Proverbs 27 commentary

We know not what a day may bring forth. This does not forbid preparing for to-morrow, but presuming upon to-morrow. We must not put off the great work of conversion, that one thing needful.

There may be occasion for us to justify ourselves, but not to praise ourselves.

Those who have no command of their passions, sink under the load.

Plain and faithful rebukes are better, not only than secret hatred, but than love which compliments in sin, to the hurt of the soul.

The poor have a better relish of their enjoyments, and are often more thankful for them, than the rich. In like manner the proud and self-sufficient disdain the gospel; but those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, find comfort from the meanest book or sermon that testifies of Christ Jesus.

Every man has his proper place in society, where he may be safe and comfortable.

Depend not for relief upon a kinsman, merely for kindred's sake; apply to those who are at hand, and will help in need. But there is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, and let us place entire confidence in him.

An affectionate parent urges his son to prudent conduct that should gladden his heart. The good conduct of Christians is the best answer to all who find fault with the gospel.

Where there is temptation, if we thrust ourselves into it, there will be sin, and punishment will follow.

An honest man may be made a beggar, but he is not honest that makes himself one.

It is folly to be fond of being praised; it is a temptation to pride.

The contentions of a neighbour may be like a sharp shower, troublesome for a time; the contentions of a wife are like constant rain.

We are cautioned to take heed whom we converse with. And directed to have in view, in conversation, to make one another wiser and better.

Though a calling be laborious and despised, yet those who keep to it, will find there is something to be got by it. God is a Master who has engaged to honour those who serve him faithfully.

One corrupt heart is like another; so are sanctified hearts: the former bear the same image of the earthly, the latter the same image of the heavenly. Let us carefully watch our own hearts, comparing them with the word of God.

Two things are here said to be never satisfied, death and sin. The appetites of the carnal mind for profit or pleasure are always desiring more. Those whose eyes are ever toward the Lord, are satisfied in him, and shall for ever be so.

Silver and gold are tried by putting them into the furnace and fining-pot; so is a man tried by praising him.

Some are so bad, that even severe methods do not answer the end; what remains but that they should be rejected? The new-creating power of God's grace alone is able to make a change.

We ought to have some business to do in this world, and not to live in idleness, and not to meddle with what we do not understand. We must be diligent and take pains. Let us do what we can, still the world cannot be secured to us, therefore we must choose a more lasting portion; but by the blessing of God upon our honest labours, we may expect to enjoy as much of earthly blessings as is good for us.

CHAPTER 27

Pr 27:1-27.

1. Do not confide implicitly in your plans (Pr 16:9; 19:21; Jas 4:13-15).

2. Avoid self-praise.

3. heavy--The literal sense of "heavy," applied to material subjects, illustrates its figurative, "grievous," applied to moral.

a fool's wrath--is unreasonable and excessive.

4. envy--or, "jealousy" (compare Margin; Pr 6:34), is more unappeasable than the simpler bad passions.

5-6. secret love--not manifested in acts is useless; and even, if its exhibition by rebukes wounds us, such love is preferable to the frequent (compare Margin), and hence deceitful, kisses of an enemy.

7. The luxury of wealth confers less happiness than the healthy appetite of labor.

8. Such are not only out of place, but out of duty and in danger.

9. rejoice the heart--the organ of perceiving what pleases the senses.

sweetness ... counsel--or, "wise counsel is also pleasing."

10. Adhere to tried friends. The ties of blood may be less reliable than those of genuine friendship.

11. The wisdom of children both reflects credit on parents and contributes to their aid in difficulties.

12-13. (Compare Pr 20:16; 22:3).

14. Excessive zeal in praising raises suspicions of selfishness.

15. (Compare Pr 19:13).

very ... day--literally, "a day of showers."

16. hideth--or, "restrains" (that is, tries to do it); is as fruitless an effort, as that of holding the wind.

the ointment of his right hand--the organ of power (Psa 17:7; 18:35). His right hand endeavors to repress perfume, but vainly. Some prefer: "His right hand comes on oil," that is, "cannot take hold." Such a woman cannot be tamed.

17. a man sharpeneth ... friend--that is, conversation promotes intelligence, which the face exhibits.

18. Diligence secures a reward, even for the humble servant.

19. We may see our characters in the developed tempers of others.

20. Men's cupidity is as insatiable as the grave.

21. Praise tests character.

a man to his praise--according to his praise, as he bears it. Thus vain men seek it, weak men are inflated by it, wise men disregard it, &c.

22. The obstinate wickedness of such is incurable by the heaviest inflictions.

23-24. flocks--constituted the staple of wealth. It is only by care and diligence that the most solid possessions can be perpetuated (Pr 23:5).

25-27. The fact that providential arrangements furnish the means of competence to those who properly use them is another motive to diligence (compare Psa 65:9-13).

The hay appeareth--literally, "Grass appeareth" (Job 40:15; Psa 104:14).

Boast not thyself of to-morrow - See note on Jam 4:13, etc. Do not depend on any future moment for spiritual good which at present thou needest, and God is willing to give, and without which, should death surprise thee, thou must be eternally lost; such as repentance, faith in Christ, the pardon of sin, the witness of the Holy Spirit, and complete renovation of soul. Be incessant in thy application to God for these blessings.

My old MS. Bible translates thus: Ne glorie thou into the morewenning. Here we see the derivation of our word morning; morewenning, from more, and wen or won, to dwelt, i.e., a continuance of time to live or dwell in your present habitation. Every man wishes to live longer, and therefore wishes for to-morrow; and when to-morrow comes, then to-morrow, and so on.

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth - We have a similar proverb, which illustrates this: "Self-praise is no commendation."

Who is able to stand before envy? - The rabbins have a curious story on this subject, and it has been formed by the moderns into a fable. There were two persons, one covetous and the other envious, to whom a certain person promised to grant whatever they should ask; but double to him who should ask last. The covetous man would not ask first, because he wished to get the double portion, and the envious man would not make the first request because he could not bear the thoughts of thus benefiting his neighbor. However, at last he requested that one of his eyes should be taken out, in order that his neighbor might lose both.

Open rebuke is better than secret love - Plutarch gives an account of a man who, aiming a blow at his enemy's life, cut open an imposthume, which by a salutary discharge saved his life, that was sinking under a disease for which a remedy could not be found. Partial friendship covers faults; envy, malice, and revenge, will exhibit, heighten, and even multiply them. The former conceals us from ourselves; the latter shows us the worst part of our character. Thus we are taught the necessity of amendment and correction. In this sense open rebuke is better than secret love. Yet it is a rough medicine, and none can desire it. But the genuine open-hearted friend may be intended, who tells you your faults freely but conceals them from all others; hence the sixth verse: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend."

Is a bird that wandereth from her nest - Leaving her own brood, places of retreat, and feeding-ground behind, and going into strange countries, where she is exposed to every kind of danger. So is the man who leaves his family connections and country, and goes into strange parts to find employment, better his circumstances, make a fortune, etc. I have seen multitudes of such wanderers from their place come to great misery and wretchedness. God's general advice is, "Do good, and dwell in the land; and verily thou shalt be fed."

Ointment and perfume - Anointing the head and various parts of the body with aromatic oil is frequent in the East, and fumigating the beards of the guests at the conclusion of an entertainment is almost universal; as is also sprinkling rose-water, and water highly ordoriferous. Two of the curious vessels which are used for this purpose are now before me; they hold some quarts each, and are beautifully inlaid with silver in the form of sprigs, leaves, etc.

Thine own friend - A well and long tried friend is invaluable. Him that has been a friend to thy family never forget, and never neglect. And, in the time of adversity, rather apply to such a one, than go to thy nearest relative, who keeps himself at a distance.

A prudent man foreseeth the evil - The very same as Pro 22:3.

Take his garment - The same as Pro 20:16.

He that blesseth his friend - He who makes loud and public protestations of acknowledgments to his friend for favors received, subjects his sincerity to suspicion; and remember the Italian proverb elsewhere quoted: - "He who praises you more than he was wont to do, has either deceived you, or is about to do it." Extravagant public professions are little to be regarded.

A continual dropping - See Pro 19:13.

Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind - You may as well attempt to repress the blowing of the wind, as the tongue of a scold; and to conceal this unfortunate propensity of a wife is as impossible as to hush the storm, and prevent its sound from being heard.

The ointment of his right hand - You can no more conceal such a woman's conduct, than you can the smell of the aromatic oil with which your hand has been anointed. The Hebrew is very obscure, and is variously translated. Coverdale thus: "He that refrayneth her, refrayneth the wynde; and holdith oyle fast in his honde." That is, he attempts to do what is impossible to be done.

Iron sharpeneth iron - As hard iron, viz., steel, will bring a knife to a better edge when it is properly whetted against it: so one friend may be the means of exciting another to reflect, dive deeply into, and illustrate a subject, without which whetting or excitement, this had never taken place. Had Horace seen this proverb in the Septuagint translation when he wrote to the Pisos?

Ergo fungar vice cotis, acutum

Reddere quae ferrum valet, exors ipsa secandi.

Hor. Ars. Poet., ver. 304. "But let me sharpen others, as the hone

Gives edge to razors, though itself have none."

Francis.

As in water face answereth to face - All men's hearts are pretty nearly alike; water is not more like to water, than one heart is to another. Or, as a man sees his face perfectly reflected by the water, when looking into it; so the wise and penetrating man sees generally what is in the heart of another by considering the general tenor of his words and actions. "Surely, if each man saw another's heart

There would be no commerce;All would disperse,And live apart."

Hebert.

Hell and destruction are never full - How hideous must the soul of a covetous man be, when God compares it to hell and perdition!

The eyes of man are never satisfied - As the grave can never be filled up with bodies, nor perdition with souls; so the restless desire, the lust of power, riches, and splendor, is never satisfied. Out of this ever unsatisfied desire spring all the changing fashions, the varied amusements, and the endless modes of getting money, prevalent in every age, and in every country.

As the fining pot for silver - As silver and gold are tried by the art of the refiner, so is a man's heart by the praise he receives. If he feel it not, he deserves it; if he be puffed up by it, he is worthless.

Though thou shouldest bray a fool - Leaving all other conjectures, of which commentators are full, I would propose, that this is a metaphor taken from pounding metallic ores in very large mortars, such as are still common in the East, in order that, when subjected to the action of the fire, the metal may be the more easily separated from the ore. However you may try, by precept or example, or both, to instruct a stupid man, your labor is lost; his foolishness cannot be separated from him. You may purge metals of all their dross; but you cannot purge the fool of his folly.

The state of thy flocks - The directions to the end of the chapter refer chiefly to pastoral and agricultural affairs. Do not trust thy flocks to the shepherd merely; number them thyself; look into their condition; see how they are tended; and when, and with what, and in what proportion, they are fed.

For riches are not for ever - All other kinds of property are very transitory. Money and the highest civil honors are but for a short season. Flocks and herds, properly attended to, may be multiplied and continued from generation to generation. The crown itself is not naturally so permanent.

The hay appeareth - Take care that this be timeously mown, carefully dried and safely ricked or housed. And when the tender grass and the proper herbs appear in the mountains in the spring, then send forth the lambs, the young of the flock, that they may get suitable pasturage, without too much impoverishing the home fields; for by the sale of the lambs and goats, the price of the field is paid - all the landlord's demands are discharged. Either a certain number of lambs, goats, and other cattle, was given to the landlord; or so much money as so many lambs, etc., were then worth.

The lambs are for thy clothing - So many fleeces are given in some places as rent to the landlord.

Goats' milk enough for thy food - ללחמך lelachmecha, "to thy bread;" for they ate the bread and supped the milk to assist mastication, and help deglutition. And it seems that bread, with goats' milk, was the general article of food for the master and his family; and for the servant maids who assisted in the household work, and performed the operations required in the dairy.

The reader who wishes to see these maxims detailed and illustrated at large, may consult the writers De Re Rustica, where he will find much curious information.

Boast not - Of any good thing which thou purposeth to do, or hopest to receive tomorrow, or hereafter. Knowest not - What may happen in the space of one day. The day is said to bring forth, what God by his almighty power either causes or suffers to be brought forth or done in it.

Heavier - More grievous, being without cause, without measure, and without end.

Open - When it is needful, in which case, though it put a man to some shame yet it doth him good. Better - More desirable and beneficial. Secret love - Which does not shew itself by friendly actions, and particularly by free and faithful reproof.

Wounds - The sharpest reproofs. Kisses - All the outward profession of friendship.

Wandereth - That flies from place to place, whereby she is exposed to all the arts of fowlers, and to birds of prey. So - So is he who through vanity or lightness changes his abode, or his calling.

Neither go - For comfort and relief, so as to forsake thy friend for him. A neighbour - The friend, who hath shewed himself to be a good neighbour. Near - In affection.

Reproacheth - For being the father of a wicked son.

Blesseth - That praises him to his face. A loud voice - That both he, and others, may be sure to take notice of it. Rising early - To shew his great forwardness. A curse - His friend will value this kind of blessing no more than a curse.

Hideth - Attempts to smother her passion. Right - hand - Which being the great instrument of action, by its much stirring, diffuses the savour of it.

Iron - Iron tools are made sharp and fit for use, by rubbing them against the file, or some other iron. The countenance - The company or conversation of his friend.

So he - That serves him faithfully, prudently, and diligently.

So - So one man resembles another in the corruption of his nature.

Hell - The grave devours all the bodies which are put into it, and is always ready to receive and devour more. The eyes - The desires, which discover themselves by the eyes.

To his praise - Or, according to his praise. So a man is tried by praise.

Flock - Flocks and herds are here put for all possessions, because anciently they were the chief part of a man's riches.

For - What thou dost now possess, will not last always. If a man had the wealth of a kingdom, without care and diligence it would be brought to nothing.

The hay - Another encouragement to diligence; God invites thee to it by the plentiful provisions wherewith he has enriched the earth for thy sake. The mountains - Even the most barren parts afford thee their help.

The price - By the sale whereof thou mayest either pay the rent of the field which thou hirest, or purchase fields or lands. Goats might better be spared and sold than sheep, which brought a more constant profit to the owner.

Goat's milk - Or, if thou chusest rather to keep thy goats, the milk will serve thee for food to thyself and family. In ancient times men used a plain and simple diet.

1 BOast not thy self of to morrow , for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth .

Of any good thing which thou purposest to do, or hopest to receive to morrow, or hereafter: the time being here put Metonymically for things done or had in the time, as Deut. 4. 32. Eccles. 2. 23. The same caution is given, Iam. 4. 13, &c.

What may happen in the space of one day, which may hinder thy designs or expectations. The day is said to bring forth what God by his Almighty Power and Providence doth either cause or suffer to be brought forth or done in it.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 4. 13.; [illegible: 1 word] to mor [illegible: 1+ letters] [illegible: 1 word].

2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth : a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Except it be really necessary, either for thy own just vindication, or for the honour of God, or for the edification of others, in which cases this hath been allowed and practised by wise and virtuous men, as particularly by St. Paul, 2 Cor. 11. 12.

3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fools wrath is heavier than them both.

More grievous and intollerable, as being without cause, without measure, and without end.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word].

4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outragious, but who is able to stand before envy ?

