth a good thing;"and most people, who have not deeply considered the subject, think the assertion, without this qualification, is absurd. Some copies of the Targum, and apparently one of Kennicott’ s MSS., have the addition טובה tobah , good; but this would be an authority too slender to justify changing the Hebrew text; yet Houbigant, Kennicott, and other able critics argue for it. The Septuagint is not satisfied without an addition: "But he who puts away a good wife, puts away a good thing: and he that retains an adulteress, is a fool and wicked."In this addition the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, agree with the Septuagint. The Hebrew text as it stands, teaches a general doctrine by a simple but general proposition: "He that findeth a wife findeth a good thing."So St. Paul: "Marriage is honorable in all."Had the world been left, in this respect, to the unbridled propensities of man, in what a horrible state would society have been - if indeed society could have existed, or civilization have taken place - if marriage had not obtained among men! As to good wives and bad wives, they are relatively so, in general; and most of them that have been bad afterwards, have been good at first; and we well know the best things may deteriorate, and the world generally allows that where there are matrimonial contentions, there are faults on both sides.

Clarke: Pro 18:24 - A man that hath friends must show himself friendly

A man that hath friends must show himself friendly - Love begets love; and love requires love as its recompense. If a man do not maintain a friendly carriage, he cannot expect to retain his friends. Friendship is a good plant; but it requires cultivation to make it grow

There is a kind of factitious friendship in the world, that, to show one’ s self friendly in it, is very expensive, and in every way utterly unprofitable: it is maintained by expensive parties. feasts, etc., where the table groans with dainties, and where the conversation is either jejune and insipid, or calumnious; backbiting, talebearing, and scandal, being the general topics of the different squads in company

Clarke: Pro 18:24 - There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother

There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother - In many cases the genuine friend has shown more attachment, and rendered greater benefits, than the natural brother. Some apply this to God; others to Christ; but the text has no such meaning

But critics and commentators are not agreed on the translation of this verse. The original is condensed and obscure. אוש רעים להתרועע ish reim lehithroea , or lehithroeang , as some would read, who translate: A man of friends may ring again; i.e., he may boast and mightily exult: but there is a friend, אהב oheb , a lover, that sticketh closer, דבק dabek , is glued or cemented, מאח meach , beyond, or more than, a brother. The former will continue during prosperity, but the latter continues closely united to his friend, even in the most disastrous circumstances

Hence that maxim of Cicero, so often repeated, and so well known: -

Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur

"In doubtful times the genuine friend is known.

A late commentator has translated the verse thus: -

The man that hath many friends is ready to be ruined

But there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother

Holden

"A frende that delyteth in love, doth a man more frendship, and sticketh faster unto him, than a brother."Coverdale

"A man that hath friends ought to show himself friendly for a friend is nearer than a brother."Barker’ s Bible, 1615

"A man amyable to felowschip, more a freend schal ben thanne a brother."- Old MS. Bible. The two last verses in this chapter, and the two first of the next, are wanting in the Septuagint and Arabic

These are the principal varieties; out of them the reader may choose. I have already given my opinion.

Defender: Pro 18:22 - findeth a wife

"It is not good that the man should be alone" (Gen 2:18). In an age when monogamous marriage between a man and woman for life is increasingly being rejected, it is important for believers to take a strong and persistent stand on this vital truth."

TSK: Pro 18:1 - Through // seeketh // intermeddleth

Through : etc. or, He that separateth himself seeketh, according to his desire and intermeddleth in every business. Exo 33:16; Zec 7:3; Rom 1:1; 2Co 6:17; Jud 1:19

seeketh : Pro 2:1-6; Mat 13:11, Mat 13:44; Mar 4:11; Eph 5:15-17

intermeddleth : Pro 14:10, Pro 17:14, Pro 20:3, Pro 20:19, Pro 24:21, Pro 26:17; Isa 26:8, Isa 26:9; Jer 15:17; Mar 1:35

TSK: Pro 18:2 - fool // but

fool : Pro 1:7, Pro 1:22, Pro 17:16; Psa 1:1, Psa 1:2; Mat 8:34; 1Co 8:1

but : Num 24:15, Num 24:16; 1Co 14:12; Phi 1:15; 2Pe 2:15-19

TSK: Pro 18:3

Pro 11:2, Pro 22:10, Pro 29:16; 1Sa 20:30; Neh 4:4; Psa 69:9, Psa 69:20, Psa 123:3, Psa 123:4; Mat 27:39-44; 1Pe 4:4, 1Pe 4:14

TSK: Pro 18:4 - words // the wellspring

words : Pro 10:11, Pro 13:14, Pro 16:22, Pro 20:5; Mat 12:34; Joh 4:14, Joh 7:38, Joh 7:39; Col 3:16, Col 4:6

the wellspring : Psa 78:2

TSK: Pro 18:5 - not // to overthrow

not : Pro 24:23, Pro 28:21; Lev 19:15; Deu 1:16, Deu 1:17, Deu 16:19; Job 13:7, Job 13:8, Job 34:19; Mat 22:16

to overthrow : 1Ki 21:9-14; Isa 5:23, Isa 59:14; Mic 7:3

TSK: Pro 18:6 - fool’ s // his

fool’ s : Pro 12:16, Pro 13:10, Pro 14:16, Pro 16:27, Pro 16:28, Pro 17:14, Pro 20:3, Pro 27:3

his : Pro 14:3, Pro 19:19, Pro 22:24, Pro 22:25, Pro 25:24, Pro 29:9

TSK: Pro 18:7 - his destruction // his lips

his destruction : Pro 10:8, Pro 10:14, Pro 12:13, Pro 13:3; Ecc 10:11-14

his lips : Pro 6:2; Jdg 11:35; 1Sam. 14:24-46; Mar 6:23-28; Act 23:14-22

TSK: Pro 18:8 - words // talebearer // as wounds // innermost parts

words : Pro 12:18, Pro 16:28, Pro 26:20-22; Lev 19:16; Psa 52:2, Psa 64:3, Psa 64:4

talebearer : or, whisperer

as wounds : or, like as when men are wounded

innermost parts : Heb. chambers

TSK: Pro 18:9 - that is slothful // is brother

that is slothful : Pro 10:4, Pro 23:20, Pro 23:21, Pro 24:30-34; Mat 25:26; Rom 12:11; Heb 6:12

is brother : Pro 28:24; Job 30:29; Luk 15:13, Luk 15:14, Luk 16:1, Luk 16:2

TSK: Pro 18:10 - name // a strong // the righteous // safe

name : Gen 17:1; Exo 3:13-15, Exo 6:3, Exo 34:5-7; Isa 9:6, Isa 57:15; Jer 23:6; Mat 1:23; Rev 1:8

a strong : 2Sa 22:3, 2Sa 22:51; Psa 18:2, Psa 27:1, Psa 61:3, Psa 61:4, Psa 91:2, Psa 144:2; Isa 26:4

the righteous : Gen 32:11, Gen 32:28, Gen 32:29; 1Sa 30:6; 2Sa 22:45-47; Psa 56:3, Psa 56:4

safe : Heb. set aloft, Psa 91:14; Hab 3:19

TSK: Pro 18:11

Pro 10:15, Pro 11:4; Deu 32:31; Job 31:24, Job 31:25; Psa 49:6-9, Psa 52:5-7, Psa 62:10, Psa 62:11; Ecc 7:12; Luk 12:19-21

TSK: Pro 18:12 - destruction // and

destruction : Pro 11:2, Pro 16:18, Pro 29:23; Eze 16:49, Eze 16:50, Eze 28:2, Eze 28:9; Dan 5:23, Dan 5:24; Act 12:21-23

and : Pro 15:33; Job 42:6-17; Isa 6:5-13; Dan 9:20, Dan 9:23; Luk 14:11; 1Pe 5:5

TSK: Pro 18:13 - that // answereth a matter

that : Deu 13:14; 2Sa 16:4, 2Sa 19:24-30; Est 3:10-15, Est 8:5-17; Job 29:16; Dan 6:9, Dan 6:14; Joh 7:51

answereth a matter : Heb. returneth a word

TSK: Pro 18:14 - spirit // but

spirit : Job 1:20, Job 1:21, Job 2:7-10; Psa 147:3; Rom 5:3-5, Rom 8:35-37; 2Co 1:12, 2Co 12:9, 2Co 12:10; Jam 1:2; 1Pe 1:6

but : Pro 17:22; Job 6:4, Job 7:14, Job 7:15, Job 10:15-17; Psa 30:9, Psa 30:10, Psa 32:3, Psa 32:4, Psa 38:2-4; Psa 42:10, Psa 42:11, Psa 55:3, Psa 55:5, Psa 77:2, Psa 77:3, Psa 88:14-16, Psa 109:22; Mar 14:33, Mar 14:34; 2Co 2:7

TSK: Pro 18:15

Pro 1:5, Pro 4:5, Pro 4:7, Pro 9:9, Pro 10:14, Pro 15:14, Pro 23:23; 1Ki 3:9; Psa 119:97-104; Luk 8:8-10, Luk 10:39; 2Ti 3:15-17; Jam 1:5

TSK: Pro 18:16

Pro 17:8, Pro 19:6, Pro 21:14; Gen 32:20, Gen 33:10, Gen 43:11; 1Sa 25:27

TSK: Pro 18:17

Pro 18:13; 2Sa 16:1-3, 2Sa 19:24-27; Act 24:5, Act 24:6, Act 24:12, Act 24:13

TSK: Pro 18:18

Pro 16:33; Jos 14:2; 1Sa 10:21-27, 1Sa 14:42; 1Ch 6:63, 1Ch 24:31; Neh 11:1

TSK: Pro 18:19 - brother // than

brother : Pro 6:19; Gen 4:5-8, Gen 27:41-45, Gen 32:6-11, Gen 37:3-5, Gen 37:11, Gen 37:18-27; 2Sa 13:22, 2Sa 13:28; 1Ki 2:23-25, 1Ki 12:16; 2Ch 13:17; Act 15:39

than : Pro 16:32

TSK: Pro 18:20

Pro 12:13, Pro 12:14, Pro 13:2, Pro 22:18, Pro 22:21, Pro 25:11, Pro 25:12

TSK: Pro 18:21 - Death // and

Death : Pro 18:4-7, Pro 10:20, Pro 10:21, Pro 10:31, Pro 11:30; Mat 12:35-37; Rom 10:14, Rom 10:15; 2Co 2:16, 2Co 11:15; Eph 4:29; Col 4:6; Tit 1:10, Tit 1:11; Jam 3:6-9; 2Pe 2:18

and : Pro 10:19; Ecc 10:12-14; Isa 57:19

TSK: Pro 18:22 - findeth a wife // and

findeth a wife : Pro 5:15-23, Pro 12:4, Pro 19:14, 31:10-31; Gen 24:67, Gen 29:20, Gen 29:21, Gen 29:28; Ecc 9:9; Hos 12:12; 1Co 7:2

and : Pro 3:4, Pro 8:35

TSK: Pro 18:23 - poor // rich

poor : Rth 2:7; 1Sa 2:36; 2Ki 4:1, 2Ki 4:2; Isa 66:2; Mat 5:3; Jam 1:9-11

rich : Gen 42:7, Gen 42:30; Exo 5:2; 1Sa 25:10, 1Sa 25:17; Jam 2:3

TSK: Pro 18:24 - that hath // there

that hath : Pro 17:17, Pro 27:9; 1Sa 19:4, 1Sa 19:5, 1Sa 30:26-31; 2Sa 9:1-13, 2Sa 16:17, 2Sa 17:27-29; 2Sa 19:30-39, 2Sa 21:7; 1Ch 12:38-40; Mat 26:49, Mat 26:50

there : 2Sa 1:26; Joh 15:14, Joh 15:15

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Pro 18:1 - Through desire // a man, having separated himself // intermeddleth with all wisdom

Through desire (of it, to wit of wisdom, which is easily understood out of the end of the verse; such ellipses being frequent in Scripture)

a man, having separated himself ( being sequestered from the company, and noise, and business of the world, betaking himself to retirement and solitude, as men do that apply themselves to any serious study.)

seeketh and

intermeddleth with all wisdom i.e. useth all diligence, that he may search and find out all solid knowledge and true wisdom. And this earnest desire and endeavour to get true wisdom within a man’ s self is fitly opposed to the fool’ s contempt of wisdom, or to his desire of it, not for use and benefit, but only for vain ostentation, which is expressed in the next verse, although coherence is little regarded by interpreters in the several verses and proverbs of this book. But this verse is otherwise rendered in the margin of our English Bible, and by divers others, He that separateth himself , (either,

1. From his friend; or rather,

2. From other men; who affects singularity, is wedded to his own opinion, and through self-conceit despiseth the opinions and conversation of others,) seeketh according to his desire, (seeketh to gratify his own inclinations and affections, and chooseth those opinions which most comply with them,) and intermeddleth (for this word is used in a bad sense, Pro 17:14 20:3 , and it is not found elsewhere, save in this place) in every business, as proud and singular persons are commonly pragmatical, delighting to find faults in others, that they may get some reputation to themselves by it. Heb. in every thing that is ; thrusting themselves into the actions and affairs of other men. Or, as this last clause is and may be rendered, and contendeth (Heb. mingleth himself ; for words of that signification are commonly used for contending or fighting , as Deu 2:5,9,19 Isa 36:8 Dan 11:10 ) with or against (for the Hebrew prefix beth oft signifies against ) all reason or wisdom ; whatsoever any man speaketh against his opinion and desire, though it be never so reasonable and evident, he rejecteth it, and obstinately maintains his own opinion.

Poole: Pro 18:2 - In understanding // But that his heart may discover itself

In understanding in getting sound and saving knowledge, either by his own study, or by the instructions of wise and good men.

But that his heart may discover itself Heb. but (his delight is) in the discovery of his own heart , i.e. in uttering that folly and wickedness which is in his heart; being more forward to speak than to hear, which is one badge of a fool.

Poole: Pro 18:3 - When the wicked cometh // then cometh also contempt // And with ignominy reproach

When the wicked cometh into any place or company,

then cometh also contempt either,

1. Passively; he is justly contemned and reproached by those who converse with him. Or rather,

2. Actively; he despiseth and scorneth all instruction and reproof, neither fearing God nor reverencing man; for he seems here to note his sin rather than his punishment.

And with ignominy reproach and he doth not only contemn others in his heart, but showeth his contempt of them by ignominious and reproachful expressions and carriages.

Poole: Pro 18:4 - A man’ s // As deep waters // The well-spring of wisdom as a flowing brook

A man’ s i.e. a wise man’ s, as the next clause explains this; who is worthy of the name and hath the understanding of a man in him. This Hebrew word ofttimes notes an eminent or excellent person, and therefore is opposed to Adam, which designs any ordinary man.

As deep waters full of deep wisdom.

The well-spring of wisdom as a flowing brook that wisdom which is in his heart is continually pouring forth wise and good counsels.

Poole: Pro 18:5 - It is not good // To accept the person

It is not good i.e. it is a most wicked and hateful thing. See Poole "Pro 17:15,26 .

To accept the person to favour his unrighteous cause.

Poole: Pro 18:6 - A fool’ s lips enter into contention // His mouth calleth for strokes

A fool’ s lips enter into contention a fool by his rash and wicked speeches provoketh others to quarrel with him, and, as it follows, to strike him.

His mouth calleth for strokes procureth strokes to himself.

Poole: Pro 18:8 - The words of a tale-bearer // are as wounds // as smooth or flattering // They go down into the innermost parts of the belly

The words of a tale-bearer who privily slandereth his neighbour,

are as wounds deeply wound the reputation, and afterwards the heart, of the slandered person. Compare Pro 12:18 . Or, as others render the word, are

as smooth or flattering i.e. they really are so; the particle as being oft used to express the truth of the thing, as hath been noted before. See also Joh 1:14 . They are softer than oil, as is said, Psa 55:21 . For slanderers use to cover and usher in their calumnies with pretences or kindness and compassion to them whom they traduce.

They go down into the innermost parts of the belly they wound mortally, piercing to the heart, which is oft meant by the belly; as Job 15:35 32:19 , &c.

Poole: Pro 18:9

They are alike; though they take several paths, yet both come to one end, even to extreme want and poverty.

Poole: Pro 18:10 - The name of the Lord // Is a strong tower // The righteous

The name of the Lord i.e. the Lord, as he hath revealed himself in his works, and especially in his word by his promises, and the declarations of his infinite perfections, and of his good will to his people.

Is a strong tower is sufficient for our protection in case of the greatest dangers.

The righteous which limitation he adds to beat down the vain confidences of those men, who though they live in a gross neglect and contempt of God, will expect salvation from him.

Poole: Pro 18:11

He trusts to his wealth, as that which will either enable him to resist his enemy, or at least purchase his favour.

Poole: Pro 18:12 - Before destruction the heart of man is haughty

Before destruction the heart of man is haughty pride is a cause and presage of ruin, as is noted, Pro 16:18 . Is ; or, goeth . This clause we had Pro 15:33 .

Poole: Pro 18:13 - Before he heareth it // It is folly and shame

Before he heareth it before he hath fully heard and considered what another is speaking about it.

It is folly and shame it is a shameful folly, though he seek the reputation of a wise man by it, as if he could readily and thoroughly understand all that another cart say before he hath uttered it.

Poole: Pro 18:14 - The spirit // Will sustain his infirmity // Wounded // Who can bear?

The spirit i.e. the soul, to wit, which is unwounded, as appears by the opposite branch of the verse; which is vigorous and cheerful, supported by the sense of God’ s love, and the conscience of its own integrity, and the prospect of its present peace and future happiness.

Will sustain his infirmity will easily support him under any bodily or outward troubles, as God’ s people have oft found by experience.

Wounded dejected with the sense of its own guilt and misery.

Who can bear? it is most grievous and intolerable without Divine assistance.

Poole: Pro 18:15 - The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge // The ear of the wise getteth knowledge

The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge by employing his thoughts and studies upon it.

The ear of the wise getteth knowledge by a greedy and diligent attention to those from whom he may learn it.

Poole: Pro 18:16 - Maketh room for him // Bringeth him before great men

Maketh room for him procures him free access to great men. Heb. enlargeth him , as this very phrase is rendered, Psa 4:1 , and elsewhere; freeth him from straits and oppressions.

Bringeth him before great men gets him favour and free conversation with them.

Poole: Pro 18:17 - He that is first in his own cause // His neighbour cometh // and searcheth him

He that is first in his own cause he that first pleadeth his cause,

seemeth just both to himself and to the judge or court, by his fair pretences.

His neighbour cometh to contend with him in judgment and to plead his cause,

and searcheth him examineth the truth and weight of his allegations, and disproveth them, and detecteth his weakness. Or, discovers him ; for seeking or searching are oft put for finding , as Pro 17:9,19 , and elsewhere.

Poole: Pro 18:18 - Causeth contentions to cease // Parteth // Between the mighty

Causeth contentions to cease by determining the matters in difference.

Parteth maketh a partition, giveth to every one what is right or meet, by the disposition of Divine Providence.

Between the mighty so it doth also between mean persons, but he mentions the mighty because they are most prone to contention, and most fierce and intractable in it, and most capable of doing great mischief to themselves and others by it, and therefore they most need this remedy.

Poole: Pro 18:19 - Offended // Is harder to be won // Than a strong city // Like the bars of a castle

Offended to wit, by his brother’ s unkindness or injury.

Is harder to be won or, is stronger , which is sufficiently understood by the mention of a strong city, to which he is compared; such ellipses being frequent in the Hebrew, as hath been noted before.

Than a strong city which is hardly to be conquered.

Like the bars of a castle which are very strong, and not to be broken, and make the castle strong, and hardly to be won. The truth of this assertion is confirmed by the testimony of Aristotle and other learned authors, who affirm the same fixing; and the reason of it is evident, because the nearness of the relation greatly heightens the provocation, and love abused frequently turns to extreme hatred.

Poole: Pro 18:20

Wise and edifying discourses tend to the comfort and satisfaction of the speaker, as well as to the good of the hearers.

Poole: Pro 18:21 - Are in the power of the tongue // That love it // Shall eat the fruit thereof

Are in the power of the tongue are brought upon men by the good or bad use of their tongues.

That love it either,

1. The tongue; that love and use much talking, which is oft censured as a sin, and a cause of mischief. See Pro 10:19 Jam 1:19 . Or,

2. The use of their tongue in either of those ways, which are plainly supposed in the former clause of the verse: they who do not only speak well, which a wicked man may sometimes do; or speak ill, which a good man may possibly do; but do love, and therefore accustom themselves, to speak well or ill.

Shall eat the fruit thereof shall receive either good or evil, according to the quality of their speeches.

Poole: Pro 18:22 - A wife // A good thing // Obtaineth favour of the Lord

A wife either,

1. Simply a wife; for a wife, though she be not the best of her kind, is to be esteemed a blessing, being useful both for society of life, Gen 2:18 , and for the mitigation of a man’ s cares and troubles, and for the prevention of sins. Or,

2. Good wife; one that deserves the name and performs the duty of that relation; a wise and worthy wife, as this word may seem to imply, being deduced from the Hebrew word isch , which sometimes notes a man of eminency. And this limitation and explication of the word may be gathered both from the following commendations, which would hardly be given to a bad wife, and from the usage of Scripture, in which this ellipsis is frequent, as a path or way is put for a good path or way , Psa 119:1 Pro 15:10 , an answer for a good answer , Pro 15:23 , a king for a good king , Pro 16:10 29:4, a name for a good name , Pro 22:1 Ecc 7:1 , &c.

A good thing a singular blessing.

Obtaineth favour of the Lord obtaineth her not by his own wit, or art, or diligence, but by God’ s good providence towards him, which ordereth that and all other events as it pleaseth him.

Poole: Pro 18:23 - Useth entreaties // Answereth roughly

Useth entreaties humbly begs the favour of rich men, as his necessities and occasions require it.

Answereth roughly speaketh proudly and scornfully, either to the poor, or to others that converse with him, being puffed up with a conceit of his riches, and of his self-sufficiency.

Poole: Pro 18:24 - A man that hath friends // That sticketh closer

A man that hath friends Heb. a man of friends ; either,

1. Who desires the friendship of others. Or,

2. Who professeth friendship to others.

That sticketh closer to him that desires and needs his help; who is more hearty in the performance of all friendly offices.

Haydock: Pro 18:1 - Reproach

Reproach. True friendship resembles charity, and bears all things, 1 Corinthians xiii. 4. Hebrew now reads Thave, "desire;" instead of Thuane, occasion, or "pretext," which must have been in the copies of the Septuagint and Vulgate. (Calmet) ---

Protestants, "through desire, a man having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom." The solitary seeks heaven. (Haydock)

Haydock: Pro 18:2 - Heart

Heart. Conformable to his passions. (Calmet) ---

Hebrew, "unless to lay open his heart." He wishes to appear wise, and to justify his wicked designs. (Haydock)

Haydock: Pro 18:3 - Contemneth

Contemneth both God and man, Luke xviii. 4. Hebrew, "is contemned" in his turn. (Calmet) ---

He is like a man abandoned by the physician. (Op. Imp. in Matt. Hom. 40.)

Haydock: Pro 18:4 - Man

Man, who is just and wise. His advice deserves attention, chap. xx. 5.

Haydock: Pro 18:6 - Quarrels

Quarrels. Hebrew, "blows." Septuagint, "death;" (ver. 7.) which are the usual consequences of quarrels.

Haydock: Pro 18:8 - Tongued // Fear

Tongued. Hebrew, "caluminator." He pretends to wish well to those of whom he speaks, or else to guard the company against deceit. (Calmet) ---

"If the devil be upon the detractor's tongue, he is in the ears of those who pay attention to him." (St. Francis de Sales) ---

Fear, &c., is in the Septuagint, above. The Vulgate retains both this and the new version of St. Jerome.

Haydock: Pro 18:9 - Brother

Brother. Like him, as both end in poverty, chap. x. 4., and xii. 11.

Haydock: Pro 18:10 - Name

Name. Essence, or protection of God. The rich depends on his own wealth.

Haydock: Pro 18:13 - Heareth

Heareth the end of the question, chap. i. 5.

Haydock: Pro 18:14 - Infirmity // That is

Infirmity of the flesh, Matthew xxvi. 41. ---

That is. Theodotion, "is wounded, who shall support?"

Haydock: Pro 18:16 - Princes

Princes. He easily finds access by showing submission. (Calmet) Placatur donis Jupiter ipse suis. (Ovid)

Haydock: Pro 18:17 - Him

Him. To see that he act with sincerity.

Haydock: Pro 18:18 - Lot

Lot. Chap. xvi. 33. Septuagint, "silence." (Calmet) ---

But Grabe substitutes "lot." (Haydock)

Haydock: Pro 18:19 - Judgments

Judgments of many are more deserving of credit. Hebrew, "a brother offended, is like a strong place, and their quarrels," &c. The are not easily reconciled. Civil wars are most terrible. (Calmet)

Haydock: Pro 18:20 - Satisfied

Satisfied. Those who are guarded in their words get employment. (Haydock) (Chap. xii. 14.)

Haydock: Pro 18:21 - Love it

Love it, and speak well or ill, shall receive accordingly, Matthew xii. 37.

