My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger;
KJV
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
Commentary
Commentary
In this chapter we have,
I. A caution against rash suretiship, ver. 1-5 .
II. A rebuke to slothfulness, ver. 6-11 .
III. The character and fate of a malicious mischievous man, ver. 12-15 .
IV. An account of seven things which God hates, ver. 16-19 .
V. An exhortation to make the word of God familiar to us, ver. 20-23 .
VI. A repeated warning of the pernicious consequences of the sin of
whoredom, ver. 24-35 .
We are here dissuaded from sin very much by arguments borrowed from our
secular interests, for it is not only represented as damning in the
other world, but as impoverishing in this.
1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast
stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken
with the words of thy mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come
into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure
thy friend.
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and
as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
It is the excellency of the word of God that it teaches us not only
divine wisdom for another world, but human prudence for this world,
that we may order our affairs with discretion; and this is one good
rule, To avoid suretiship, because by it poverty and ruin are often
brought into families, which take away that comfort in relations which
he had recommended in the foregoing chapter.
1. We must look upon suretiship as a snare and decline it accordingly, v. 1, 2 .
"It is dangerous enough for a man to be bound for his friend, though it
be one whose circumstances he is well acquainted with, and well assured
of his sufficiency, but much more to strike the hands with a
stranger, to become surety for one whom thou dost not know to be
either able or honest." Or the stranger here with whom the hand is
stricken is the creditor, "the usurer to whom thou art become bound,
and yet as to thee he is a stranger, that is, thou owest him nothing,
nor hast had any dealings with him. If thou hast rashly entered into
such engagements, either wheedled into them or in hopes to have the
same kindness done for thee another time, know that thou art snared
with the words of thy mouth; it was easily done, with a word's
speaking; it was but setting thy hand to a paper, a bond is soon sealed
and delivered, and a recognizance entered into. But it will not be so
easily got clear of; thou art in a snare more than thou art
aware of." See how little reason we have to make light of tongue-sins;
if by a word of our mouth we may become indebted to men, and lie open
to their actions, by the words of our mouth we may become obnoxious to
God's justice, and even so may be snared. It is false that words are
but wind: they are often snares.
2. If we have been drawn into this snare, it will be our wisdom by all
means, with all speed, to get out of it, v. 3-5 .
It sleeps for the present; we hear nothing of it. The debt is not
demanded; the principal says, "Never fear, we will take care of it."
But still the bond is in force, interest is running on, the creditor
may come upon thee when he will and perhaps may be hasty and severe,
the principal may prove either knavish or insolvent, and then thou must
rob thy wife and children, and ruin thy family, to pay that which thou
didst neither nor drink for. And therefore deliver thyself; rest
not till either the creditor give up the bond or the principal give
thee counter-security; when thou art come into the hand of thy
friend, and he has advantage against thee, it is no time to
threaten or give ill language (that will provoke and make ill worse),
but humble thyself, beg and pray to be discharged, go down on
thy knees to him, and give him all the fair words thou canst; engage
thy friends to speak for thee; leave no stone unturned till thou hast
agreed with thy adversary and compromised the matter, so that thy bond
may not come against thee or thine. This is a care which may well break
thy sleep, and let it do so till thou hast got through. " Give not
sleep to thy eyes till thou hast delivered thyself. Strive
and struggle to the utmost, and hasten with all speed, as a roe or a bird delivers herself out of this snare of the
fowler or hunter. Delays are dangerous, and feeble efforts will not
serve." See what care God, in his word, has taken to make men good
husbands of their estates, and to teach them prudence in the management
of them. Godliness has precepts, as well as promises, relating
to the life that now is.
But how are we to understand this? We are not to think it is unlawful
in any case to become surety, or bail, for another; it may be a piece
of justice or charity; he that has friends may see cause in this
instance to show himself friendly, and it may be no piece of
imprudence. Paul became bound for Onesimus, Philem. 19 .
We may help a young man into business that we know to be honest and
diligent, and gain him credit by passing our word for him, and so do
him a great kindness without any detriment to ourselves. But,
1. It is every man's wisdom to keep out of debt as much as may be, for
it is an incumbrance upon him, entangles him in the world, puts him in
danger of doing wrong or suffering wrong. The borrower is servant to
the lender, and makes himself very much a slave to this world.
Christians therefore, who are bought with a price, should not
thus, without need, make themselves the servants of men, 1 Cor. vii. 23 .