Envy is worse than both of them, partly because it is more unjust and unreasonable, as not caused by any provocation, as wrath and anger are, but only proceeding from a malignity of mind, whereby a man is grieved for another mans happiness, in which he should rejoice; partly because it is more deeply rooted and implacable, whereas the other passions are commonly allayed, and partly because it is more secret and undiscernable, and therefore the mischievous effects of it are hardly avoidable, whereas wrath and anger discover themselves, and so forewarn and forearm a man against the danger.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] wrath [illegible: 1 word], and [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].; [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].

5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.

Heb. which is manifested or discovered, either 1. Publickly and before others, when it is needful, in which case, though it put a man to some shame, yet it doth him good. Or 2. Privately, and to the offenders face, a plain and down-right reproof.

More desirable and beneficial.

Which lies hid in the heart, and doth not shew it self by friendly Actions, and particularly by free and faithful Reproof, which is a principal end and benefit of friendship.

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful .

They proceed from an upright, and truly loving, and faithful Soul, and really promote the good of the person reproved.

The sharpest reproofs which for the present wound his Spirit and Reputation.

All the fair Speeches and outward Professions of Friendship.

Or, are to be deprecated, are perfidious and pernicious, and such things as one may pray to God to be delivered from them. Or, are forced, like things which are procured with great difficulty, and many intreaties.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] 141. 5.; [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word].

7 The full soul loatheth an honey comb , but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

A man whose appetite or desire (which is oft expressed in Scripture by the name of Soul) is fully satisfied.

The most delicious meats. The design of this Proverb is to shew the inconvenience that oft times attends upon plenty, and the advantage of Poverty, that the rich might learn moderation, and the poor content.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] foot.; [illegible: 1 word] 6. 7.

8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest , so is a man that wandereth from his place .

That flies very much abroad from place to place, whereby she is exposed to all the arts of Fowlers, and to Birds of Prey, from which she is safe whilest she keeps her nest.

That through vanity or lightness changeth the place of his abode, or, his Calling and course of Life, the ill effects whereof have been frequently observed and noted, even in vulgar Proverbs, as when we say, A rolling Stone gathers no Moss.

9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart , so doth the sweetness of a mans friend by hearty counsel .

By increasing and comforting the spirits.

No less grateful and pleasant is the company and conversation of a true friend, in respect of his good and faithful counsel, which comes from his very Heart and Soul, and contains his most inward and serious Thoughts, whereas deceitful persons give such counsels, not as they think to be best, but as most serve their Lusts or designs▪

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] from the [illegible: 1 word] of the

10 Thine own friend and thy fathers friend forsake not, neither go into thy brothers house in the day of thy calamity; for better is a neighbour that is near , than a brother far off.

Of whose friendship thou hast had long experience.

To wit, for comfort and relief, and so as to forsake or neglect thy friend for him.

The friend mentioned in the beginning of the verse, who hath shewed himself to be a true and a good neighbour.

Either 1. In place by cohabitation. Or rather 2. In affection, in which respect God is oft said to be near to the righteous, and far from the wicked.

Marginal references: Ch. 17. 17▪ & 18. 24.

11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me .

For being the father of a wicked son, as if I had either deserved him as a curse from God, or made him so by my example or by the neglect of his education. See Ezek. 16. 44. 1 Tim. 3. 4.

Marginal references: Ch. 10. 1▪ & 23. 24.

12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself, but the simple pass on, and are punished .

This was delivered Ch. 22. 3. and is here repeated to enforce the foregoing exhortation, by representing the great advantage of Wisdom.

13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledg of him for a strange woman .

Possibly this is here repeated as a part of the fathers counsel to his Son, begun v. 11. to avoid rash Suretyship, to which young men are most prone, and by which they are exposed in the beginning of their days to many sins and miseries, which they carry with them to their graves.

Marginal references: Ch. 20. 16▪

14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice , rising early in the morning , it shall be counted a curse to him .

That saluteth, or praiseth, and applaudeth him to his face, as the manner of flatterers is.

That both he, and others, may be sure to take notice of it.

To perform this Office, to shew his great forwardness, and diligence, and zeal in his service, which was the custom of the Romans afterward, and possibly of some of the Jews at this time.

His friend will value this kind of blessing no more than a curse, because it plainly discovers a base design, and is an high reflection upon him, as if he either did not understand such gross and palpable flattery, or were so ridiculously vainglorious as to be pleased with it.

15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day, and a contentious woman are alike .

Are equally troublesom, the first not suffering a man to go abroad with comfort, the latter not permitting him to stay at home with quietness.

Marginal references: Ch. 19. 13▪

16 Whosoever hideth her , hideth the wind , and the ointment of his right hand which bewrayeth it self.

i. e. Attempts to smother or bridle her passion, that it may not break forth to her shame, and to his own discomfort and reproach.

Undertakes that which is impossible.

Which being the great instrument of action by its much stirring diffuseth the savour of it.

17 Iron sharpeneth iron , so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend .

Iron cutting tools are made bright, and sharp, and fit for use by rubbing them against the file, or some other Iron.

So a man, who being alone is sad, and dull, and unactive, by the company and conversation of his friend, is greatly refreshed, his very wits are sharpened, and his spirit revived, and he is both fitted for and provoked to action. The countenance is here put for the mind or spirit, whose temper or disposition is commonly visible in mens countenances.

18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree , shall eat the fruit thereof, so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured .

Which he mentions because they abounded in Canaan, and were more valued and regarded than other Trees.

That serves him faithfully, prudently and diligently.

Shall receive that respect and recompence which he deserves.

19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man .

The sense is either 1. As the image of a mans Face in the water answers to his natural Face who looks into it, or, as in water one mans face is like anothers, the difference of mens faces being not there visible, so one man resembles another, either in the temper of his Mind or Body, in which many men are alike one to another; or in the corruption of his Nature, in which all are alike. Or 2. As a man may see his own face if he look into the water, which is Natures Looking-Glass, or into any other Looking-Glass, so a man may discern his own Heart if he look into those Glasses whereby it discovers itself, if he examine his Thoughts and Inclinations, together with the general course of his Actions. Or 3▪ As the Face of a man standing by the waters is visible, not only to himself, but to others, by the shadow or image of it in the waters, so the Heart of a man is in some measure discernable, not only to himself, but to others also, who observe his disposition and carriage.

20 Hell and destruction are never full , so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

The Grave devours all the Bodies which are put into it, and is always ready to receive and devour more and more without end.

i. e. The desires which work and discover themselves by the eyes, 1 Ioh. 2. 16. and other senses; for otherwise the Eyes in themselves are neither capable of satisfaction nor of dissatisfaction.

Marginal references: Ch. 30. 16. Hab. 2. 5.; Heb. not.; Eccl. 1. 8. & 6. 7.

21 As the fining-pot for silver , and the furnace for gold, so is a man to his praise .

Is appointed and used for the trial of Silver, and the detection and separation of the dross from it.

Or, according to his Praise. The sense is, so a man is known by his Praises, either 1. By the quality of those who praise and applaud him, and as they are good or bad, so is he thought to be. Or 2. By his carriage under praises, as he carries himself either humbly and modestly with thankfulness to God, and a due sense of his own infirmities, which is the case and temper of a good man; or ambitiously and vaingloriously taking to himself the honour which he should give to God, as ungodly men generally do in that case.

Marginal references: Ch. 17. 3.

22 Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar, among wheat with a pestil, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

Not a natural, but a moral and wilful fool, who by long continuance in sin is hardened and stupified, and so incorrigible under all the means of amendment.

23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks , and look well to thy herds.

That thou maist preserve and improve what thou hast, and take care that thine expences may not exceed thine incomes. Flocks and Herds are here put for all Riches and possessions, because anciently they were the chief part of a mans Riches.

Heb. set thine heart. Trust not wholly to thy servants, as many do, that they may give up themselves wholly to ease and pleasure, but make use of thine own Eyes and reason for the conduct of thine affairs, lest thou come to ruine, as many have done by this very means.

Marginal references: Heb. set thy heart.

24 For riches are not for ever, and doth the crown endure to every generation?

Or, Treasure. The sence is, what thou dost now possess, or hast laid up, will not last always, but will soon be spent, if thou dost not take care to preserve and improve it.

By which he understands a condition of the greatest honour and plenty. If a man had the Wealth of a Kingdom, without provident care and due diligence it would quickly be brought to nothing. Hence the greatest Kings have minded Husbandry, as Solomon, Vzziah, and others.

Marginal references: Heb. strength.; Heb. to generation and generation.

25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth it self , and herbs of the mountains are gathered .

In their proper seasons. These things may be here mentioned, either 1. As the matter of his diligence. Take care that thy Hay and Grass may be well managed, and seasonably gathered for the use of thy Cattle. Or rather 2. As another Argument and encouragement to diligence, because God invites thee to it by the plentiful provisions wherewith he hath enriched the Earth for thy sake. Thou needest not compass Sea and Land for them, for God puts them into thy hand if thou wiltst but receive them.

Even the most barren parts afford thee their help.

Or, are to be gathered, as such passive Verbs are oft used, they are ripe and ready for the gathering. So this clause suits best with the former.

26 The lambs are for thy cloathing , and the goats are the price of the field .

By their wool and skins, either used to cloath thy self with, or sold to purchase all manner of cloathing for thy self and Family.

By the sale whereof thou maist either pay the rent of the field which thou hirest, or purchase Fields or Lands for thy self. Either Goats are put for all cattle, or he mentions Goats, because these might better be spared and sold than sheep, which brought a more certain and constant profit to the owner.

27 And thou shalt have goats milk enough for thy food , for the food of thy houshold, and for maintenance for thy maidens .

Or, if thou chusest rather to keep than to sell thy Goats, the milk of them will serve thee for Food to thy self, and to thy Family. In ancient times men used a plain and simple diet, and neither knew nor used that curiosity and luxury in it which after ages invented.

Who are named because this nourishment was more proper for the weaker sex, whereas men required a stronger diet.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word].

Pro 27:1

In the group Pro 27:1-6 of this chapter every two proverbs form a pair. The first pair is directed against unseemly boasting: 1 Boast not thyself of to-morrow,    For thou knowest not what a day bringeth forth.

The ב of בּיום is like, e.g., that in Pro 25:14, the ב of the ground of boasting. One boasts of to-morrow when he boasts of that which he will then do and experience. This boasting is foolish and presumptuous (Luk 12:20), for the future is God's; not a moment of the future is in our own power, we know not what a day, this present day or to-morrow (Jam 4:13), will bring forth, i.e., (cf. Zep 2:2) will disclose, and cannot therefore order anything beforehand regarding it. Instead of לא־תדע (with Kametz and Mugrash), אל־תדע (thus e.g., the Cod. Jaman) is to be written; the Masora knows nothing of that pausal form. And instead of מה־יּלד יום, we write מה יּלד יום with Zinnorith. יּלד before יום has the tone thrown back on the penult., and consequently a shortened ult.; the Masora reckons this word among the twenty-five words with only one Tsere.

Pro 27:2 2 Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth;    A stranger, and not thine own lips.

The negative לא is with פיך, as in (Arab.) ghyra fyk, bound into one compact idea: that which is not thine own mouth (Fleischer), “not thine own lips,” on the other hand, is not to be interpreted as corresponding to it, like אל־מות, Pro 12:28; since after the prohibitive אל, יהללוּך [praise thee] easily supplies itself. זר is properly the stranger, as having come from a distance, and נכרי he who comes from an unknown country, and is himself unknown (vid., under Pro 26:24); the idea of both words, however, passes from advena and alienigena to alius. There is certainly in rare cases a praising of oneself, which is authorized because it is demanded (2Co 11:18), which, because it is offered strongly against one’s will, will be measured by truth (Pro 10:13); but in general it is improper to applaud oneself, because it is a vain looking at oneself in a glass; it is indecent, because it places others in the shade; imprudent, because it is of no use to us, but only injures, for propria laus sordet, and as Stobäus says, οὐδὲν οὕτως ἄκουσμα φορτικὸν ὡς καθ ̓ αὑτοῦ ἔταινος. Compare the German proverb, “Eigenlob stinkt, Freundes Lob hinkt, fremdes Lob klingt” [= self-praise stinks, a friend’s praise is lame, a stranger’s praise sounds].

Pro 27:3

The second pair of proverbs designates two kinds of violent passion as unbearable: 3 The heaviness of a stone, the weight of sand -    A fool’s wrath is heavier than both.

We do not translate: Gravis est petra et onerosa arena, so that the substantives stand for strengthening the idea, instead of the corresponding adjective (Fleischer, as the lxx, Jerome, Syr., Targum); the two pairs of words stand, as 4a, in genit. relation (cf. on the contrary, Pro 31:30), and it is as if the poet said: represent to thyself the heaviness of a stone and the weight of sand, and thou shalt find that the wrath of a fool compared thereto is still heavier, viz., for him who has to bear it; thus heavier, not for the fool himself (Hitzig, Zöckler, Dächsel), but for others against whom his anger goes forth. A Jewish proverb (vid., Tendlau, No. 901) says, that one knows a man by his wine-glass (כוס), his purse (כיס), and his anger (כעס), viz., how he deports himself in the tumult; and another says that one reads what is in a man ביום כעסו, when he is in an ill-humour. Thus also כעס is to be here understood: the fool in a state of angry, wrathful excitement is so far not master of himself that the worst is to be feared; he sulks and shows hatred, and rages without being appeased; no one can calculate what he may attempt, his behaviour is unendurable. Sand, חול,Sand is called by the name חוּל (חיל), to change, whirl, particularly to form sand-wreaths, whence (Arab.) al-Habil, the region of moving sand; vid., Wetzstein’s Nord-arabien, p. 56. as it appears, as to the number of its grains innumerable, so as to its mass (in weight) immeasurable, Job 6:3; Sir. 22:13. נטל the Venet. translates, with strict regard to the etymology, by ἅρμα.

Pro 27:4 4 The madness of anger, and the overflowing of wrath -    And before jealousy who keeps his place!

Here also the two pairs of words 4a stand in connection; אכזריּוּת (for which the Cod. Jaman has incorrectly אכזריות) is the connecting form; vid., regarding אכזרי, Pro 5:9. Let one imagine the blind, relentless rage of extreme excitement and irritation, a boiling over of anger like a water-flood, which bears everything down along with it - these paroxysms of wrath do not usually continue long, and it is possible to appease them; but jealousy is a passion that not only rages, but reckons calmly; it incessantly ferments through the mind, and when it breaks forth, he perishes irretrievably who is its object. Fleischer generalizes this idea: “enmity proceeding from hatred, envy, or jealousy, it is difficult or altogether impossible to withstand, since it puts into operation all means, both secretly and openly, to injure the enemy.” But after Pro 6:34., cf. Sol 8:8, there is particularly meant the passion of scorned, mortified, deceived love, viz., in the relation of husband and wife.

Pro 27:5

The third pair of proverbs passes over from this special love between husband and wife to that subsisting between friends: 5 Better is open accusation    Than secret love.