Haydock: Pro 18:22 - Good wife // He that // Wicked

Good wife. Good is not in Hebrew, but should be understood, as it is expressed in the Complutensian (Calmet) and Alexandrian Septuagint. (Haydock) ---

He that, &c., occurs not in Hebrew, Sixtus V, &c. But it is found in Septuagint and Arabic. The Syriac omits the last sentence. ---

Wicked. St. Augustine had frequently asserted that a divorce was only of counsel: but this he retracted, when he reflected on this text. (Retractions i. 19.) ---

The Hebrews, Athenians, and Romans, followed the same practice with adulteresses. (Selden, Ux. iii. 16.; Dem. in Neζram, &c.) ---

Hermas (past. i. 4.) prescribes that the penitent shall be received again, but not often. In cae of divorce, the fathers still permit not a second marriage, that the parties may be reconciled. They enjoin the husband to put away only such as are incorrigible. (St. Augustine, Adul. ii. 3.) (Calmet)

Haydock: Pro 18:24 - Brother // Ut ameris ama

Brother. The ties of nature are not so strong as those of friendship. (Calmet) ---

Hebrew, "a man that hath friends must shew himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." (Protestants) (Haydock) ---

Ut ameris ama. (Martial)

Gill: Pro 18:1 - Through desire a man having separated himself, seeketh // and intermeddleth with all wisdom

Through desire a man having separated himself, seeketh,.... Or, "a separated man seeketh desire" ^g; his own desire, will, and pleasure. This is either to be understood in a good sense, of one that has a real and hearty desire after sound wisdom and knowledge, and seeks in the use of all proper means to attain it; and in order to which he separates himself from the world and the business of it, and retires to his study, and gives up himself to reading, meditation, and prayer; or goes abroad in search of it, as Aben Ezra: or of a vain man that affects singularity; and who, through a desire of gratifying that lust, separates himself, not only from God, as Jarchi interprets it, pursuing his evil imagination and the lust of his heart; and from his friends, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions; but from all men, like the Jews, who "please not God, and are contrary to all men"; so such a man sets himself to despise and contradict the sentiments and opinions of others, and to set up his own in opposition to them. This is true of the Pharisees among the Jews, who had their name from separating themselves from all others, having an high opinion of their own Wisdom and sanctify; and also of the Gnostics among the Christians, who boasted of their knowledge, and separated themselves from the Christian assemblies; and were sensual, not having the Spirit, being vainly puffed up with their fleshly mind;

and intermeddleth with all wisdom; the man who is desirous of being truly wise and knowing grasps at all wisdom, every branch of useful knowledge; would gladly learn something of every art and science worthy of regard; and he makes use of all means of improving himself therein; and covets the company and conversation of men of wisdom and knowledge, that he may attain to more; he intermingles himself with men of wisdom, as Aben Ezra interprets it, and walks and converses with them. Or if this is to be understood of a vain glorious person, the sense is, "he intermeddles" or "mingles himself with all business" ^h, as it may be rendered; he thrusts himself into affairs that do not concern him, and will pass his judgment on things he has nothing to do with; or he monopolizes all knowledge to himself, and will not allow any other to have any share with him. Jarchi interprets this clause thus,

"among wise men his reproach shall be made manifest;''

and observes, that their Rabbins explain it of Lot separating from Abraham, following the desires of his heart: but R. Saadiah Gaon better interprets it of an apostate from religion; that objects to everything solid and substantial, in a wrangling and contentious manner; and "shows his teeth" ⁱ at it, as Schultens, from the use of the Arabic word, renders it.

Gill: Pro 18:2 - A fool hath no delight in understanding // but that his heart may discover itself

A fool hath no delight in understanding,.... In natural understanding, and in the improvement of his mind in it; he delights not in books, nor in the conversation of men of learning and sense: or in spiritual understanding, in the understanding of spiritual things; these are foolishness to a natural man; nor does he delight in reading the Scriptures, nor in hearing the word, and attendance on it in the house of God, but is weary of such exercises;

but that his heart may discover itself; and the folly that is in it: such men only desire to have some knowledge and understanding, to make a show of it, that they may be thought to be wise, and to be capable of talking of things as if they understood them, when it is only to the exposing of themselves and their ignorance; some persons attain to no more learning and knowledge than just to be capable to show that they are fools. Or, "but in the discovery of his heart" ^k; he delights in discovering that; not the wisdom, but the folly that is in it.

Gill: Pro 18:3 - When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt // and with ignominy reproach

When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt,.... When he comes into the world, as Aben Ezra; as soon as he is born, he is liable to contempt, being born in sin; but this is true of all: rather, as the Vulgate Latin, and with which the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions agree, when he cometh into the depth of sin, or to the height of his wickedness; he commences a scoffer at, and condemner of all that is good: when he comes into the house of God, it may be said, "there comes contempt"; for he comes not to hear the word, in order to receive any profit by it, but to contemn it, and the ministers of it;

and with ignominy reproach: or, "with the ignominious man reproach" ^l: he that despises all that is good, and treats divine things in a ludicrous way, will not spare to reproach the best of men, and speak evil of them falsely, for the sake of religion. Or the meaning of the whole is, that wicked men, sooner or later, come into contempt, ignominy, and reproach, themselves; they that despise the Lord are lightly esteemed by him; and a vile person is contemned in the eyes of a good man: such bring shame and disgrace upon themselves and families while they live; and, when they die, they are laid in the grave with dishonour; an infamy rests upon their memories, and they wilt rise to everlasting shame and contempt.

Gill: Pro 18:4 - The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters // and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook

The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters,.... The words of a great and mighty man; of an excellent and valuable man, as Jarchi; or of a wise man, as Aben Ezra. The doctrines which such a man has imbibed, and his heart is full of and his mouth utters, are like to "waters", pure, purifying, and refreshing; to "deep waters", which make no noise, and cannot be easily fathomed: such are the deep mysteries of grace, the wisdom of God in a mystery, spoken among them that are perfect; of which a good man makes no boast, but humbly declares; out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth speaks;

and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook; there is a spring of spiritual wisdom and knowledge in him; a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life; and from thence it flows freely and constantly; communicating itself liberally unto others, and ministering grace to the hearers, for their edification.

Gill: Pro 18:5 - It is not good to accept the person of the wicked // to overthrow the righteous in judgment

It is not good to accept the person of the wicked,.... For a judge to have respect to a wicked man in a cause before him, and to favour him, because he is a rich man, or a relation, or he has received some kindness from him; none of these things should have any influence upon him

to overthrow the righteous in judgment: though he may be a poor man and a stranger, and to whom the judge is under no private and personal obligation; yet justice ought to be done without any respect to persons; to do otherwise is not only not good, but very bad, very sinful and criminal; it is contrary to law and justice; it is doing injury to men, and is repugnant to the will of God, and offensive to him, Lev 19:15.

Gill: Pro 18:6 - A fool's lips enter into contention // and his mouth calleth for strokes

A fool's lips enter into contention,.... That is, between others, when he has nothing to do with it; but he must be meddling, and make himself a party in the contention, which is an argument of his folly; he says things which occasion disputes, raise contentions among men, and provoke to wrath and anger. The Septuagint version is, "the lips of a fool lead him to evils": for, as they lead him to contention and strife, the issue of that is confusion and every evil work;

and his mouth calleth for strokes: as he stirs up and encourages contention, so he proceeds to blows, and excites others to them; from words he goes to blows, and, by the ill and provoking language of his mouth, gets many a blow to himself. Jarchi seems to understand it of chastisement, from the hand of God; see Pro 26:3.

Gill: Pro 18:7 - A fool's mouth is his destruction // and his lips are the snare of his soul

A fool's mouth is his destruction,.... The cause of it; for his contentions, and quarrels, and evil speaking, lawsuits are commenced against him, which bring ruin upon himself and his family now; as well as for his idle and wicked words he will be condemned hereafter, Mat 12:35; there is a world of iniquity in the mouth and tongue of a wicked man, which bring destruction upon himself and others, Jam 3:6;

and his lips are the snare of his soul; from speaking in his own defence, he says things which should not be said, and by which he is entangled yet more and more; he is caught by his own words and condemned by them; or his loquacity, in which he delights, is a snare unto him to say things which neither become him, nor are for his advantage, but the contrary; see Pro 12:13.

Gill: Pro 18:8 - The words of a talebearer are as wounds // and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly

The words of a talebearer are as wounds,.... Or rather they are wounds; they wound the credit and reputation of the person of whom the tale is told; they wound the person to whom it is told, and destroy his love and affection to his friend; and in the issue they wound, hurt, and ruin the talebearer himself. Or, they are "as of those that are wounded" ^m; they pretend to be affected with the case they tell, and to be grieved for the failings and infirmities of those they are secretly exposing, when at the same time they rejoice at them: or, they are "secret" hidden ones, as Aben Ezra interprets it; they are spoken secretly, and wound secretly, in a backbiting way: or, they are "smooth" or flattering ⁿ, as Kimchi; they are smoother than oil, and glide easily into the minds of others: rather, "are greedily swallowed down" ^o, as the word in the Arabic language signifies; as Schultens has shown, and so renders it. Hence it follows:

and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly; go down pleasantly, and sink deep into the hearts of those to whom they are told; where they have a place and remain, both to the injury of the persons that receive them, and of them of whom they are told; and, though pleasing at first, they are as wounds in the inner parts, which are mortal.

Gill: Pro 18:9 - He also that is slothful in his work // is brother to him that is a great waster

He also that is slothful in his work,.... Remiss in it; hangs down his hands, and does not care to make use of them, but neglects his business:

is brother to him that is a great waster: a prodigal man, who spends his substance in riotous living: the sluggard and the prodigal are brethren in iniquity; for, though they take different courses, they are both sinful, and issue in the same manner; both bring to poverty and want. Or, "brother to a master that wastes" ^p; a slothful servant and a wasteful master are near akin, and come into the same class and circumstances. Jarchi interprets it,

"he that separateth from the law, though a disciple of a wise man, is a brother to Satan;''

whose name is Apollyon, the waster and destroyer. A man that is slothful in spiritual things, though a professor of religion, and has a place in the house of God, is brother to him that is a waster and persecutor of it; see Mat 12:30.

Gill: Pro 18:10 - The name of the Lord is a strong tower // the righteous runneth into it // and // is safe

The name of the Lord is a strong tower,.... By "the name of the Lord" may be meant, either the attributes and perfections of God, by which he is made known, and which are the strength and security of his people; his goodness, grace, and mercy, are their defence; his favour encompasses them about, as a shield; his justice protects them from all injuries and insults; his truth and faithfulness preserve them; they are kept by his power, as in a garrison; and his unchangeableness is a reason why they are not consumed: or else the Lord himself; his name is put for himself, Psa 20:1; and may be well interpreted of the Messiah, as it is by the ancient Jew, ^q; in and by whom God is manifested unto men as the God of grace; in whom he proclaims his name, a God gracious and merciful; whose name is in him, and who has the same nature and perfections with him; his name is Jehovah, our righteousness; Immanuel, God with us; the mighty God, and Prince of peace; and who is called Jesus, because he saves his people from their sins, and so is their security from eternal destruction. What a strong tower is to them that are within it, against an enemy without, that is the power, strength, and might of Christ to his people; as a divine Person, he is strong and mighty, the most mighty, the Almighty; as man, he is the man of God's right hand, made strong for himself and us; as Mediator, he has all power in heaven and earth: in him is everlasting strength for his people; he is their Betzer, their fortified place, or city of refuge, to flee unto on all occasions; he is the strong hold, whither prisoners of hope are directed to turn to; he is their place of defence, and the munition of rocks; a strong tower, inexpugnable; so deeply founded, no enemy can work under it; and plant a mine to blow it up; so highly built; no scaling ladders can reach it; so fortified, no cannon balls can break through it, or demolish any of its walls and bulwarks, which are his salvation; the gates of hell cannot prevail against it; it is not to be taken by storm, or by the most violent attack of the whole posse of men and devils;

the righteous runneth into it; not self-righteous persons, they run from Christ and his righteousness, not to him and that; but such who see their own righteousness will not justify them; who indeed are sinners, know and acknowledge themselves to be such; as sinners go to Christ, who, as such, receives them; and these are righteous through the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, and live soberly, righteously, and godly: and it is the continual business or employment of their faith to betake themselves to Christ upon all occasions; they are continually coming to him, and exercising faith upon him, as the Lord their righteousness, which is meant by "running" to him; this supposes knowledge of him, as the strong tower and city of refuge; of the way unto him, and of the reception by him which may be expected; it supposes a principle of spiritual life, and some degree of spiritual strength; a sense of danger or of want in themselves, and of safety and fulness in Christ; it is expressive of haste, readiness, and cheerfulness, and is owing to the drawings of efficacious grace;

and such an one that thus runs

is safe; from the avenging justice of God; from the curse and condemnation of the law; from sin, and all its dreadful consequences; from Satan, and all spiritual enemies; from wrath to come, hell, and the second death: or is "set aloft" ^r; is on high; for this tower, as it is a strong one, it is a high one; a rock of refuge, higher than men, or angels, or heaven itself; and such who are in it are out of the reach of all danger and every enemy.

Gill: Pro 18:11 - The rich man's wealth is his strong city // and as a high wall in his own conceit

The rich man's wealth is his strong city,.... In which he dwells, over which he presides; in which he places his trust and confidence, and thinks himself safe from every enemy and from all trouble: as one ^s observes,

"the abundance of a rich man's wealth he conceives to be as it were the abundance of people in a "city"; the telling of his money he imagines to be the walking of people up and down the streets; his bags standing thick together to be so many houses standing close one to the other; his iron barred chests to be so mary bulwarks; his bonds and bills to be his cannons and demi-cannons, his great ordinance; and in the midst of these he thinketh himself environed with a "great wall", which no trouble is able to leap over, which no misery is able to break through.''

As it follows;

and as a high wall in his own conceit: which not only separates and distinguishes him from others; but, as he imagines, will secure him from all dangers, and will be abiding, lasting, and durable: but all this is only "in his own conceit", or "imagery" ^t; in the chambers of his imagery, as Jarchi, referring to Eze 8:12; where the same word is used; for this wall shall not stand; these riches cannot secure themselves, they take wing and fly away; and much less the owner of them, not from public calamities, nor from personal diseases of body, nor from death, nor from wrath to come.

Gill: Pro 18:12 - Before destruction the heart of man is haughty // and before honour is humility

Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,.... Lifted up with his riches. Rich men are apt to be highminded, and therefore are to be charged and cautioned against it; they are apt to look above their poor neighbours, and with contempt upon them; and very often this haughtiness of theirs is a presage of their ruin and destruction: and those haughty airs are put on from the pride of their hearts, when a "breach" is near, as the word ^u signifies, or when they are ready to break; however, their haughty spirits are, sooner or later, humbled by one distressing providence or another; see Pro 16:18;

and before honour is humility; See Gill on Pro 15:33.

Gill: Pro 18:13 - He that answereth a matter before he heareth it // it is folly and shame unto him

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it,.... Who is impatient, and cannot wait to hear it out, but breaks in upon the speaker before he has finished what he has to say; or is rash and precipitate, and returns an answer at once, without weighing and considering, and thoroughly understanding, what is said:

it is folly and shame unto him; his answer must be a foolish one, and bring shame and confusion upon him; men should be "swift to hear", and "slow to speak", Jam 1:9.

Gill: Pro 18:14 - The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity // but a wounded spirit who can bear

The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity,.... The spirit of a mighty man, as Jarchi; a man of spirit, that has a spirit of fortitude, even of natural fortitude, and especially of Christian fortitude; that has a spirit of might upon him, of power, and sound mind; a man of a Christian spirit, that is renewed in the spirit of his mind; who is a spiritual man, and has the Spirit of God in him, as well as a rational soul, an immaterial, immortal, and never dying substance. Such a man will bear up under many trials and exercises of life; will support under bodily infirmities; will take patiently the loss Of friends and of substance; endure reproach, and the loss of a good name, credit, and reputation, cheerfully, for righteousness's sake; and suffer persecution for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel, with an undaunted and unbroken spirit: the peace of conscience he feels within; the presence of God with him; the love of God shed abroad in his heart; seeing all his afflictions flowing from love, and working for his good; and having in view the glories of another world; he bears up under and goes through all afflictions with ease and pleasure; his conscience is clear, his heart is whole, his mind is easy; his wounds being healed, his sins pardoned, and his soul saved in Chris;

but a wounded spirit who can bear? or a "smitten" ^w one, smitten by the Lord; by the word of the Lord, which he uses as a hammer to break rocky hearts in pieces; by the law of God, which produces wrath, and a looking for of fiery indignation; by the Spirit of God, awakening the conscience, and convicting it of sin, righteousness, and judgment; which smitings are very grievous, though they tend to bring to repentance; are in order to healing, and are in love. Or, "a broken spirit" ^x, as in Pro 17:22; broken with a sense of sin, and with an excess of sorrow for it; when a man becomes lifeless and hopeless, has no hope of life and salvation, and is in the utmost confusion; all his measures and purposes are broken, as well as his heart; he knows not what to do, nor what way to take; he is disconsolate, and refuses to be comforted; and which for the present is intolerable: though the Lord has a regard to such, is nigh unto them; has sent his son to bind up their broken hearts; yea, has himself been broken for them; and happy it is for them that they fall on him and are broken, and not he on them. Or, "a wounded spirit"; with a view of sin, as committed against the omniscient and omnipotent Being, a pure and holy God; a righteous one, whose nature is infinite; and so sin committed against him requires an infinite satisfaction, which a creature cannot give; and a God also, who is the author of their beings, and the Father of their mercies; all which makes sin against him the more cutting and wounding: likewise they are wounded with a view of the evil nature of sin, and the aggravated circumstances that attend it; and with the terrors of the law, that are set in array against them. And such a spirit "who can bear?" not without the sight of a wounded Saviour; or without a view of atonement by his sacrifice; or without the discoveries and applications of pardoning grace; or without a sense of peace and reconciliation made by the blood of Christ; or without some hope of salvation by him; and unless the good Samaritan pours in oil and wine into the wounds, and binds them up.

Gill: Pro 18:15 - The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge // and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge

The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge,.... More knowledge; for he must have some, and a considerable share, to be denominated "prudent", whether in things natural, civil, or spiritual: and such will be heartily desirous of more, and make use of all means to attain it, by which they do come at a large share of it;

and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge; a wise man seeks to get it by hearing; he listens to what others say, and especially such that are wiser and more knowing than himself: so such as are wise to salvation, as they desire to know more of Christ and of divine things, and make use of all means for that purpose; among the rest, hearken to what Christians, of a superior class to themselves, drop in private conversation; and particularly they constantly attend to the ministry of the word; and thus seeking it, they find an increase of it.

Gill: Pro 18:16 - A man's gift maketh room for him // and bringeth him before great men

A man's gift maketh room for him,.... Or "enlarges him" ^y; brings him out of prison, or, or out of straits and difficulties with which he, has, been pressed; or it makes way for him to a judge, and for a favourable hearing of his cause; or it enlarges his acquaintance, and gains him respect among men;

and bringeth him before great men; it opens a way for him into the presence and company of great men, being a fee to their servants; or with it he procures a place to wait on them. It is not necessary to understand it of a gift by way of bribe; but to introduce a person to another, and render him acceptable, and appease anger; as in the cases of Jacob and Abigail, Gen 32:20.

Gill: Pro 18:17 - He that is first in his own cause seemeth just // but his neighbour cometh, and searcheth him

He that is first in his own cause seemeth just,.... As perhaps Tertullus did, before Paul made his defence; and as Ziba, Mephibosheth's servant, before his master detected him: this often appears true in telling a tale, in private conversation, in lawsuits before a judge and a court of judicature, and in theological controversies;

but his neighbour cometh, and searcheth him; his neighbour comes into the house, where he is telling his tale, and reports it in another manner, and shows the falsehood of his relation; or he comes into a court of judicature, and sets the cause in quite another light; or he comes out into the worm by public writing, and exposes the errors of a man engaged in a wrong cause, and refutes his arguments. It is generally understood of judicial affairs, that the first that opens a cause is very apt to prejudice the judge and court in his favour, and they are ready to thing at first hearing that he is in the right; but it is not proper to be hasty in forming a judgment till the other side is heard; for his antagonist comes and traverses the point, unravels the whole affair, shows the weakness of his cause, the vanity of his pretences, and makes void all his allegations; and then "he", the judge, so some interpret it, "searcheth"; inquires more narrowly into the case, in order to find out truth, and pass a right judgment and sentence.

Gill: Pro 18:18 - The lot causeth contentions to cease // and parteth between the mighty

The lot causeth contentions to cease,.... When a case cannot be determined among parties at variance in a private way, nor in a court of judicature, the lot is cast, and that puts an end to all strife, and makes each party easy; they submit to it, and acquiesce in it;

and parteth between the mighty; the kings and princes of the earth; men of great power and authority, and of great riches and affluence; and so in a capacity of contending with each other, and of prolonging the contention, which may be attended with bad consequences; and who are not easily dissuaded from it: or it may intend such who most vehemently disagree; persons of great spirits, who are obstinate and stubborn, and will by no means yield, and there is no parting them by arguments or legal decisions; these the lot parts, and causes them to cease from their quarrels and contentions, and to rest satisfied with the distributions the lot makes to them; as the children of Israel were with their portion of the land of Canaan, assigned them by lot.

Gill: Pro 18:19 - A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city // and their contentions are like the bars of a castle

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city,.... A fortified city may sooner be taken by an enemy, than one brother offended can be reconciled to another; their resentments against each other are keener than against another person that has offended them; and their love being turned into hatred, it is more bitter; and it is more difficult to compose differences between brethren than between enemies; wherefore such should take care that they fall not out by the way: this is true of brethren in a natural sense; as the cases of Abel and Cain, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brethren, Amnon and Absalom, and others, show; and of brethren in a spiritual sense, as Paul and Barnabas, Luther and Calvin, and others;

and their contentions are like the bars of a castle: which cannot be easily broken or cut asunder: so contentions, especially those among brethren, are with great difficulty made to cease, and their differences composed; they will stand it out against one another as long as a strong city, or a barred castle, against an enemy.

Gill: Pro 18:20 - A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth // and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled

A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth,.... With his own words and discourses, when they are prudent, pious, and savoury; when they are with grace, and minister it; they are satisfying to himself, to his own mind and conscience, and to his family; to all within his house, which is, as it were, his belly; but, if otherwise, it will not be profitable nor satisfying to either; and therefore, if a man would keep conscience easy, and be useful to others, he ought to take care what he says; see Pro 12:14;

and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled; the same thing as before, expressed in different words, alluding to the sowing, of seed in the earth, and the increase of it; as a man sows he reaps, and enjoys the fruits of his labour; according to what a man sows with his lips, such is his harvest he is afterwards a partaker of.

Gill: Pro 18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue // and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,.... Of witnesses, according to the testimony they bear; of judges, according to the sentence they pass; of teachers, according to the doctrine they preach; of all men, who, by their well or ill speaking, bring death or life to themselves and others. Some, by their tongues, by the too free use of them, or falsehood they utter, are the cause of death to themselves and others; and some, by their silence, or by their prudent speech and prevalent intercession, secure or obtain life for themselves and others; yea, judgment at the last day will proceed according to a man's words, "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned", Mat 12:37; the tongue is the instrument either of a great deal of good, or of a great deal of evil;

and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof; that delight to be talkative; that love to use the tongue, whether in a good or in a bad way, shall accordingly be recompensed; shall enjoy the advantages or disadvantages arising from it.

Gill: Pro 18:22 - Whoso findeth a wife // findeth a good thing // and obtaineth favour of the Lord

Whoso findeth a wife,.... A good one; so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, supply it; and so the Targum, though it leaves out the word good in the last clause; and no other can be meant, even a good natured one, wise, prudent, careful, and industrious; a proper helpmeet, a virtuous woman, as in Pro 31:10; whoso seeks after such an one, and finds one, especially one that has the grace of God, which he should seek after among his friends, and by their assistance, and by prayer to God:

findeth a good thing; that will be good for him, both upon a civil and spiritual account; the Septuagint version adds,

"he that casts out a good wife casts out good things, but he that retains a whore is foolish and ungodly;''

which is followed by the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, but is not in the Hebrew text. Jarchi interprets it of the law in a mystic sense, but, according to the literal sense, of a good wife;

and obtaineth favour of the Lord; it is from the Lord, and under his direction and guidance in seeking, that he finds a good wife; and which he ought to esteem as a favour from the Lord, and as an evidence of his favour to him, and may encourage himself to hope for others of him ^z Hesiod says, a man cannot obtain anything better than a good wife.

Gill: Pro 18:23 - The poor useth entreaties // but the rich answereth roughly

The poor useth entreaties,.... Or "supplications" ^a; he is an humble supplicant to others for favours he asks in a submissive and lowly manner; he does not demand anything, nor prescribe what shall be done for him, but modestly tells his case, and submits it; so such who are poor in spirit are humble supplicants at the throne of grace;

but the rich answereth roughly; being proud and haughty, lifted up with their riches, and in fear of none, they answer others with hard and rough words, especially their inferiors, and particularly the poor. This is not what ought to be, but what commonly is. This verse and Pro 18:24 are not in the Arabic version.