2. It is great folly to entangle ourselves with necessitous people, and
to become bound for their debts, that are ever and anon taking up
money, and lading, as we say, out of one hole into another, for it is
ten to one but, some time or other, it will come upon us. A man ought
never to be bound as surety for more than he is both able and willing
to pay, and can afford to pay without wronging his family, in case the
principal fail, for he ought to look upon it as his own debt. Ecclesiasticus viii. 13 , Be not surety above thy power, for, if thou be surety, thou must
take care to pay it. 3. It is a necessary piece of after-wit, if we have foolishly entangled
ourselves, to get out of the snare as fast as we can, to lose no time,
spare no pains, and stick at no submission to make ourselves safe and
easy, and get our affairs into a good posture. It is better to humble
ourselves for an accommodation than to ruin ourselves by our stiffness
and haughtiness. Make sure thy friend by getting clear from thy
engagements from him; for rash suretiship is as much the bane of
friendship as that which is prudent is sometimes the bond of it. Let us
take heed lest we any way make ourselves guilty of other men's sins
against God
( 1 Tim. v. 22 ),
for that is worse, and much more dangerous, than being bound for other
men's debts; and, if we must be in all this care to get our debts to
men forgiven, much more to get our peace made with God. " Humble
thyself to him; make sure of Christ thy friend, to
intercede for thee; pray earnestly that thy sins may be pardoned, and
thou mayest be delivered from going down to the pit, and it shall not
be in vain. Give not sleep to thy eyes nor slumber to thy eye
lids, till this be done."
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in
the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise
out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of
the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy
want as an armed man.
Solomon, in these verses, addresses himself to the sluggard who loves
his ease, lives in idleness, minds no business, sticks to nothing,
brings nothing to pass, and in a particular manner is careless in the
business of religion. Slothfulness is as sure a way to poverty, though
not so short a way, as rash suretiship. He speaks here to the
sluggard,
I. By way of instruction, v. 6-8 .
He sends him to school, for sluggards must be schooled. He is to take
him to school himself, for, if the scholar will take no pains, the
master must take the more; the sluggard is not willing to come to
school to him (dreaming scholars will never love wakeful teachers) and
therefore he has found him out another school, as low as he can desire.
Observe,
1. The master he is sent to school to: Go to the ant, to the
bee, so the LXX. Man is taught more than the beasts of the
earth, and made wiser that the fowls of heaven, and yet is so
degenerated that he may learn wisdom from the meanest in sects and be
shamed by them. When we observe the wonderful sagacities of the
inferior creatures we must not only give glory to the God of nature,
who has made them thus strangely, but receive instruction to ourselves;
by spiritualizing common things, we may make the things of God both
easy and ready to us, and converse with them daily.
2. The application of mind that is required in order to learn of this
master: Consider her ways. The sluggard is so because he does
not consider; nor shall we ever learn to any purpose, either by the
word or the works of God, unless we set ourselves to consider.
Particularly, if we would imitate others in that which is good, we must
consider their ways, diligently observe what they do, that we may do
likewise, Phil. iii. 17 .
3. The lesson that is to be learned. In general, learn wisdom, consider, and be wise; that is the thing we are to aim at in all
our learning, not only to be knowing, but to be wise. In particular,
learn to provide meat in summer; that is,
(1.) We must prepare for hereafter, and not mind the present time only,
not eat up all, and lay up nothing, but in gathering time treasure up
for a spending time. Thus provident we must be in our worldly affairs,
not with an anxious care, but with a prudent foresight; lay in for
winter, for straits and wants that may happen, and for old age; much
more in the affairs of our souls. We must provide meat and food, that
which is substantial and will stand us in stead, and which we shall
most need. In the enjoyment of the means of grace provide for the want
of them, in life for death, in time for eternity; in the state of
probation and preparation we must provide for the state of retribution.
(2.) We must take pains, and labour in our business, yea, though we
labour under inconveniences. Even in summer, when the weather
is hot, the ant is busy in gathering food and laying it up, and
does not indulge her ease, nor take her pleasure, as the grasshopper,
that sings and sports in the summer and then perishes in the winter.
The ants help one another; if one have a grain of corn too big for her
to carry home, her neighbours will come in to her assistance.
(3.) We must improve opportunities, we must gather when it is to be
had, as the ant does in summer and harvest, in the proper time. It is
our wisdom to improve the season while that favours us, because that
may be done then which cannot be done at all, or not so well done, at
another time. Walk while you have the light.