An integral distich; meeאהבה has Munach, and instead of the second Metheg Tarcha, after Thorath Emeth, p. 11. Zöckler, with Hitzig, incorrectly: better than love which, from false indulgence, keeps concealed from his neighbour his faults, when he ought to tell him of them. That would require the phrase אהבה מסתּרת, not מסתּרת. Dächsel, in order to accommodate the text to this meaning, remarks: concealed censure is concealed love; but it is much rather the neglected duty of love - love without mutual discipline is weak, faint-hearted, and, if it is not too blind to remark in a friend what is worthy of blame, is altogether too forbearing, and essentially without conscience; but it is not “hidden and concealed love.” The meaning of the proverb is different: it is better to be courageously and sternly corrected - on account of some fault committed - by any one, whether he be a foe or a friend, than to be the object of a love which may exist indeed in the heart, but which fails to make itself manifest in outward act. There are men who continually assure us of the reality and depth of their friendship; but when it is necessary for them to prove their love to be self-denying and generous, they are like a torrent which is dry when one expects to drink water from it (Job 6:15). Such “secret” love, or, since the word is not נסתּרת, but מסתּרת, love confined to the heart alone, is like a fire which, when it burns secretly, neither lightens nor warms; and before such a friend, any one who frankly and freely tells the truth has by far the preference, for although he may pain us, yet he does us good; while the former deceives us, for he leaves us in the lurch when it is necessary to love us, not merely in word and with the tongue, but in deed and in truth (1Jo 3:18). Rightly Fleischer: Praestat correptio aperta amicitiae tectae, i.e., nulla re probatae.

Pro 27:6 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,    And overloaded [plentiful] the kisses of an enemy.

The contrast to נאמנים, true, i.e., honourable and good (with the transference of the character of the person to his act), would be fraudulenta (Jerome), or נהפכות, i.e., false (Ralbag); Ewald seeks this idea from עתר, to stumble, make a false step;Thus also Schultens in the Animadversiones, which later he fancied was derived from עתר, nidor, from the meaning nidorosa, and thence virulenta.

Hitzig, from עתר = (Arab.) dadhr, whence dâdhir, perfidus, to gain from; but (1) the comparison does not lie near, since usually the Arab. t corresponds to the Heb. שׁ, and the Arab. d to the Heb. ז; (2) the Heb. עתר has already three meanings, and it is not advisable to load it with yet another meaning assumed for this passage, and elsewhere not found. The three meanings are the following: (a) to smoke, Aram. עטר, whence עתר, vapour, Eze 8:11, according to which the Venet., with Kimchi’s and Parchon’s Lex., translates: the kisses of an enemy συνωμίχλωνται, i.e., are fog; (b) to sacrifice, to worship, Arab. atar; according to which Aquila: ἱκετικά (as, with Grabe, it is probably to be read for ἑκούσια of the lxx); and agreeably to the Niph., but too artificially, Arama: obtained by entreaties = constrained; (c) to heap up, whence Hiph. העתיר, Eze 35:13, cf. Jer 33:6, according to which Rashi, Meîri, Gesenius, Fleischer, Bertheau, and most explain, cogn. with עשׁר, whose Aram. form is עתר, for עשׁר is properly a heap of goods or treasures.Vid., regarding this word, Schlottmann in Deutsch.-Morgenl. Zeitschrift, xxiv. 665, 668.

This third meaning gives to the kisses of an enemy a natural adjective: they are too abundant, so much the more plentiful to veil over the hatred, like the kisses by means of which Judas betrayed his Lord, not merely denoted by φιλεῖν, but by καταφιλεῖν, Mat 26:49. This, then, is the contrast, that the strokes inflicted by one who truly loves us, although they tear into our flesh (פּצע, from פּצע, to split, to tear open), yet are faithful (cf. Psa 141:5); on the contrary, the enemy covers over with kisses him to whom he wishes all evil. Thus also נעתרות forms an indirect contrast to נאמנים.

Pro 27:7

In Pro 27:7-10 there is also visible a weaving of the external with the internal. First, there are two proverbs, in each of which there is repeated a word terminating with נ. 7 A satisfied soul treadeth honeycomb under foot;    And a hungry soul - everything bitter is (to it) sweet.

It is unnecessary to read תּבוּז (Hitzig); תּבוּס is stronger; “to tread with the feet” is the extreme degree of scornful despite. That satiety and hunger are applicable to the soul, vid., under Pro 10:3. In 7b, the adverb להּ, relative to the nomin. absol., like Pro 28:7, but not Pro 13:18. “Hunger is the best cook,” according to a German proverb; the Hebrew proverb is so formed that it is easily transferred to the sphere of the soul. Let the man whom God has richly satisfied with good things guard himself against ingratitude towards the Giver, and against an undervaluing of the gifts received; and if they are spiritual blessings, let him guard himself against self-satisfaction and self-contentment, which is, in truth, the worst poverty, Rev 3:17; for life without God is a constant hunger and thirst. There is in worldly things, even the most pleasing, a dissatisfaction felt, and a dissatisfaction awakening disgust; and in spiritual life, a satiety which supposes itself to be full of life, but which is nothing else than the decay of life, than the changing of life into death.

Pro 27:8 8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest,    So is a man that wandereth from his home.

It is not a flying out that is meant, from which at any moment a return is possible, but an unwilling taking to flight (lxx 8b: ὅταν ἀποξενωθῇ; Venet.: πλανούμενον ... πλανούμενος); for עוף נודד, Isa 16:2, cf. Jer 4:25, birds that have been frightened; and נדד, Pro 21:15., designates the fugitive; cf. נע ונד, Gen 4:14, and above, Pro 26:2, where נוּד designates aimless roving about. Otherwise Fleischer: “warning against unnecessary roaming about, in journeyings and wanderings far from home: as a bird far from its nest is easily wounded, caught, or killed, so, on such excursions, one easily comes to injury and want. One may think of a journey in the East. The Arabs say, in one of their proverbs: âlsafar ḳaṭ'at man âlklyym (= journeying is a part of the pains of hell).” But נדד here is not to be understood in the sense of a libere vagari. Rightly C. B. Michaelis: qui vagatur extorris et exul a loco suo sc. natali vel habitationis ordinariae. This proverb mediately recommends the love of one’s fatherland, i.e., “love to the land in which our father has his home; on which our paternal mansion stands; in which we have spent the years of our childhood, so significant a part of one’s whole life; from which we have derived our bodily and intellectual nourishment; and in which home we recognise bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.”Gustave Baur’s article “Vaterlandsliebe,” in Schmid’s Pädagogischer Encyklopädie.

But next it says, that to be in a strange land must be an unhappiness, because a man never feels better than at home, as the bird in its nest. We say: Heimat [home] - this beautiful word becomes the German language, which has also coined the expressive idea of Heimweh [longing for home]; the Heb. uses, to express the idea of home, the word מקומי; and of fatherland, the word ארצי or אדמתי. The Heb. שׁבוּת correspondsThe translators transfer to this place a note from vol. ii. p. 191f. of the author’s larger Comm. ü. den Psalter, to which Delitzsch refers the reader: - “The modern High German adj. elend, middle High German ellende, old High German alilandi, elilendi, or elilenti, is composed of ali and land. The adj. ali occurs only in old High German in composition. In the Gothic it is found as an independent adj., in the sense of alius and ἄλλυς (vid., Ulfilas, Gal 5:10. The primary meaning of elilenti is consequently: of another country, foreign. In glosses and translations it is rendered by the Lat. words peregrinus, exul, advena, also captivus. In these meanings it occurs very frequently. In the old High German translation of Ammonius, Diatessaron, sive Harmoniae in quatuor Evangelica, the word proselytism, occurring in Mat 23:15, is rendered by elilantan. To the adj. the old High German subst. corresponds. This has the meaning exilium, transmigratio, captivitas. The connection in elilenti or elilentes, used adverbially, is rendered by the Lat. peregre. In the middle High German, however, the proper signification of both words greatly predominates. But as, in the old High German, the idea of miser is often at the same time comprehended in the proper signification: he who is miserable through banishment, imprisonment, or through sojourning in a strange land; thus, in several places of the middle High German, this derived idea begins to separate itself from the fundamental conception, so that ellende comes in general to be called miser. In the new High German this derived conception is almost alone maintained. Yet here also, in certain connections, there are found traces of the original idea, e.g., in’s Elend schicken, for to banish. Very early also the word came to be used, in a spiritual sense, to denote our present abode, in contrast to paradise or the heavenly kingdom.... Thus, e.g., in one of Luther’s hymns, when we pray to the Holy Ghost:

Das er vns behüte, an vnserm ende,

Wenn wir heim farn aus diesem elende.” [That He guard us to our end

When we go home from this world.]  - Rud. von Raumer) to the German Elend, but = Ellend, elilenti, of another land, strange.

Pro 27:9

The two following proverbs have in common the catchword רע, and treat of the value of friendship: - 9 Oil and frankincense rejoice the heart;    And the sweet discourse of a friend from a counselling of soul.

Regarding the perfuming with dry aromas, and sprinkling with liquid aromas, as a mark of honour towards guests, and as a means of promoting joyful social fellowship, vid., at Pro 7:16., Pro 21:17. The pred. ישׂמּח comprehends frankincense or oil as the two sides of one and the same thing; the lxx introduces, from Psa 104:15, also wine. It also reads ומתק רעה as one word, וּמתקרעת: καταῤῥήγνυται δὲ ὑπὸ συμπτωμάτων ψυχή, which Hitzig regards as original; for he translates, understanding מעצת after Psa 13:3, “but the soul is torn by cares.” But why מתקרעה, this Hithpa. without example, for נקרעה? and now connected with מן in the sense of ὑπό! And what does one gain by this Alexandrian wisdom [of the lxx] - a contrast to 9a which is altogether incongruous? Döderlein’s rendering accords far better with 9a: “but the sweetness of a friend surpasses fragrant wood.” But although this rendering of the word [עצה] by “fragrant wood” is found in Gesen. Lex., from one edition to another, yet it must be rejected; for the word signifies wood as the contents of trees, the word for aromatic wood must be עצים; and if the poet had not intentionally aimed at dubiety, he ought to have written עצי בשׂם, since נפשׁ, which the exception of Isa 3:20, where it is beyond doubt, nowhere means fragrance. If we read עצת and נפשׁ together, then we may suppose that the latter designates the soul, as at Psa 13:3; and the former, counsel (from the verb יעץ). But to what does the suffix of רעהוּ refer? One may almost conjecture that the words originally were וּמתק נפשׁ מעצת רעהוּ, and the sweetness of the soul (i.e., a sweet relish for it, cf. Pro 27:7 and Pro 16:24) consists in the counsel of a friend, according to which Jerome translates: et bonis amici conciliis anima dulcoratur. By this transposition רעהו refers back to נפשׁ; for is nephesh denote a person or a living being, it can be construed ad sensum as masc., e.g., Num 31:28. But the words may remain in the order in which they are transmitted to us. It is possible that רעהוּ is (Böttcher refers to Job 12:4) of the same meaning as הרע (the friend of one = the friend), as כלּו denotes directly the whole; חציו, the half; עתּו, the right time. Recognising this, Cocceius, Umbreit, Stier, and Zöckler explain: sweetness, i.e., the sweet encouragement (מתק, in the sense of “sweetness (grace) of the lips,” Pro 16:21) of a friend, is better than one’s own counsel, than prudence seeking to help oneself, and trusting merely to one’s own resources; thus also Rashi: better than what one’s own soul advises him. But (1) נפשׁ cannot mean one’s own person (oneself) in contrast to another person; and (2) this does not supply a correct antithesis to 9a. Thus מן will not express the preference, but the origin. Accordingly Ewald, e.g., explains: the sweetness of a friend whom one has proceedeth from the counsel of soul, i.e., from such counsel as is drawn from a deep, full soul. But no proof can be brought from the usage of the language that עצת־נפשׁ can be so meant; these words, after the analogy of דעת נפשׁ, Pro 19:2, mean ability to give counsel as a quality of the soul (Pro 8:14; Pro 12:13), i.e., its ability to advise. Accordingly, with Bertheau, we explain ישׂמח־לב as the common predicate for 9a and 9b: ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, and (The Syr., Targ., well: even so) the sweet exhortation of a friend, from a soul capable of rendering counsel; also, this and this, more than that fragrance. This proverb is formed in the same way as Pro 26:9, Pro 26:14. In this explanation רעהו is well referred back to לב: and (more than) the sweet advice of his friend. But not so that רעהו is equivalent to רע הלּב, for one does not thus speak; but the construction is as when we say, in the German language: Nichts thut einem Herzen woler als wenn sein Freund es mitfühlend tröstet [nothing does more good to a heart than when a friend sympathizingly comforts it]; or: Zage nicht, tief betrübtes Herz! Dein Freund lebt und wird dir bald sich zeigen [Be not dismayed, deeply-troubled heart! thy friend lives, and will soon show himself to thee]. In such cases the word “Herz” [heart] does not designate a distinct part of the person, but, synecdochically, it denotes the whole person.

Pro 27:10

Another proverb, consisting of three lines, in commendation of friendship:

Thine own friend and the friend of thy father forsake not,

And into thy brother’s house go not in the day of thy misfortune -

Better is a near neighbour than a far-off brother.

In our editions רעך is incorrectly appointed with Pasek after it, so that the accent is Asla Legarmeh; the Pasek is, after the example of older editions, with Norzi, to be cancelled, so that only the conjunctive Asla remains; “thine own and the friend of thy father” denotes the family friend, like some family heirloom, descending from father to son. Such an old tried friend one must certainly not give up. The Kerı̂ changes the second ורעה into ורע, but ורעה (which, after the Masora in st. constr., retains its segol, Ewald, §211e) is also admissible, for a form of comparison (Hitzig) this רעה is not, but the fuller form of the abbreviated רע, from רעה, to take care of, to tend, to pasture - an infinitive formation (= רעי) like the Arab. cogn. râ'in a participial. Such a proved friend one ought certainly not to give up, and in the time of heavy trial (vid., regarding איד, Pro 1:26) one should go to him and not to a brother’s house - it is by this supposed that, as Pro 18:24 says, there is a degree of friendship (cf. Pro 17:17) which in regard to attachment stands above that of mere fraternal relationship, and it is true; blood-relationship, viewed in itself, stands as a relationship of affection on natural grounds below friendship, which is a relationship of life on moral grounds. But does blood-relationship exclude friendship of soul? cannot my brother be at the same time my heart-friend? and is not friendship all the firmer when it has at the same time its roots in the spirit and in natural grounds? The poet seems to have said this, for in 10c, probably a popular saying (cf. “Besser Nachbar an der Wand als Bruder über Land” [Better a neighbour by one’s side than a brother abroad]), he gives to his advice a foundation, and at the same time a limitation which modifies its ruggedness. But Dächsel places (like Schultens) in קרוב and רחוק meanings which the words do not contain, for he interprets them of inward nearness and remoteness; and Zöckler reads between the lines, for he remarks, a “near neighbour” is one who is near to the oppressed to counsel and help them, and a “distant brother” is one who with an unamiable disposition remains far from the oppressed. The state of the matter is simple. If one has a tried friend in neighbourly nearness, so in the time of distress, when he needs consolation and help, he must go to this friend, and not first to the house of a brother dwelling at a distance, for the former certainly does for us what the latter probably may and probably may not do for us.