Gill: Pro 18:24 - A man that hath friends must show himself friendly // and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother

A man that hath friends must show himself friendly,.... Friendship ought to be mutual and reciprocal, as between David and Jonathan; a man that receives friendship ought to return it, or otherwise he is guilty of great ingratitude. This may be spiritually applied; a believer is "a man of friends" ^b, as it may be rendered; he has many friends: God is his friend, as appears by his early love to him, his choice of him, and provisions of grace for him; by sending his son to save him; by visiting him, not only in a way of providence, but of grace; by disclosing his secrets, showing his covenant to him, and by making him his heir, and a joint heir with Christ. Christ is his friend, as is evident from his visiting him at his incarnation; and in a spiritual way, by the communication of his secrets to him; by his hearty counsel and faithful reproofs; by his undertaking and doing for him what he has; and especially by suffering and dying in his room and stead. The Holy Spirit is his friend, which he has shown by discovering to him his woeful estate by nature, and the way of salvation by Christ; by working all his works in him; by acting the part of a Comforter to him; by revealing divine things to him, by helping him under all his infirmities; by making intercession for him according to the will of God; and by making him meet for eternal glory and happiness: angels are his friends, as is plain by their well pleasedness with the incarnation of Christ for men; and which they express at their conversion; by their ministering to them, their protection of them, and the good offices they do them both in life and at death; and saints are friends to one another: and such should show themselves friendly to God, their covenant God and Father; by frequently visiting him at the throne of grace; by trusting in him; by a carefulness not to offend, but please him; and by a close and faithful adherence to his cause and interest: to Jesus Christ their Redeemer, by a ready obedience to his commands; by owning and using him as their friend; by taking notice of his friends, and showing them respect, his ministers and poor saints; by cleaving to him, and renouncing the friendship of his enemies: and likewise to the Holy Spirit, by not grieving, quenching, and despising him; but by making use of him, and giving up themselves to his influence and direction; and by acknowledging him as the author of all their grace: also to angels, by speaking well of them, owning their good offices, and reckoning it an honour that they are come and joined to such a company; and to the saints, by Christian conversation with them, by sympathizing with them in all conditions, by hearty counsel, faithful reproofs and admonitions, and by helping them in every distress, inward and outward;

and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother; who is to a man as his own soul, Deu 13:6; and so are of one heart and soul, as Jonathan and David, and the first Christians, were; this is true of Christ, and may be expressive of the close union between him and his people; and of his close adherence to their cause and interest; and of his constancy and continuance as a friend at all times; and of his faithfulness and unchangeableness as such; see Pro 17:17. The Heathens had a deity which presided over friendship, which they called Jupiter Philios ^c: the character best agrees with the true God, who is a friend to men himself, and loves friendship among them.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki

NET Notes: Pro 18:1

¹ tn The Niphal participle functions substantively and has a reflexive nuance: “one who has separated himself” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). He is not merely anti-social; he is a problem for society since he will defy sound judgment. The Mishnah uses the verse to teach the necessity of being part of a community because people have social responsibilities and need each other (m. Avot 2:4).

² tc The MT has “seeks [his own] desire[s].” The translation in the LXX represents a Hebrew Vorlage of לְתֹאֲנָה (lÿto’anah) instead of לְתַאֲוָה (lÿta’avah); this could be translated “seeks his own occasion,” that is, “his own pretext” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 354; cf. NAB). The MT makes sense as it stands and the emendation is not really necessary.

³ tn Heb “breaks out”; NRSV “showing contempt for”; NLT “snarling at.” This individual breaks out in contention against sound judgment. He is in opposition to society (e.g., Prov 17:14; 20:3).

NET Notes: Pro 18:2

¹ sn This expression forms an understatement (tapeinosis); the opposite is the point – he detests understanding or discernment.

² tn The Hitpael infinitive construct בְּהִתְגַּלּוֹת (bÿhitgalot) functions nominally as the object of the preposition. The term means “reveal, uncover, betray.” So the fool takes pleasure “in uncovering” his heart.

³ tn Heb “his heart.” This is a metonymy meaning “what is on his mind” (cf. NAB “displaying what he thinks”; NRSV “expressing personal opinion”). This kind of person is in love with his own ideas and enjoys spewing them out (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 515). It is the kind of person who would ask a question, not to learn, but to show everyone how clever he is (cf. TEV).

NET Notes: Pro 18:3

¹ tc The MT has “a wicked [person].” Many commentators emend the text to רֶשַׁע (resha’, “wickedness”) which makes better parallelism with “shame” (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 521; R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 112; C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 355; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). However, there is no external evidence for this emendation.

² sn “Contempt” (בּוּז, buz) accompanies the wicked; “reproach” (חֶרְפָּה, kherpah) goes with shame. This reproach refers to the critical rebukes and taunts of the community against a wicked person.

³ tn The term “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

NET Notes: Pro 18:4

¹ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

² sn The metaphor “deep waters” indicates either that the words have an inexhaustible supply or that they are profound.

³ tn There is debate about the nature of the parallelism between lines 4a and 4b. The major options are: (1) synonymous parallelism, (2) antithetical parallelism (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) or (3) formal parallelism. Normally a vav (ו) would begin an antithetical clause; the structure and the ideas suggest that the second colon continues the idea of the first half, but in a parallel way rather than as additional predicates. The metaphors used in the proverb elsewhere describe the wise.

⁴ sn This is an implied comparison (hypocatastasis), the fountain of wisdom being the person who speaks. The Greek version has “fountain of life” instead of “wisdom,” probably influenced from 10:11.

⁵ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

⁶ sn The point of this metaphor is that the wisdom is a continuous source of refreshing and beneficial ideas.

NET Notes: Pro 18:5

¹ tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis, a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is terrible!”

² tn The idiom “lifting up the face of” (שְׂאֵת פְּנֵי, sÿ’et pÿne) means “to show partiality” in decisions (e.g., Deut 10:17; Mal 2:9); cf. CEV, NLT “to favor.” The verbal form is the Qal infinitive construct from נָשָׂא (nasa’), which functions as the subject of the clause.

³ tn Or “the guilty,” since in the second colon “righteous” can also be understood in contrast as “innocent” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT).

⁴ tn Heb “to turn aside” (so ASV); NASB “to thrust aside.” The second half of the verse may illustrate this reprehensible action. The Hiphil infinitive construct לְהַטּוֹת (lÿhatot) may serve either (1) as result, “showing partiality…so that the righteous are turned away,” or (2) as epexegetical infinitive, “showing partiality…by turning the righteous away.” The second is preferred in the translation. Depriving the innocent of their rights is a perversion of justice.

NET Notes: Pro 18:6

¹ sn The “lips” is a metonymy of cause, meaning what the fool says. The “mouth” in the second colon is likewise a metonymy for speech, what comes out of the mouth.

² sn “Strife” is a metonymy of cause, it is the cause of the beating or flogging that follows; “flogging” in the second colon is a metonymy of effect, the flogging is the effect of the strife. The two together give the whole picture.

³ tn Heb “calls for.” This is personification: What the fool says “calls for” a beating or flogging. The fool deserves punishment, but does not actually request it.

⁴ tn Heb “blows.” This would probably be physical beatings, either administered by the father or by society (e.g., also 19:25; Ps 141:5; cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). Today, however, “a beating” could be associated with violent criminal assault, whereas the context suggests punishment. Therefore “a flogging” is used in the translation, since that term is normally associated with disciplinary action.

NET Notes: Pro 18:7

¹ tn Heb “his soul” (so KJV, NASB, NIV).

sn What a fool says can ruin him. Calamity and misfortune can come to a person who makes known his lack of wisdom by what he says. It may be that his words incite anger, or merely reveal stupidity; in either case, he is in trouble.

NET Notes: Pro 18:8

¹ tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”

² tn The word כְּמִתְלַהֲמִים (kÿmitlahamim) occurs only here. It is related to a cognate verb meaning “to swallow greedily.” Earlier English versions took it from a Hebrew root הָלַם (halam, see the word לְמַהֲלֻמוֹת [lÿmahalumot] in v. 6) meaning “wounds” (so KJV). But the translation of “choice morsels” fits the idea of gossip better.

³ tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”

sn When the choice morsels of gossip are received, they go down like delicious food – into the innermost being. R. N. Whybray says, “There is a flaw in human nature that assures slander will be listened to” (Proverbs [CBC], 105).

NET Notes: Pro 18:9

¹ tn Heb “Also, the one who.” Many commentators and a number of English versions omit the word “also.”

² tn The form מִתְרַפֶּה (mitrappeh) is the Hitpael participle, “showing oneself slack.” The verb means “to sink; to relax,” and in the causative stem “to let drop” the hands. This is the lazy person who does not even try to work.

³ sn These two troubling types, the slacker and the destroyer, are closely related.

⁴ tn Heb “possessor of destruction.” This idiom means “destroyer” (so ASV); KJV “a great waster”; NRSV “a vandal.”

NET Notes: Pro 18:10

¹ sn The “name of the Lord” is a metonymy of subject. The “name” here signifies not the personal name “Yahweh,” for that would be redundant in the expression “the name of Yahweh,” but the attributes of the Lord (cf. Exod 34:5-7) – here his power to protect.

² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

³ tn Heb “a tower of strength,” with “strength” regarded as attributive by most English versions. The metaphor “strong tower” indicates that God is a secure refuge. The figure is qualified in the second colon.

⁴ sn The metaphor of “running” to the Lord refers to a whole-hearted and unwavering trust in God’s protection (e.g., Isa 40:31).

⁵ tn Heb “is high” or “is inaccessible.” This military-type expression stresses the effect of the trust – security, being out of danger (see HALOT 1305 s.v. שׂגב). Other scriptures will supply the ways that God actually protects people who trust him.

NET Notes: Pro 18:11

¹ sn This proverb forms a contrast with the previous one. The rich, unlike the righteous, trust in wealth and not in God.

² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

³ tn Heb “city of his strength”; NIV “fortified city.” This term refers to their place of refuge, what they look to for security and protection in time of trouble.

⁴ tc The MT reads בְּמַשְׂכִּיתוֹ (bÿmaskito, “in his imaginations”). The LXX, Tg. Prov 18:11, and the Latin reflect בִּמְשֻׂכָּתוֹ (bimsukato, “like a fence [or, high wall]”) that is, wealth provides protection. The MT reading, on the other hand, suggests that this security is only in the mind.

tn The proverb is an observation saying, reporting a common assumption without commenting on it. The juxtaposition with the last verse is a loud criticism of this misguided faith. The final word בְּמַשְׂכִּיתוֹ (“in his imaginations”) indicates that one’s wealth is a futile place of refuge.

NET Notes: Pro 18:12

¹ sn The term “heart” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the seat of the spiritual and intellectual capacities – the mind, the will, the motivations and intentions. Proud ambitions and intentions will lead to a fall.

² tn Heb “[is] before honor”; cf. CEV “humility leads to honor.”

³ sn The way to honor is through humility (e.g., Prov 11:2; 15:33; 16:18). The humility and exaltation of Jesus provides the classic example (Phil 2:1-10).

NET Notes: Pro 18:13

¹ tn Heb “returns a word”; KJV “He that answereth a matter.”

² sn Poor listening and premature answering indicate that the person has a low regard for what the other is saying, or that he is too absorbed in his own ideas. The Mishnah lists this as the second characteristic of the uncultured person (m. Avot 5:7).

³ tn Heb “it is folly to him and shame.” The verse uses formal parallelism, with the second colon simply completing the thought of the first.

NET Notes: Pro 18:14

¹ tn Heb “the spirit of a man.” Because the verb of this clause is a masculine form, some have translated this line as “with spirit a man sustains,” but that is an unnecessary change.

² sn This is a rhetorical question, asserting that very few can cope with depression.

³ sn The figure of a “crushed spirit” (ASV, NAB, NCV, NRSV “a broken spirit,” comparing depression to something smashed or crushed) suggests a broken will, a loss of vitality, despair, and emotional pain. In physical sickness one can fall back on the will to live; but in depression even the will to live is gone.

NET Notes: Pro 18:15

¹ tn Heb “discerning heart.” The term “heart” is a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole (= person); cf. TEV, NLT “intelligent people.” By paralleling “heart” and “ear” the proverb stresses the full acquisition of knowledge. The “ear” listens to instruction, and the heart considers what is heard to acquire knowledge.

² tn Heb “the ear of the wise.” The term “ear” is a synecdoche of part (= ear) for the whole (= person): “wise person.”

sn The wise continually seek more knowledge. D. Kidner says, “Those who know most know best how little they know” (Proverbs [TOTC], 129).

³ sn This line features a mixed metaphor: The “ear” is pictured “seeking.” The “ear of the wise” actually means the wise person’s capacity to hear, and so the wise are seeking as they hear.

NET Notes: Pro 18:16

¹ sn The Hebrew term translated “gift” is a more general term than “bribe” (שֹׁחַד, shokhad), used in 17:8, 23. But it also has danger (e.g., 15:27; 21:14), for by giving gifts one might learn how influential they are and use them for bribes. The proverb simply states that a gift can expedite matters.

² sn The two verbs here show a progression, helping to form the synthetic parallelism. The gift first “makes room” (יַרְחִיב, yarkhiv) for the person, that is, extending a place for him, and then “ushers him in” (יַנְחֵנּוּ, yakhenu) among the greats.

NET Notes: Pro 18:17

¹ tn Heb “in his legal case”; NAB “who pleads his case first.”

² tn The term “seems” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness (cf. KJV “seemeth”).

³ tn Heb “his neighbor”; NRSV “the other.”

⁴ tn Heb “comes and.” The Kethib is the imperfect יָבֹא (yavo’), and the Qere is the conjunction with the participle/perfect tense form וּבָא (uva’). The latter is reflected in most of the ancient versions. There is not an appreciable difference in the translations, except for the use of the conjunction.

⁵ sn The proverb is a continuous sentence teaching that there must be cross-examination to settle legal disputes. There are two sides in any disputes, and so even though the first to present his case sounds right, it must be challenged. The verb הָקַר (haqar, translated “cross-examines”) is used for careful, diligent searching and investigating to know something (e.g., Ps 139:1).

NET Notes: Pro 18:18

¹ tn Heb “casting the lot.” Because modern readers are not familiar with the ancient practice of casting lots, the image of the coin toss to decide an issue has been employed in the translation (cf. CEV “drawing straws”). Although the casting of lots is often compared to throwing dice, the translation “throwing dice ends disputes” in this context could be misunderstood to mean “participating in a game of dice ends disputes.”

² tn The verb יַשְׁבִּית (yashbit) is the Hiphil imperfect from שָׁבַת (shavat), meaning “to cause to cease; to bring to an end; to end”; cf. NIV “settles disputes.” The assumption behind this practice and this saying is that providence played the determining role in the casting of lots. If both parties accepted this, then the issue could be resolved.

³ tn Heb “makes a separation” or “decides.” In the book of Proverbs this verb often has a negative connotation, such as separating close friends (e.g., 16:9). But here it has a positive nuance: Opponents are “separated” by settling the issue.

⁴ tn The word is the adjective, “mighty” (so KJV, NAB, NASB) used here substantivally as the object of the preposition.

NET Notes: Pro 18:19

¹ tn Heb “brother,” but this is not limited to actual siblings (cf. NRSV “an ally”; CEV, NLT “friend”).

² tn The Niphal participle from פָּשַׁע (pasha’) modifies “brother”: a brother transgressed, offended, sinned against.

³ tc The LXX has a clear antithetical proverb here: “A brother helped is like a stronghold, but disputes are like bars of a citadel.” Accordingly, the editors of BHS propose מוֹשִׁיעַ (moshia’) instead of נִפְשָׁע (nifsha’, so also the other versions and the RSV). But since both lines use the comparison with a citadel (fortified/barred), the antithesis is problematic.

tn The phrase “is harder to reach” is supplied in the translation on the basis of the comparative מִן (min). It is difficult to get into a fortified city; it is more difficult to reach an offended brother.

⁴ tn Heb “bars,” but this could be understood to mean “taverns,” so “barred gates” is employed in the translation.

⁵ sn The proverb is talking about changing a friend or a relative into an enemy by abuse or strife – the bars go up, as it were. And the “walls” that are erected are not easily torn down.

NET Notes: Pro 18:20

¹ sn Two images are used in this proverb: the fruit of the mouth and the harvest of the lips. They are synonymous; the first is applied to the orchard and the second to the field. The “mouth” and the “lips” are metonymies of cause, and so both lines are speaking about speech that is productive.

² tn Heb “his midst.” This is rendered “his stomach” because of the use of שָׂבַע (sava’, “to be satisfied; to be sated; to be filled”), which is usually used with food (cf. KJV, ASV “belly”).

sn Productive speech is not just satisfying – it meets the basic needs of life. There is a practical return for beneficial words.

NET Notes: Pro 18:21

¹ tn Heb “in the hand of.”

² sn What people say can lead to life or death. The Midrash on Psalms shows one way the tongue [what is said] can cause death: “The evil tongue slays three, the slanderer, the slandered, and the listener” (Midrash Tehillim 52:2). See J. G. Williams, “The Power of Form: A Study of Biblical Proverbs,” Semeia 17 (1980): 35-38.

³ tn The referent of “it” must be the tongue, i.e., what the tongue says (= “its use”). So those who enjoy talking, indulging in it, must “eat” its fruit, whether good or bad. The expression “eating the fruit” is an implied comparison; it means accept the consequences of loving to talk (cf. TEV).

NET Notes: Pro 18:22

¹ tn The verb מָצָא (matsa’, translated “finds”) is used twice in the first colon. It is paralleled by the verb פּוּק (puq, translated “receives”) in the second colon, which carries the same nuance as the preceding verbs. The first perfect tense verb might function in a hypothetical or conditional sense: “If a man finds…then he finds.” But taken as a principle the nuances of the verbs would be gnomic or characteristic.

² tn Heb “good.” The term טוֹב (tov, “good; enjoyable; fortune”) might be an allusion to Gen 2:18, which affirms that it is not good for man to be alone. The word describes that which is pleasing to God, beneficial for life, and abundantly enjoyable.

³ tn Heb “what is pleasant.” The noun רָצוֹן (ratson, “what is pleasing”) is often interpreted in a religious-theological sense here: “receives favor from the Lord” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, this term is probably referring to the pleasure that a person enjoys in marriage, so it should be understood in a nonreligious, marital sense: “pleasure” (e.g., Esth 1:8; HALOT 1282 s.v. 1); cf. CEV “she is a gift from the Lord.”

sn The parallelism is formal; the second line of the verse continues the first but explains it further: Finding a spouse, one receives a pleasurable gift from God.

⁴ tc The LXX adds this embellishment to complete the thought: “Whoever puts away a good wife puts away good, and whoever keeps an adulteress is foolish and ungodly.”

NET Notes: Pro 18:23

¹ tn Heb “speaks supplications”; NIV “pleads for mercy.” The poor man has to ask for help because he has no choice (cf. CEV). The Hebrew term תַּחֲנוּן (takhanun) is a “supplication for favor” (related to the verb חָנַן [khanan], “to be gracious; to show favor”). So the poor man speaks, but what he speaks is a request for favor.

² sn The rich person responds harshly to the request. He has hardened himself against such appeals because of relentless demands. The proverb is an observation saying; it simply describes the way the world generally works, rather than setting this out as the ideal.

NET Notes: Pro 18:24

¹ tc The construction is “a man of friends” (cf. NASB) meaning a man who has friends (a genitive of the thing possessed). C. H. Toy, however, suggests reading יֵשׁ (yesh) instead of אִישׁ (’ish), along with some of the Greek mss, the Syriac, and Tg. Prov 18:24. It would then say “there are friends” who are unreliable (Proverbs [ICC], 366); cf. NLT. However, the MT should be retained here.

² tn The text simply has לְהִתְרֹעֵעַ (lÿhitro’ea’), which means “for being crushed” or “to be shattered” (but not “to show oneself friendly” as in the KJV). What can be made of the sentence is that “a man who has [many] friends [may have them] for being crushed” – the infinitive giving the result (i.e., “with the result that he may be crushed by them”).

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:1

Through desire a man, having ^{( a )} separated himself, seeketh [and] intermeddleth with all wisdom.

^{( a )} He who loves wisdom will separate himself from all impediments, and give himself wholly to seek it.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:2

A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may ^{( b )} reveal itself.

^{( b )} That is, that he may talk licentiously of whatever comes to mind.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:3

When the wicked cometh, [then] cometh also ^{( c )} contempt, and with ignominy reproach.

^{( c )} Meaning, such a one as condemns all others.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:4

The words of a man's mouth [are as] deep ^{( d )} waters, [and] the wellspring of wisdom [as] a flowing brook.

^{( d )} Which can never be drawn empty, but always bring profit.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:5

[It is] not good to ^{( e )} accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

^{( e )} That is, to favour him and support him.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:8

The words of a talebearer [are] as wounds, and they go down into the ^{( f )} innermost parts of the belly.

^{( f )} They are soon believed and enter most deeply.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:10

The name of the LORD [is] a strong tower: the righteous runneth ^{( g )} into it, and is safe.

^{( g )} He shows the refuge of the godly against all trouble.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:14

The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but ^{( h )} a wounded spirit who can bear?

^{( h )} The mind can well bear the infirmity of the body, but when the spirit is wounded, it is hard to sustain.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:16

A man's gift ^{( i )} maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.

^{( i )} Gets him liberty to speak, and the favour of them that are esteemed.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:17

^{( k )} [He that is] first in his own cause [seemeth] just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.

^{( k )} He who speaks first, is best heard from the wicked judge, but when his adversary enquires out the matter it turns to his shame.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:18

The lot ^{( l )} causeth contentions to cease, and ^{( m )} parteth between the mighty.

^{( l )} If a controversy cannot otherwise be decided, it is best to cast lots to know whose the thing will be.

^{( m )} Appeases their controversy, who are so stout that they cannot otherwise be pacified.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:19

A brother offended [is harder to be won] than a strong city: and [their] contentions [are] like the ^{( n )} bars of a castle.

^{( n )} Which for the strength of it will not bow or yield.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:21

Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue: and they that ^{( o )} love it shall eat the fruit of it.

^{( o )} By the using the tongue well or evil, comes the fruit of it either good or bad.

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:22

[Whoever] findeth a ^{( p )} wife findeth a good [thing], and obtaineth favour from the LORD.

^{( p )} He who is joined with a virtuous woman in marriage is blessed by the Lord, as in (Pro 19:14).

Geneva Bible: Pro 18:24

A man [that hath] friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend [that] sticketh closer ^{( q )} than a brother.

^{( q )} That is, often such are found who are more ready to do pleasure, than he that is more bound by duty.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Rentang Ayat

Maclaren: Pro 18:10-11 - A Libation To Jehovah

Two Fortresses

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. 11. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.'--Proverbs 18:10-11.

THE mere reading of these two verses shows that, contrary to the usual rule in the Book of Proverbs, they have a bearing on each other. They are intended to suggest a very strong contrast, and that contrast is even more emphatic in the original than in our translation; because, as the margin of your Bibles will tell you, the last word of the former verse might be more correctly rendered, the righteous runneth into it, and is set on high.' It is the same word which is employed in the next verse--a high wall.'

So we have the strong tower' and the strong city ; the man lifted up above danger on the battlements of the one, and the man fancying himself to be high above it (and only fancying himself) in the imaginary safety of the other.

I. Consider Then, First, The Two Fortresses.

One need only name them side by side to feel the full force of the intended contrast. On the one hand, the name of the Lord with all its depths and glories, with its blaze of lustrous purity, and infinitudes of inexhaustible power; and on the other, the rich man's wealth.' What contempt is expressed in putting the two side by side! It is as if the author had said, Look on this picture and on that!' Two fortresses! Yes! The one is like Gibraltar, inexpugnable on its rock, and the other is like a painted castle on the stage; flimsy canvas that you could put your foot through--solidity by the side of nothingness. For even the poor appearance of solidity is an illusion, as our text says with bitter emphasis--a high wall in his own conceit.'

The name of the Lord,' of course, is the Biblical expression for the whole character of God, as He has made it known to us, or in other words, for God Himself, as He has been pleased to reveal Himself to mankind. The syllables of that name are all the deeds by which He has taught us what He is; every act of power, of wisdom, of tenderness, of grace that has manifested these qualities and led us to believe that they are all infinite. In the name, in its narrower sense, the name of Jehovah, there is much of the name' in its wider sense. For that name Jehovah,' both by its signification and by the circumstances under which it was originally employed, tells us a great deal about God. It tells us, for instance, by virtue of its signification, that He is self-existent, depending upon no other creature. I AM THAT I AM!' No other being can say that. All the rest of us have to say, I am that which God made me.' Circumstances and a hundred other things have made me; God finds the law of His being and the fountain of His being within Himself.

He sits on no precarious throne,Nor borrows leave to be.'

His name proclaims Him to be self-existent, and as self-existent, eternal; and as eternal, changeless; and as self-existent, eternal, changeless, infinite in all the qualities by which He makes Himself known. This boundless Being, all full of wisdom, power, and tenderness, with whom we can enter into relations of amity and concord, surely He is a strong tower into which we may run and be safe.'

But far beyond even the sweep of that great name, Jehovah, is the knowledge of God's deepest heart and character which we learn in Him who said, I have declared Thy name unto My brethren, and will declare it.' Christ in His life and death, in His meekness, sweetness, gentleness, calm wisdom, infinite patience, attractiveness; yearning over sinful hearts, weeping over rebels, in the graciousness of His life, in the sacredness and the power of His Cross, is the Revealer to our hearts of the heart of God. If I may so say, He has builded the strong tower' broader, has expanded its area and widened its gate, and lifted its summit yet nearer the heavens, and made the name of God a wider name and a mightier name, and a name of surer defence and blessing than ever it was before.

And so, dear brethren! it all comes to this, the name that is the strong tower' is the name My Father!' a Father of infinite tenderness and wisdom and power. Oh! where can the child rest more quietly than on the mother's breast, where can the child be safer than in the circle of the father's arms? The name of the Lord is a strong tower.'

Now turn to the other for a moment: The rich man's wealth is' (with great emphasis on the next little word) his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit.' Of course we have not to deal here only with wealth in the shape of money, but all external and material goods, the whole mass of the things seen and temporal,' are gathered together here in this phrase.

Men use their imaginations in very strange fashion, and make, or fancy they make, for themselves out of the things of the present life a defence and a strength. Like some poor lunatic, out upon a moor, that fancies himself ensconced in a castle; like some barbarous tribes behind their stockades or crowding at the back of a little turf wall, or in some old tumble-down fort that the first shot will bring rattling down about their ears, fancying themselves perfectly secure and defended --so do men deal with these outward things that are given them for another purpose altogether: they make of them defences and fortresses.

It is difficult for a man to have them and not to trust them. So Jesus said to His disciples once: How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom ; and when they were astonished at His words, He repeated them with the significant variation, How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God.' So He would teach that the misuse and not the possession of wealth is the barrier, but so, too, He would warn us that, nine times out of ten, the possession of them in more than a very modest measure, tempts a man into confidence in them.

The illusion is one that besets us all. We are all tempted to make a defence of the things that we can see and handle. Is it not strange, and is it not sad, that most of us just turn the truth round about and suppose that the real defence is the imaginary, and that the imaginary one is the real? How many men are there in this chapel who, if they spoke out of their deepest convictions, would say: Oh yes t the promises of God are all very well, but I would rather have the cash down. I suppose that I may trust that He will provide bread and water, and all the things that I need, but I would rather have a good solid balance at the banker's.' How many of you would rather honestly, and at the bottom of your hearts, have that than God's word for your defence? How many of you think that to trust in a living God is but grasping at a very airy and unsubstantial kind of support; and that the real solid defence is the defence made of the things that you can see?