4. The advantages which we have of learning this lesson above what the
ant has, which will aggravate our slothfulness and neglect if we idle
away our time. She has no guides, overseers, and rulers, but does it of herself, following the instinct of nature; the more
shame for us who do not in like manner follow the dictates of our own
reason and conscience, though besides them we have parents, masters,
ministers, magistrates, to put us in mind of our duty, to check us for
the neglect of it, to quicken us to it, to direct us in it, and to call
us to an account about it. The greater helps we have for working out
our salvation the more inexcusable shall we be if we neglect it.
II. By way of reproof, v. 9-11 .
In these verses,
1. He expostulates with the sluggard, rebuking him and reasoning with
him, calling him to his work, as a master does his servant that has
over-slept himself: " How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? How
long wouldst thou sleep if one would let thee alone? When wilt
thou think it time to arise? " Sluggards should be roused
with a How long? This is applicable,
(1.) To those that are slothful in the way of work and duty, in the
duties of their particular calling as men or their general calling as
Christians. " How long wilt thou waste thy time, and when wilt
thou be a better husband of it? How long wilt thou love thy
ease, and when wilt thou learn to deny thyself, and to take
pains? How long wilt thou bury thy talents, and when wilt
thou begin to trade with them? How long wilt thou delay, and
put off, and trifle away thy opportunities, as one regardless of
hereafter; and when wilt thou stir up thyself to do what thou
hast to do, which, if it be not done, will leave thee for ever undone?"
(2.) To those that are secure in the way of sin and danger: "Hast thou
not slept enough? Is it not far in the day? Does not thy Master call?
Are not the Philistines upon thee? When then wilt thou arise?"
2. He exposes the frivolous excuses he makes for himself, and shows how
ridiculous he makes himself. When he is roused he stretched himself,
and begs, as for alms, for more sleep, more slumber; he
is well in his warm bed, and cannot endure to think of rising,
especially of rising to work. But, observe, he promises himself and his
master that he will desire but a little more sleep, a
little more slumber, and then he will get up and go to his
business. But herein he deceives himself; the more a slothful temper is
indulged the more it prevails; let him sleep awhile, and slumber
awhile, and still he is in the same tune; still he asks for a
little more sleep, yet a little more; he never thinks he has
enough, and yet, when he is called, pretends he will come presently.
Thus men's great work is left undone by being put off yet a little
longer, de die in diem--from day to day; and they are cheated of
all their time by being cheated of the present moments. A little more
sleep proves an everlasting sleep. Sleep on now, and take your
rest.
3. He gives him fair warning of the fatal consequences of his
slothfulness, v. 11 .
(1.) Poverty and want will certainly come upon those that are
slothful in their business. If men neglect their affairs, they not only
will not go forward, but they will go backward. He that leaves his
concerns at sixes and sevens will soon see them go to wreck and ruin,
and bring his noble to nine-pence. Spiritual poverty comes upon those
that are slothful in the service of God; those will want oil, when they
should use it, that provide it not in their vessels.
(2.) "It will come silently and insensibly, will grow upon thee, and
come step by step, as one that travels, but will without fail
come at last." It will leave thee as naked as if thou wert stripped
by a highwayman; so bishop Patrick.
(3.) "It will come irresistibly, like an armed man, whom thou
canst not oppose nor make thy part good against."
12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward
mouth.
13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he
teacheth with his fingers;
14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief
continually; he soweth discord.
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall
he be broken without remedy.
16 These six things doth the L ORD hate: yea, seven are an
abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent
blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be
swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth
discord among brethren.
I. The characters of one that is mischievous to man and dangerous to be
dealt with. If the slothful are to be condemned, that do nothing, much
more those that do ill, and contrive to do all the ill they can. It is
a naughty person that is here spoken of, Heb. A man of
Belial; I think it should have been so translated, because it is a
term often used in scripture, and this is the explication of it.
Observe,
1. How a man of Belial is here described. He is a wicked man, that makes a trade of doing evil, especially with his tongue, for he walks and works his designs with a froward mouth ( v. 12 ),
by lying and perverseness, and a direct opposition to God and man. He
says and does every thing,
(1.) Very artfully and with design. He has the subtlety of the serpent,
and carries on his projects with a great deal of craft and management
( v. 13 ), with his eyes, with his feet, with his fingers. He expresses his
malice when he dares not speak out (so some), or, rather, thus
he carries on his plot; those about him, whom he makes use of as the
tools of his wickedness, understand the ill meaning of a wink of his
eye, a stamp of his feet, the least motion of his fingers. He gives
orders for evil-doing, and yet would not be thought to do so, but has
ways of concealing what he does, so that he may not be suspected. He is
a close man, and upon the reserve; those only shall be let into the
secret that would do any thing he would have them to do. He is a
cunning man, and upon the trick; he has a language by himself, which an
honest man is not acquainted with, nor desires to be.