Pro 27:11

This proverb has, in common with the preceding tristich, the form of an address:

Become wise, my son, and make my heart rejoice,

That I may give an answer to my accusers.

Better than “be wise” (Luther), we translate “become wise” (lxx σοφὸς γίνου); for he who is addressed might indeed be wise, though not at present so, so that his father is made to listen to such deeply wounding words as these, “Cursed be he who begat, and who educated this man” (Malbim). The cohortative clause 11b (cf. Psa 119:42) has the force of a clause with a purpose (Gesen. §128:1): ut habeam quod iis qui me convicientur regerere possim; it does not occur anywhere in the Hezekiah collection except here.

Pro 27:12     ערום appears to lean on חכם.

The prudent man seeth the misfortune, hideth himself;

The simple pass on, suffer injury. = Pro 22:3, where וּפתיים for פּתאים, ונסתּר for נסתּר, and ונענשׁוּ for נענשׁוּ; the three asyndeta make the proverb clumsy, as if it counted out its seven words separately to the hearer. Ewald, §349a, calls it a “Steinschrift” an inscription on a stone. The perfects united in pairs with, and yet more without, Vav, express the coincidenceThe second Munach is at Pro 22:3, as well as here, according to the rule Pro 18:4 of the Accentuationssystem, the transformation of the Dechi, and preserves its value of interpunction; the Legarmeh of ערום is, however, a disjunctive of less force than Dechi, so that thus the sequence of the accents denotes that ערום ראה רעה is a clause related to ונסתר as a hypothetical antecedent: if the prudent sees the calamity, then he hides himself from it. This syntactic relation is tenable at Pro 22:3, but not here at Pro 27:12. Here, at least, ערום would be better with Rebia, to which the following Dechi would subordinate itself. The prudent seeth the evil, concealeth himself; or also, prudent is he who sees the evil, hides himself. For of two disjunctives before Athnach, the first, according as it is greater or less than the second, retains either Legarmeh (e.g., Psa 1:5; Psa 86:12; Psa 88:14; Psa 109:14) or Rebia (Pro 12:2, Psa 25:2; Psa 69:9; Psa 146:5). as to time.

Pro 27:13     ערום alliterates with ערב.

Take from him the garment, for he hath become surety for another,

And for the sake of a strange matter put him under bonds. = Pro 20:16, vid., there. נכריּה we interpret neut. (lxx τὰ ἀλλότρια; Jerome, pro alienis), although certainly the case occurs that one becomes surety for a strange woman (Aquila, Theodotion, περὶ ξένης), by whose enticements and flatteries he is taken, and who afterwards leaves him in the lurch with the debts for which he had become security, to show her costly favour to another.

Pro 27:14

This proverb, passing over the three immediately intervening, connects itself with Pro 27:9 and Pro 27:10. It is directed against cringing, noisy complimenting:

He who blesseth his neighbour with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,

It is reckoned as a curse to him.

The first line is intentionally very heavy, in order to portray the empressement of the maker of compliments: he calls out to another his good wishes with a loud voice, so as to make the impression of deep veneration, of deeply felt thankfulness, but in reality to gain favour thereby, and to commend himself to greater acts of kindness; he sets himself to meet him, having risen up (השׁכּים, adverbial inf. abs.; cf. Jer 44:4 with Jer 25:4) early in the morning, to offer his captatio benevolentiae as speedily as possible; but this salutation of good wishes, the affected zeal in presenting which is a sign of a selfish, calculating, servile soul, is reckoned to him as קללה, viz., before God and every one who can judge correctly of human nature, also before him who is complimented in so ostentatious and troublesome a manner, the true design of which is thus seen. Others understand the proverb after the example of Berachoth 14a, that one ought to salute no one till he has said his morning’s prayer, because honour is due before all to God (the Book of Wisdom, 10:28); and others after Erachin 16a, according to which one is meant who was invited as a guest of a generous lord, and was liberally entertained, and who now on the public streets blesses him, i.e., praises him for his nobility of mind - such blessing is a curse to him whom it concerns, because this trumpeting of his praise brings upon him a troublesome, importunate crowd. But plainly the particularity of 'בּקול וגו lays the chief emphasis on the servility manifested; and one calls to mind the case of the clients besieging the doors of their patrons, those clientes matutini, each of whom sought to be the first in the salutatio of his distinguished wealthy patron.

Pro 27:15

This proverb passes from the complimentarius to its opposite, a shrewish wife:

A continual dropping in a rainy day

And a contentious woman are alike.

Thus we have already translated (vol. i. p. 9), where, when treating of the manifold forms of parabolic proverbs, we began with this least poetic, but at the same time remarked that Pro 27:15 and Pro 27:16 are connected, forming a tetrastich, which is certainly the case according to the text here lying before us. In Pro 27:15, Pro 19:13 is expanded into a distich, and made a complete verse. Regarding דּלף טורד, vid., the explanation there given. The noun סגריר, which the Syr. translates by magyaa', but the Targumist retains, because it is in common use in the post-bibl. Heb. (Bereschith rabba, c. 1) and the Jewish Aramaic, signifies violent rain, after the Jewish interpreters, because then the people remain shut up in their houses; more correctly, perhaps, from the unbroken continuousness and thickness (cf. the Arab. insajara, to go behind each other in close column) with which the rain pours down. Regarding מדונים, Kerı̂ מדינים, vid., Pro 6:14; the genit. connection of 'אושׁת מ we have already at Pro 21:9. The form נשׁתּוה is doubtful. If accented, with Löwenstein and others, as Milra, then we would have a Nithkatal before us, as at Num 1:47, or a Hothkatal - a passive form of the Kal, the existence of which, however, is not fully established. Rather this word is to be regarded as נשׁתּוּה (Nithpa. as Deu 21:8; Eze 23:48) without the dagesh, and lengthened; the form of the word נשׁתּוה, as found in the Cod. Jaman., aims at this. But the form נשׁתּוה is better established, e.g., by Cod. 1294, as Milel. Kimchi, Michlol 131a (cf. Ewald, §132c), regards it as a form without the dagesh, made up the Niph. and Hithpa., leaving the penultima toning unexplained. Bertheau regards it as a voluntative: let us compare (as נשׁתּעה, Isa 41:23); but as he himself says, the reflexive form does not accord with this sense. Hitzig has adopted the right explanation (cf. Olshausen, §275, and Böttcher, §1072, who, however, registers it at random as an Ephraimitism). נשׁתּוה is a Niphal, with a transposition of consonants for נשׁותה, since נשׁותה passes over into נשׁתּוה. Such is now the genus in the arrangement; the Milra form would be as masc. syntactically inaccurate. “The finite following the subjects is regulated by the gender and number of that which is next before it, as at 2Sa 3:22; 2Sa 20:20; Psa 55:6; Job 19:15” (Hitzig).

Pro 27:16

This verse stands in close connection with the preceding, for it speaks of the contentious woman:

He that restraineth her restraineth the wind,

And oil meeteth his right hand.

The connection of the plur. subject צפניה = quicunque eam cohibet, with a sing. predicate, is not to be disputed (vid., Pro 3:18 and Pro 28:16, Chethı̂b); but can צפן gain from the meaning of preserving, laying up, also the meanings of keeping, of confining, and shutting up? - for these meanings we have כּלא and עצר (cf. צרר, Pro 30:4). In 16b it lies nearer to see in ימינו the object of the clause (oil meeteth his right hand) than the subject (his right hand meeteth oil), for the gender of ימין directs to יד (e.g., Eze 15:6; cf. 6a, where נאדּרי is as to gender indifferent): it is fem., while on the contrary שׁמן is generally masc. (cf. Sol 1:3). There is no reason for regarding ימינו as an adverbial accus. (he meets oil with his right hand), or, with Hitzig, as a second subject (he meets oil, his right hand); the latter, in the order of the words lying before us, is not at all possible. We suppose that יקרא, as at Gen 49:1, is equivalent to יקרה (Ewald, §116c), for the explanation oleum dexterae ejus praeconem agit (Cocceius, Schultens) does not explain, but only darkens: and oleum dexterâ suâ legit, i.e., colligit (Fleischer), is based on an untenable use of the word. As one may say of person to person, קרך, occurrit tibi, Num 25:18, so also יקרא (יקרה), of a thing that meets a man or one of his members; and if we compare לקראת and קרי, then for 16b the meaning is possible: oil meets his right hand; the quarrelsome woman is like oil that cannot be held in the hand, which struggles against that which holds it, for it always glides out of the hand. Thus also Luther: “and seeks to hold oil with his hand,” as if he read יקמץ. In fact, this word was more commonly used as the expression of untenableness than the colourless and singular word יקרא, which, besides, is so ambiguous, that none of the old translators has thought on any other קרא than that which signifies “to call,” “to name.” The Jewish interpreters also adhere to this nearest lying קרא, and, moreover, explain, as the Syr., Targ., Aquila, Symmachus, Jerome, and the Venet., שׁמן ימינו, according to the accentuation as genit. connected, e.g., Rashi: he calls for oil to his right hand, viz., as the means of purification from leprosy, Lev 8:14 [Lev 14:16]; and Aben Ezra: even when he calls for oil to his right hand, i.e., would move them to silence with the precious anointing oil. Perhaps Pro 27:16 was originally an independent proverb as follows: צפני הון צפן רוח ושמן ימינו יקרא

He who layeth up riches in store layeth up the wind,

And he nameth them the fat of his right hand;i.e., he sees in them that which makes his right hand fat and strong (שׁמן, as at Psa 109:24, opp. Zec 11:17; cf. בּמשׁמנּיו, Isa 10:16, and regarding Ἐσμούν, the Phoenician god of health, at Isa 59:10), and yet it is only the wind, i.e., something that is worthless and transient, which he stored up (צפן, as at Pro 13:22, and in מצפּניו, Obad. Oba 1:6). הון is used as it frequently occurs in the Book of Proverbs, e.g., Pro 11:4, and the whole proverb expresses by another figure the same as Pro 18:11. The fact that צפון (רוח), Pro 25:23, and as a contrast thereto in the compass ימין (the south), hovered before the poet, may not have been without its influence on the choice of the words and expression here.

Pro 27:17

This proverb expresses the influence arising from the intercourse of man with man:

Iron is sharpened by iron,

And a man may sharpen the appearance of another.

When the Masora reads יחד, Ewald remarks, it interprets the word as denoting “at the same time,” and the further meaning of the proverb must then accord therewith. Accordingly he translates: “iron together with iron! and one together with the face of another!” But then the prep. ב or עם is wanting after the second יחד - for יחד is, in spite of Ewald, §217h, never a prep. - and the “face,” 17b, would be a perplexing superfluity. Hitzig already replies, but without doing homage to the traditional text-punctuation, that such a violence to the use of language, and such a darkening of the thought, is not at all to be accepted. He suggests four ways of interpreting יחד: (1) the adverb יחד, united, properly (taken accusat.) union; (2) יחד, Psa 86:11, imper. of the Piel יחד, unite; (3) יחדּ, Job 3:6, jussive of the Kal חדה, gaudeat; and (4) as Kimchi, in Michlol 126a, jussive of the Kal חדה (= חדד) acuere, after the form תחז, Mic 4:11. ויּחץ, Gen 32:8, etc. in p. יחד, after the form אחז, Job 23:9. ויּחל, 2Ki 1:2 (= ויּחלא, 2Ch 16:12). If we take יחד with בּרזל, then it is à priori to be supposed that in יחד the idea of sharpening lies; in the Arab. iron is simply called hadyda = חדוּד, that which is sharpened, sharp; and a current Arab. proverb says: alḥadyd balḥadyd yuflah = ferrum ferro diffinditur (vid., Freytag under the word falah). But is the traditional text-punctuation thus understood to be rightly maintained? It may be easily changed in conformity with the meaning, but not so that with Böttcher we read יחד and יחד, the fut. Kal of חדד: “iron sharpeneth itself on iron, and a man sharpeneth himself over against his neighbour” - for פני after a verb to be understood actively, has to be regarded as the object - but since יחד is changed into יחד (fut. Hiph. of חדד), and יחד into יחד or יחד (fut. Hiph. of חדד, after the form אחל, incipiam, Deu 2:25, or אחל, profanabo, Eze 39:7; Num 30:3). The passive rendering of the idea 17a and the active of 17b thus more distinctly appear, and the unsuitable jussive forms are set aside: ferrum ferro exacuitur, et homo exacuit faciem amici sui (Jerome, Targ., the Venet.). But that is not necessary. As ויּעל may be the fut. of the Hiph. (he brought up) as well as of the Kal (he went up), so יחד may be regarded as fut. Kal, and יחד as fut. Hiph. Fleischer prefers to render יחד also as Hiph.: aciem exhibet, like יעשׁיר, divitias acquirit, and the like; but the jussive is not favourable to this supposition of an intransitive (inwardly transitive) Hiph. It may indeed be said that the two jussives appear to be used, according to poetic licence, with the force of indicatives (cf. under Pro 12:26), but the repetition opposes it. Thus we explain: iron is sharpened [gewetzt, Luther uses this appropriate word] by iron (ב of the means, not of the object, which was rather to be expected in 17b after Pro 20:30), and a man whets פני, the appearance, the deportment, the nature, and manner of the conduct of his neighbour. The proverb requires that the intercourse of man with man operate in the way of sharpening the manner and forming the habits and character; that one help another to culture and polish of manner, rub off his ruggedness, round his corners, as one has to make use of iron when he sharpens iron and seeks to make it bright. The jussive form is the oratorical form of the expression of that which is done, but also of that which is to be done.

Pro 27:18

The following three proverbs are connected with 17 in their similarity of form: - 18 Whosoever watcheth the fig-tree will enjoy its fruit;      And he that hath regard to his master attaineth to honour.

The first member is, as in Pro 27:17, only the means of contemplating the second; as faithful care of the tree has fruit for a reward, so faithful regard for one’s master, honour; נצר is used as at Isa 27:3, שׁמר as at Hos 4:10, etc. - the proverb is valid in the case of any kind of master up to the Lord of lords. The fig-tree presented itself, as Heidenheim remarks, as an appropriate figure; because in the course of several years’ training it brings forth its fruit, which the language of the Mishna distinguishes as פגין, unripe, בוחל, half ripe, and צמל, fully ripe. To fruit in the first line corresponds honour in the second, which the faithful and attentive servant attains unto first on the part of his master, and then also from society in general.

Pro 27:19 19 As it is with water, face correspondeth to face,      So also the heart of man to man.