My brother! it is exactly the opposite way. Turn it clean round, and you get the truth. The unsubstantial shadows are the material things that you can see and handle; illusory as a dream, and as little able to ward off the blows of fate as a soap bubble. The real is the unseen beyond--the things that are,' and He who alone really is, and in His boundless and absolute Being is our only defence.

In one aspect or another, that false imagination with which my last text deals is the besetting sin of Manchester. Not the rich man only, but the poor man just as much, is in danger of it. The poor man who thinks that everything would be right if only he were rich, and the rich man who thinks that everything is right because he is rich, are exactly the same man. The circumstances differ, but the one man is but the other turned inside out. And all round about us we see the fierce fight to get more and more of these things, the tight grip of them when we have got them, the overestimate of the value of them, the contempt for the people who have less of them than ourselves. Our aristocracy is an aristocracy of wealth; in some respects, one by no means to be despised, because there often go a great many good qualities to the making and the stewardship of wealth; but still it is an evil that men should be so largely estimated by their money as they are here. It is not a sound state of opinion which has made what is he worth?' mean how much of it has he?' We are taught here to look upon the prizes of life as being mainly wealth. To win that is success '--prosperity '--and it is very hard for us all not to be influenced by the prevailing tone.

I would urge you, young men, especially to lay this to heart--that of all delusions that can beset you in your course, none will work more disastrously than the notion that the summum bonum, the shield and stay of a man, is the' abundance of the things that he possesses.' I fancy I see more listless, discontented, unhappy faces looking out of carriages than I see upon the pavement. And I am sure of this, at any rate, that all which is noble and sweet and good in life can be wrought out and possessed upon as much bread and water as will keep body and soul together, and as much furniture as will enable a man to sit at his meal and lie down at night. And as for the rest, it has many advantages and blessings, but oh! it is all illusory as a defence against the evils that will come, sooner or later, to every life.

II. Consider Next How To Get Into The True Refuge.

The righteous runneth into it and is safe,' says my text. You may get into the illusory one very easily. Imagination will take you there. There is no difficulty at all about that. And yet the way by which a man makes this world his defence may teach you a lesson as to how you can make God your defence. How does a man make this world his defence? By trusting to it. He that says to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence,' has made it his fortress--and that is how you will make God your fortress--by trusting to Him. The very same emotion, the very same act of mind, heart, and will, may be turned either upwards or downwards, as you can turn the beam from a lantern which way you please. Direct it earthwards, and you trust in the uncertainty of riches.' Flash it heavenwards, and you trust in the living God.'

And that same lesson is taught by the words of our text, The righteous runneth into it.' I do not dwell upon the word righteous.' That is the Old Testament point of view, which could not conceive it possible that any man could have deep and close communion with God, except on condition of a pure character. I will not speak of that at present, but point to the picturesque metaphor, which will tell us a great deal more about what faith is than many a philosophical dissertation. Many a man who would be perplexed by a theologian's talk will understand this: The righteous runneth into the name of the Lord.'

The metaphor brings out the idea of eager haste in betaking oneself to the shelter, as when an invading army comes into a country, and the unarmed peasants take their portable belongings and their cattle, and catch up their children in their arms, and set their wives upon their mules, and make all haste to some fortified place; or as when the manslayer in Israel fled to the city of refuge, or as when Lot hurried for his life out of Sodom. There would be no dawdling then; but with every muscle strained, men would run into the stronghold, counting every minute a year till they were inside its walls, and heard the heavy door close between them and the pursuer. No matter how rough the road, or how overpowering the heat--no time to stop to gather flowers, or even diamonds on the road, when a moment's delay might mean the enemy's sword in your heart!

Now that metaphor is frequently used to express the resolved and swift act by which, recognising in Jesus Christ, who declares the name of the Lord, our hiding-place, we shelter ourselves in Him, and rest secure. One of the picturesque words by which the Old Testament expresses trust' means literally to flee to a refuge.' The Old Testament trust is the New Testament faith, even as the Old Testament Name of the Lord' answers to the New Testament Name of Jesus.' And so we run into this sure hiding-place and strong fortress of the name of the Lord, when we betake ourselves to Jesus and put our trust in Him as our defence.

Such a faith--the trust of mind, heart, and will--laying hold of the name of the Lord, makes us righteous,' and so capable of dwelling with the devouring fire' of God's perfect purity. The Old Testament point of view was righteousness, in order to abiding in God. The New Testament begins, as it were, at an earlier stage in the religious life, and tells us how to get the righteousness, without which, it holds as strongly as the Old Testament, no man shall see the Lord.' It shows us that our faith, by which we run into that fortress, fits us to enter the fortress, because it makes us partakers of Christ's purity.

So my earnest question to you all is--Have you fled for refuge to lay hold' on that Saviour in whom God has set His name? Like Lot out of Sodom, like the manslayer to the city of refuge, like the unwarlike peasants to the baron's tower, before the border thieves, have you gone thither for shelter from all the sorrows and guilt and dangers that are marching terrible against you? Can you take up as yours the old grand words of exuberant trust in which the Psalmist heaps together the names of the Lord, as if walking about the city of his defence, and telling the towers thereof, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower'? If you have, then because you have made the Lord your refuge, there shall no evil befall you.'

III. So We Have, Lastly, What Comes Of Sheltering In These Two Refuges.

As to the former of them, I said at the beginning of these remarks that the words is safe' were more accurately as well as picturesquely rendered by is set aloft.' They remind us of the psalm which has many points of resemblance with this text, and which gives the very same thought when it says, I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.' The fugitive is taken within the safe walls of the strong tower, and is set up high on the battlements, looking down upon the baffled pursuers, and far beyond the reach of their arrows. To stand upon that tower lifts a man above the region where temptations fly, above the region where sorrow strikes; lifts him above sin and guilt and condemnation and fear, and calumny and slander, and sickness, and separation and loneliness and death; and all the ills that flesh is heir to.'

Or, as one of the old Puritan commentators has it: The tower is so deep that no pioneer can undermine it, so thick that no cannon can breach it, so high that no ladder can scale it.' The righteous runneth into it,' and is perched up there; and can look down like Lear from his cliff, and all the troubles that afflict the lower levels shall show scarce so gross as beetles' from the height where he stands, safe and high, hidden in the name of the Lord.

I say little about the other side. Brethren! the world in any of its forms, the good things of this life in any shape, whether that of money or any other, can do a great deal for us. They can keep a great many inconveniences from us, they can keep a great many cares and pains and sorrows from us. I was going to say, to carry out the metaphor, they can keep the rifle-bullets from us. But, ah! when the big siege-guns get into position and begin to play; when the great trials that every life must have, sooner or later, come to open fire at us, then the defence that anything in this outer world can give comes rattling about our ears very quickly. It is like the pasteboard helmet which looked as good as if it had been steel, and did admirably as long as no sword struck it.

There is only one thing that will keep us peaceful and unharmed, and that is to trust our poor shelterless lives and sinful souls to the Saviour who has died for us. In Him we find the hiding-place, in which secure, as beneath the shadow of a great rock, dreaded evils will pass us by, as impotent to hurt as savages before a castle fortified by modern skill. All the bitterness of outward calamities will be taken from them before they reach us. Their arrows will still wound, but He will have wiped the poison off before He lets them be shot at us. The force of temptation will be weakened, for if we live near Him we shall have other tastes and desires. The bony fingers of the skeleton Death, who drags men from all other homes, will not dislodge us from our fortress- dwelling. Hid in Him we shall neither fear going down to the grave, nor coming up from it, nor judgment, nor eternity. Then, I beseech you, make no delay. Escape! flee for your life! A growing host of evil marches swift against you. Take Christ for your defence and cry to Him,

Lo! from sin and grief and shame,Hide me, Jesus! in Thy name.'

MHCC: Pro 18:1

If we would get knowledge and grace, we must try all methods of improving ourselves.

MHCC: Pro 18:2

Those make nothing to purpose, of learning or religion, whose only design is to have something to make a show with.

MHCC: Pro 18:3

As soon as sin entered, shame followed.

MHCC: Pro 18:4

The well-spring of wisdom in the heart of a believer, continually supplies words of wisdom.

MHCC: Pro 18:5

The merits of a cause must be looked to, not the person.

MHCC: Pro 18:6-7

What mischief bad men do to themselves by their ungoverned tongues!

MHCC: Pro 18:8

How base are those that sow contention! and what fatal effects may be expected from small beginnings of jealousy!

MHCC: Pro 18:9

Omissions of duty, and in duty, are fatal to the soul, as well as commissions of sin.

MHCC: Pro 18:10-11

The Divine power, made known in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, forms a strong tower for the believer, who relies on the Lord. How deceitful the defence of the rich man, who has his portion and treasure in this world! It is a strong city and a high wall only in his own conceit; for it will fail when most in need. They will be exposed to the just wrath of that Judge whom they despised as a Saviour.

MHCC: Pro 18:12

After the heart has been lifted up with pride, a fall comes. But honour shall be the reward of humility.

MHCC: Pro 18:13

Eagerness, with self-conceit, will expose to shame.

MHCC: Pro 18:14

Firmness of mind supports under many pains and trials. But when the conscience is tortured with remorse, no human fortitude can bear the misery; what then will hell be?

MHCC: Pro 18:15

We must get knowledge, not only into our heads, but into our hearts.

MHCC: Pro 18:16

Blessed be the Lord, who makes us welcome to come to his throne, without money and without price. May his gifts make room for him in our souls.

MHCC: Pro 18:17

It is well to listen to our enemies, that we may form a better judgment of ourselves.

MHCC: Pro 18:18

It was customary sometimes to refer matters to God, by casting lots, with solemn prayer. The profaning the lot, by using it in matters of diversion, or coveting what belongs to others, forms an objection to this now.

MHCC: Pro 18:19

Great care must be taken to prevent quarrels among relations and those under obligations to each other. Wisdom and grace make it easy to forgive; but corruption makes it difficult.

MHCC: Pro 18:20

The belly is here put for the heart, as elsewhere; and what that is filled with, our satisfaction will be accordingly, and our inward peace.

MHCC: Pro 18:21

Many a one has caused his own death, or the death of others, by a false or injurious tongue.

MHCC: Pro 18:22

A good wife is a great blessing to a man, and it is a token of Divine favour.

MHCC: Pro 18:23

Poverty tells men they must not order or demand. And at the throne of God's grace we are all poor, and must use entreaties.

MHCC: Pro 18:24

Christ Jesus never will forsake those who trust in and love him. May we be such friends to others, for our Master's sake. Having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end; and we are his friends if we do whatever he commands us, Joh 15:14.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:1

The original here is difficult, and differently understood. 1. Some take it as a rebuke to an affected singularity. When men take a pride in separating themselves from the sentiments and society of others, in contradicting all that has been said before them and advancing new notions of their own, which, though ever so absurd, they are wedded to, it is to gratify a desire or lust of vain-glory, and they are seekers and meddlers with that which does not belong to them. He seeks according to his desire, and intermeddles with every business, pretends to pass a judgment upon every man's matter. He is morose and supercilious. Those generally are so that are opinionative and conceited, and they thus make themselves ridiculous, and are vexatious to others. 2. Our translation seems to take it as an excitement to diligence in the pursuit of wisdom. If we would get knowledge or grace, we must desire it, as that which we need and which will be of great advantage to us, 1Co 12:31. We must separate ourselves from all those things which would divert us from or retard us in the pursuit, retire out of the noise of this world's vanities, and then seek and intermeddle with all the means and instructions of wisdom, be willing to take pains and try all the methods of improving ourselves, be acquainted with a variety of opinions, that we may prove all things and hold fast that which is good.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:2

A fool may pretend to understanding, and to seek and intermeddle with the means of it, but, 1. He has no true delight in it; it is only to please his friends or save his credit; he does not love his book, nor his business, nor his Bible, nor his prayers; he would rather be playing the fool with his sports. Those who take no pleasure in learning or religion will make nothing to purpose of either. No progress is made in them if they are a task and a drudgery. 2. He has no good design in it, only that his heart may discover itself, that he may have something to make a show with, something wherewith to varnish his folly, that that may pass off the better, because he loves to hear himself talk.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:3

This may include a double sense: - 1. That wicked people are scornful people, and put contempt upon others. When the wicked comes into any company, comes into the schools of wisdom or into the assemblies for religious worship, then comes contempt of God, of his people and ministers, and of every thing that is said and done. You can expect no other from those that are profane than that they will be scoffers; they will be an ignominy and reproach; they will flout and jeer every thing that is serious and grave. But let not wise and good men regard it, for the proverb of the ancients says, such wickedness proceeds from the wicked. 2. That wicked people are shameful people, and bring contempt upon themselves, for God has said that those who despise him shall be lightly esteemed. As soon as ever sin entered shame followed it, and sinners make themselves despicable. Nor do they only draw contempt upon themselves, but they bring ignominy and reproach upon their families, their friends, their ministers, and all that are in any way related to them. Those therefore who would secure their honour must retain their virtue.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:4

The similitudes here seem to be elegantly transposed. 1. The well-spring of wisdom is as deep waters. An intelligent knowing man has in him a good treasure of useful things, which furnishes him with something to say upon all occasions that is pertinent and profitable. This is as deep waters, which make no noise, but never run dry. 2. The words of such a man's mouth are as a flowing brook. What he sees cause to speak flows naturally from him and with a great deal of ease, and freedom, and natural fluency; it is clean and fresh, it is cleansing and refreshing; from his deep waters there flows what there is occasion for, to water those about him, as the brooks do the low grounds.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:5

This justly condemns those who, being employed in the administration of justice, pervert judgment, 1. By conniving at men's crimes, and protecting and countenancing them in oppression and violence, because of their dignity, or wealth, or some personal kindness they have for them. Whatever excuses men may make for it, certainly it is not good thus to accept the person of the wicked; it is an offence to God, an affront to justice, a wrong to mankind, and a real service done to the kingdom of sin and Satan. The merits of the cause must be regarded, not the person. 2. By giving a cause against justice and equity, because the person is poor and low in the world, or not of the same party or persuasion, or a stranger of another country. This is overthrowing the righteous in judgment, who ought to be supported, and whom God will make to stand.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:6-7

Solomon has often shown what mischief bad men do to others with their ungoverned tongues; here he shows what mischief they do to themselves. 1. They embroil themselves in quarrels: A fool's lips, without any cause or call, enter into contention, by advancing foolish notions which others find themselves obliged to oppose, and so a quarrel is begun, or by giving provoking language, which will be resented, and satisfaction demanded, or by setting men at defiance, and bidding them do if they dare. Proud, and passionate men, and drunkards, are fools, whose lips enter into contention. A wise man may, against his will, be drawn into a quarrel, but he is a fool that of choice enters into it when he might avoid it, and he will repent it when it is too late. 2. They expose themselves to correction: The fool's mouth does, in effect, call for strokes; he has said that which deserves to be punished with strokes, and is still saying that which needs to be checked, and restrained with strokes, as Ananias unjustly commanded that Paul should be smitten on the mouth. 3. They involve themselves in ruin: A fool's mouth, which has been, or would have been, the destruction of others, proves at length his own destruction, perhaps from men. Shimei's mouth was his own destruction, and Adonijah's, who spoke against his own head. And when a fool, by his foolish speaking, has run himself into a premunire, and thinks to bring himself off by justifying or excusing what he has said, his defence proves his offence, and his lips are still the snare of his soul, entangling him yet more and more. However, when men by their evil words shall be condemned at God's bar their mouths will be their destruction, and it will be such an aggravation of their ruin as will not admit one drop of water, one drop of comfort, to cool their tongue, which is their snare and will be their tormentor.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:8

Tale-bearers are those who secretly carry stories from house to house, which perhaps have some truth in them, but are secrets not fit to be told, or are basely misrepresented, and false colours put upon them, and are all told with design to blast men's reputation, to break their friendship, to make mischief between relations and neighbours, and set them at variance. Now the words of such are here said to be, 1. Like as when men are wounded (so the margin reads it); they pretend to be very much affected with the miscarriages of such and such, and to be in pain for them, and pretend that it is with the greatest grief and reluctance imaginable that they speak of them. They look as if they themselves were wounded by it, whereas really they rejoice in iniquity, are fond of the story, and tell it with pride and pleasure. Thus their words seem; but they go down as poison into the innermost parts of the belly, the pill being thus gilded, thus sugared. 2. As wounds (so the text reads it), as deep wounds, deadly wounds, wounds in the innermost parts of the belly; the venter medius vel infimus - the middle or lower belly, the thorax or the abdomen, in either of which wounds are mortal. The words of the tale-bearer wound him of whom they are spoken, his credit and interest, and him to whom they are spoken, his love and charity. They occasion sin to him, which is a wound to the conscience. Perhaps he seems to slight them, but they would insensibly, by alienating his affections from one he ought to love.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:9

Note, 1. Prodigality is very bad husbandry. Those are not only justly branded as fools among men, but will give an uncomfortable account to God of the talents they are entrusted with, who are wasters of their estates, who live above what they have, spend and give more than they can afford, and so, in effect, throw away what they have, and suffer it to run to waste. 2. Idleness is no better. He that is remiss in his work, whose hands hang down (so the word signifies), that stands, as we may, with his thumbs in his mouth, that neglects his business, does it not at all, or as if he did it not, he is own brother to him that is a prodigal, that is, he is as much a fool and in as sure and ready a way to poverty; one scatters what he has, the other lets it run through his fingers. The observation is too true in the affairs of religion; he that is trifling and careless in praying and hearing is brother to him that does not pray or hear at all; and omissions of duty and in duty are as fatal to the soul as commissions of sin.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:10

Here is, 1. God's sufficiency for the saints: His name is a strong tower for them, in which they may take rest when they are weary and take sanctuary when they are pursued, where they may be lifted up above their enemies and fortified against them. There is enough in God, and in the discoveries which he has made of himself to us, to make us easy at all times. The wealth laid up in this tower is enough to enrich them, to be a continual feast and a continuing treasure to them. The strength of this tower is enough to protect them; the name of the Lord is all that whereby he has made himself known as God, and our God, not only his titles and attributes, but his covenant and all the promises of it; these make up a tower, a strong tower, impenetrable, impregnable, for all God's people. 2. The saints' security in God. It is a strong tower to those who know how to make use of it as such. The righteous, by faith and prayer, devotion towards God and dependence on him, run into it, as their city of refuge. Having made sure their interest in God's name, they take the comfort and benefit of it; they go out of themselves, retire from the world, live above, dwell in God and God in them, and so they are safe, they think themselves so, and they shall find themselves so.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:11

Having described the firm and faithful defence of the righteous man (Pro 18:10), Solomon here shows what is the false and deceitful defence of the rich man, that has his portion and treasure in the things of this world, and sets his heart upon them. His wealth is as much his confidence, and he expects as much from it, as a godly man from his God. See, 1. How he supports himself. He makes his wealth his city, where he dwells, where he rules, with a great deal of self-complacency, as if he had a whole city under his command. It is his strong city, in which he intrenches himself, and then sets danger at defiance, as if nothing could hurt him. His scales are his pride; his wealth is his wall in which he encloses himself, and he thinks it a high wall, which cannot be scaled or got over, Job 31:24; Rev 18:7. 2. How herein he cheats himself. It is a strong city, and a high wall, but it is so only in his own conceit; it will not prove to be really so, but like the house built on the sand, which will fail the builder when he most needs it.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:12

Note, 1. Pride is the presage of ruin, and ruin will at last be the punishment of pride; for before destruction men are commonly so infatuated by the just judgment of God that they are more haughty than ever, that their ruin may be the sorer and the more surprising. Of, if that do not always hold, yet after the heart has been lifted up with pride, a fall comes, Pro 16:18. 2. Humility is the presage of honour and prepares men for it, and honour shall at length be the reward of humility, as he had said before, Pro 15:33. That has need to be often said which men are so loth to believe.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:13

See here how men often expose themselves by that very thing by which they hope to gain applause. 1. Some take a pride in being quick. They answer a matter before they hear it, hear it out, nay, as soon as they but hear of it. They think it is their honour to take up a cause suddenly; and, when they have heard one side, they think the matter so plain that they need not trouble themselves to hear the other; they are already apprized of it, and masters of all the merits of the cause. Whereas, though a ready wit is an agreeable thing to play with, it is solid judgment and sound wisdom that do business. 2. Those that take a pride in being quick commonly fall under the just reproach of being impertinent. It is folly for a man to go about to speak to a thing which he does not understand, or to pass sentence upon a matter which he is not truly and fully informed of, and has not patience to make a strict enquiry into; and, if it be folly, it is and will be shame.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:14

Note, 1. Outward grievances are tolerable as long as the mind enjoys itself and is at ease. Many infirmities, many calamities, we are liable to in this world, in body, name, and estate, which a man may bear, and bear up under, if he have but good conduct and courage, and be able to act with reason and resolution, especially if he have a good conscience, and the testimony of that be for him; and, if the spirit of a man will sustain the infirmity, much more will the spirit of a Christian, or rather the Spirit of God witnessing and working with our spirits in a day of trouble. 2. The grievances of the spirit are of all others most heavy, and hardly to be borne; these make sore the shoulders which should sustain the other infirmities. If the spirit be wounded by the disturbance of the reason, dejection under the trouble, whatever it is, and despair of relief, if the spirit be wounded by the amazing apprehensions of God's wrath for sin, and the fearful expectations of judgment and fiery indignation, who can bear this? Wounded spirits cannot help themselves, nor do others know how to help them. It is therefore wisdom to keep conscience void of offence.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:15

Note, 1. Those that are prudent will seek knowledge, and apply their ear and heart to the pursuit of it, their ear to attend to the means of knowledge and their heart to mix faith with what they hear and make a good improvement of it. Those that are prudent do not think they have prudence enough, but still see they have need of more; and the more prudent a man is the more inquisitive will he be after knowledge, the knowledge of God and his duty, and the way to heaven, for that is the best knowledge. 2. Those that prudently seek knowledge shall certainly get knowledge, for God never said to such, Seek in vain, but, Seek and you shall find. If the ear seeks it, the heart gets it, and keeps it, and is enriched by it. We must get knowledge, not only into our heads, but into our hearts, get the savour and relish of it, apply what we know to ourselves and experience the power and influence of it.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:16

Of what great force gifts (that is, bribes) are he had intimated before, Pro 17:8, Pro 17:23. Here he shows the power of gifts, that is, presents made even by inferiors to those that are above them and have much more than they have. A good present will go far, 1. Towards a man's liberty: A man's gift, if he be in prison, may procure his enlargement; there are courtiers, who, if they use their interest even for oppressed innocency, expect to receive a gratuity for it. Or, if a mean man know not how to get access to a great man, he may do it by a fee to his servants or a present to himself; those will make room for him. 2. Towards his preferment. It will bring him to sit among great men, in honour and power. See how corrupt the world is when men's gifts will not do, though ever so great; nay, will gain that for them which they are unworthy of and unfit for; and no wonder that those take bribes in their offices who gave bribes for them. Vendere jura potest, emerat ille prius - He that bought law can sell it.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:17

This shows that one tale is good till another is told. 1. He that speaks first will be sure to tell a straight story, and relate that only which makes for him, and put the best colour he can upon it, so that his cause shall appear good, whether it really be so or no. 2. The plaintiff having done his evidence, it is fit that the defendant should be heard, should have leave to confront the witnesses and cross-examine them, and show the falsehood and fallacy of what has been alleged, which perhaps may make the matter appear quite otherwise than it did. We must therefore remember that we have two ears, to hear both sides before we give judgment.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:18

Note, 1. Contentions commonly happen among the mighty, that are jealous for their honour and right and stand upon the punctilios of both, that are confident of their being able to make their part good and therefore will hardly condescend to the necessary terms of an accommodation; whereas those that are poor are forced to be peaceable, and sit down losers. 2. Even the contentions of the mighty may be ended by lot if they cannot otherwise be compromised, and sometimes better so than by arguments which are endless, or concessions which they are loth to stoop to, whereas it is no disparagement to a man to acquiesce in the determination of the lot when once it is referred to that. To prevent quarrels Canaan was divided by lot; and, if lusory lots had not profaned this way of appeal to Providence, perhaps it might be very well used now for the deciding of many controversies, both to the honour of God and the satisfaction of the parties, provided it were done with prayer and due solemnity, this and some other scriptures seeming to direct to it, especially Act 1:26. If the law be a lottery (as some have called it), it were as well that a lottery were the law.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:19

Note, 1. Great care must be taken to prevent quarrels among relations, and those that are under special obligation to each other, not only because they are most unnatural and unbecoming, but because between such things are commonly taken most unkindly, and resentments are apt to be carried too far. Wisdom and grace would indeed make it most easy to us to forgive our relations and friends if they offend us, but corruption makes it most difficult to forgive them; let us therefore take heed of disobliging a brother, or one that has been as a brother; ingratitude is very provoking. 2. Great pains must be taken to compromise matters in variance between relations, with all speed, because it is a work of so much difficulty, and consequently the more honourable if it be done. Esau was a brother offended, and seemed harder to be won than a strong city, yet by a work of God upon his heart, in answer to Jacob's prayer, he was won.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:20

Note, 1. Our comfort depends very much upon the testimony of our own consciences, for us or against us. The belly is here put for the conscience, as Pro 20:27. Now it is of great consequence to us whether that be satisfied, and what that is filled with, for, accordingly, will our satisfaction be and our inward peace. 2. The testimony of our consciences will be for us, or against us, according as we have or have not governed our tongues well. According as the fruit of the mouth is good or bad, unto iniquity or unto righteousness, so the character of the man is, and consequently the testimony of his conscience concerning him. "We ought to take as great care about the words we speak as we do about the fruit of our trees or the increase of the earth, which we are to eat; for, according as they are wholesome or unwholesome, so will the pleasure or the pain be wherewith we shall be filled."So bishop Patrick.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:21

Note, 1. A man may do a great deal of good, or a great deal of hurt, both to others and to himself, according to the use he makes of his tongue. Many a one has been his own death by a foul tongue, or the death of others by a false tongue; and, on the contrary, many a one has saved his own life, or procured the comfort of it, by a prudent gentle tongue, and saved the lives of others by a seasonable testimony or intercession for them. And, if by our words we must be justified or condemned, death and life are, no doubt, in the power of the tongue. Tongues were Aesop's best meat, and his worst. 2. Men's words will be judged of by the affections with which they speak; he that not only speaks aright (which a bad man may do to save his credit or please his company), but loves to speak so, speaks well of choice, and with delight, to him it will be life; and he that not only speaks amiss (which a good man may do through inadvertency), but loves to speak so (Psa 52:4), to him it will be death. As men love it they shall eat the fruit of it.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:22

Note, 1. A good wife is a great blessing to a man. He that finds a wife (that is, a wife indeed; a bad wife does not deserve to be called by a name of so much honour), that finds a help meet for him (that is a wife in the original acceptation of the word), that sought such a one with care and prayer and has found what he sought, he has found a good thing, a jewel of great value, a rare jewel; he has found that which will not only contribute more than any thing to his comfort in this life, but will forward him in the way to heaven. 2. God is to be acknowledged in it with thankfulness; it is a token of his favour, and a happy pledge of further favours; it is a sign that God delights in a man to do him good and has mercy in store for him; for this, therefore, God must be sought unto.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:23

Note, 1. Poverty, though many inconveniences to the body attend it, has often a good effect upon the spirit, for it makes men humble and submissive, and mortifies their pride. It teaches them to use entreaties. When necessity forces men to beg it tells them they must not prescribe or demand, but take what is given them and be thankful. At the throne of God's grace we are all poor, and must use entreaties, not answer, but make application, must sue sub forma pauperis - as a pauper. 2. A prosperous condition, though it has many advantages, has often this mischief attending it, that it makes men proud, haughty, and imperious: The rich answers the entreaties of the poor roughly, as Nabal answered David's messengers with railing. It is a very foolish humour of some rich men, especially those who have risen from little, that they think their riches will warrant them to give hard words, and, even where they not design any rough dealing, that it becomes them to answer roughly, whereas gentlemen ought to be gentle, Jam 3:17.