(2.) Very spitefully and with ill design. It is not so much ambition or
covetousness that is in his heart, as downright frowardness, malice, and ill nature. He aims not so much to
enrich and advance himself as to do an ill turn to those about him. He
is continually devising one mischief or other, purely for
mischief-sake--a man of Belial indeed, of the devil, resembling him not
only in subtlety, but in malice.
2. What his doom is
( v. 15 ): His calamity shall come and he shall be broken; he that
devised mischief shall fall into mischief. His ruin shall come,
(1.) Without warning. It shall come suddenly: Suddenly shall he be
broken, to punish him for all the wicked arts he had to surprise
people into his snares.
(2.) Without relief. He shall be irreparably broken, and never able to
piece again: He shall be broken without remedy. What relief can
he expect that has disobliged all mankind? He shall come to his end
and none shall help him, Dan. xi. 45 .
II. A catalogue of those things which are in a special manner odious to
God, all which are generally to be found in those men of Belial whom he
had described in the foregoing verses; and the last of them (which,
being the seventh, seems especially to be intended, because he says
they are six, yea, seven) is part of his character, that he sows
discord. God hates sin; he hates every sin; he can never be
reconciled to it; he hates nothing but sin. But there are some sins
which he does in a special manner hate; and all those here mentioned
are such as are injurious to our neighbour. It is an evidence of the
good-will God bears to mankind that those sins are in a special manner
provoking to him which are prejudicial to the comfort of human life and
society. Therefore the men of Belial must expect their ruin to come suddenly, and without remedy, because their
practices are such as the Lord hates and are an abomination to
him, v. 16 .
Those things which God hates it is no thanks to us to hate in others,
but we must hate them in ourselves.
1. Haughtiness, conceitedness of ourselves, and contempt of
others-- a proud look. There are seven things that God hates, and
pride is the first, because it is at the bottom of much sin and gives
rise to it. God sees the pride in the heart and hates it there; but,
when it prevails to that degree that the show of men's countenance
witnesses against them that they overvalue themselves and undervalue
all about them, this is in a special manner hateful to him, for then
pride is proud of itself and sets shame at defiance.
2. Falsehood, and fraud, and dissimulation. Next to a proud
look nothing is more an abomination to God than a lying
tongue; nothing more sacred than truth, nor more necessary to
conversation than speaking truth. God and all good men hate and abhor
lying.
3. Cruelty and blood-thirstiness. The devil was, from the beginning, a
liar and a murderer
( John viii. 44 ),
and therefore, as a lying tongue, so hands that shed innocent
blood are hateful to God, because they have in them the devil's
image and do him service.
4. Subtlety in the contrivance of sin, wisdom to do evil, a heart
that designs and a head that devises wicked imaginations, that is acquainted with the depths of Satan and knows how to carry on a
covetous, envious, revengeful plot, most effectually. The more there
is of craft and management in sin the more it is an abomination to God.
5. Vigour and diligence in the prosecution of sin-- feet that are
swift in running to mischief, as if they were afraid of losing time
or were impatient of delay in a thing they are so greedy of. The policy
and vigilance, the eagerness and industry, of sinners, in their sinful
pursuits, may shame us who go about that which is good so awkwardly and
so coldly.
6. False-witness bearing, which is one of the greatest mischiefs that
the wicked imagination can devise, and against which there is least
fence. There cannot be a greater affront to God (to whom in an oath
appeal is made) nor a greater injury to our neighbour (all whose
interests in this world, even the dearest, lie open to an attack of
this kind) than knowingly to give in a false testimony. There are seven
things which God hates, and lying involves two of them; he hates it,
and doubly hates it.
7. Making mischief between relations and neighbours, and using all
wicked means possible, not only to alienate their affections one from
another, but to irritate their passions one against another. The God of
love and peace hates him that sows discord among brethren, for
he delights in concord. Those that by tale-bearing and slandering, by
carrying ill-natured stories, aggravating every thing that is said and
done, and suggesting jealousies and evil surmises, blow the coals of
contention, are but preparing for themselves a fire of the same
nature.
20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the
law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about
thy neck.
22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it
shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with
thee.
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and
reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the
tongue of a strange woman.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her
take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a
piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious
life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be
burned?
28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever
toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his
soul when he is hungry;
31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall
give all the substance of his house.
32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh
understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall
not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not
spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content,
though thou givest many gifts.
Here is, I. A general exhortation faithfully to adhere to the word of
God and to take it for our guide in all our actions.