Thus the traditional text is to be translated; for on the supposition that כּמּים must be used for כּבמּים, yet it might not be translated: as in waters face corresponds to face (Jerome: quomodo in aquis resplendent vultus respicientium), because כּ (instar) is always only a prep. and never conj. subordinating to itself a whole sentence (vid., under Psa 38:14). But whether כּמּים, “like water,” may be an abridgment of a sentence: “like as it is with water,” is a question, and the translation of the lxx (Syr., Targ., Arab.), ὥσπερ οὐχ ὅμοια πρόσωπα προσώποις, κ.τ.λ., appears, according to Böttcher’s ingenious conjecture, to have supposed כאשר במים, from which the lxx derived כּאין דּמים, sicut non pares. The thought is beautiful: as in the water-mirror each one beholds his own face (Luther: der Scheme = the shadow), so out of the heart of another each sees his own heart, i.e., he finds in another the dispositions and feelings of his own heart (Fleischer) - the face finds in water its reflection, and the heart of a man finds in man its echo; men are ὁμοιοπαθεῖς, and it is a fortunate thing that their heart is capable of the same sympathetic feelings, so that one can pour into the heart of another that which fills and moves his own heart, and can there find agreement with it, and a re-echo. The expression with ל is extensive: one corresponds to another, one belongs to another, is adapted to the other, turns to the other, so that the thought may be rendered in manifold ways: the divinely-ordained mutual relationship is always the ground-thought. This is wholly obliterated by Hitzig’s conjecture כּמוּם, “what a mole on the face is to the face, that is man’s heart to man,” i.e., the heart is the dark spot in man, his partie honteuse. But the Scripture nowhere speaks of the human heart after this manner, at least the Book of Proverbs, in which לב frequently means directly the understanding. Far more intelligible and consistent is the conjecture of Mendel Stern, to which Abrahamsohn drew my attention: כּמּים הפּנים לפנים, like water (viz., flowing water), which directs its course always forward, thus (is turned) the heart of man to man. This conjecture removes the syntactic harshness of the first member without changing the letters, and illustrates by a beautiful and excellent figure the natural impulse moving man to man. It appears, however, to us, in view of the lxx, more probable that כּמּים is abbreviated from the original כאשׁר במים (cf. Pro 24:29).

Pro 27:20

The following proverb has, in common with the preceding, the catchword האדם, and the emphatic repetition of the same expression: 20 The under-world and hell are not satisfied,      And the eyes of man are not satisfied.

A Kerı̂ ואבדון is here erroneously noted by Löwenstein, Stuart, and others. The Kerı̂ to ואבדּה is here ואבדּו, which secures the right utterance of the ending, and is altogether wantingIn Gesen. Lex. this אבדה stands to the present day under אבדה. in many MSS (e.g., Cod. Jaman). The stripping off of the ן from the ending ון is common in the names of persons and places (e.g., שׁלמה, lxx Σολομών and שׁלה); we write at pleasure either ow or oh (e.g., מגדּו), Olsh. §215g. אבדּה (אבדּו) of the nature of a proper name, is already found in its full form אבדּון at Pro 15:11, along with שׁאול; the two synonyms are, as was there shown, not wholly alike in the idea they present, as the underworld and realm of death, but are related to each other almost the same as Hades and Gehenna; אבדון is what is calledVid., Frankel, Zu dem Targum der Propheten (1872), p. 25. in the Jonathan-Targum בּית אבדּנא, the place of destruction, i.e., of the second death (מותא תנינא). The proverb places Hades and Hell on the one side, and the eyes of man on the other, on the same line in respect of their insatiableness. To this Fleischer adds the remark: cf. the Arab. al'ayn l'a taml'aha all'a altrab, nothing fills the eyes of man but at last the dust of the grave - a strikingly beautiful expression! If the dust of the grave fills the open eyes, then they are full - fearful irony! The eye is the instrument of seeing, and consequently in so far as it always looks out after and farther, it is the instrument and the representation of human covetousness. The eye is filled, is satisfied, is equivalent to: human covetousness is appeased. But first “the desire of the eye,” 1Jo 2:16, is meant in the proper sense. The eyes of men are not satisfied in looking and contemplating that which is attractive and new, and no command is more difficult to be fulfilled than that in Isa 33:15, “...that shutteth his eyes from seeing evil.” There is therefore no more inexhaustible means, impiae sepculationis, than the desire of the eyes.

Pro 27:21

There follow here two proverbs which have in common with each other the figures of the crucible and the mortar: 21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,      And a man according to the measure of his praise;i.e., silver and gold one values according to the result of the smelting crucible and the smelting furnace; but a man, according to the measure of public opinion, which presupposes that which is said in Pro 12:8, “according to the measure of his wisdom is a man praised.” מהלל is not a ῥῆμα μέσον like our Leumund [renown], but it is a graduated idea which denotes fame down to evil Lob [fame], which is only Lob [praise] per antiphrasin. Ewald otherwise: “according to the measure of his glorying;” or Hitzig better: “according to the measure with which he praises himself,” with the remark: “מהלל is not the act, the glorifying of self, but the object of the glorying (cf. מבטח, מדון), i.e., that in which he places his glory.” Böttcher something further: “one recognises him by that which he is generally wont to praise in himself and others, persons and things.” Thus the proverb is to be understood; but in connection with Pro 12:8 it seems to us more probable that המלל is thought of as going forth from others, and not as from himself. In line first, Pro 17:3 is repeated; the second line there is conformable to the first, according to which it should be here said that the praise of a man is for him what the crucible and the furnace is for metal. The lxx, Syr., Targ., Jerome, and the Venet. read לפי מהללו, and thereby obtain more concinnity. Luther accordingly translates:

A man is tried by the mouth of his praise,

As silver in the crucible and gold in the furnace.

Others even think to interpret man as the subject examining, and so they vocalize the words. Thus e.g., Fleischer: Qualis est catinus argento et fornax auro, talis sit homo ori a quo laudatur, so that “mouth of his praise” is equivalent to the man who praises him with his mouth. But where, as here, the language relates to relative worth, the supposition for לפי, that it denotes, as at Pro 12:8, pro ratione, is tenable. And that the mouth of him who praises is a smelting crucible for him who is praised, or that the praised shall be a crucible for the mouth of him who praises, would be a wonderful comparison. The lxx has here also an additional distich which has no place in the Heb. text.

Pro 27:22 22 Though thou bruise a fool in a mortar among grit with a pestle,      Yet would not his folly depart from him.

According to the best accredited accentuations, אם־תּכתּושׁ has Illuj. and בּמּכתּשׁ has Pazer, not Rebia, which would separate more than the Dechi, and disturb the sequence of the thoughts. The first line is long; the chief disjunctive in the sphere of the Athnach is Dechi of 'הר, this disjoins more than the Pazer of 'בּם, and this again more than the Legarmeh of את־האויל. The ה of הרפות does not belong to the stem of the word (Hitzig), but is the article; רפות (from רוּף, to shake, to break; according to Schultens, from רפת, to crumble, to cut in pieces, after the form קיטור, which is improbable) are bruised grains of corn (peeled grain, grit), here they receive this name in the act of being bruised; rightly Aquila and Theodotion, ἐν μέσῳ ἐμπτισσομένων (grains of corn in the act of being pounded or bruised), and the Venet. μέσον τῶν πτισανῶν.The lxx translates ἐν μέσῳ συνεδρίου, and has thereby misled the Syr., and mediately the Targum.

In בּעלי (thus to be written after Michlol 43b, not בּעלי, as Heidenheim writes it without any authority) also the article is contained. מכתשׁ is the vessel, and the ב of בעלי is Beth instrumenti; עלי (of lifting up for the purpose of bruising) is the club, pestle (Luther: stempffel = pounder); in the Mishna, Beza i. 5, this word denotes a pounder for the cutting out of flesh. The proverb interprets itself: folly has become to the fool as a second nature, and he is not to be delivered from it by the sternest discipline, the severest means that may be tried; it is not indeed his substance (Hitzig), but an inalienable accident of his substance.

Pro 27:23-27

An exhortation to rural industry, and particularly to the careful tending of cattle for breeding, forms the conclusion of the foregoing series of proverbs, in which we cannot always discern an intentional grouping. It is one of the Mashal-odes spoken of vol. i. p. 12. It consists of 11 = 4 + 7 lines. 23 Give heed to the look of thy small cattle,      Be considerate about the herds. 24 For prosperity continues not for ever;      And does the diadem continue from generation to generation? 25 (But) the hay is gone, and the after-growth appears,      And the grass of the mountains is gathered: 26 Lambs serve to clothe thee,      And goats are the price of a field. 27 And there is plenty of goats’ milk for thy nourishment,      And for the nourishment of thy house,      And subsistence for thy maidens.

The beginning directs to the fut., as is not common in these proverbs, vid., Pro 26:26. With ידע, to take knowledge, which is strengthened by the inf. intensivus, is interchanged שׁית לב, which means at Pro 24:32 to consider well, but here, to be careful regarding anything. צאן is the small or little cattle, thus sheep and goats. Whether לעדרים (here and at Isa 17:2) contains the article is questionable (Gesen. §35. 2 A), and, since the herds are called העדרים, is not probable; thus: direct thy attention to the herds, that is, to this, that thou hast herds. פּני is the external side in general; here, the appearance which the sheep present; thus their condition as seen externally. In Pro 27:24 I formerly regarded נזר as a synonym of גּז, to be understood of the produce of wool, or, with Hitzig, of the shearing of the meadow, and thus the produce of the meadow. But this interpretation of the word is untenable, and Pro 27:25 provides for Pro 27:24, thus understood, no natural continuation of thought. That חסן signifies a store, fulness of possessions, property, and abundance, has already been shown under Pro 15:6; but נזר is always the mark of royal, and generally of princely dignity, and here denotes, per meton. signi pro re signata, that dignity itself. With the negative expression in 24a the interrogative in 24b is interchanged as at Job 40:9, with the implied negative answer; ואם, of an oath (“and truly not,” as at Isa 62:8), presents the same thought, but with a passionate colouring here unnecessary. Rightly Fleischer: “ready money, moveable property, and on the other hand the highest positions of honour, are far more easily torn away from a man, and secure to him far less of quiet prosperity, than husbandry, viewed particularly with respect to the rearing of cattle.” In other words: the possession of treasures and of a lofty place of power and of honour has not in itself the security of everlasting duration; but rural economy, and particularly the rearing of cattle, gives security for food and clothing. The Chethı̂b לדור דור is found, e.g., at Exo 3:15; the Kerı̂ לדּור ודור substitutes the more usual form. If Pro 27:25 was an independent whole (Hitzig: grass vanishes and fresh green appears, etc.), then the meaning here and onward would be that in the sphere of husbandry it is otherwise than is said in Pro 27:24 : there that which is consumed renews itself, and there is an enlarging circulation. But this contrast to Pro 27:24 must be expressed and formed unambiguously. The connection is rather this, that Pro 27:23 commends the rearing of cattle, Pro 27:24 confirms it, and 25ff. discuss what real advantages, not dependent on the accidents of public and social life, it brings.

I rejoice to agree with Fleischer in the opinion that the perfects of Pro 27:25 form a complex hypothetical antecedent to Pro 27:26 : Quum evanuerit gramen (sc. vetus) et apparuerint herbae recentes et collecta fuerint pabula montium, agni vestitui tuo (inservient) et pretium agri (sc. a te emendi) erunt hirci, i.e., then wilt thou nourish thy herds of sheep and goats with the grass on thy fields, and with the dried gathered hay; and these will yield for thee, partly immediately and partly by the money derived therefrom (viz., from the valuable goats not needed for the flocks), all that is needful for thy life. He also remarks, under גּלה, that it means to make a place void, empty (viz., to quit the place, évacuer la forteresse); hence to leave one’s fatherland or home, to wander abroad; thus, rhetorically and poetically of things and possessions: to disappear. חציר (from חצר, to be green) is hay, and דּשׁא the after-growing second crop (after-grass); thus a meadow capable of being mowed a second time is though of. עשּׂבות הרים (with Dag. dirimens, as e.g., ענּבי Deu 32:32) are the herbage of the mountains. The time when one proceeds to sheep-shearing, Pro 27:25 cannot intend to designate; it sets before us an interesting rural harvest scene, where, after a plentiful ingathering of hay, one sees the meadows again overspread with new grass (Ewald); but with us the shearing of sheep takes place in the month of May, when the warm season of the year is just at hand. The poet means in general to say, that when the hay is mown and now the herbage is grown up, and also the fodder from the mountains (Psa 106:20) has been gathered home, when thus the barns are filled with plenty, the husbandman is guaranteed against the future on all sides by his stock of cattle. חלב (from חלב, Arab. halyb, with halab) is the usual metaplastic connecting form of חלב, milk. דּי (from דּי, like חי from חי), generally connected with the genitive of the person or thing, for which anything is sufficient (e.g., Pro 25:16, דּיּך, to which Fleischer compares Arab. hasbuha, tassuha kifayuha), has here the genitive of the thing of which, or in which, one has enough. The complex subject-conception is limited by Rebia, and the governing דּי has the subordinated disjunctive Legarmeh. עזּים is a word of two genders (epicoenum), Gesen. §107, 1d. In וחיּים the influence of the ל still continues; one does not need to supply it meanwhile, since all that maintains and nourishes life can be called חיים (vita = victus), e.g., Pro 3:22. The lxx translates בּיתך by σῶν θεραπόντων, and omits (as also the Syr., but not the Syro-Hexap.) the last line as now superfluous; but that the maids attending to the cattle - by whom we particularly think of milkers - are especially mentioned, intentionally presents the figure of a well-ordered household, full of varied life and activity (Job 40:29).

Miscellaneous Maxims.

1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Here is, 1. A good caution against presuming upon time to come: Boast not thyself, no, not of to-morrow, much less of many days or years to come. This does not forbid preparing for to-morrow, but presuming upon to-morrow. We must not promise ourselves the continuance of our lives and comforts till to-morrow, but speak of it with submission to the will of God and as those who with good reason are kept at uncertainty about it. We must not take thought for the morrow (Matt. vi. 34), but we must cast our care concerning it upon God. See James iv. 13-15. We must not put off the great work of conversion, that one thing needful, till to-morrow, as if we were sure of it, but to-day, while it is called to-day, hear God's voice. 2. A good consideration, upon which this caution is grounded: We know not what a day may bring forth, what event may be in the teeming womb, of time; it is a secret till it is born, Eccl. xi. 5. A little time may produce considerable changes, and such as we little think of. We know not what the present day may bring forth; the evening must commend it. Nescis quid serus vesper vehat—Thou knowest not what the close of evening may bring with it. God has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events, and reserved to himself the knowledge of them, as a flower of the crown, that he may train us up in a dependence upon himself and a continued readiness for every event, Acts i. 7.

2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Note, 1. We must do that which is commendable, for which even strangers may praise us. Our light must shine before men, and we must do good works that may be seen, though we must not do them on purpose that they may be seen. Let our own works be such as will praise us, even in the gates, Phil. iv. 8. 2. When we have done it we must not commend ourselves, for that is an evidence of pride, folly, and self-love, and a great lessening to a man's reputation. Every one will be forward to run him down that cries himself up. There may be a just occasion for us to vindicate ourselves, but it does not become us to applaud ourselves. Proprio laus sordet in ore—Self-praise defiles the mouth.