Matthew Henry: Pro 18:24

Solomon here recommends friendship to us, and shows, 1. What we must do that we may contract and cultivate friendship; we must show ourselves friendly. Would we have friends and keep them, we must not only not affront them, or quarrel with them, but we must love them, and make it appear that we do so by all expressions that are endearing, by being free with them, pleasing to them, visiting them and bidding them welcome, and especially by doing all the good offices we can and serving them in every thing that lies in our power; that is showing ourselves friendly.

Si vis amari, ama -

If you wish to gain affection, bestow it.

- Sen.

Ut ameris, amabilis esto -

The way to be beloved is to be lovely.

- Ovid.

2. That it is worth while to do so, for we may promise ourselves a great deal of comfort in a true friend. A brother indeed is born for adversity, as he had said, Pro 17:17. In our troubles we expect comfort and relief from our relations, but sometimes there is a friend, that is nothing akin to us, the bonds of whose esteem and love prove stronger than those of nature, and, when it comes to the trial, will do more for us than a brother will. Christ is a friend to all believers that sticks closer than a brother; to him therefore let them show themselves friendly.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:1

This series of proverbs now turns from the fool to the separatist:

The separatist seeketh after his own pleasure;

Against all that is beneficial he showeth his teeth.

The reflexive נפרד has here the same meaning as the Rabbinical פּרשׁ מן־הצּבּוּר , to separate oneself from the congregation, Aboth ii. 5; נפרד denotes a man who separates himself, for he follows his own counsel, Arab. mnfrd (mtfrrd ) brâyh , or jḥys almḥḥl ( seorsum ab aliis secedens ). Instead of לתּאוה , Hitzig, after Jerome, adopts the emendation לתאנה , "after an occasion"(a pretext), and by נפרד thinks of one pushed aside, who, thrown into opposition, seeks to avenge himself. But his translation of 1b, "against all that is fortunate he gnasheth his teeth,"shows how much the proverb is opposed to this interpretation. נפרד denotes one who willingly (Jdg 4:11), and, indeed, obstinately withdraws himself. The construction of יבקּשׁ with ל (also Job 10:6) is explained by this, that the poet, giving prominence to the object, would set it forward: a pleasure ( תאוה , as Arab. hawan , unstable and causeless direction of the mind to something, pleasure, freak, caprice), and nothing else, he goes after who has separated himself (Fl.); the effort of the separatist goes out after a pleasure, i.e. , the enjoyment and realization of such; instead of seeking to conform himself to the law and ordinance of the community, he seeks to carry out a separate view, and to accomplish some darling plan: libidinem sectatur sui cerebri homo . With this 1b accords. תּוּשׁיּה ( vid ., at Pro 2:7) is concretely that which furthers and profits. Regarding התגּלּע , vid ., at Pro 17:14. Thus putting his subjectivity in the room of the common weal, he shows his teeth, places himself in fanatical opposition against all that is useful and profitable in the principles and aims, the praxis of the community from which he separates himself. The figure is true to nature: the polemic of the schismatic and the sectary against the existing state of things, is for the most part measureless and hostile.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:2

2 The fool hath no delight in understanding;

But only that his heart may reveal itself therein.

The verb חפץ forms the fut. יחפּץ as well as יחפּץ ; first the latter from חפץ , with the primary meaning, to bow, to bend down; then both forms as intransitive, to bend oneself to something, to be inclined to something, Arab. 'ṭf . (Fl.). תּבוּנה is here the intelligence which consists in the understanding of one's own deficiency, and of that which is necessary to meet it. The inclination of the fool goes not out after such intelligence, but ( כּי אם־ ; according to Ben-Naphtali, כי־אם ) only that his heart, i.e. , the understanding which he thinks that he already possesses, may reveal itself, show itself publicly. He thinks thereby to show himself in his true greatness, and to render a weighty service to the world. This loquacity of the fool, proceeding from self-satisfaction, without self-knowledge, has already, Pro 12:23, and often, been reprimanded.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:3

The group beginning with Pro 18:3 terminates in two proverbs (Pro 18:6 and Pro 18:7), related to the concluding verse of the foregoing:

3 If a godless man cometh, then cometh also contempt;

And together with disgrace, shame.

J. D. Michaelis, and the most of modern critics, read רשׁע ; then, contempt etc., are to be thought of as the consequences that follow godlessness; for that קלון means (Hitzig) disgracefulness, i.e. , disgraceful conduct, is destitute of proof; קלון always means disgrace as an experience. But not only does the Masoretic text punctuate רשׁע , but also all the old translators, the Greek, Aramaic, and Latin, have done so. And is it on this account, because a coming naturally seems to be spoken of a person? The "pride cometh, then cometh shame,"Pro 11:2, was in their recollection not less firmly, perhaps, than in ours. They read רשׁע , because בוּז does not fittingly designate the first of that which godlessness effects, but perhaps the first of that which proceeds from it. Therefore we adhere to the opinion, that the proverb names the fiends which appear in the company of the godless wherever he goes, viz., first בוז , contempt (Psa 31:19), which places itself haughtily above all due subordination, and reverence, and forbearance; and then, with the disgrace [ turpitudo ], קלון , which attaches itself to those who meddle with him (Isa 22:18), there is united the shame, הרפּה (Psa 39:9), which he has to suffer from him who has only always expected something better from him. Fleischer understands all the three words in the passive sense, and remarks, " עם־קלון חרפה , a more artificial expression for קלון וחרפה , in the Turkish quite common for the copula wāw , e.g. , swylh ṭbrâk , earth and water, 'wrtylh âr , the man and the woman."But then the expression would be tautological; we understand בוז and חרפה of that which the godless does to others by his words, and קלון of that which he does to them by his conduct. By this interpretation, עם is more than the representative of the copula.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:4

4 Deep waters are the words from a man's mouth,

A bubbling brook, a fountain of wisdom.

Earlier, we added to hominis the supplement sc. sapientis , but then an unnecessary word would be used, and that which is necessary omitted. Rather it might be said that אישׁ is meant in an ideal sense; but thus meant, אישׁ , like גּבר , denotes the valiant man, but not man as he ought to be, or the man of honour; and besides, a man may be a man of honour without there being said of him what this proverb expresses. Ewald comes nearer the case when he translates, "deep waters are the heart-words of many."Heart-words - what an unbiblical expression! The lxx, which translates λόγος ἐν καρδίᾳ , has not read דברי לב , but דבר בלב (as Pro 20:5, עצה בלב־ ). But that "of many"is certainly not a right translation, yet right in so far as אישׁ (as at Pro 12:14) is thought of as made prominent: the proverb expresses, in accordance with the form of narrative proverbs which present an example, what occurs in actual life, and is observed. Three different things are said of the words from a man's mouth: they are deep waters, for their meaning does not lie on the surface, but can be perceived only by penetrating into the secret motives and aims of him who speaks; they are a bubbling brook, which freshly and powerfully gushes forth to him who feels this flow of words, for in this brook there never fails an always new gush of living water; it is a fountain or well of wisdom, from which wisdom flows forth, and whence wisdom is to be drawn. Hitzig supposes that the distich is antithetic; מים עמקּים , or rather מי מעמקּים , "waters of the deep,"are cistern waters; on the contrary, "a welling brook is a fountain of wisdom."But עמק means deep, not deepened, and deep water is the contrast of shallow water; a cistern also may be deep (cf. Pro 22:14), but deep water is such as is deep, whether it be in the ocean or in a ditch. 4b also does not suggest a cistern, for thereby it would be indicated that the description, דברי פי־אישׁ , is not here continued; the "fountain of wisdom"does not form a proper parallel or an antithesis to this subject, since this much rather would require the placing in contrast of deep and shallow, of exhausted (drained out) and perennial. And: the fountain is a brook, the well a stream - who would thus express himself! We have thus neither an antithetic nor a synonymous (lxx after the phrase ἀναπηδῶν , Jerome, Venet ., Luth.), but an integral distich before us; and this leads us to consider what depths of thought, what riches of contents, what power of spiritual and moral advancement, may lie in the words of a man.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:5

5 To favour the person of the godless is not good,

And to oppress the righteous in judgment.

As Pro 18:4 has one subject, so Pro 18:5 has one predicate. The form is the same as Pro 17:26. שׂאת פּני (cf. Pro 24:23), προσωποληψία , acceptio personae , is this, that one accepts the פני , i.e. the personal appearance of any one ( πρόσωπον λαμβάνει ), i.e. , regards it as acceptable, respectable, agreeable, which is a thing in itself not wrong; but in a judge who ought to determine according to the facts of the case and the law, it becomes sinful partiality. הטּות , in a forensic sense, with the accus. of the person, may be regarded in a twofold way: either as a turning aside, מדּין , Isa 10:2, from following and attaining unto the right, or as an oppression, for the phrase הטּה משׁפּט [to pervert justice] (cf. Pro 17:23) is transferred to the person who experiences the oppression = perversion of the law; and this idea perhaps always underlies the expression, wherever, as e.g. , Mal 3:5, no addition brings with it the other. Under Pro 17:15 is a fuller explanation of לא־טוב .

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:6

6 The lips of the fool engage in strife,

And his mouth calleth for stripes.

We may translate: the lips of the fool cause strife, for בּוא ב , to come with anything, e.g. , Psa 66:13, is equivalent to bring it (to bring forward), as also: they engage in strife; as one says בּוא בדמים : to be engaged in bloodshed, 1Sa 25:26. We prefer this intrant ( ingerunt se ), with Schultens and Fleischer. יבאוּ for תּבאנה , a synallage generis , to which, by means of a "self-deception of the language"(Fl.), the apparent masculine ending of such duals may have contributed. The stripes which the fool calleth for ( קרא ל , like Pro 2:3) are such as he himself carries off, for it comes a verbis ad verbera . The lxx: his bold mouth calleth for death ( ֡¤יו ההמה מות יקרא ); למהלמות has, in codd. and old editions, the Mem raphatum , as also at 19:29; the sing. is thus מהלוּם , like מנוּל to מנעליו , for the Mem dagessatum is to be expected in the inflected מהלם , by the passing over of the ō into ǔ .

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:7

7 The mouth of the fool is to him destruction,

And his lips are a snare to his soul.

As Pro 18:6 corresponds to Pro 17:27 of the foregoing group, so this Pro 18:7 corresponds to Pro 17:28. Regarding מחתּה־לּו , vid ., Pro 13:3. Instead of פי כּסיל , is to be written פּי־כסיל , according to Torath Emeth , p. 40, Cod. 1294, and old editions.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:8

A pair of proverbs regarding the flatterer and the slothful:

8 The words of the flatter are as dainty morsels,

And they glide down into the innermost parts.

An "analogy, with an epexegesis in the second member"(Fl.), which is repeated in Pro 26:22. Ewald, Bertheau, Hitzig, and others, are constrained to interpret המו as introducing a contrast, and in this sense they give to מתלהמים all kinds of unwarrantable meanings. Ewald translates: a burning ( להם , cogn. להב ), and offers next: as whispering ( להם , cogn. רעם , נהם ); Ch. B. Michaelis, Bertheau, and others: as sporting ( להם , cogn. להה ); Hitzig: like soft airs ( להם , cogn. Arab. hillam , flaccus, laxus ). All these interpretations are without support. The word להם has none of all these significations; it means, as the Arab. lahima warrants, deglutire . But Böttcher's explanation also: "as swallowed down, because spoken with reserve,"proceeds, like those others, from the supposed syntactically fine yet false supposition, that 8b is an antithetic "dennoch "[ tamen ]. In that case the poet would have written והם ירדים (cf. והוא , as the beginning of a conditional clause, Pro 3:29; Pro 23:3). But והוא , והם , with the finite following, introduces neither here nor at Deu 33:3; Jdg 20:34; Psa 95:10, cf. Gen 43:23, a conditional clause. Thus 8b continues the clause 8a by one standing on the same line; and thus we do not need to invent a meaning for כמתלהמים , which forms a contrast to the penetrating into the innermost parts. The relation of the parts of the proverb is rightly given by Luther:

The words of the slanderer are stripes,

And they go through the heart of one.

He interprets להם as transposed from הלם (Rashi and others); but stripes cannot be called מתלהמים - they are called, 6b, מהלמות . This interpretation of the word has always more support than that of Symmachus: ὡς ἀκέραιοι ; Jerome: quasi simplicia ; Aquila, xxvi. 22: γοητικοί ; which last, as also that of Capellus, Clericus, and Schultens: quasi numine quodam afflata , seems to support itself on the Arab. âhm iv. inspirare . But in reality âhm does not mean afflare ; it means deglutire , and nothing else. The Jewish lexicographers offer nothing worth considering; Kimchi's חלקים , according to which the Venet . translates μαλθακιζόμενοι , is fanciful; for the Talm. הלם , striking = hitting, suitable, standing well, furnishes no transition to "smooth" and "soft". Immanuel compares âhm = בלע ; and Schultens, who is followed by Gesenius and others, has already, with perfect correctness, explained: tanquam quae avidissime inglutiantur . Thus also Fleischer: things which offer themselves to be eagerly gulped down, or which let themselves be thus swallowed. But in this way can one be truly just to the Hithpa .? The Arab. âlthm (stronger form, âltkm , according to which van Dyk translates mthl uḳam ḥlwt , like sweet morsels) means to swallow into oneself, which is not here appropriate. The Hithpa . will thus have here a passive signification: things which are greedily swallowed. Regarding נרגּן from רגן , vid ., at Pro 16:28. המו refers to the words of the flatterer, and is emphatic, equivalent to aeque illa, etiam illa , or illa ipsa . ירד is here connected with the obj. accus. (cf. Pro 1:12) instead of with אל , Pro 7:27. חדרי , penetralia , we had already at Pro 7:27; the root-word is (Arab.) khdr , to seclude, to conceal, different from ḥdr , demittere , and ḥkhr (cogn. חזר ), to finish, circumire . בּטן is the inner part of the body with reference to the organs lying there, which mediate not only the life of the body, but also that of the mind - in general, the internal part of the personality. The lxx does not translate this proverb, but has in its stead Pro 19:15, in a different version, however, from that it gives there; the Syr. and the Targ. have thereby been drawn away from the Hebr. text.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:9

9 He also who showeth himself slothful in his business,

Is a brother to him who proceedeth to destroy.

The Hithpa . התרפּה signifies here, as at Pro 24:10, to show oneself slack, lazy, negligent. מלאכה is properly a commission for another, as a king has a messenger, ambassador, commissioner to execute it; here, any business, whether an undertaking in commission from another, or a matter one engages in for himself. He who shows himself slack therein, produces in his way, viz., by negligence, destruction, as truly as the בּעל משׁחית , who does it directly by his conduct. Thus one is named, who is called, or who has his own delight in it, to destroy or overthrow. Jerome, incorrectly limiting: sua opera dissipantis . Hitzig well compares Mat 12:30. In the variation, Pro 28:24, the destroyer is called אישׁ משׁחית , the connection of the words being adject.; on the contrary, the connection of בעל משׁחית is genit. (cf. Pro 22:24; Pro 23:2, etc.), for משׁחית as frequently means that which destroys = destruction. Von Hofmann ( Schriftbew . ii. 2, 403) understands ' אישׁ מ of the street robber, ' בעל מ of the captain of robbers; but the designation for the latter must be ' שׂר מ , though at 1Ki 11:24 he is called by the name שׂר גּדוּד . The form of the word in the proverb here is more original than at 38:24. There חבר [companion] is used, here אח [brother], a general Semitic name of him who, or of that which, is in any way related to another, cf. Job 30:29. Fleischer compares the Arab. proverb: âlshbht âkht alkhṭyât , scepticism is the sister of sin.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:10

Two proverbs, of the fortress of faith, and of the fortress of presumption:

10 A strong tower is the name of Jahve;

The righteous runneth into it, and is high.

The name of Jahve is the Revelation of God, and the God of Revelation Himself, the creative and historical Revelation, and who is always continually revealing Himself; His name is His nature representing itself, and therefore capable of being described and named, before all the Tetragramm , as the Anagramm of the overruling and inworking historical being of God, as the Chiffre of His free and all-powerful government in grace and truth, as the self-naming of God the Saviour. This name, which is afterwards interwoven in the name Jesus, is מגדּל־עז (Psa 61:4), a strong high tower bidding defiance to every hostile assault. Into this the righteous runneth, to hide himself behind its walls, and is thus lifted ( perf. consec .) high above all danger (cf. ישׂגּב , Pro 29:25). רוּץ אל means, Job 15:26, to run against anything, רוץ , seq. acc ., to invest, blockade anything, רוץ בּ , to hasten within; Hitzig's conjecture, ירוּם riseth up high, instead of ירוּץ , is a freak. רוץ בּ is speedily בוא בּ , the idea the same as Psa 27:5; Psa 31:21.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:11

11 The possession of the righteous is his strong fort,

And is like a high wall in his imagination.

Line first = Pro 10:15. משׂכּית from שׂכה , Chald. סכה (whence after Megilla 14a, יסכּה , she who looks), R. שׂך , cogn. זך , to pierce, to fix, means the image as a medal, and thus also intellectually: image (conception, and particularly the imagination) of the heart (Psa 73:7), here the fancy, conceit; Fleischer compares (Arab.) tṣwwr , to imagine something to oneself, French se figurer . Translators from the lxx to Luther incorrectly think on שׂכך ( סכך ), to entertain; only the Venet . is correct in the rendering: ἐν φαντασίᾳ αὐτοῦ ; better than Kimchi, who, after Ezr 8:12, thinks on the chamber where the riches delighted in are treasured, and where he fancies himself in the midst of his treasures as if surrounded by an inaccessible wall.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:12-19

We place together Pro 18:12-19, in which the figure of a secure fortress returns:

Pro 18:12

This proverb is connected with the preceding of the rich man who trusts in his mammon.

Before destruction the heat of man is haughty;

And humility goeth before honour.

Line first is a variation of Pro 16:18, and line second is similar to Pro 15:33.

Pro 18:13

13 If one giveth an answer before he heareth,

It is to him as folly and shame.

The part. stands here differently from what it does at Pro 13:18, where it is subj., and at Pro 17:14, where it is pred. of a simple sentence; it is also here, along with what appertains to it in accordance with the Semitic idiom, subj. to 13b (one who answers ... is one to whom this...); but, in accordance with our idiom, it becomes a hypothetical antecedent. For "to answer"one also uses השׁיב without addition; but the original full expression is השׁיב דּבר , reddere verbum, referre dictum (cf. ענה דּבר , Jer 44:20, absol. in the cogn., Pro 15:28); דבר one may not understand of the word to which, but of the word with which, the reply is made. היא לו comprehends the meaning: it avails to him ( ducitur ei ), as well as it reaches to him ( est ei ). In Agricola's Fünfhundert Sprüchen this proverb is given thus: steplang7 Wer antwortet ehe er höret, der zaiget an sein torhait und wirdt ze schanden [he who answers before he hears shows his folly, and it is to him a shame]. But that would require the word to be יבושׁ , pudefiet ; ( היא לו ) כּלמּה means that it becomes to him a ground of merited disgrace. " כּלמּה , properly wounding, i.e. , shame (like atteinte à son honneur ), from כּלם (cogn. הלם ), to strike, hit, wound"(Fl.). Sirach (11:8) warns against such rash talking, as well as against the rudeness of interrupting others.

Pro 18:14

14 The spirit of a man beareth his sickness;

But a broken spirit, who can bear it?

The breath of the Creator imparting life to man is spoken of as spiritus spirans , רוּח ( רוּח חיּים ), and as spiritus spiratus , נפשׁ ( נפשׁ חיּה ); the spirit ( animus ) is the primary, and the soul ( anima ) the secondary principle of life; the double gender of רוח is accounted for thus: when it is thought of as the primary, and thus in a certain degree ( vid ., Psychol . p. 103ff.) the manly principle, it is mas. (Gen 6:3; Psa 51:12, etc.). Here the change of gender is in the highest degree characteristic, and אישׁ also is intentionally used (cf. 1Sa 26:15) instead of אדם , 16a: the courageous spirit of a man which sustains or endures ( כּלכּל R. כל , comprehendere, prehendere ; Luther, "who knows how to contain himself in his sufferings;"cf. Psa 51:12, "may the free Spirit hold me") the sickness [steplang7 Siechthum ] (we understand here "steplang7 siech "in the old meaning = sick ) with self-control, is generis masculini ; while, on the contrary, the רוּח נכאה (as Pro 15:13; Pro 17:22), brought down from its manliness and superiority to disheartened passivity, is genere feminino (cf. Psa 51:12 with Pro 18:19). Fleischer compares the Arab. proverb, thbât âlnfs bâlghdhâ thbât alrwh balghnâ , the soul has firmness by nourishment, the spirit by music.

(Note: In the Arab. language, influenced by philosophy, rwh , the anima vitalis , and nfs , the anima rationalis , are inverted; vid ., Baudissin's Translationis antiquae Arab. libri Jobi quae supersunt (1870), p. 34.)

The question מי ישּׂאנּה is like Mar 9:50 : if the salt becomes tasteless, wherewith shall one season it? There is no seasoning for the spice that has become insipid. And for the spirit which is destined to bear the life and fortune of the person, if it is cast down by sufferings, there is no one to lift it up and sustain it. But is not God the Most High the lifter up and the bearer of the human spirit that has been crushed and broken? The answer is, that the manly spirit, 14a, is represented as strong in God; the discouraged, 14b, as not drawing from God the strength and support he ought to do. But passages such as Isa 66:2 do not bring it near that we think of the רוח נכאה as alienated from God. The spirit is נשׂא , the bearer of the personal and natural life with its functions, activities, and experiences. If the spirit is borne down to powerless and helpless passivity, then within the sphere of the human personality there is no other sustaining power that can supply its place.

Pro 18:15

15 The heart of a man of understanding gaineth knowledge,

And the ear of the wise seeketh after knowledge.

נבון may be also interpreted as an adj., but we translate it here as at Pro 14:33, because thus it corresponds with the parallelism; cf. לב צדּיק , Pro 15:28, and לב חכם , Pro 16:23, where the adject. interpretation is excluded. The gaining of wisdom is, after Pro 17:16, referred to the heart: a heart vigorous in embracing and receiving it is above all necessary, and just such an one possesses the נבון , which knows how to value the worth and usefulness of such knowledge. The wise, who are already in possession of such knowledge, are yet at the same time constantly striving to increase this knowledge: their ear seeks knowledge, eagerly asking where it is to be found, and attentively listening when the opportunity is given of מצא , obtaining it.

Pro 18:16

16 The gift of a man maketh room for him,

And bringeth him before the great.

That מתּן may signify intellectual endowments, Hitzig supposes, but without any proof for such an opinion. Intellectual ability as the means of advancement is otherwise designated, Pro 22:29. But Hitzig is right in this, that one mistakes the meaning of the proverb if he interprets מתן in the sense of שׂחד ( vid ., at Pro 17:8): mtn is an indifferent idea, and the proverb means that a man makes free space, a free path for himself, by a gift, i.e. , by this, that he shows himself to be agreeable, pleasing where it avails, not niggardly but liberal. As a proverb expresses it:

steplang7 Mit dem Hut in der Hand

steplang7 Kommt man durchs ganze Land

[with hat in hand one goes through the whole land], so it is said here that such liberality brings before the great, i.e. , not: furnishes with introductions to them; but helps to a place of honour near the great, i.e. , those in a lofty position (cf. לפני , Pro 22:29; עם , Psa 113:8). It is an important part of practical wisdom, that by right liberality, i.e. , by liberal giving where duty demands it, and prudence commends it, one does not lose but gains, does not descend but rises; it helps a man over the difficulties of limited, narrow circumstances, gains for him affection, and helps him up from step to step. The ā of מתּן is, in a singular way (cf. מתּנה , מתּנת ), treated as unchangeable.