3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both. 4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

These two verses show the intolerable mischief, 1. Of ungoverned passion. The wrath of a fool, who when he is provoked cares not what he says and does, is more grievous than a great stone or a load of sand. It lies heavily upon himself. Those who have no command of their passions do themselves even sink under the load of them. The wrath of a fool lies heavily upon those he is enraged at, to whom, in his fury, he will be in danger of doing some mischief. It is therefore our wisdom not to give provocation to a fool, but, if he be in a passion, to get out of his way. 2. Of rooted malice, which is as much worse than the former as coals of juniper are worse than a fire of thorns. Wrath (it is true) is cruel, and does many a barbarous thing, and anger is outrageous; but a secret enmity at the person of another, an envy at his prosperity, and a desire of revenge for some injury or affront, are much more mischievous. One may avoid a sudden heat, as David escaped Saul's javelin, but when it grows, as Saul's did, to a settled envy, there is no standing before it; it will pursue; it will overtake. He that grieves at the good of another will be still contriving to do him hurt, and will keep his anger for ever.

5 Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Note, 1. It is good for us to be reproved, and told of our faults, by our friends. If true love in the heart has but zeal and courage enough to show itself in dealing plainly with our friends, and reproving them for what they say and do amiss, this is really better, not only than secret hatred (as Lev. xix. 17), but than secret love, that love to our neighbours which does not show itself in this good fruit, which compliments them in their sins, to the prejudice of their souls. Faithful are the reproofs of a friend, though for the present they are painful as wounds. It is a sign that our friends are faithful indeed if, in love to our souls, they will not suffer sin upon us, nor let us alone in it. The physician's care is to cure the patient's disease, not to please his palate. 2. It is dangerous to be caressed and flattered by an enemy, whose kisses are deceitful We can take no pleasure in them because we can put no confidence in them (Joab's kiss and Judas's were deceitful), and therefore we have need to stand upon our guard, that we be not deluded by them; they are to be deprecated. Some read it: The Lord deliver us from an enemy's kisses, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

Solomon here, as often in this book, shows that the poor have in some respects the advantage of the rich; for, 1. They have a better relish of their enjoyments than the rich have. Hunger is the best sauce. Coarse fare, with a good appetite to it has a sensible pleasantness in it, which those are strangers to whose hearts are overcharged with surfeiting. Those that fare sumptuously every day nauseate even delicate food, as the Israelites did the quails; whereas those that have no more than their necessary food, though it be such as the full soul would call bitter, to them it is sweet; they eat it with pleasure, digest it, and are refreshed by it. 2. They are more thankful for their enjoyments: The hungry will bless God for bread and water, while those that are full think the greatest dainties and varieties scarcely worth giving thanks for. The virgin Mary seems to refer to this when she says (Luke i. 53), The hungry, who know how to value God's blessings, are filled with good things, but the rich, who despise them, are justly sent empty away.

8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

Note, 1. There are many that do not know when they are well off, but are uneasy with their present condition, and given to change. God, in his providence, has appointed them a place fit for them and has made it comfortable to them; but they affect unsettledness; they love to wander; they are glad of a pretence to go abroad, and do not care for staying long at a place; they needlessly absent themselves from their own work and care, and meddle with that which belongs not to them. 2. Those that thus desert the post assigned to them are like a bird that wanders from her nest. It is an instance of their folly; they are like a silly bird; they are always wavering, like the wandering bird that hops from bough to bough and rests nowhere. It is unsafe; the bird that wanders is exposed; a man's place is his castle; he that quits it makes himself an easy prey to the fowler. When the bird wanders from her nest the eggs and young ones there are neglected. Those that love to be abroad leave their work at home undone. Let every man therefore, in the calling wherein he is called, therein abide, therein abide with God.

9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. 10 Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

Here is, 1. A charge given to be faithful and constant to our friends, our old friends, to keep up an intimacy with them, and to be ready to do them all the offices that lie in our power. It is good to have a friend, a bosom-friend, whom we can be free with, and with whom we may communicate counsels. It is not necessary that this friend should be a relation, or any way akin to us, though it is happiest when, among those who are so, we find one fit to make a friend of. Peter and Andrew were brethren, so were James and John; yet Solomon frequently distinguishes between a friend and a brother. But it is advisable to choose a friend among our neighbours who live near us, that acquaintance may be kept up and kindnesses the more frequently interchanged. It is good also to have a special respect to those who have been friends to our family: "Thy own friend, especially if he have been thy father's friend, forsake not; fail not both to serve him and to use him, as there is occasion. He is a tried friend; he knows thy affairs; he has a particular concern for thee; therefore be advised by him." It is a duty we owe to our parents, when they are gone, to love their friends and consult with them. Solomon's son undid himself by forsaking the counsel of his father's friends. 2. A good reason given why we should thus value true friendship and be choice of it. (1.) Because of the pleasure of it. There is a great deal of sweetness in conversing and consulting with a cordial friend. It is like ointment and perfume, which are very grateful to the smell, and exhilarate the spirits. It rejoices the heart; the burden of care is made lighter by unbosoming ourselves to our friend, and it is a great satisfaction to us to have his sentiments concerning our affairs. The sweetness of friendship lies not in hearty mirth, and hearty laughter, but in hearty counsel, faithful advice, sincerely given and without flattery, by counsel of the soul (so the word is), counsel which reaches the case, and comes to the heart, counsel about soul-concerns, Ps. lxvi. 16. We should reckon that the most pleasant conversation which is about spiritual things, and promotes the prosperity of the soul. (2.) Because of the profit and advantage of it, especially in a day of calamity. We are here advised not to go into a brother's house, not to expect relief from a kinsman merely for kindred-sake, for the obligation of that commonly goes little further than calling cousin and fails when it comes to the trial of a real kindness, but rather to apply ourselves to our neighbours, who are at hand, and will be ready to help us at an exigence. It is wisdom to oblige them by being neighbourly, and we shall have the benefit of it in distress, by finding them so to us, ch. xviii. 24.

11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

Children are here exhorted to be wise and good, 1. That they may be a comfort to their parents and may make their hearts glad, even when the evil days come, and so recompense them for their care, ch. xxiii. 15. 2. That they may be a credit to them: "That I may answer him that reproaches me with having been over-strict and severe in bringing up my children, and having taken a wrong method with them in restraining them from the liberties which other young people take. My son, be wise, and then it will appear, in the effect, that I went the wisest way to work with my children." Those that have been blessed with a religious education should in every thing conduct themselves so as to be a credit to their education and to silence those who say, A young saint, an old devil; and to prove the contrary, A young saint, an old angel.

12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

This we had before, ch. xxii. 3. Note, 1. Evil may be foreseen. Where there is temptation, it is easy to foresee that if we thrust ourselves into it there will be sin, and as easy to foresee that if we venture upon the evil of sin there will follow the evil of punishment; and, commonly, God warns before he wounds, having set watchmen over us, Jer. vi. 17. 2. It will be well or ill with us according as we do or do not improve the foresight we have of evil before us: The prudent man, foreseeing the evil, forecasts accordingly, and hides himself, but the simple is either so dull that he does not foresee it or so wilful and slothful that he will take no care to avoid it, and so he passes on securely and is punished. We do well for ourselves when we provide for hereafter.

13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

This also we had before, ch. xx. 16. 1. It shows who those are that are hastening to poverty, those that have so little consideration as to be bound for every body that will ask them and those that are given to women. Such as these will take up money as far as ever their credit will go, but they will certainly cheat their creditors at last, nay, they are cheating them all along. An honest man may be made a beggar, but he is not honest that makes himself one. 2. It advises us to be so discreet in ordering our affairs as not to lend money to those who are manifestly wasting their estates, unless they give very good security for it. Foolish lending is injustice to our families. He does not say, "Get another to be bound with him," for he that makes himself a common voucher will have those to be his security who are as insolvent as himself; therefore take his garment.

14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

Note, 1. It is a great folly to be extravagant in praising even the best of our friends and benefactors. It is our duty to give every one his due praise, to applaud those who excel in knowledge, virtue, and usefulness, and to acknowledge the kindnesses we have received with thankfulness; but to do this with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, to be always harping on this string, in all companies, even to our friend's face, or so as that he may be sure to hear it, to do it studiously, as we do that which we rise early to, to magnify the merits of our friend above measure and with hyperboles, is fulsome, and nauseous, and savours of hypocrisy and design. Praising men for what they have done is only to get more out of them; and every body concludes the parasite hopes to be well paid for his panegyric or epistle dedicatory. We must not give that praise to our friend which is due to God only, as some think is intimated in rising early to do it; for in the morning God is to be praised. We must not make too much haste to praise men (so some understand it), not cry up men too soon for their abilities and performances, but let them first be proved; lest they be lifted up with pride, and laid to sleep in idleness. 2. It is a greater folly to be fond of being ourselves extravagantly praised. A wise man rather counts it a curse, and a reflection upon him, not only designed to pick his pocket, but which may really turn to his prejudice. Modest praises (as a great man observes) invite such as are present to add to the commendation, but immodest immoderate praises tempt them to detract rather, and to censure one that they hear over-commended. And, besides, over-praising a man makes him the object of envy; every man puts in for a share of reputation, and therefore reckons himself injured if another monopolize it or have more given him than his share. And the greatest danger of all is that it is a temptation to pride; men are apt to think of themselves above what is meet when others speak of them above what is meet. See how careful blessed Paul was not to be over-valued, 2 Cor. xii. 6.

15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. 16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

Here, as before, Solomon laments the case of him that has a peevish passionate wife, that is continually chiding, and making herself and all about her uneasy. 1. It is a grievance that there is no avoiding, for it is like a continual dropping in a very rainy day. The contentions of a neighbour may be like a sharp shower, troublesome for the time, yet, while it lasts, one may take shelter; but the contentions of a wife are like a constant soaking rain, for which there is no remedy but patience See ch. xix. 13. 2. It is a grievance that there is no concealing. A wise man would hide it if he could, for the sake both of his own and his wife's reputation, but he cannot, any more than he can conceal the noise of the wind when it blows or the smell of a strong perfume. Those that are froward and brawling will proclaim their own shame, even when their friends, in kindness to them, would cover it.

17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

This intimates both the pleasure and the advantage of conversation. One man is nobody; nor will poring upon a book in a corner accomplish a man as the reading and studying of men will. Wise and profitable discourse sharpens men's wits; and those that have ever so much knowledge may by conference have something added to them. It sharpens men's looks, and, by cheering the spirits, puts a briskness and liveliness into the countenance, and gives a man such an air as shows he is pleased himself and makes him pleasing to those about him. Good men's graces are sharpened by converse with those that are good, and bad men's lusts and passions are sharpened by converse with those that are bad, as iron is sharpened by its like, especially by the file. Men are filed, made smooth, and bright, and fit for business (who were rough, and dull, and inactive), by conversation. This is designed, 1. To recommend to us this expedient for sharpening ourselves, but with a caution to take heed whom we choose to converse with, because the influence upon us is so great either for the better or for the worse. 2. To direct us what we must have in our eye in conversation, namely to improve both others and ourselves, not to pass away time or banter one another, but to provoke one another to love and to good works and so to make one another wiser and better.

18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

This is designed to encourage diligence, faithfulness, and constancy, even in mean employments. Though the calling be laborious and despicable, yet those who keep to it will find there is something to be got by it. 1. Let not a poor gardener, who keeps the fig-tree, be discouraged; though it require constant care and attendance to nurse up fig-trees, and, when they have grown to maturity, to keep them in good order, and gather the figs in their season, yet he shall be paid for his pains: He shall eat the fruit of it, 1 Cor. ix. 7. 2. Nay, let not a poor servant think himself incapable of thriving and being preferred; for if he be diligent in waiting on his master, observant of him and obedient to him, if he keep his master (so the word is), if he do all he can for the securing of his person and reputation and take care that his estate be not wasted or damaged, such a one shall be honoured, shall not only get a good word, but be preferred and rewarded. God is a Master who has engaged to put an honour on those that serve him faithfully, John xii. 26.

19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

This shows us that there is a way, 1. Of knowing ourselves. As the water is a looking-glass in which we may see our faces by reflection, so there are mirrors by which the heart of a man is discovered to a man, that is, to himself. Let a man examine his own conscience, his thoughts, affections, and intentions. Let him behold his natural face in the glass of the divine law (Jam. i. 23), and he may discern what kind of man he is and what is his true character, which it will be of great use to every man rightly to know. 2. Of knowing one another by ourselves; for, as there is a similitude between the face of a man and the reflection of it in the water, so there is between one man's heart and another's for God has fashioned men's hearts alike; and in many cases we may judge of others by ourselves, which is one of the foundations on which that rule is built of doing to others as we would be done by, Exod. xxiii. 9. Nihil est unum uni tam simile, tam par, quam omnes inter nosmet ipsos sumus. Sui nemo ipse tam similis quam omnes sunt omnium—No one thing is so like another as man is to man. No person is so like himself as each person is to all besides. Cic. de Legib. lib. 1. One corrupt heart is like another, and so is one sanctified heart, for the former bears the same image of the earthy, the latter the same image of the heavenly.

20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Two things are here said to be insatiable, and they are two things near of kin—death and sin. 1. Death is insatiable. The first death, the second death, both are so. The grave is not clogged with the multitude of dead bodies that are daily thrown into it, but is still an open sepulchre, and cries, Give, give. Hell also has enlarged itself, and still has room for the damned spirits that are committed to that prison. Tophet is deep and large, Isa. xxx. 33. 2. Sin is insatiable: The eyes of man are never satisfied, nor the appetites of the carnal mind towards profit or pleasure. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is he the loves silver satisfied with silver. Men labour for that which surfeits, but satisfies not; nay, it is dissatisfying; but satisfies not; nay, it is dissatisfying; such a perpetual uneasiness have men justly been doomed to ever since our first parents were not satisfied with all the trees of Eden, but they must meddle with the forbidden tree. Those whose eyes are ever toward the Lord in him are satisfied, and shall for ever be so.

21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

This gives us a touchstone by which we may try ourselves. Silver and gold are tried by putting them into the furnace and fining-pot; so is man tried by praising him. Let him be extolled and preferred, and then he will show himself what he is. 1. If a man be made, by the applause that is given him, proud, conceited, and scornful,—if he take the glory to himself which he should transmit to God, as Herod did,—if, the more he is praised, the more careless he is of what he says and does,—if he lie in bed till noon because his name is up, thereby it will appear that he is a vain foolish man, and a man who, though he be praised, has nothing in him truly praise-worthy. 2. If, on the contrary, a man is made by his praise more thankful to God, more respectful to his friends, more watchful against every thing that may blemish his reputation, more diligent to improve himself, and do good to others, that he may answer the expectations of his friends from him, by this it will appear that he is a wise and good man. He has a good temper of mind who knows how to pass by evil report and good report, and is still the same, 2 Cor. vi. 8.

22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

Solomon had said (ch. xxii. 15), The foolishness which is bound in the heart of a child may be driven out by the rod of correction, for then the mind is to be moulded, the vicious habits not having taken root; but here he shows that, if it be not done then, it will be next to impossible to do it afterwards; if the disease be inveterate, there is a danger of its being incurable. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Observe, 1. Some are so bad that rough and severe methods must be used with them, after gentle means have been tried in vain; they must be brayed in a mortar. God will take this way with them by his judgments; the magistrates must take this way with them by the rigour of the law. Force must be used with those that will not be ruled by reason, and love, and their own interest. 2. Some are so incorrigibly bad that even those rough and severe methods do not answer the end, their foolishness will not depart from them, so fully are their hearts set in them to do evil; they are often under the rod and yet not humbled, in the furnace and yet not refined, but, like Ahaz, trespass yet more (2 Chron. xxviii. 22); and what remains then but that they should be rejected as reprobate silver?

The Reward of Prudence.

23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. 24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? 25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. 26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. 27 And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

Here is, I. A command given us to be diligent in our callings. It is directed to husbandmen and shepherds, and those that deal in cattle, but it is to be extended to all other lawful callings; whatever our business is, within doors or without, we must apply our minds to it. This command intimates, 1. That we ought to have some business to do in this world and not to live in idleness. 2. We ought rightly and fully to understand our business, and know what we have to do, and not meddle with that which we do not understand. 3. We ought to have an eye to it ourselves, and not turn over all the care of it to others. We should, with our own eyes, inspect the state of our flocks, it is the master's eye that makes them fat. 4. We must be discreet and considerate in the management of our business, know the state of things, and look well to them, that nothing may be lost, no opportunity let slip, but every thing done in proper time and order, and so as to turn to the best advantage. 5. We must be diligent and take pains; not only sit down and contrive, but be up and doing: "Set thy heart to thy herds, as one in care; lay thy hands, lay thy bones, to thy business."

II. The reasons to enforce this command. Consider,

1. The uncertainty of worldly wealth (v. 24): Riches are not for ever. (1.) Other riches are not so durable as these are: "Look well to thy flocks and herds, thy estate in the country and the stock upon that, for these are staple commodities, which, in a succession, will be for ever, whereas riches in trade and merchandise will not be so; the crown itself may perhaps not be so sure to thy family as thy flocks and herds." (2.) Even these riches will go to decay if they be not well looked after. If a man had an abbey (as we say), and were slothful and wasteful, he might make an end of it. Even the crown and the revenues of it, if care be not taken, will suffer damage, nor will it continue to every generation without very good management. Though David had the crown entailed on his family, yet he looked well to his flocks, 1 Chron. xxvii. 29, 31.

2. The bounty and liberality of nature, or rather of the God of nature, and his providence (v. 25): The hay appears. In taking care of the flocks and herds, (1.) "There needs no great labour, no ploughing or sowing; the food for them is the spontaneous product of the ground; thou hast nothing to do but to turn them into it in the summer, when the grass shows itself, and to gather the herbs of the mountains for them against winter. God has done his part; thou art ungrateful to him, and unjustly refusest to serve his providence, if thou dost not do thine." (2.) "There is an opportunity to be observed and improved, a time when the hay appears; but, if thou let slip that time, thy flocks and herds will fare the worse for it. As for ourselves, so for our cattle, we ought, with the ant, to provide meat in summer."

3. The profit of good husbandry in a family: "Keep thy sheep, and thy sheep will help to keep thee; thou shalt have food for thy children and servants, goats' milk enough (v. 27); and enough is as good as a feast. Thou shalt have raiment likewise: the lambs' wool shall be for thy clothing. Thou shalt have money to pay thy rent; the goats thou shalt have to sell shall be the price of thy field;" nay, as some understand it, "Thou shalt become a purchaser, and buy land to leave to thy children," (v. 26). Note, (1.) If we have food and raiment, and wherewithal to give every body his own, we have enough, and ought to be not only content, but thankful. (2.) Masters of families must provide not only for themselves, but for their families, and see that their servants have a fitting maintenance. (3.) Plain food and plain clothing, if they be but competent, are all we should aim at. "Reckon thyself well done to if thou be clothed with home-spun cloth with the fleece of thy own lambs, and fed with goats' milk; let that serve for thy food which serves for the food of thy household and the maintenance of thy maidens. Be not desirous of dainties, far-fetched and dear-bought." (4.) This should encourage us to be careful and industrious about our business, that that will bring in a sufficient maintenance for our families; we shall eat the labour of our hands.

CHAP. XXVII. Verſ. 1. Boaſt not thy ſelf of to morrow.]

Exod. 13.14.THat is, of what thou wilt doe hereafter, in quovis tempore poſtero. See 1 Sam. 28.19.Petrarch. lib 3. Memurah. ad finem. Jam. 4.14. Hee was a wiſe man, that being invited to a feaſt on the next morrow, anſwered, Ex multis annis craſtinum non habui, for theſe many years I have not had a morrow day to promiſe for any buſineſs. But what luxurious fools were thoſe Sybarites, Aelian. that intending a feaſt, did uſe to invite their gueſts a whole year before?

Neſcis quid ſerus veſper v[illegible: 1 letter]hat. Hinc Haebrei eventae appella[illegible: 1 letter]t filios temporis. For thou knoweſt not what a day may bring forth] A great-bellied day. Whiles a Woman is yet with child, none can tell what kind of birth it will be, Luk. 12.16, 17. Time travelleth with Gods Decrees, and in their ſeaſon brings them forth; but little doth any man know what is in the wombe of to morrow, till God hath ſignified his will by the event. David in his proſperity ſaid, that hee ſhould never be moved, but he ſoon after found a ſore alteration: God confuted his confidence, Pſal. 30. So the evil which men intend againſt us, may prove abortive, either dye in the wombe, or elſe they may travel with miſchief, and bring forth a lye, that is, ſomewhat contrary to that they intend; but Fata viam invenient — Stat ſua cuique dies. See Judg. 5.28, 29, 30. 1 King. 20.10. Accidit in puncto quod non ſperatur in anno.

Verſ. 2. Let another man praiſe thee, and not thine own mouth] Unleſs it be in defence of thine innocency, as David, Pſal. 7. or when the concealing of thy goodneſſe may turn to the hinderance of the truth, or to the hurt of the Church, or impairing of Gods glory, as Paul, 2 Cor. 11. and 12. Let a man doe worthily in Ephrata, and he ſhall be famous in Bethlehem: he need not bee his own Trumpeter, as Jehu, the proud Phariſee, and other arrogant vain-glorious Bragadochioes. (See my common place of Arrogance) God will take order that thoſe that honour him, be honoured of all, and that fame ſhall attend vertue, as the ſhadow doth the body. Say that wicked men will not ſpeak well but ill of us,3 Joh. 12. yet we have a teſtimony in their Conſciences (as David had in Sauls, Daniel in Dariuso', &c.) Demetrius hath a good report of all good men, and of the truth it ſelf: and that is enough for him; ſith, not he that commendeth himſelf (or hath the worlds applauſe) is approved, but he whom the Lord (and his people) commendeth, 2 Cor. 10.18. Haec ego primus vidi, was a vain-glorious brag that Zabarel had better held in. And haec ego feci, proves men to bee no better than Faeces, ſaith Luther wittily; theſe brags are but dregs; Laus proprio ſordeſcit in ore; Quod magnificum reſciente a[illegible: 1 letter]io fuiſſet, ipſo qui geſſerat reconſente vaneſcit. Plin Ep. 8. l. 1 That which had been much to a mans commendation, if out of another mans mouth, ſounds very ſlenderly out of his own, ſaith Pliny. Let her works (not her words) praiſe her in the gates, Prov. 31.31. as they did Ruth, All the City of my people knows that thou art a vertuous woman, Ruth 3.11. She was ſo, and ſhe had the credit of it. So had the Virgin Mary, and yet ſhe was troubled when truly praiſed of the Angel. They ſhall be praiſed of Angels in Heaven, who have eſchewed the praiſes of men on earth, and bluſh when but juſtly commended, ſpeaking modeſtly and meanly of their own good parts and practices. Saint Luke ſaith, Levi made a great feaſt, Luke 5.27, 28. But when himſelf ſpeaks of it, Matth. 9.10. he ſaith only, that Chriſt came home and eat bread in Levies houſe, to teach us the truth of this Proverb, that another mans mouth ſhould praiſe us, and not our own. Like as in the Olympick games, thoſe that overcame did not put the Garlands on their own heads, but ſtayed till others did it for them; ſo here.

Verſ. 3. But a fools wrath is heavier than them both] Himſelf cannot rule nor repreſs it, but that hee dyes of the ſullens ſometimes, as that fool Nabal did. Much leſs can others endure it without trouble and regret; eſpecially when ſo peeviſh and paſt grace, as to be angry with thoſe that approve not, applaud not his folly. How angry was Nebuchadnezzar, how much hotter was his heart than his Oven, againſt thoſe three Worthies, for refuſing to fall down before his golden Mawmer? How unſufferable was Herods anger in the Maſſacre at Bethlehem, and the primitive Perſecutors for the two firſt ages after Chriſt? that I come no lower. See my Common-place of Anger.

Verſ. 4. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outragious] Or, over-flowing all the banks, or carrying all before it as an impetuous Land-floud, and therefore moſt intolerable, as verſ. 3. but behold a worſe matter: Envie is an evil that none can ſtand before, for it knows neither end nor meaſure: as appears in the Devil, and his Patriarch Cain; in Saul, the Phariſees, thoſe ſpiteful Jews, Acts 13.45. And to this day they doe antiquum obtinere, bear the old grudge to us Chriſtians, curſing us in their daily Oriſons, calling us Baſtard-gentiles, profeſſing that if their Meſſias were come, rather than wee ſhould have any part in him, or benefit by him, they would Crucifie him an hundred times over. They have a ſaying amongſt them, Optimus qui inter gentes eſt d[illegible: 1 letter]gnus cui caput conteratur tanquam Serpenti. The beſt of us Gentiles is worthy of the Serpents puniſhment, viz. to have his head bruiſed, &c. ſo great is their envie ſtill againſt Chriſtians, who pitty them and pray for them: and truly, it is no more than need, ſith by the queſtion here propounded, we may eaſily gueſſe, how potent this quick-ſighted and ſharp-fanged malignity envie is; indeed the venome of all vices is found in it: neither will it bee drawn to embrace that good which it envies to another, as too good for him, Act. 13.44, 45.

Verſ. 5. Open rebuke is better than ſecret love] For after the nature of Pils, Rebuke, though it be not toothſome, yet it is wholſome; and a ſure ſign of a faithful friend, if rightly managed. See my Common-place of Admonition. Secret love, that either ſeeth nothing amiſſe in a friend, or dare not ſay ſo, is little worth in compariſon. Thou ſhalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, Levit. 19.17 but (as an Argument of thy love) thou ſhalt reprove him plainly (but wiſely) and not ſuffer ſin upon him, much leſſe further it, and be his broker or pander in it, as Hirah the Adullamite was to his friend Judah, and Jonadab to his Couſin Amnon, 2 Sam. 13.5.

Verſ. 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend] And are therefore to be prayed for: but the kiſſes of an enemy are deceitful, or to bee deteſted, and therefore prayed againſt: ſo ſome read the words, and make the oppoſition. See this done by David, Pſal. 141.5. Knocks from a righteous man he would take for kindneſſes: but the precious oyles of the wicked (anſwerable to their kiſſes here) he would cry out of, as the breaking of his head; for ſo Mercer, Ainſworth, and others read that text, and the Septuagint accordeth, ſaying, let not the oyl of the ſinner ſupple my head; by oyl meaning flattering words, as Pſal. 55.22. Reproofs and Corrections, though ſharp and unpleaſant, yet if look'd upon as iſſuing from that love that lies hid in the heart, they are faithful, that is, fair and pleaſant, as the Chaldee interprets it.

But the kiſſes of an enemy are deceitfull] i. e. his gloſing and cloſing with us for a further miſchief, (ſuch as were the kiſſes of Joab, Judas, Abſolom and Ahitophel) are not to be fancied, but deprecated and deteſted. See the note on chap. 26.23. Theophrastus hath in his character drawn out theſe kiſſing cut-throats,Cap. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. who can be affable to their enemies, and diſguiſe their hatred in commendation, while they privily lay their ſnares: men Italienated, that can ſalute with mortal embracements, and claſp you in thoſe arms which they mean to embrue in your deareſt blood.Camd. Eliſ. Anno. 1591. Theſe treacherous kiſſers are of kin to that mad Hacket, hanged in Queen Elizabeths days, who bit off his honeſt ſchoolmaſters noſe, as he embraced him, under colour of renewing their love, and ear it down before the poor mans face. So, and no better are the kiſſes, that is, the fawnings and flatteries of perfideous perſons.

Verſ. 7. The full ſoul loatheth an hony comb] Heb. treadeth it under feet as dung or dogs-meat. Chryſoſtome reports the ſaying of a certain Philoſopher to the ſame purpoſe. Anima in ſatietate poſita etiam favis illudit. The ſated ſoul rejecteth fineſt fare, and moſt ſweeteſt ſuſtenance. This holds true in ſpirituals too. The hony of Gods holy word, how is it trampled on by thoſe ſtall-fed beaſts, in whom fulneſs hath bred forgetfulneſs, ſaturity ſecurity? Our ſoul loatheth this light meat, ſaid they of their Manna, when once cloyed with it. The Phariſees found no more ſweetneſs or ſavourineſs in our Saviours own Sermons, than in the white of an egge, or a dry chip. Our Nation is alſo ſick of a ſpiritual plethory or plurifie: we begin to ſurfeit on the bread of life. Now when God ſees his mercies lying under Table, 'tis juſt with him to call to the enemy to take away. Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the Eaſt,—who ſhall eat thy fruit, and drink thy milk, Ezek. 25.4.

But to the hungry ſoul every bitter thing is ſweet] Hunger is the beſt Cook, ſay the Dutch, the beſt ſawce, ſay we, experience proves it ſo: how ſweetly doth it ſeaſon homely cates,Jejunus ſtomachus raro vulgaeria tem [illegible: 1 letter]it. Horat. coarſe fare? Artaxerxes Memor being put to flie for his life, fed hungerly on barley-bread, with dried figs, and ſaid, he never made a better meal in all his life. Huniades once driven out of the field by the Turks, and lighting upon a ſhepheard, craved for Gods ſake of him ſomething to eat: who brought him to a poor cottage not farre off, cauſing to be ſet before him bread and water with a few Onions: who in the pleaſant remembrance of that paſſed miſery,Turk Hiſt. fol. 310. would oftentimes after in his greateſt banguers ſay, that he never in his life fared better or more daintily, than when he ſupped with this ſhepheard.

Verſ. 8. As a bird that wandereth from her neſt] Doth it of inconſtancy, and oft meets with miſery: whereas God had taken order that none ſhould moleſt a bird upon her neſt. Deut. 22.6, 7.

So is a man that wandreth from his place] A vagrant, an idleby, or a buſy-body, that keeps not his ſtation, abides not in the calling wherein he was called, 1 Cor. 7.20. expoſed to miſery and miſchief, to ruth and ruine, Numb. 16.32. 2 Sam. 6.6, 7. 2 Chron. 26.19. Jonah 1. Jude 6. Pſal. 107.4. An honeſt mans heart is where his calling is: ſuch an one when he is abroad, is like a fiſh in the ayr, whereinto if it leap for recreation or neceſſity, yet it ſoon returns to its own element.

Verſ. 9. Oyntment and perfume rejoyce the heart] Sweet oyntment ſenſum afficit, spiritum reficit, cerebrum juvat, affects the ſenſe, refreſheth the ſpirit, comforteth the brain.