Pro 18:17

17 He that is first in his controversy is right;

But there cometh another and searcheth him thoroughly -

an exhortation to be cautious in a lawsuit, and not to justify without more ado him who first brings forward his cause, and supports it by reasons, since, if the second party afterwards search into the reasons of the first, they show themselves untenable. הראשׁון בּריבו are to be taken together; the words are equivalent to אשׁר יבא בריבו בראשׁונה : qui prior cum causa sua venit , i.e. , eam ad judicem defert (Fl.). הראשׁון may, however, also of itself alone be qui prior venit ; and בריבו will be taken with צדיק : justus qui prior venit in causa sua ( esse videtur ). The accentuation rightly leaves the relation undecided. Instead of יבא ( יבא ) the Kerı̂ has וּבא , as it elsewhere, at one time, changes the fut. into the perf. with ו ( e.g. , Pro 20:4; Jer 6:21); and, at another time, the perf. with ו into the fut. ( e.g. , Psa 10:10; Isa 5:29). But here, where the perf. consec . is not so admissible, as Pro 6:11; Pro 20:4, the fut. ought to remain unchanged. רעהוּ is the other part, synon. with בעל דין חברו , Sanhedrin 7b, where the אזהרה לבית־דין (admonition for the court of justice) is derived from Deu 1:16, to hear the accused at the same time with the accuser, that nothing of the latter may be adopted beforehand. This proverb is just such an audiatur et altera pars . The status controversiae is only brought fairly into the light by the hearing of the altera pars : then comes the other and examines him (the first) to the very bottom. חקר , elsewhere with the accus. of the thing, e.g. , ריב ,. , thoroughly to search into a strife, Job 29:16, is here, as at Job 28:11, connected with the accus. of the person: to examine or lay bare any one thoroughly; here, so that the misrepresentations of the state of the matter might come out to view along with the reasons assigned by the accuser.

Pro 18:18

18 The lot allayeth contentions,

And separateth between the mighty,

i.e. , erects a partition wall between them - those contending ( הפריד בּין , as at 2Ki 2:11, cf. Arab. frḳ byn ); עצוּמים are not opponents who maintain their cause with weighty arguments ( עצּמות , Isa 41:21), qui argumentis pollent ( vid ., Rashi), for then must the truth appear in the pro et contra ; but mighty opponents, who, if the lot did not afford a seasonable means of reconciliation, would make good their demands by blows and by the sword (Fl.). Here it is the lot which, as the judgment of God, brings about peace, instead of the ultima ratio of physical force. The proverb refers to the lot what the Epistle to the Heb; Heb 6:16, refers to the oath, vid ., at Pro 16:33. Regarding מדינים and its altered forms, vid ., p. 145.

Pro 18:19

19 A brother toward whom it has been acted perfidiously resists more than a strong tower;

And contentions are like the bar of a palace.

Luther rightly regarded the word נושׁע , according to which the lxx, Vulg., and Syr. translated frater qui adjuvatur a fratre , as an incorrect reading; one would rather expect אח מושׁיע , "a brother who stands by,"as Luther earlier translated; and besides, נושׁע does not properly mean adjuvari , but salvari . His translation -

steplang7 Ein verletzt Bruder helt herter denn eine feste Stad ,

steplang7 Und Zanck helt herter, denn rigel am Palast

[a brother wounded resisteth more than a strong city, and strife resisteth more than bolts in the palace], is one of his most happy renderings. מקּרית־עז in itself only means ὑπὲρ πόλιν ὀχυράν ( Venet .); the noun-adjective (cf. Isa 10:10) to be supplied is to be understood to עז : עז הוּא or קשׁה הוא (Kimchi). The Niph . נפשׁע occurs only here. If one reads נפשׁע , then it means one who is treated falsely = נפשׁע בּו , like the frequently occurring קמי , my rising up ones = קמים עלי , those that rise up against me; but Codd. (Also Baer's Cod. jaman .) and old editions have נפשׁע , which, as we have above translated, gives an impersonal attributive clause; the former: frater perfidiose tractatus (Fl.: mala fide offensus ); the latter: perfide actum est , scil . בּו in eum = in quem perfide actum . אח is, after Pro 17:17, a friend in the highest sense of the word; פשׁע means to break off, to break free, with ב or על of him on whom the action terminates. That the פּשׁע is to be thought of as אח of the אח נפשׁע is obvious; the translation, "brothers who break with one another"(Gesen.), is incorrect: אח is not collective, and still less is נפשׁע a reciprocum . The relation of אח is the same as that of אלּוּף , Pro 16:28. The Targum (improving the Peshito) translates אחא דמת עוי מן אחוי , which does not mean: a brother who renounces (Hitzig), but who is treated wickedly on the part of, his brother. That is correct; on the contrary, Ewald's "a brother resists more than..."proceeds from a meaning of פשׁע which it has not; and Bertheau gives, with Schultens, an untenable

(Note: Among the whole Heb. synon. for sinning, there exists no reflexive Niph .; and also the Arab. fsḳ has no ethical signification. נסכּל only, in the sense of fool, is found.)

reflexive meaning to the Niph . (which as denom. might mean "covered with crime," Venet . πλημμεληθείς ), and, moreover, one that is too weak, for he translates, "a brother is more obstinate then...."Hitzig corrects אחז פּשׁע , to shut up sin = to hold it fettered; but that is not correct Heb. It ought to be עצר , כּבשׁ , or רדות . In 19a the force of the substantival clause lies in the מן (more than, i.e. , harder = more difficult to be gained), and in 19b in the כּ ; cf. Mic 7:4, where they are interchanged. The parallelism is synonymous: strifes and lawsuits between those who had been friends form as insurmountable a hindrance to their reconciliation, are as difficult to be raised, as the great bars at the gate of a castle (Fl.). The point of comparison is not only the weight of the cross-beam (from ברח , crosswise, across, to go across the field), but also the shutting up of the access. Strife forms a partition wall between such as once stood near each other, and so much thicker the closer they once stood.

With Pro 18:19, the series of proverbs which began with that of the flatterer closes. The catchword אח , which occurred at its commencement, 9b, is repeated at its close, and serves also as a landmark of the group following Pro 18:20-24. The proverb of the breach of friendship and of contentions is followed by one of the reaction of the use of the tongue on the man himself.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 18:20-24

With Pro 18:19, the series of proverbs which began with that of the flatterer closes. The catchword אח , which occurred at its commencement, 9b, is repeated at its close, and serves also as a landmark of the group following Pro 18:20-24. The proverb of the breach of friendship and of contentions is followed by one of the reaction of the use of the tongue on the man himself.

Pro 18:20

20 Of the fruit which a man's mouth bringeth is his heart satisfied;

By the revenue of his lips is he filled.

He will taste in rich measure of the consequences not merely of the good (Pro 12:14, cf. Pro 13:2), but of whatever he has spoken. This is an oxymoron like Mat 15:11, that not that which goeth into the mouth, but that which cometh out of it, defileth a man. As at Joh 4:34 the conduct of a man, so here his words are called his βρῶμα . Not merely the conduct (Pro 1:31; Isa 3:10), but also the words are fruit-bringing; and not only do others taste of the fruit of the words as of the actions of a man, whether they be good or bad, but above all he himself does so, both in this life and in that which is to come.

Pro 18:21

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue;

And whoever loveth it shall eat its fruit.

The hand, יד , is so common a metaphor for power, that as here a hand is attributed to the tongue, so e.g. , Isa 47:14 to the flame, and Psa 49:16 to Hades. Death and life is the great alternative which is placed, Deu 30:15, before man. According as he uses his tongue, he falls under the power of death or attains to life. All interpreters attribute, 21b, ואהביה to the tongue: qui eam ( linguam ) amant vescentur ( יאכל , distrib. sing., as Pro 3:18, Pro 3:35, etc.) fructu ejus . But "to love the tongue"is a strange and obscure expression. He loves the tongue, says Hitzig, who loves to babble. Euchel: he who guards it carefully, or: he who takes care of it, i.e. , who applies himself to right discourse. Combining both, Zöckler: who uses it much, as εὐλογῶν or κακολογῶν . The lxx translates, οἱ κρατοῦντες αὐτῆς , i.e. , אחזיה ; but אחז means prehendere and tenere , not cohibere , and the tongue kept in restraint brings forth indeed no bad fruit, but it brings no fruit at all. Why thus? Does the suffix of ואהביה , perhaps like Pro 8:17, Chethı̂b , refer to wisdom, which, it is true, is not named, but which lies everywhere before the poet's mind? At Pro 14:3 we ventured to make חכמה the subject of 3b. Then 21b would be as a miniature of Pro 8:17-21. Or is ואהביה a mutilation of ואהב יהוה : and he who loves Jahve (Psa 97:10) enjoys its (the tongue's) fruit?

Pro 18:22

22 Whatso hath found a wife hath found a good thing,

And hath obtained favour from Jahve.

As ואהביה , 21b, reminds us of Pro 8:17, so here not only 22b, but also 22a harmonizes with Pro 8:35 (cf. Pro 12:2). A wife is such as she ought to be, as Pro 18:14, אישׁ , a man is such as he ought to be; the lxx, Syr., Targ., and Vulgate supply bonam , but "gnomic brevity and force disdains such enervating adjectives, and cautious limitations of the idea"(Fl.). Besides, אשׁה טובה in old Hebr. would mean a well-favoured rather than a good-dispositioned wife, which later idea is otherwise expressed, Pro 19:14; Pro 31:10. The Venet . rightly has γυναῖκα , and Luther steplang7 ein Ehefraw , for it is a married woman that is meant. The first מצא is perf. hypotheticum , Gesen. §126, Anm . 1. On the other hand, Ecc 7:26, "I found, מוצא אני , more bitter than death the woman,"etc.; wherefore, when in Palestine one married a wife, the question was wont to be asked: או מוצא מצא , has he married happily (after מצא of the book of Proverbs) or unhappily (after מוצא of Ecclesiastes) ( Jebamoth 63b)?

(Note: Cf. Gendlau's Sprichwörter u. Redensarten deutsch-jüdischer Vorzeit (1860), p. 235.)

The lxx adds a distich to Pro 18:22, "He that putteth away a good wife putteth away happiness; and he that keepeth an adulteress, is foolish and ungodly."He who constructed this proverb [added by the lxx] has been guided by מצא to מוציא (Ezr 10:3); elsewhere ἐκβάλλειν ( γυναῖκα ), Gal 4:30, Sir. 28:15, is the translation of גּרשׁ . The Syr. has adopted the half of that distich, and Jerome the whole of it. On the other hand, Pro 18:23, Pro 18:24, and Pro 19:1-2, are wanting in the lxx. The translation which is found in some Codd. is that of Theodotion ( vid ., Lagarde).

Pro 18:23

23 The poor uttereth suppliant entreaties;

And the rich answereth rudenesses.

The oriental proverbial poetry furnishes many parallels to this. It delights in the description of the contrast between a suppliant poor man and the proud and avaricious rich man; vid ., e.g. , Samachschari's Goldene Halsbänder , No. 58. תּחנוּנים , according to its meaning, refers to the Hithpa . התחנּן , misericordiam alicujus pro se imploravit ; cf. the old vulgar "barmen," i.e. , to seek to move others to steplang7 Erbarmen [compassion] ( רחמים ). עזּות , dura , from עז (synon. קשׁה ), hard, fast, of bodies, and figuratively of an unbending, hard, haughty disposition, and thence of words of such a nature (Fl.). Both nouns are accus. of the object, as Job 40:27, תחנונים with the parallel רכּות . The proverb expresses a fact of experience as a consolation to the poor to whom, if a rich man insults him, nothing unusual occurs, and as a warning to the rich that he may not permit himself to be divested of humanity by mammon. A hard wedge to a hard clod; but whoever, as the Scripture saith, grindeth the poor by hard stubborn-hearted conduct, and grindeth his bashful face (Isa 3:15), challenges unmerciful judgment against himself; for the merciful, only they shall obtain mercy, αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται (Mat 5:7).

Pro 18:24

24 A man of many friends cometh off a loser;

But there is a friend more faithful than a brother.

Jerome translates the commencing word by vir , but the Syr., Targ. by אית , which is adopted by Hitzig, Böttcher, and others. But will a German poet use in one line "steplang7 itzt "[same as steplang7 jetzt = now], and in the next "steplang7 jetzt "? and could the Hebrew poet prefer to ישׁ its rarer, and her especially not altogether unambiguous form אישׁ (cf. to the contrary, Ecc 7:15)? We write אישׁ , because the Masora comprehends this passage, with 2Sa 14:19; Mic 6:10, as the סבירין ישׁ ' ג , i.e. , as the three, where one ought to expect ישׁ , and is thus exposed to the danger of falling into error in writing and reading; but erroneously אשׁ is found in all these three places in the Masora magna of the Venetian Bible of 1526; elsewhere the Masora has the defectiva scriptio with like meaning only in those two other passages. While אישׁ = ישׁ , or properly ישׁ , with equal possibility of אשׁ ,

(Note: One sees from this interchange how softly the י was uttered; cf. Wellhausen's Text der B. Samuel (1871) (Preface). Kimchi remarks that we say אקטל for אקטל , because we would otherwise confound it with יקטל .)

and it makes no material difference in the meaning of 24a whether we explain: there are friends who serve to bring one to loss: or a man of many friends comes to loss, - the inf . with ל is used in substantival clauses as the expression of the most manifold relations, Gesen. §132, Anm . 1 (cf. at Hab 1:17), here in both cases it denotes the end, as e.g. , Psa 92:8, to which it hastens with many friends, or with the man of many friends. It is true that אישׁ (like בּעל ) is almost always connected only with genitives of things; but as one says אישׁ אלהים : a man belongs to God, so may one also say אישׁ רעים : a man belongs to many friends; the common language of the people may thus have named a man, to whom, because he has no definite and decided character, the rule that one knows a man by his friends is not applicable, a so-called every-man's-friend, or all-the-world's-friend. Theodotion translates ἀνὴρ ἑταιριῶν τοῦ ἑταιρεύσασθαι ; and thus also the Syr., Targ., and Jerome render (and among the moderns, Hitzig) התרעע as reflexive in the sense of to cherish social intercourse; but this reflexive is התרעה , Pro 22:24. That התרועע is either Hithpa . of רוּע , to exult, Psa 60:10; 65:14, according to which the Venet . translates (contrary to Kimchi) ὥστε ἀλαλάζειν : such an one can exult, but which is not true, since, according to 24b, a true friend outweighs the many; or it is Hithpa . of רעע , to be wicked, sinful (Fl.: sibi perniciem paraturus est ); or, which we prefer, warranted by Isa 24:19, of רעע , to become brittle (Böttcher and others) - which not only gives a good sense, but also a similar alliteration with רעים , as Pro 3:29; Pro 13:20. In contradistinction to רע , which is a general, and, according to the usage of the language ( e.g. , 17b), a familiar idea, the true friend is called, in the antithetical parallel member, אהב (Pro 27:6); and after Pro 17:17, דּבק מאח , one who remains true in misfortune. To have such an one is better than to have many of the so-called friends; and, as appears from the contrast, to him who is so fortunate as to have one such friend, there comes a blessing and safety. Immanuel has given the right explanation: "A man who sets himself to gain many friends comes finally to be a loser ( סופו להשּׁבר ), for he squanders his means, and is impoverished in favour of others."And Schultens: At est amicus agglutinatus prae fratre. Rarum et carum esse genus insinuatur, ac proinde intimam illam amicitiam, quae conglutinet compingatque corda, non per multos spargendam, sed circumspecte et ferme cum uno tantum ineundam . Thus closes this group of proverbs with the praise of friendship deepened into spiritual brotherhood, as the preceding, Pro 18:19, with a warning against the destruction of such a relation by a breach of trust not to be made good again.

Constable: Pro 10:1--22:17

II. COUPLETS EXPRESSING WISDOM 10:1--22:16

Chapters 1-9, as we have seen, contain discourses that Solomon evidently wrote urging his sons to choose the way of wisdom for their lives.⁹² At 10:1 we begin the part of the book that sets forth what the wise way is in a variety of life situations.

"Until now the book of Proverbs has been identifying the truly wise man. Form this point on, it will describe how such a man should conduct his life from day to day. This logical topical order appears in many New Testament epistles, where the saved person is first identified, and then the daily life he should live is described [e.g., Rom. 1-5 and 6-8; Eph. 1-3 and 4-6]."⁹³

There are 184 maxims in chapters 10-15 and 191 in chapters 16-22 for a total of 375.⁹⁴ This represents only a few of the 3,000 proverbs Solomon wrote (1 Kings 4:32). Most of the proverbs in this section are one verse long and contain two lines each; they are couplets. The second line contrasts, compares, or completes the idea expressed in the first line. In chapters 10-15 most couplets contain antithetic parallelism. The key word is "but." In chapters 16-22 there are more synonymous parallelisms marked by the conjunction "and." There are also continuous sentences in which the second line continues the thought of the first line (e.g., 14:26). Some couplets contain comparisons in which the relative value of two things is set forth (e.g., 11:31). Some contain a statement in the first line followed by an explanation in the second line (e.g., 20:2).⁹⁵

Is there any logic to the arrangement of these seemingly unrelated proverbs? In some places there is a general association of ideas, and in some places there is a recurring key word (e.g., "king" in 16:12-15, and "Yahweh" in 16:1-7). However many of these couplets have no logical connection with what immediately precedes or follows in the context. This anthology style is typical of other ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature.

"The absence of a systematic arrangement is due to the traditional character of the contents. There is no need of a closely knit argument; striking images, incisive wording are all that is required to give a fresh appeal to the truth of familiar viewpoints."⁹⁶

"It is also surprising to find lofty precepts mixed with more trivial' apothegms. Of course, this is a misconception based on the modern-day viewpoint of life. From the sages' perspective each proverb is an expression of wisdom,' which is . . . the fixed order of reality. Viewed from this perspective no sentence is trivial . . ."⁹⁷

Why did the Holy Spirit not arrange these proverbs topically so we could study all of them that deal with one subject together? Probably He did so because the method He chose is "a course of education in the life of wisdom."⁹⁸

"As we read Proverbs chapter by chapter, the Spirit of God has the freedom to teach us about many subjects, and we never know from day to day which topic we'll need the most. Just as the Bible itself isn't arranged like a systematic theology, neither is Proverbs. What Solomon wrote is more like a kaleidoscope than a stained-glass window: We never know what the next pattern will be."⁹⁹

In the notes that follow (on 10:1-22:16) I have commented only on those proverbs that appear to me to need clarification in the NASB.

Constable: Pro 18:1-24

3. Friendship and folly ch. 18

18:1 Evidently the intent is, "He who separates himself [from other people]" does so because he wants his own way and does not want others to restrain him. Such an approach runs counter to sound wisdom because we all need input from other people to make wise decisions. It is unwise to be antisocial in the schismatic sense of that word (cf. Gen. 13:11).¹³⁸

18:11 Wealth does provide some security, but one may imagine that it is a higher safeguard against calamity than it really is.

18:16 "Gift" is not necessarily a "bribe." The Hebrew word here (mattan, cf. 15:27; 21:14) is not the same as the one translated "bribe" in 17:8 and 12 (sohad). It can be an innocent courtesy. It means what a person gives to someone else (cf. Gen. 43:11). Therefore it seems legitimate to apply it to one's personal abilities (gifts) that he or she uses in the service of others as well as to material presents.

18:20 The sense here is that we will have to be content to accept the consequences of what we say. "Satisfied" does not mean happy but filled. Yet "productive speech is satisfying."¹³⁹

18:21 The antecedent of "it" is "tongue," and "its fruit" refers to "death and life." This proverb is a warning to the talkative. Much talk will produce death and life, so be prepared for both if you determine to talk a lot.

18:22 The favor God bestows is His blessing.

"The wording, especially in the Heb., strikingly resembles that of 8:35, and so suggests that after wisdom itself, the best of God's blessings is a good wife. 31:10 makes a similar comparison, putting her price, like wisdom's (8:11), above rubies."¹⁴⁰

Not just any wife is a good thing though; only a good wife is (19:13, 14).

18:24 The NASB translation of 24a is more true to the Hebrew than the AV that reads, "A man (who hath) friends must show himself friendly." The RV is perhaps the easiest of all to understand: "He that maketh many friends (doeth it) to his own destruction."

Why is it unwise to have many friends? Probably because when one has many friends the possibility that some of them will be false friends is greater (cf. Jer. 38:22). It is better to have one or two good friends than many false friends.

Christians have often applied the second part of this verse to Jesus Christ. While that is appropriate, Solomon's point was that in contrast to false friends (24a) some friends can be more faithful than our closest blood relatives. Such a friend is a true treasure.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Lainnya

Evidence: Pro 18:1

Never isolate yourself from other Christians. Those who are not in regular fellowship with other believers make themselves an easier target for the enemy. Satan is a roaring lion, seeking to devour us ( 1Pe 5:8 ). The first thing a lion does in stalking its prey is to isolate individual members from the herd. See Heb 10:25 .

Evidence: Pro 18:13

Be patient when sinners ramble. It is a discredit to our Christian witness to interrupt someone who is trying to tell us something, even though we have heard the empty argument many times before. Love will listen.

Evidence: Pro 18:16

If you are wanting God to use you, He will open the doors in His time.

Evidence: Pro 18:19

Make it a rule of life not to argue over petty doctrinal or prophetic interpretations . Strive to keep the unity of the Spirit. See Phi 1:27 .

Pendahuluan / Garis Besar

JFB: Proverbs (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE NATURE AND USE OF PROVERBS.--A proverb is a pithy sentence, concisely expressing some well-established truth susceptible of various illustrations and applications. The word is of Latin derivation, literally meaning for a word, speech, or discourse; that is, one expression for many. The Hebrew word for "proverb" (mashal) means a "comparison." Many suppose it was used, because the form or matter of the proverb, or both, involved the idea of comparison. Most of the proverbs are in couplets or triplets, or some modifications of them, the members of which correspond in structure and length, as if arranged to be compared one with another. They illustrate the varieties of parallelism, a distinguishing feature of Hebrew poetry. Compare Introduction to Poetical Books. Many also clearly involve the idea of comparison in the sentiments expressed (compare Pro 12:1-10; Pro 25:10-15; Pro 26:1-9). Sometimes, however, the designed omission of one member of the comparison, exercising the reader's sagacity or study for its supply, presents the proverb as a "riddle" or "dark saying" (compare Pro. 30:15-33; Pro 1:6; Psa 49:4). The sententious form of expression, which thus became a marked feature of the proverbial style, was also adopted for continuous discourse, even when not always preserving traces of comparison, either in form or matter (compare Pro. 1:1-9:18). In Eze 17:1; Eze 24:3, we find the same word properly translated "parable," to designate an illustrative discourse. Then the Greek translators have used a word, parabola ("parable"), which the gospel writers (except John) employ for our Lord's discourses of the same character, and which also seems to involve the idea of comparison, though that may not be its primary meaning. It might seem, therefore, that the proverbial and parabolic styles of writing were originally and essentially the same. The proverb is a "concentrated parable, and the parable an extension of the proverb by a full illustration." The proverb is thus the moral or theme of a parable, which sometimes precedes it, as in Mat 19:30 (compare Pro 20:1); or succeeds it, as in Mat. 22:1-16; Luk 15:1-10. The style being poetical, and adapted to the expression of a high order of poetical sentiment, such as prophecy, we find the same term used to designate such compositions (compare Num 23:7; Mic 2:4; Hab 2:6).

Though the Hebrews used the same term for proverb and parable, the Greek employs two, though the sacred writers have not always appeared to recognize a distinction. The term for proverb is, paroimia, which the Greek translators employ for the title of this book, evidently with special reference to the later definition of a proverb, as a trite, sententious form of speech, which appears to be the best meaning of the term. John uses the same term to designate our Saviour's instructions, in view of their characteristic obscurity (compare Pro 16:25-29, Greek), and even for his illustrative discourses (Pro 10:6), whose sense was not at once obvious to all his hearers. This form of instruction was well adapted to aid the learner. The parallel structure of sentences, the repetition, contrast, or comparison of thought, were all calculated to facilitate the efforts of memory; and precepts of practical wisdom which, extended into logical discourses, might have failed to make abiding impressions by reason of their length or complicated character, were thus compressed into pithy, and, for the most part, very plain statements. Such a mode of instruction has distinguished the written or traditional literature of all nations, and was, and still is, peculiarly current in the East.

In this book, however, we are supplied with a proverbial wisdom commended by the seal of divine inspiration. God has condescended to become our teacher on the practical affairs belonging to all the relations of life. He has adapted His instruction to the plain and unlettered, and presented, in this striking and impressive method, the great principles of duty to Him and to our fellow men. To the prime motive of all right conduct, the fear of God, are added all lawful and subordinate incentives, such as honor, interest, love, fear, and natural affection. Besides the terror excited by an apprehension of God's justly provoked judgments, we are warned against evil-doing by the exhibition of the inevitable temporal results of impiety, injustice, profligacy, idleness, laziness, indolence, drunkenness, and debauchery. To the rewards of true piety which follow in eternity, are promised the peace, security, love, and approbation of the good, and the comforts of a clear conscience, which render this life truly happy.

INSPIRATION AND AUTHORSHIP.--With no important exception, Jewish and Christian writers have received this book as the inspired production of Solomon. It is the first book of the Bible prefaced by the name of the author. The New Testament abounds with citations from the Proverbs. Its intrinsic excellence commends it to us as the production of a higher authority than the apocryphal writings, such as Wisdom or Ecclesiasticus. Solomon lived five hundred years before the "seven wise men" of Greece, and seven hundred before the age of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. It is thus very evident, whatever theory of his sources of knowledge be adopted, that he did not draw upon any heathen repositories with which we are acquainted. It is far more probable, that by the various migrations, captivities, and dispersions of the Jews, heathen philosophers drew from this inspired fountain many of those streams which continue to refresh mankind amid the otherwise barren and parched deserts of profane literature.