So doth the ſweetneſs of a mans friend by hearty counſel] It is as a freſh gale of ſweet ayr to him that lives among walking dung-hils, open ſepulchres. It preſerveth the ſoul as a pomander, and refreſheth it more than musk or civet doth the brain. The Counſel of ſuch eſpecially (Miniſters I mean) of whom the Scripture ſaith, that they are unto God a ſweet ſavour of Chriſt unto them that are ſaved, 2 Cor. 2.15. Theſe are they that can ſell us oyl for our lamps, that we may buy for our ſelves, Mat. 25.9. Such a Counſellour may be an Angel, nay a God to another, as Moſes was to Aaron: the comfort given by ſuch (as the bleſſing of Parents) is uſually moſt effectual, becauſe they are in Gods room. See Job 33.23. If there be a meſſenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thouſand, Unus è millibus, not Ʋnus è ſimilibus as the Vulgar reads it falſely, and from the purpoſe.

Verſ. 10. Thine own friend and thy Fathers friend forſake not] To forſake a friend (an old friend eſpecially) is to forſake ones ſelf: for a friend is a ſecond ſelf, and friendſhip (as wine) is commendable from its oldneſs. What a Price ſet Salomon upon Hiram, who had been his fathers friend? 1 King. 5, and how did he ſeek his love, as a precious inheritance left him (as it were) by his father? and how courteouſly for his fathers ſake, likewiſe dealt hee with Abiathar, that had dealt diſloyally with him?

Neither go into thy brothers houſe] Cajetan reads it, (and perhaps better) Thy brothers houſe will not come in the day of thy calamity, When thine old friend will viſit thee and ſtick cloſe to thee; as Jonathan did to David, and Oneſiphorus to Paul. David complains of his carnal kindred; My lovers and my friends ſtand a far off from my ſore, and mine acquaintance ſtand aloof; Pſal. 88.18. as the Prieſt and Levite did from the wounded man, when the Samaritan, a ſtranger, but a neighbour indeed, relieved him.

Verſ. 11. My ſonne, be wiſe, and make my heart glad] See the note on chap. 10.1.

Verſ. 12. A prudent man foreſeeth the evill] See the note on Chap. 22.3.

Verſ. 13. Take his garment that is ſurety] See the note on chap. 20.16.

Verſ. 14. He that bleſſeth his friend with a loud voice] Qui leonum laudibus murem obruit, that extols a man above meaſure, as the falſe Prophets did Ahab, and the People Herod, that praiſeth him to his face:In vita Alphonſ. which when a Court-paraſite did to Sigiſmund the Emperour, he gave him a ſound box on the ear. A Preacher in Conſtantines time, auſus eſt Imperatorem in os beatum dicere, Euſeb. de vit. Conſt. l. 4. c. 4. ſaith Euſebius, preſumed to call the Emperour a Saint to his face: but he went away with a check. When Ariſtobulus the Hiſtorian, preſented to Alexander the great book that he had written of his glorious acts; wherein he had flatteringly made him greater than he was, Alexander (after he had read the book) threw it into the River Hydaſpes, and ſaid to the Authour, It were a good deed to throw thee after it.

Riſing early in the morning] As afraid to be prevented by another, or that he ſhall not have time enough all day after to do it in.

Verſ. 15. A continual dropping] See the note on chap. 19.24.

Verſ. 16. Whoſoever hideth her, hideth the wind] i. e. One may as ſoon hide the wind, or hold it from blowing, as hide her ſhame, or huſh her brawling. The wife ſhould make her husband her covering, (when ſhe is abroad eſpecially) but many wives are ſo intemperate and wilful, that a man may as well hide the wind in his fiſt, or oyl in his clutch-fiſt, as his wives infirmities. Let this be marked by thoſe that venture upon ſhrews, if rich, fair, well-deſcended, in hope to tame them, and make them better.

Verſ. 17. Iron ſharpeneth Iron] One edge-tool ſharpeneth another: ſo doth the face of a man his friend. Ipſe aſpectus viri boni delectat, ſaith Seneca. Let us whet one another to love and good works, ſaith Paul, as boars whet their tusks, Heb. 10.24. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. 2 Tim. [illegible: 1 letter].6. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. as mowers whet their ſithes. Thus Paul was preſſed in spirit by the coming of Timothy, Acts 18.4. and extimulates Timothy to ſtirre up the gift of God that was in him. Thus Peter rouſed up thoſe to whom he wrote, ex veterno torporis & teporis, out of their ſpiritual lethargy, 2 Pet. 1.13. And thus thoſe good ſouls ſpake often one to another, for mutual quickning in dull and dead times, Mul. 3.10, 17. See my notes on that text. As amber-greece is nothing ſo ſweet in itſelf, as when compounded with other things; So godly and learned men are gainers by communicating themſelves to others. Conference hath incredible profit in all ſciences. Caſt alio renders this text thus: Ut ferrum ferro, Of Jabad unire, adunare. ſic homines alii aliis conjunguntur; as iron is to iron, ſo are men joyned and ſoldred to one another, viz. in a very ſtraight bond of love and friendſhip.

Verſ. 18. Whoſo keepeth the fig tree, ſhall eat, &c.] Of the continually-renewed fruits thereof, for when the ripe figs are pulled off, others ſhortly come in their place. The Aegyptian fig tree is reported by Solinus to bear fruit ſeven times in a year: ſuch as is good both for meat and medicine, as Galen obſerveth, and after him Dioſcorides.

So he that waiteth on his maſter ſhall be honoured] That is, Liberally maintained, and highly promoted; As Joſeph was where-ever he ſerved. The Heathens were very cruel to their ſervants; putting an engine about their necks (called [non-Latin text not transcribed]) and it reached down to their hands, that they might not ſo much as lick off the meal when they were ſifting it. Theſe poor ſervants were in worſe caſe than the Jews Oxen, 1 Cor. 9.8. But ſuch as are faithful and ſerviceable, however their Maſters deal with them (they ſhould deal well with them, Deut. 15.12, 13, 14.) God will beſtow upon them a Childs part, even the reward of inheritance, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Col. 3.22, 23, 24. Their Maſters alſo, if faithful and beloved, as they partake of the benefit, viz. of their good ſervice, ſo they will be beneficial to them. Beneficentiae recompenſatores, as Bullinger after Theophilact renders that text, 1 Tim. 6.2.

Verſ. 19. As in water face anſwereth to face, &c.] Mens fancies differ as much as their faces: So the Chaldee interprets it. But they doe better that give this ſenſe, that in regard of natural corruption, all men look with one countenance, and have one viſage: ſith whole evil is in man, and whole man in evil, neither by nature is there ever a better of us. In the heart of the vileſt perſon we may ſee, as in a mirrour, our own evil hearts. For as there were many Marii in one Caeſar, ſo are there many Cains and Judaſſes in the beſt of us. And as that firſt Chaos had the feed of all Creatures, and wanted only the Spirits motion to bring them forth, Gen. 1.1, 2. ſo there is a [non-Latin text not transcribed], a common ſeed-plot of ſin in us all: there wants but the warmth and watering of Satans temptations to make it bud, Ezek. 7.10. And though there were no Devil, yet our naughty nature would act Satans part againſt itſelf: It would have a ſupply of wickedneſs, (as a Serpent hath poyſon) from it ſelf: It hath a ſpring to feed it. Hence our Saviour chargeth his own Diſciples to take heed of ſurfetting, drunkenneſs, and diſtracting carefulneſs, Luke 21.34. (who would ever have ſuſpected ſuch monſters to lurk in ſuch holy boſomes?) And Saint Paul ſaw cauſe to warn ſo pure a ſoul as young Timothy to fly youthly luſts, and to exhort the younger women with chaſtity: 1 Tim. 5.2. thereby intimating, that whiles he was exhorting them to chaſtity, ſome impure motion might ſteal upon him unawares. Corruption in the beſt will have ſome flurts.

Verſ. 20. Hell and deſtruction are never ſatisfied] Hell and the Grave have their name in Hebrew from their unſatisfiableneſſe, being alwayes craving more, and that with aſſiduity and importunity. And this fitly follows upon the former verſe (as Aben-Ezra well obſerveth) that men may be frighted by the remembrance of Hells wide mouth gaping for them, from following the bent of their ſinful natures: and that thoſe that here have never enough, ſhall once have fire enough in the bottome of hell.

So the eyes of men are never ſatisfied] That is, their luſts, their carnal concupiſcence: to ſeek to ſatisfie it is an endleſſe peece of buſineſſe, Quaecunque videt oculus, ea omnia deſiderat avarus, ſaith Baſil, the covetous man hankereth after all that he beholdeth, the curſe of unſatisfiableneſſe lies heavie upon him: His deſire is a fire, riches are fuel, which ſeem to ſlake the fire, but indeed they encreaſe it. He that loveth ſilver ſhall never be ſatisfied with ſilver, Eccleſ. 5.10. No more ſhall he that loveth honour, pleaſure, &c. Earthly things cannot ſo fill the heart, but ſtill it would have more things in number, and otherwiſe for manner. [non-Latin text not transcribed] & [non-Latin text not transcribed] of [non-Latin text not transcribed]. And therefore the particles in the Hebrew that ſignifie And, and Or, come of a word that ſignifies to deſire: becauſe the deſires of a man would have this and that, and that and another; and doth alſo tire it ſelf, not knowing whether to have this, or that, or the other, &c.

Verſ. 21. As the fining pot for ſilver, &c.] Man is naturally apt to bee much taken, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Xenophon. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. and even tickled with his own commendation, as Felix was with Tertullus his flatteries; as Demoſthenes was when they poynted at him as hee paſſed by, and ſaid, This is that famous Oratour. But let every man prove his own work, ſaith Paul, Gal. 6.4. and teſtimonium tibi perhibeat conſcientia propria, non lingua aliena, ſaith Auſtin; let thine own Conſcience, and not another mans tongue praiſe thee. Or if needleſly they will doe it, Let it refine us (as here) to more humility, and more care of ſound holineſſe; let it, by the fining-pot, melt us, and make us better. This is the right uſe of it.

Verſ. 22. Though thou ſhouldeſt bray a fool, &c.] The Cypreſſe Tree, the more it is watered, the more it is withered: So it is with the wicked; humbled they are, but not humble; low, but not lowly; wearied in ſin, as Babylon was in the greatneſſe of her way, Iſa. 47.13. but not weary of it. Of theſe Auguſtine, Perdidiſtis, ſaith he, utilitatem calamitatis, miſerrimi factis eſtis, De civ. Dei, lib. 1 cap. 33 & peſſimi permanſiſtis, yee have loſt the fruit of your afflictions: yee have ſuffered much, and are never the better. By this the iniquity of Jacob ſhall be purged, and this is all the fruit, the taking away of his ſin. And if this be not done, God will ſay as once, In thy filthineſſe is lewdneſſe: Becauſe I have purged thee, Eſay 27.11. and thou waſt not purged, thou ſhalt have thy will, thou ſhalt not be purged: but then I will have my will to; for I will cauſe my fury to reſt upon thee, Ezek. 24.13. how likeſt thou that?

Verſ. 33. Be thou diligent to know the ſtate, &c.] Hebr. Knowing thou ſhalt know the face of thy flocks: alluding, belike, to thoſe ſhepheards, that know their ſheep aſunder by their viſages, and can call them by name, as Joh. 10.

And look well to thy Herds] Heb. Set thy heart to them. That is, be very inquiſitive and ſollicitous of their welfare. Leave not all to ſervants, though never ſo faithful: but ſuperviſe and over-ſee buſineſſe, as Boaz did. His eyes were in every corner, on the Servants, on the Reapers, on the Gleaners: Hee lodged in the midſt of his husbandry. He was not to learn, that the Maſters eye feeds the Horſe, and the Maſters foot ſoyls the Land;Ariſt. Ocoon. lib. 1. cap. 6. and that Procul à villa ſua diſſitus, jacturae vicinus, as Columella hath it. He that is farre from his Huſbandry, is not farre from poverty. And unleſſe the Maſter be preſent,Lib. 1. Cap. ſaith the ſame Author, (it will be as in an Anmy where the General is abſent) cuncta officia ceſſant, all buſineſſes will be hindered. He muſt be as the great Wheel to ſet all a work, or little will be done.

[non-Latin text not transcribed].

Verſ. 34. For riches endure not for ever] Whether they be riches of inheritance or of purchaſe, they will waſte without good husbandry. The royalty of Salomon could not have conſiſted for all his riches, had hee not been frugal. Our Henry the third merited to be called Regni dilapidator, a waſte-Kingdom. But what a great husband (perhaps too great) was Lewis the eleventh of France, of whom yee ſhall find in the chamber of accounts a reckoning of two ſhillings for new ſleeves to his old dublet, and three half-pence for liquor to greaſe his boots? Anno 1461. Pertinax the Emperour alſo was a ſingular good husband: for the which, as the rich gallants derided him, ſo others of us, Quibus virtus luxuris potior, laudabamus, who prized Vertue aboue Luxury, commended it in him, ſaith Dio the Hiſtorian, who writes his life.Dio in pertinaci

Verſ. 35. The hay appeareth, and the tender graſſe] And the due time muſt be taken to take it in for fodder, in the hard winter. The earth is alma Mater, a bountiful Mother to man and beaſt. It is (as one well ſaith) marſupium Domini, the Lords great Purſe. The Stars alſo are Gods Store-houſes, which he openeth to our profit, Deut. 28.12. Every Star is like a purſe of gold, ſaith one, out of which God throws down riches, which good men gather, bad men ſcramble for. By their influence they make a ſcatter of Corn, Hay, Fruits of all ſorts. And good husbands cut Hay not only in the vallies where there is great ſtore, but upon the mountains too, aſſoon as it is ready, leſt heat or wet marre it. Note here by the way, 1 How good the Lord is, that ſtoops ſo low as to teach us thrift. 2 How perfect the holy Scripture is, that inſtructs us in theſe meaner matters alſo.

Verſ. 36. The Lambs are for thy cloathing] Ad eſum & ad uſum, for food and raiment, a profitable creature. Some Creatures are profitable alive, not dead, as the Dog, Horſe, &c. Some dead, not alive, as the Hog. Some both, as the Oxe; yet none ſo profitable as the Sheep.

And the Goats are the price of thy field] Wherewith thou mayeſt pay thy rent, and beſides hire tillage, or it may be purchaſe Land, and have money in thy purſe to doe thy needs with.

Verſ. 37. And thou ſhalt have Goats milk enough] And this was anciently accounted good chear indeed. By Goats-milk underſtand all manner of Whitmeat, as they call it; and ſee how ſparingly they lived in thoſe daies, content with that they had at hand, and not running every hands-while to the Butchers, or Drapers, as now. Or if the men being harder wrought, had ſtronger meat ſometimes, yet the Maidens were well content with a more ſlender diet. Apelles painted a ſervant with his hands full of tools (to ſhew that hee ſhould bee work-brittle) with broad ſhoulders (to bear hard uſage) with Hindes feet (to run about his buſineſſes) with Aſſes ears, and his mouth ſhut (to ſignifie that he ſhould be ſwift to hear, ſlow to ſpeak) laſtly, with a lean belly, (that he ſhould be content with coarſe fare, ſpare diet, &c.)