As, however, the Psalms are ascribed to David, because he was the leading author, so the ascription of this book to Solomon is entirely consistent with the titles of the thirtieth and thirty-first chapters, which assign those chapters to Agur and Lemuel respectively. Of these persons we know nothing. This is not the place for discussing the various speculations respecting them. By a slight change of reading some propose to translate Pro 30:1 : "The words of Agur, the son of her who was obeyed Massa," that is, "the queen of Massa"; and Pro 31:1 : "The words of Lemuel, king of Massa"; but to this the earliest versions are contradictory, and nothing other than the strongest exegetical necessity ought to be allowed to justify a departure from a well-established reading and version when nothing useful to our knowledge is gained. It is better to confess ignorance than indulge in useless conjectures.

It is probable that out of the "three thousand proverbs" (1Ki 4:32) which Solomon spoke, he selected and edited Pro. 1:1-24:34 during his life. Pro. 25:1-29:27 were also of his production, and copied out in the days of Hezekiah, by his "men," perhaps the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah. Such a work was evidently in the spirit of this pious monarch, who set his heart so fully on a reformation of God's worship. Learned men have endeavored to establish the theory that Solomon himself was only a collector; or that the other parts of the book, as these chapters, were also selections by later hands; but the reasons adduced to maintain these views have never appeared so satisfactory as to change the usual opinions on the subject, which have the sanction of the most ancient and reliable authorities.

DIVISIONS OF THE BOOK.--Such a work is, of course, not susceptible of any logical analysis. There are, however, some well-defined marks of division, so that very generally the book is divided into five or six parts.

1. The first contains nine chapters, in which are discussed and enforced by illustration, admonition, and encouragement the principles and blessings of wisdom, and the pernicious schemes and practices of sinful persons. These chapters are introductory. With few specimens of the proper proverb, they are distinguished by its conciseness and terseness. The sentences follow very strictly the form of parallelism, and generally of the synonymous species, only forty of the synthetic and four (Pro 3:32-35) of the antithetic appearing. The style is ornate, the figures bolder and fuller, and the illustrations more striking and extended.

2. The antithetic and synthetic parallelism to the exclusion of the synonymous distinguish Pro. 10:1-22:16, and the verses are entirely unconnected, each containing a complete sense in itself.

3. Pro. 22:16-24:34 present a series of admonitions as if addressed to a pupil, and generally each topic occupies two or more verses.

4. Pro. 25:1-29:27 are entitled to be regarded as a distinct portion, for the reason given above as to its origin. The style is very much mixed; of the peculiarities, compare parts two and three.

5. Pro. 30:1-33 is peculiar not only for its authorship, but as a specimen of the kind of proverb which has been described as "dark sayings" or "riddles."

6. To a few pregnant but concise admonitions, suitable for a king, is added a most inimitable portraiture of female character. In both parts five and six the distinctive peculiarity of the original proverbial style gives place to the modifications already mentioned as marking a later composition, though both retain the concise and nervous method of stating truth, equally valuable for its deep impression and permanent retention by the memory.

TSK: Proverbs (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The wisdom of all ages, from the highest antiquity, has chosen to compress and communicate its lessons in short, compendious sentences, and in poetic language, which were readily conceived and easily retained, and circulated in society as useful principles, to be unfolded as occasion required. Indeed, such short maxims, comprehending much instruction in a few words, and carrying their own evidence with them, are admirably adapted to direct the conduct, without overburdening the memory, or perplexing the mind with abstract reasonings; and hence there are, in all countries and in all languages, old proverbs, or common sayings, which have great authority and influence on the opinions and actions of mankind. Such maxims, however, want their proper basis, the sanction of a Divine Original; and being generally the mere result of worldly prudence, are often calculated to impose on the judgment, and to mislead those who are directed by them. But the proverbs in this book not only are far more ancient than any others extant in the world, and infinitely surpass all the ethical sayings of the ancient sages; but have also received a Divine imprimatur, and are infallible rules to direct our conduct in every circumstance of human life. They are so justly founded on the principles of human nature, and so adapted to the permanent interests of man, that they agree with the manners of every age; and are adapted to every period, condition, or rank in life, however varied in its complexion or diversified by circumstance. Kings and subjects, rich and poor, wise and foolish, old and young, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, masters and servants, may here learn their respective duties, and read lessons of instruction for the regulation of their conduct in their various circumstances; while the most powerful motives, derived from honour, interest, love, fear, natural affection, and piety, are exhibited to inspire an ardent love of wisdom and virtue, and the greatest detestation of ignorance and vice. These maxims are laid down so clearly, copiously, impressively, and in such variety, that every man who wishes to be instructed may take what he chooses, and, among multitudes, those which he likes best. " He is wise," say St. Basil, " not only who hath arrived at a complete habit of wisdom, but who hath made some progress towards it; nay, who doth as yet but love it, or desire it, and listen to it. Such as these, by reading this book, shall be made wiser; for they shall be instructed in much divine, and in no less human learning....It bridles the injurious tongue, corrects the wanton eye, and ties the unjust hand in chains. It persecutes sloth, chastises all absurd desires, teaches prudence, raises man’s courage, and represents temperance and chastity after such a fashion that one cannot but have them in veneration."

TSK: Proverbs 18 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

Overview

Poole: Proverbs 18 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

CHAPTER 18

According to this interpretation the sense is,

MHCC: Proverbs (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The subject of this book may be thus stated by an enlargement on the opening verses. 1. The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. 2. Which treat of the knowledge of wisdom, of piety towards God, of instruction and moral discipline, of the understanding wise and prudent counsels. 3. Which treat of the attainment of instruction in wisdom, which wisdom is to be shown in the conduct of life, and consists in righteousness with regard to our fellow-creatures. 4. Which treat of the giving to the simple sagacity to discover what is right, by supplying them with just principles, and correct views of virtue and vice; and to the young man knowledge, so that he need not err through ignorance; and discretion, so that by pondering well these precepts, he may not err through obstinacy. Take the proverbs of other nations, and we shall find great numbers founded upon selfishness, cunning, pride, injustice, national contempt, and animosities. The principles of the Proverbs of Solomon are piety, charity, justice, benevolence, and true prudence. Their universal purity proves that they are the word of God.

Matthew Henry: Proverbs (Pendahuluan Kitab)

An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of The Proverbs

We have now before us, I. A new author, or penman rather, or pen (if you will) made use of by the Holy Ghost for making known the mind of God to us, writing as moved by the finger of God (so the Spirit of God is called), and that is Solomon; through his hand came this book of Scripture and the two that follow it, Ecclesiastes and Canticles, a sermon and a song. Some think he wrote Canticles when he was very young, Proverbs in the midst of his days, and Ecclesiastes when he was old. In the title of his song he only writes himself Solomon, perhaps because he wrote it before his accession to the throne, being filled with the Holy Ghost when he was young. In the title of his Proverbs he writes himself the son of David, king of Israel, for then he ruled over all Israel. In the title of his Ecclesiastes he writes himself the son of David, king of Jerusalem, because then perhaps his influence had grown less upon the distant tribes, and he confined himself very much in Jerusalem. Concerning this author we may observe, 1. That he was a king, and a king's son. The penmen of scripture, hitherto, were most of them men of the first rank in the world, as Moses and Joshua, Samuel and David, and now Solomon; but, after him, the inspired writers were generally poor prophets, men of no figure in the world, because that dispensation was approaching in the which God would choose the weak and foolish things of the world to confound the wise and mighty and the poor should be employed to evangelize. Solomon was a very rich king, and his dominions were very large, a king of the first magnitude, and yet he addicted himself to the study of divine things, and was a prophet and a prophet's son. It is no disparagement to the greatest princes and potentates in the world to instruct those about them in religion and the laws of it. 2. That he was one whom God endued with extraordinary measures of wisdom and knowledge, in answer to his prayers at his accession to the throne. His prayer was exemplary: Give me a wise and an understanding heart; the answer to it was encouraging: he had what he desired and all other things were added to him. Now here we find what good use he made of the wisdom God gave him; he not only governed himself and his kingdom with it, but he gave rules of wisdom to others also, and transmitted them to posterity. Thus must we trade with the talents with which we are entrusted, according as they are. 3. That he was one who had his faults, and in his latter end turned aside from those good ways of God which in this book he had directed others in. We have the story of it 1 Kings 11, and a sad story it is, that the penman of such a book as this should apostatize as he did. Tell it not in Gath. But let those who are most eminently useful take warning by this not to be proud or secure; and let us all learn not to think the worse of good instructions though we have them from those who do not themselves altogether live up to them.

II. A new way of writing, in which divine wisdom is taught us by Proverbs, or short sentences, which contain their whole design within themselves and are not connected with one another. We have had divine laws, histories, and songs, and how divine proverbs; such various methods has Infinite Wisdom used for our instruction, that, no stone being left unturned to do us good, we may be inexcusable if we perish in our folly. Teaching by proverbs was, 1. An ancient way of teaching. It was the most ancient way among the Greeks; each of the seven wise men of Greece had some one saying that he valued himself upon, and that made him famous. These sentences were inscribed on pillars, and had in great veneration as that which was said to come down from heaven. A coelo descendit, Gnōthi seauton - Know thyself is a precept which came down from heaven. 2. It was a plain and easy way of teaching, which cost neither the teachers nor the learners much pains, nor put their understandings nor their memories to the stretch. Long periods, and arguments far-fetched, must be laboured both by him that frames them and by him that would understand them, while a proverb, which carries both its sense and its evidence in a little compass, is quickly apprehended and subscribed to, and is easily retained. Both David's devotions and Solomon's instructions are sententious, which may recommend that way of expression to those who minister about holy things, both in praying and preaching. 3. It was a very profitable way of teaching, and served admirably well to answer the end. The word Mashal, here used for a proverb, comes from a word that signifies to rule or have dominion, because of the commanding power and influence which wise and weighty sayings have upon the children of men; he that teaches by them dominatur in concionibus - rules his auditory. It is easy to observe how the world is governed by proverbs. As saith the proverb of the ancients (1Sa 24:13), or (as we commonly express it) As the old saying is, goes very far with most men in forming their notions and fixing their resolves. Much of the wisdom of the ancients has been handed down to posterity by proverbs; and some think we may judge of the temper and character of a nation by the complexion of its vulgar proverbs. Proverbs in conversation are like axious in philosophy, maxims in law, and postulata in the mathematics, which nobody disputes, but every one endeavours to expound so as to have them on his side. Yet there are many corrupt proverbs, which tend to debauch men's minds and harden them in sin. The devil has his proverbs, and the world and the flesh have their proverbs, which reflect reproach on God and religion (as Eze 12:22; Eze 18:2), to guard us against the corrupt influences of which God has his proverbs, which are all wise and good, and tend to make us so. These proverbs of Solomon were not merely a collection of the wise sayings that had been formerly delivered, as some have imagined, but were the dictates of the Spirit of God in Solomon. The very first of them (Pro 1:7) agrees with what God said to man in the beginning (Job 28:28, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ); so that though Solomon was great, and his name may serve as much as any man's to recommend his writings, yet, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. It is God, by Solomon, that here speaks to us: I say, to us; for these proverbs were written for our learning, and, when Solomon speaks to his son, the exhortation is said to speak to us as unto children, Heb 12:5. And, as we have no book so useful to us in our devotions as David's psalms, so have we none so serviceable to us, for the right ordering of our conversations, as Solomon's proverbs, which as David says of the commandments, are exceedingly broad, containing, in a little compass, a complete body of divine ethics, politics, and economics, exposing every vice, recommending every virtue, and suggesting rules for the government of ourselves in every relation and condition, and every turn of the conversation. The learned bishop Hall has drawn up a system of moral philosophy out of Solomon's Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The first nine chapters of this book are reckoned as a preface, by way of exhortation to the study and practice of wisdom's rules, and caution against those things that would hinder therein. We have then the first volume of Solomon's proverbs (ch. 10-24); after that a second volume (ch. 25-29); and then Agur's prophecy (ch. 30), and Lemuel's (ch. 31). The scope of all is one and the same, to direct us so to order our conversation aright as that in the end we may see the salvation of the Lord. The best comment on these rules is to be ruled by them.

Topical Index of Proverbs

Twenty chapters of the book of Proverbs (beginning with ch. 10 and ending with ch. 29), consisting mostly of entire sentences in each verse, could not well be reduced to proper heads, and the contents of them gathered; I have therefore here put the contents of all these chapters together, which perhaps may be of some use to those who desire to see at once all that is said of any one head in these chapters. Some of the verses, perhaps, I have not put under the same heads that another would have put them under, but the most of them fall (I hope) naturally enough to the places I have assigned them.

1. Of the comfort, or grief, parents have in their children, according as they are wise or foolish, godly or ungodly, Pro 10:1; Pro 15:20; Pro 17:21, Pro 17:25; Pro 19:13, Pro 19:26; Pro 23:15, Pro 23:16, Pro 23:24, Pro 23:25; Pro 27:11; Pro 29:3

2. Of the world's insufficiency, and religion's sufficiency, to make us happy (Pro 10:2, Pro 10:3; Pro 11:4) and the preference to be therefore given to the gains of virtue above those of this world, Pro 15:16, Pro 15:17; Pro 16:8, Pro 16:16; Pro 17:1; Pro 19:1; Pro 28:6, Pro 28:11

3. Of slothfulness and diligence, Pro 10:4, Pro 10:26; Pro 12:11, Pro 12:24, Pro 12:27; Pro 13:4, Pro 13:23; Pro 15:19; Pro 16:26; Pro 18:9; Pro 19:15, Pro 19:24; Pro 20:4, Pro 20:13; Pro 21:5, Pro 21:25, Pro 21:26; Pro 22:13, Pro 22:29; Pro 24:30-34; Pro 26:13-16; Pro 27:18, Pro 27:23, Pro 27:27; Pro 28:19. Particularly the improving or neglecting opportunities, Pro 6:6; Pro 10:5

4. The happiness of the righteous, and the misery of the wicked, Pro 10:6, Pro 10:9, Pro 10:16, Pro 10:24, Pro 10:25, Pro 10:27-30; Pro 11:3, Pro 11:5-8, Pro 11:18-21, Pro 11:31; Pro 12:2, Pro 12:3, Pro 12:7, Pro 12:13, Pro 12:14, Pro 12:21, Pro 12:26, Pro 12:28; Pro 13:6, Pro 13:9, Pro 13:14 15, 21, 22, 25; Pro 14:11, Pro 14:14, Pro 14:19, Pro 14:32; Pro 15:6, Pro 15:8, Pro 15:9, Pro 15:24, Pro 15:26, Pro 15:29; Pro 20:7; Pro 21:12, Pro 21:15, Pro 21:16, Pro 21:18, Pro 21:21; Pro 22:12; Pro 28:10, Pro 28:18; Pro 29:6

5. Of honour and dishonour, Pro 10:7; Pro 12:8, Pro 12:9; Pro 18:3; Pro 26:1; Pro 27:21. And of vain-glory, Pro 25:14, Pro 25:27; Pro 27:2

6. The wisdom of obedience, and folly of disobedience, Pro 10:8, Pro 10:17; Pro 12:1, Pro 12:15; Pro 13:1, Pro 13:13, Pro 13:18; Pro 15:5, Pro 15:10, Pro 15:12, Pro 15:31, Pro 15:32; Pro 19:16; Pro 28:4, Pro 28:7, Pro 28:9

7. Of mischievousness and usefulness, Pro 10:10, Pro 10:23; Pro 11:9-11, Pro 11:23, Pro 11:27; Pro 12:5, Pro 12:6, Pro 12:12, Pro 12:18, Pro 12:20; Pro 13:2; Pro 14:22; Pro 16:29, Pro 16:30; Pro 17:11; Pro 21:10; Pro 24:8; Pro 26:23, Pro 26:27

8. The praise of wise and good discourse, and the hurt and shame of an ungoverned tongue, Pro 10:11, Pro 10:13, Pro 10:14, Pro 10:20, Pro 10:21, Pro 10:31, Pro 10:32; Pro 11:30; Pro 14:3; Pro 15:2, Pro 15:4, Pro 15:7, Pro 15:23, Pro 15:28; Pro 16:20, Pro 16:23, Pro 16:24; Pro 17:7; Pro 18:4, Pro 18:7, Pro 18:20, Pro 18:21; Pro 20:15; Pro 21:23; Pro 23:9; Pro 24:26; Pro 25:11

9. Of love and hatred, peaceableness and contention, Pro 10:12; Pro 15:17; Pro 17:1, Pro 17:9, Pro 17:14, Pro 17:19; Pro 18:6, Pro 18:17-19; Pro 20:3; Pro 25:8; Pro 26:17, Pro 26:21; Pro 29:9

10. Of the rich and poor, Pro 10:5, Pro 10:22; Pro 11:28; Pro 13:7, Pro 13:8; Pro 14:20, Pro 14:24; Pro 18:11, Pro 18:23; Pro 19:1, Pro 19:4, Pro 19:7, Pro 19:22; Pro 22:2, Pro 22:7; Pro 28:6, Pro 28:11; Pro 29:13

11. Of lying, fraud, and dissimulation, and of truth and sincerity, Pro 10:18; Pro 12:17, Pro 12:19, Pro 12:22; Pro 13:5; Pro 17:4; Pro 20:14, Pro 20:17; Pro 26:18, Pro 26:19, Pro 26:24-26, Pro 26:28

12. Of slandering, Pro 10:18; Pro 16:27; Pro 25:23

13. Of talkativeness and silence, Pro 10:19; Pro 11:12; Pro 12:23; Pro 13:3; Pro 17:27, Pro 17:28; Pro 29:11, Pro 29:20

14. Of justice and injustice, Pro 11:1; Pro 13:16; Pro 16:8, Pro 16:11; Pro 17:15, Pro 17:26; Pro 18:5; Pro 20:10, Pro 20:23; Pro 22:28; Pro 23:10, Pro 23:11; Pro 29:24

15. Of pride and humility, Pro 11:2; Pro 13:10; Pro 15:25, Pro 15:33; Pro 16:5, Pro 16:18, Pro 16:19; Pro 18:12; Pro 21:4; Pro 25:6, Pro 25:7; Pro 28:25; Pro 29:23

16. Of despising and respecting others, Pro 11:12; Pro 14:21

17. Of tale-bearing, Pro 11:13; Pro 16:28; Pro 18:8; Pro 20:19; Pro 26:20, Pro 26:22

18. Of rashness and deliberation, Pro 11:14; Pro 15:22; Pro 18:13; Pro 19:2; Pro 20:5, Pro 20:18; Pro 21:29; Pro 22:3; Pro 25:8-10

19. Of suretiship, Pro 11:15; Pro 17:18; Pro 20:16; Pro 22:26, Pro 22:27; Pro 27:13

20. Of good and bad women, or wives, Pro 11:16, Pro 11:22; Pro 12:4; Pro 14:1; Pro 18:22; Pro 19:13, Pro 19:14; Pro 21:9, Pro 21:19; Pro 25:24; Pro 27:15, Pro 27:16

21. Of mercifulness and unmercifulness, Pro 11:17; Pro 12:10; Pro 14:21; Pro 19:17; Pro 21:13

22. Of charity to the poor, and uncharitableness, Pro 11:24-26; Pro 14:31; Pro 17:5; Pro 22:9, Pro 22:16, Pro 22:22, Pro 22:23; Pro 28:27; Pro 29:7

23. Of covetousness and contentment, Pro 11:29; Pro 15:16, Pro 15:17, Pro 15:27; Pro 23:4, Pro 23:5

24. Of anger and meekness, Pro 12:16; Pro 14:17, Pro 14:29; Pro 15:1, Pro 15:18; Pro 16:32; Pro 17:12, Pro 17:26; Pro 19:11, Pro 19:19; Pro 22:24, Pro 22:25; Pro 25:15, Pro 25:28; Pro 26:21; Pro 29:22

25. Of melancholy and cheerfulness, Pro 12:25; Pro 14:10, Pro 14:13; Pro 15:13, Pro 15:15; Pro 17:22; Pro 18:14; Pro 25:20, Pro 25:25

26. Of hope and expectation, Pro 13:12, Pro 13:19

27. Of prudence and foolishness, Pro 13:16; Pro 14:8, Pro 14:18, Pro 14:33; Pro 15:14, Pro 15:21; Pro 16:21, Pro 16:22; Pro 17:24; Pro 18:2, Pro 18:15; Pro 24:3-7; Pro 7:27; Pro 26:6-11; Pro 28:5

28. Of treachery and fidelity, Pro 13:17; Pro 25:13, Pro 25:19

29. Of good and bad company, Pro 13:20; Pro 14:7; Pro 28:7; Pro 29:3

30. Of the education of children, Pro 13:24; Pro 19:18; Pro 20:11; Pro 22:6, Pro 22:15; Pro 23:12; Pro 14:14; Pro 29:15, Pro 29:17

31. Of the fear of the Lord, Pro 14:2, Pro 14:26, Pro 14:27; Pro 15:16, Pro 15:33; Pro 16:6; Pro 19:23; Pro 22:4; Pro 23:17, Pro 23:18

32. Of true and false witness-bearing, Pro 14:5, Pro 14:25; Pro 19:5, Pro 19:9, Pro 19:28; Pro 21:28; Pro 24:28; Pro 25:18

33. Of scorners, Pro 14:6, Pro 14:9; Pro 21:24; Pro 22:10; Pro 24:9; Pro 29:9

34. Of credulity and caution, Pro 14:15, Pro 14:16; Pro 27:12

35. Of kings and their subjects, Pro 14:28, Pro 14:34, Pro 14:35; Pro 16:10, Pro 16:12-15; Pro 19:6, Pro 19:12; Pro 20:2, Pro 20:8, Pro 20:26, Pro 20:28; Pro 22:11; Pro 24:23-25; Pro 30:2-5; Pro 28:2, Pro 28:3, Pro 28:15, Pro 28:16; Pro 29:5, Pro 29:12, Pro 29:14, Pro 29:26

36. Of envy, especially envying sinners, Pro 14:30; Pro 23:17, Pro 23:18; Pro 24:1, Pro 24:2, Pro 24:19, Pro 24:20; Pro 27:4

37. Of God's omniscience, and his universal providence, Pro 15:3, Pro 15:11; Pro 16:1, Pro 16:4, Pro 16:9, Pro 16:33; Pro 17:3; Pro 19:21; Pro 20:12, Pro 20:24; Pro 21:1, Pro 21:30, Pro 21:31; Pro 29:26

38. Of a good and ill name, Pro 15:30; Pro 22:1

39. Of men's good opinion of themselves, Pro 14:12; Pro 16:2, Pro 16:25; Pro 20:6; Pro 21:2; Pro 26:12; Pro 28:26

40. Of devotion towards God, and dependence on him, Pro 16:3; Pro 18:10; Pro 23:26; Pro 27:1; Pro 28:25; Pro 29:25

41. Of the happiness of God's favour, Pro 16:7; Pro 29:26

42. Excitements to get wisdom, Pro 16:16; Pro 18:1; Pro 19:8, Pro 19:20; Pro 22:17-21; Pro 23:15, Pro 23:16, Pro 23:22-25; Pro 24:13, Pro 24:14; Pro 27:11

43. Cautions against temptations, Pro 16:17; Pro 29:27

44. Of old age and youth, Pro 16:31; Pro 17:6; Pro 20:29

45. Of servants, Pro 17:2; Pro 19:10; Pro 29:19, Pro 29:21

46. Of bribery, Pro 17:8, Pro 17:23; Pro 18:16; Pro 21:14; Pro 28:21

47. Of reproof and correction, Pro 17:10; Pro 19:25, Pro 19:29; Pro 20:30; Pro 21:11; Pro 25:12; Pro 26:3; Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6, Pro 27:22; Pro 28:23; Pro 29:1

48. Of ingratitude, Pro 17:13

49. Of friendship, Pro 17:17; Pro 18:24; Pro 27:9, Pro 27:10, Pro 27:14, Pro 27:17

50. Of sensual pleasures, Pro 21:17; Pro 23:1-3, Pro 23:6-8, Pro 23:19-21; Pro 27:7

51. Of drunkenness, Pro 20:1; Pro 23:23, Pro 23:29-35

52. Of the universal corruption of nature, Pro 20:9

53. Of flattery, Pro 20:19; Pro 26:28; Pro 28:23; Pro 29:5

54. Of undutiful children, Pro 20:20; Pro 28:24

55. Of the short continuance of what is ill-gotten, Pro 20:21; Pro 21:6, Pro 21:7; Pro 22:8; Pro 28:8

56. Of revenge, Pro 20:22; Pro 24:17, Pro 24:18, Pro 24:29

57. Of sacrilege, Pro 20:25

58. Of conscience, Pro 20:27; Pro 27:19

59. Of the preference of moral duties before ceremonial, Pro 15:8; Pro 21:3, Pro 21:27

60. Of prodigality and wastefulness, Pro 21:20

61. The triumphs of wisdom and godliness, Pro 21:22; Pro 24:15, Pro 24:16

62. Of frowardness and tractableness, Pro 22:5

63. Of uncleanness, Pro 22:14; Pro 23:27, Pro 23:28

64. Of fainting in affliction, Pro 24:10

65. Of helping the distressed, Pro 14:11, Pro 14:12

66. Of loyalty to the government, Pro 24:21, Pro 24:22

67. Of forgiving enemies, Pro 25:21, Pro 25:22

68. Of causeless curse, Pro 26:2

69. Of answering fools, Pro 26:4, Pro 26:5

70. Of unsettledness and unsatisfiedness, Pro 27:8, Pro 27:20

71. Of cowardliness and courage, Pro 28:1

72. The people's interest in the character of their rulers, Pro 28:12, Pro 28:28; Pro 29:2, Pro 29:16; Pro 11:10, Pro 11:11

73. The benefit of repentance and holy fear, Pro 28:13, Pro 28:14

74. The punishment of murder, Pro 28:17

75. Of hastening to be rich, Pro 28:20, Pro 28:22

76. The enmity of the wicked against the godly, Pro 29:10, Pro 29:27

77. The necessity of the means of grace, Pro 29:18

Constable: Proverbs (Pendahuluan Kitab)

Introduction

Title

The title of this book in the Hebrew Bible is "The Proverbs of Solomon, the Son of David, King in Israel" (cf. 1:1). The Greek Septuagint called this book "Proverbs of Solomon." The Latin Vulgate named it "The Book of Proverbs."

There is some debate about whether 1:1 is the title of the whole book or just the title of the first section (chs. 1-9). The first view has in its favor the fact that the Hebrew Bible took the verse as the title of the book. According to this view the references to Solomon in 1:1 are an indication that he was the primary author of the proverbs in the book.¹

The second view is that 1:1 simply introduces the first major section of the book. The support for this view is that some succeeding sections begin with a similar caption (cf. 10:1; 24:23; 25:1; 30:1; 31:1).²

In either case the book got its title from the proverbs it contains. The whole book is a book of proverbs so the title is appropriate.

"To read straight through a few chapters of Proverbs is like trying to have a conversation with someone who always replies with a one-liner."³

Writer

Proverbs claims to be a compendium of the wise sayings of several different individuals.⁴ Solomon originated some of them (10:1-22:16 and chs. 25-29 definitely, and probably chs. 1-9 as well).⁵ Unnamed wise men (sages) wrote other parts (22:17-24:34 definitely, and possibly chs. 1-9). Hezekiah's men copied some of Solomon's proverbs and added them to this collection (chs. 25-29). Agur and King Lemuel produced chapters 30 and 31 respectively.

We do not know who the sages were who wrote 22:17-24:34 nor do we know the names of the men whom King Hezekiah instructed to compile some of Solomon's sayings. Agur and Lemuel are unknown to us also, though Lemuel seems to have been a non-Israelite monarch.⁶

Some of the proverbs appear to have been copied from, or at least influenced by, earlier Mesopotamian and Egyptian books of wisdom.⁷

". . . whatever the Spirit of God inspired the ancient writers to include became a part of the Word of the Lord. Such inclusions then took on a new and greater meaning when they formed part of Scripture; in a word, they became authoritative and binding, part of the communication of the divine will."⁸

Date

Solomon reigned from 971 to 931 B.C. and Hezekiah from 715 to 686 B.C.⁹ We do not know when the sages, Agur, or Lemuel lived.

The earliest the Book of Proverbs could have been in its final form was in Hezekiah's day, but it may have reached this stage later than that. We have no way to tell.

The contents of the book could have been in existence in Solomon's lifetime though not assembled into the collection we know as the Book of Proverbs.

Message¹⁰

The Book of Proverbs contains no history. It is purely didactic. It is a book of explicit instruction. Like the other Old Testament wisdom books, Job and Ecclesiastes, it does not contain references to Israel's laws, rituals, sacrifices, or ceremonies. It deals with philosophy primarily. A philosopher is by definition a lover of wisdom. Proverbs is a book that focuses primarily on wisdom, as do Job and Ecclesiastes. In this sense these books are philosophical.

There is a fundamental difference between the philosophy we find in these books and all other philosophy. Other philosophies begin with a question. Hebrew philosophy begins with an affirmation. Its basic affirmation is that God exists. Therefore we can know ultimate truth only by divine revelation.

To many people the Book of Proverbs seems to be a grab bag of wise sayings that lacks any system or order. Nevertheless in a sense this is the most carefully organized of all the books of the Old Testament.

The first verse is its title page. Verses 2-7 are its preface that contains an explanation of the purpose of the book, the method of the Author, and the fundamental affirmation of the book (in v. 7). Then follow three parts of the body of the book. First, there are discourses in defense and application of the fundamental affirmation (1:8--ch. 9). Then we have proverbs Solomon collected and arranged to provide wisdom (chs. 10-24). Next there are additional wise words from Solomon that other people collected after Solomon died (chs. 25-29). An appendix that contains specific words of wisdom by two other sages, Agur and Lemuel, concludes the book (chs. 30-31).

Proverbs is one of the most timeless Old Testament books. The reader needs very little knowledge of ancient Hebrew life and culture to understand and appreciate it. We can understand the contents fairly easily and can apply them directly to modern life.

Let's look first at the fundamental affirmation and then observe how the application of that declaration unfolds in the chapters that follow.

The fundamental affirmation is the deepest insight in Hebrew philosophy (1:7).

There is a presupposition in this statement. It is that God is all wise. We can only find wisdom in God ultimately. This presupposition underlies all of what we read in Job and Ecclesiastes as well as in Proverbs. Furthermore the Hebrews assumed that God expressed His wisdom in all His works and in all His ways. They believed that all natural phenomena revealed God's wisdom. Wherever they looked, they saw God: on land, at sea, in the earth, or in the sky. We can see that viewpoint clearly in Genesis 1:1 (cf. John 14:6).

This fundamental affirmation also contains an inevitable deduction: if wisdom is perfect in God, then wisdom in man consists in the fear of God. A person is wise to the extent that he or she apprehends and fears God. The "fear" of God does not mean a dread that results in hiding from God. It is rather an emotional recognition of God. It is not fear that He may hurt me but fear that I may hurt Him. That is the kind of fear that produces holy character and righteous conduct. Intellectual apprehension of God precedes this emotional recognition, and volitional submission to God's will follows it. When a person comes to this emotional recognition of God he or she comes to the condition for being wise, not that in so doing he or she becomes wise (1:7). We can begin to be wise only when we come into proper relation to God as ultimate Wisdom.

Beginning with 1:8 and continuing to the end of the book, what we have is the application of that affirmation to the various situations and circumstances of life.

I would like to consider what God revealed here in the three spheres of life dealt with in the book: the home, friendship, and the world. In the home, the child must learn wisdom. In friendship, the youth must apply wisdom. In the world, the adult must demonstrate wisdom.

The first sphere is that of the home (1:8-9). God did not teach the responsibility of the father and mother here but took for granted that they would instruct their children. The child needs to hear parental instruction to live in the fear of the Lord. Young children cannot grasp abstract concepts. For them God is incarnate in father and mother. Fathers and mothers reflect the image of God to their children. Both parents are necessary to reveal God to the child fully. Children see some of God's character in the mother's attitudes and actions (cf. Matt. 23:37). They see other aspects of God's character in the father. You do not have to try to teach your young child systematic theology. Just live in the fear of God yourself, and your child will learn what he or she needs to learn about God, for that stage in life, just by observing you. I do not mean to exclude verbal instruction. My point is that young children learn wisdom by observing their parents as well as by listening to them.

The second sphere of life is friendship (1:10-19). The day must come when the child, in the natural process of development, moves out into a wider circle of experience.

Personally I believe the Bible presents two duties that children have to their parents.

When the child's sphere of life is his home, he is to obey his parents. However, that duty does not continue forever. When he moves into the larger sphere of life outside the home, his duty is to honor his parents. This duty does continue forever.

When a child enters this second sphere of life, guided at first by parental council but then finally on its own, wisdom gives important instruction (1:10). He should avoid certain friendships. He should beware of people who seek to make friends with him because they have selfish interests and unscrupulous methods. We have many warnings in Proverbs against people who are not true friends. There is no more important stage in a young person's development than when he or she begins to choose companions. Then, and from then on, he or she must follow the wisdom that comes from the fear of the Lord. The youth must submit to the Lord's wisdom, having learned that in the sphere of the home, to succeed in the larger arenas of life. The choice of a mate is one of these companion decisions.

The third sphere of life is the world, symbolized in Proverbs by the street, the gates, and the city (1:20-33; cf. chs. 2-9).

The first word of warning to the youth who leaves home to enter the world on his own is this. Beware of the evil way of those who do not fear the Lord (1:20-32). There is also a gracious promise (1:33). Wisdom does not say withdraw from the world. Wisdom says remember the fate of those who forget God. Wisdom promises that those who live in the fear of the Lord will be quiet and safe even in the turmoil of the world. Do you see how important preparation for living in this sphere of life is? Children must learn to take God into account in the home, and then in their friendships, before they launch out into the world. This instruction is what really prepares them for life.

The series of discourses beginning, "My son," represents the voice of home sounding in the youth's ears who has left home and is living in the world (chs. 2-7). The father tells his son how his father instructed him in wisdom and how this enabled him to live successfully in the world. Then specific warnings follow concerning impurity, laziness, bad companions, and adultery. As the young man climbs toward a higher position in life, wisdom comes to him again with instruction concerning how he can avoid the pitfalls of that stage of his life (ch. 8). The discourses close with a contrast in which Solomon personified wisdom and folly as two women (ch. 9). One is a woman of virtue and beauty, and the other is a woman of vice and ugliness. Solomon contrasted the value and victory of wisdom with the disaster and defeat of folly. He contrasted the wisdom of fearing God with the folly of forgetting God.

I would summarize the message of Proverbs this way. The person who learns the fear of God (an emotional recognition of God) in every sphere of life will be successful, but those who forget God will fail. By an emotional recognition of God I mean taking God into account, being aware of His reality and presence, making decisions in view of His existence and revelation. This is what fearing God means.

The precepts urging a life of wisdom center on 3:1-10. This passage concentrates on that subject. Proverbs 3:5-6 is some of the best advice anyone ever gave.

The practice of wisdom centers on 8:32-36.

The power for living a life of wisdom centers on 1:8 (cf. James 1:5; 3:37; Col. 2:3).

Constable: Proverbs (Garis Besar)

Outline

I. Discourses on wisdom chs. 1-9

A. Introduction to the book 1:1-7

1. The title of the book 1:1

2. The purpose of the book 1:2-6

3. The thesis of the book 1:7

B. Instruction for young people 1:8-7:27

1. Warning against consorting with sinners 1:8-19

2. Wisdom's appeal 1:20-33

3. Wisdom as a treasure chs. 2-3

4. Encouragements to obey these instructions ch. 4

5. Warnings against unfaithfulness in marriage ch. 5

6. Other dangerous temptations 6:1-19

7. Further warnings against adultery 6:20-7:27

C. The value of wisdom and wise conduct chs. 8-9

1. The function of wisdom ch. 8

2. Wisdom and folly contrasted ch. 9

II. Couplets expressing wisdom 10:1-22:16

A. The marks of wise living chs. 10-15

1. Things that produce profit 10:1-14

2. Things of true value 10:15-32

3. Wise living in various contexts 11:1-15

4. Wise investments 11:16-31

5. The value of righteousness 12:1-12

6. Avoiding trouble 12:13-28

7. Fruits of wise living ch. 13

8. Further advice for wise living chs. 14-15

B. How to please God 16:1-22:16

1. Trusting God ch. 16

2. Peacemakers and troublemakers ch. 17

3. Friendship and folly ch. 18

4. Further advice for pleasing God 19:1-22:16

III. Wise sayings 22:17-24:34

A. Thirty sayings of the wise 22:17-24:22

1. The first group 22:17-23:11

2. The second group 23:12-24:22

B. Six more sayings of the wise 24:23-34

IV. Maxims expressing wisdom chs. 25-29

A. Instructive analogies 25:1-27:22

1. Wise and foolish conduct ch. 25

2. Fools and folly ch. 26

3. Virtues and vices 27:1-22

B. A discourse on prudence 27:23-27

C. Instructive contrasts chs. 28-29

V. Two discourses by other wise men chs. 30-31

A. The wisdom of Agur ch. 30

1. The introduction of Agur 30:1

2. Wisdom about God 30:2-9

3. Wisdom about life 30:10-33

B. The wisdom of Lemuel ch. 31

1. The introduction of Lemuel 31:1

2. The wise king 31:2-9

3. The wise woman 31:10-31

Constable: Proverbs

Proverbs

Bibliography

Aitken, Kenneth T. Proverbs. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986.

Alden, Robert L. Proverbs: A Commentary on an Ancient Book of Timeless Advice. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984.

Archer, Gleason L., Jr. Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982.

Barr, J. "b'rs--molis: Prov. 11:31 and 1 Pet. 4:18." Journal of Semitic Studies 20 (1975):149-64.

Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book. 6 vols. London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1965.

Bouffier, R. J. "The Heart in the Proverbs of Solomon." The Bible Today 52 (1971):249-51.

Bricker, Daniel P. "The Doctrine of the Two Ways' in Proverbs." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 38:4 (December 1995):501-17.

Bridges, Charles. An Exposition of Proverbs. 1846; reprint ed., London: Banner of Truth, 1960.

Brunner, Leah Leila. "King and Commoner in Proverbs and Near Eastern Sources." Dor le Dor 10 (1982):210-19.

Bullock, C. Hassell. An Introduction to the Poetic Books of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press, 1979.

Buzzell, Sid S. "Proverbs." In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, pp. 901-74. Edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1985.

Byargeon, Rick W. "The Structure and Significance of Prov 9:7-12." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40:3 (September 1997):367-75.

Caquot, Andre. "Israelite Perceptions of Wisdom and Strength in the Light of the Ras Shamra Texts." In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 25-33. Edited by John G. Gammie, Walter A. Brueggemann, W. Lee Humphreys, and John M. Ward. New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978.

Cohen, A. Proverbs. London: Soncino Press, 1946.

Collins, John J. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1980.

Constable, Thomas L. "Analysis of Bible Books--Old Testament." Paper submitted for course 685 Analysis of Bible Books--Old Testament. Dallas Theological Seminary, January 1967.

Crenshaw, James L. The Acquisition of Knowledge in Israelite Wisdom Literature." Word & World 7:3 (Sumemr 1987):245-52.

_____. Old Testament Wisdom. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981.

Dahood, M. "Honey That Drips. Notes on Proverbs 5:2-3." Biblica 54 (1973):65-66.

_____. "To Pawn One's Cloak." Biblica 42 (1961):359-66.

Darby, John Nelson. Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. 5 vols. Revised ed. New York: Loizeaux Brothers Publishers, 1942.

Davies, E. W. "The Meaning of qesem in Prv 16:10." Biblica 61 (1980):554-56.

Delitzsch, Franz. Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon. 2 vols. Translated by M. G. Eason. Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d.

Eliot, T. S. Collected Poems 1909-1962. New York: Harcourt Brace and World, 1963.

Emerton, J. A. "A Note in Proverbs 12:26." Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 76 (1964):191-93.

Frankfort, Henri. Ancient Egyptian Religion. New York: Columbia University Press, 1948; reprint ed. New York: Harper and Row, Harper Torchbooks, 1961.

Gaebelein, Arno C. The Annotated Bible. 4 vols. Reprint ed. Chicago: Moody Press, and New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., 1970.

Glueck, Nelson. Hesed in the Bible. Translated by Alfred Gottschalk. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1967.

Godbey, Allen H. "The Hebrew Masal." American Journal of Semitic Languages 39:2 (January 1923):89-108.

Gordon, Edmund I. Sumerian Proverbs: Glimpses of Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood press, 1969.

Gray, George Buchanan. The Forms of Hebrew Poetry. Library of Biblical Studies series. 1915; reprint ed. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1972.

Greenstone, Julius H. Proverbs with Commentary. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1950.

Habel, Norman C. "The Symbolism of Wisdom in Proverbs 1-9." Interpretation 26:2 (April 1972):131-57.

Harris, Monford. "Pre-Marital Sexual Experience: A Covenantal Critique." Judaism 19 (1970):134-44.

Harris, R. Laird. "Proverbs." In The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, pp. 553-83. Edited by Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison. Chicago: Moody Press, 1962.

Hawkins, Tom R. "The Wife of Noble Character in Proverbs 31:10-31." Bibliotheca Sacra 153:609 (January-March 1996):12-23.

Herbert, A. S. "The Parable' (Masal) in the Old Testament." Scottish Journal of Theology 7 (1954):180-96.

Hermission, Hans-Jurgen. "Observations on the Creation Theology in Wisdom." In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 43-57. Edited by John G. Gammie, Walter A. Brueggemann, W. Lee Humphreys, and John M. Ward. New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978.

Hilber, John W. "Old Testament Wisdom and the Integration Debate in Christian Counseling." Bibliotheca Sacra 155:620 (October-December 1998):411-22.

Humphreys, W. Lee. "The Motif of the Wise Courtier in the Book of Proverbs." In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 177-90. Edited by John G. Gammie, Walter A. Brueggemann, W. Lee Humphreys, and John M. Ward. New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978.

Ironside, Harry A. Notes on the Book of Proverbs. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, n.d.

Irwin, William A. "Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?" Journal of Biblical Literature 80 (1961):133-42.

Jensen, Irving L. Proverbs. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1982.

Johnson, A. R. The Vitality of the Individual in the Thought of Ancient Israel. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1949.

Johnson, John E. "An Analysis of Proverbs 1:1-7." Bibliotheca Sacra 144:576 (October-December 1987):419-32.

Kidner, Derek, The Proverbs. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series. Leicester, Eng.: Tyndale Press, 1964; reprint ed., Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1978.

Lambert, W. G. Babylonian Wisdom Literature. 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975.

Lange, John Peter, ed. Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. 12 vols. Reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1960. Vol. 4: Psalms--Song of Solomon, by Carl Bernhard Moll and Otto Zockler. Translated and edited by Charles A. Briggs, John Forsyth, James B. Hammond, J. Fred McCurdy, Charles A Aiken, Tayler Lewis, William Wells, and W. Henry Green.

Larsen, Paul E. Wise Up and Live. Bible Commentary for Laymen Series. Ventura, Calif.: Gospel Light Publications, Regal Books, 1974.

Levin, Y. "The Woman of Valor' in Jewish Ritual [Prov. 31:10-31]." Beth Mikra 31 (1985-86):339-47.

Lindenberger, James M. "The Aramaic Proverbs of Ahiqar." Ph.D. dissertation, Johns Hopkins University, 1974.

Long, Thomas G. Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989.

Marcus, Ralph. "The Tree of Life in Proverbs." Journal of Biblical Literature 62 (1943):117-20.

McKane, William. Proverbs: A New Approach. Old Testament Library series. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1970.

Morgan, G. Campbell. Living Messages of the Books of the Bible. 2 vols. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1912.

Murphy, Roland E. "Wisdom--Theses and Mypothesis." In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 35-42. Edited by John G. Gammie, Walter A. Brueggemann, W. Lee Humphreys, and John M. Ward. New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978.

New Bible Dictionary. Edited by J. D. Douglas. 1962 ed. S.v. "Wisdom Literature," by D. A. Hubbard, pp. 1334-35.

North, F. S. "The Four Insatiables." Vetus Testamentum 15 (1965):281-82.

Oesterley, W. O. E. The Book of Proverbs. London: Methuen and Co., 1929.

Parsons, Greg W. "Guidelines of Understanding and Proclaiming the Book of Proverbs." Bibliotheca Sacra 150:598 (April-June 1993):151-70.

Perdue, Leo G. Wisdom and Cult. Missoula, Mont: Scholars Press, 1977.

Perowne, T. T. The Proverbs. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1916.

Pettinato, Giovanni. "The Royal Archives of Tell Mardikh-Ebla." Biblical Archaeologist 39 (May 1976):44-52.

Plaut, W. Gunther. Book of Proverbs. Jewish Commentary for Bible Readers series. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1961.

Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1955.

Robinson, Theodore H. The Poetry of the Old Testament. London: Duckworth, 1947.

Ross, Allen P. "Proverbs." In Psalms-Song of Songs. Vol. 5 of The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991.

Sailhamer, John H. "The Mosaic Law and the Theology of the Pentateuch." Westminster Theological Journal 53 (Fall 1991):241-61.

Sarles, Ken L. "A Theological Evaluation of the Prosperity Gospel." Bibliotheca Sacra 143:572 (October-December 1986):329-52.

Scott, Robert Balgarnie Young. Proverbs--Ecclesiastes. Anchor Bible series. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1965.

_____. "Wisdom in Creation: The AMON of Proverbs VII 30." Vetus Testamentum 10 (1960):211-23.

Shaw, Jean. Second Cup of Coffee. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.

Simpson, William Kelly, ed. The Literature of Egypt. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1972.

Skehan, Patrick W. Studies in Israelite Poetry and Wisdom. Vol I of The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph series. Washington: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1971.

Snell, Daniel C. "Taking Souls' in Proverbs 11:30." Vetus Testamentum 33 (1983):362-65.

Steinmann, Andrew E. "Proverbs 1-9 as a Solomonic Composition." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43:4 (December 2000):659-74.

Stuart, Moses. A Commentary on the Book of Proverbs. Andover, Mass.: Warren F. Draper, 1852.

Story, Cullen I. K. "The Book of Proverbs and Northwest Semitic Literature." Journal of Biblical Literature 64 (1945):319-37.

Swindoll, Charles R. Living Beyond the Daily Grind. 2 vols. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1988. Vol. 1.

Thiele, Edwin R. A Chronology of the Hebrew Kings. Contemporary Evangelical Perspectives series. Reprint ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.

Torcszyner, Harry. "The Riddle in the Bible." Hebrew Union College Annual 1 (1924):125-49.

Toy, Crawford H. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Proverbs. International Critical Commentary series. 1899; reprint ed., Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1970.

Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1961.

Trench, Richard Chenevix. On the Lessons in Proverbs. New York: Redfield, 1853.

Trible, Phyllis. "Wisdom Builds a Poem: The Architecture of Proverbs 1:20-33." Journal of Biblical Literature 94 (1975):509-18.

Van Leeuwen, Raymond C. "Proverbs 30:21-23 and the Biblical World Upside Down." Journal of Biblical Literature 105:4 (December 1986):599-610.

von Rad, Gerhard. Wisdom in Israel. New York: Abingdon, 1974.

Waltke, Bruce K. "The Book of Proverbs and Ancient Wisdom Literature." Bibliotheca Sacra 136:543 (July-September 1979):221-38.

_____. "The Book of Proverbs and Old Testament Theology." Bibliotheca Sacra 136:544 (October-December 1979):302-17.

Whybray, Roger Norman. The Book of Proverbs. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible series. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1972.

_____. Wisdom in Proverbs. Naperville, Ill.: A. R. Allenson, 1965.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Skillful. Wheaton: Scripture Press, Victor Books, 1995.

Yoder, Sanford Calvin. Poetry of the Old Testament. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1973.

Young, Edward J. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Revised ed. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1960.

Zuck, Roy B. "A Theology of the Wisdom Books and the Song of Songs." In A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 207-55. Edited by Roy B. Zuck. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991.

Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Proverbs (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE BOOK OF PROVERBS.

INTRODUCTION.

This book is so called, because it consists of wise and weighty sentences, regulating the morals of men; and directing them to wisdom and virtue. And these sentences are also called Parables, because great truths are often couched in them under certain figures and similitudes. (Challoner) --- Wisdom is introduced speaking in the nine first chapters. Then to chap. xxv. more particular precepts are given. (Worthington) --- Ezechias caused to be collected (Haydock) what comes in the five next chapters, and in the two last. Some other, or rather Solomon himself, under (Worthington) different titles, gives us Agur's and his mother's instructions, and his own commendations of a valiant woman, (Haydock) which is prophetical of the Catholic Church. He also wrote the two next works, besides many other things, which have been lost. This is the first of those five, which are called "sapiential," giving instructions how to direct our lives, by the dictates of sound reason. (Worthington) --- It is the most important of Solomon's works, though collected by different authors. (Calmet) --- T. Paine treats Solomon as a witty jester. But his jests are of a very serious nature, and no one had before heard of his wit. (Watson)

Gill: Proverbs (Pendahuluan Kitab)

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS

This book is called, in some printed Hebrew copies, "Sepher Mishle", the Book of Proverbs; the title of it in the Vulgate Latin version is,

"the Book of Proverbs, which the Hebrews call "Misle":''

in the Septuagint version it has the name of the writer, the Proverbs of Solomon; and so in the Syriac version, with the addition of his titles,

"the son of David, king of Israel.''

This and Ecclesiastes are both of them by the Jews ^a called Books of Wisdom: and it is common with the ancient Christian writers ^b to call the book of Proverbs by the names of "Wisdom" and "Panaretos"; names they give also to the apocryphal books of Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon; and therefore this is to be carefully distinguished from them. The author of this book was King Solomon, as the "first" verse, which contains the inscription of it, shows; for he was not a collector of these proverbs, as Grotius is of opinion, but the author of them, at least of the far greater part; and not only the author, but the writer of them: the Jews ^c say that Hezekiah and this men wrote them; it is true indeed the men of Hezekiah copied some, Pro 25:1; but even those were written by Solomon. R. Gedaliah ^d would have it that Isaiah the prophet wrote this book; but without any foundation. At what time it was written is not certain; the Jewish writers generally say ^e it was written by Solomon, as were the books of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs, in his old age, when near the time of his death; though some think it was written before his fall: and it may be it was not written all at once, but at certain times, when these proverbs occurred unto him and were spoken by him, and as occasion served: however, it is not to he doubted but that they were written under the inspiration of God. The Jews once thought to have made this book of Proverbs an apocryphal one, because of some seeming contradictions in it; but finding that these were capable of a reconciliation, changed their minds, as became them ^f. Among Christians, Theodore of Mopsuest, in the sixth century, denied the divine authority of this book, and attributed it merely to human wisdom; which opinion of his was condemned in the second council at Constantinople: and in later times it has been treated with contempt by the Socinians, and particularly by Father Simon and Le Clerc; but the authority of it is confirmed by the writers of the New Testament, who have cited passages out of it; see Rom 12:20 from Pro 25:21. The book consists of "five" parts; "first", a preface or introduction, which takes up the first "nine" chapters; the "second", the proverbs of Solomon, put together by himself, beginning at the tenth chapter to the twenty-fifth; the "third", the proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah, beginning at the twenty-fifth chapter to the thirtieth; the "fourth", the words of Agur, the thirtieth chapter, the "fifth", the instruction of Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, the thirty-first chapter.