1. We must look upon the word of God both as a light
( v. 23 )
and as a law, v. 20, 23 .
(1.) By its arguments it is a light, which our understandings must
subscribe to; it is a lamp to our eyes for discovery, and so to
our feet for direction. The word of God reveals to us truths of eternal
certainty, and is built upon the highest reason. Scripture-light is
the sure light.
(2.) By its authority it is a law, which our wills must submit to. As
never such a light shone out of the schools of the philosophers, so
never such a law issued from the throne of any prince, so well framed,
and so binding. It is such a law as is a lamp and a light, for it
carries with it the evidence of its own goodness.
2. We must receive it as our father's commandment and the law
of our mother, v. 20 .
It is God's commandment and his law. But,
(1.) Our parents directed us to it, put it into our hands, trained us
up in the knowledge and observance of it, its original and obligation
being most sacred. We believe indeed, not for their saying, for we have
tried it ourselves and find it to be of God; but we were beholden to
them for recommending it to us, and see all the reason in the world to continue in the things we have learned, knowing of whom we have
learned them. (2.) The cautions, counsels, and commands which our parents gave us
agree with the word of God, and therefore we must hold them fast.
Children, when they are grown up, must remember the law of a
good mother, as well as the commandment of a good father, Ecclesiasticus iii. 2 . The Lord has given the father honour over the children and has
confirmed the authority of the mother over the sons.
3. We must retain the word of God and the good instructions which our
parents gave us out of it.
(1.) We must never cast them off, never think it a mighty achievement
(as some do) to get clear of the restraints of a good education:
" Keep thy father's commandment, keep it still, and never forsake
it."
(2.) We must never lay them by, no, not for a time
( v. 21 ): Bind them continually, not only upon thy hand (as Moses
had directed, Deut. vi. 8 )
but upon thy heart. Phylacteries upon the hand were of no value
at all, any further than they occasioned pious thoughts and affections
in the heart. There the word must be written, there it must be hid, and
laid close to the conscience. Tie them about thy neck, as an
ornament, a bracelet, or gold chain,-- about thy throat (so the
word is); let them be a guard upon that pass; tie them about thy
throat, that no forbidden fruit may be suffered to go in nor any evil
word suffered to go out through the throat; and thus a great deal of
sin would be prevented. Let the word of God be always ready to us, and
let us feel the impressions of it, as of that which is bound upon our
hearts and about our necks.
4. We must make use of the word of God and of the benefit that is
designed us by it. If we bind it continually upon our hearts,
(1.) It will be our guide, and we must follow its direction. " When
thou goest, it shall lead thee ( v. 22 );
it shall lead thee into, and lead thee in, the good and right way,
shall lead thee from, and lead thee out of, every sinful dangerous
path. It will say unto thee, when thou art ready to turn aside, This
is the way; walk in it. It will be that to thee that the pillar of
cloud and fire was to Israel in the wilderness. Be led by that, let it
be thy rule, and then thou shalt be led by the Spirit; he will be thy
monitor and support."
(2.) It will be our guard, and we must put ourselves under the
protection of it: " When thou sleepest, and liest exposed to the
malignant powers of darkness, it shall keep thee; thou shalt be
safe, and shalt think thyself so." If we govern ourselves by the
precepts of the word all day, and make conscience of the duty God has
commanded to us, we may shelter ourselves under the promises of the
word at night, and take the comfort of the deliverances God does and
will command for us.
(3.) It will be our companion, and we must converse with it: " When
thou awakest in the night, and knowest not how to pass away thy
waking minutes, if thou pleasest, it shall talk with thee, and
entertain thee with pleasant meditations in the night-watch; when
thou awakest in the morning, and art contriving the work of the
day, it shall talk with thee about it, and help thee to contrive
for the best," Ps. i. 2 .
The word of God has something to say to us upon all occasions, if we
would but enter into discourse with it, would ask it what it has to
say, and give it the hearing. And it would contribute to our close and
comfortable walking with God all day if we would begin with him in the
morning and let his word be the subject of our first thoughts. When
I awake I am still with thee; we are so if the word be still with
us.
(4.) It will be our life; for, as the law is a lamp and a
light for the present, so the reproofs of instruction are the
way of life. Those reproofs of the word which not only show us our
faults, but instruct us how to do better, are the way that leads to
life, eternal life. Let not faithful reproofs therefore, which have
such a direct tendency to make us happy, ever make us uneasy.
II. Here is a particular caution against the sin of uncleanness.
1. When we consider how much this iniquity abounds, how heinous it is
in its own nature, of what pernicious consequence it is, and how
certainly destructive to all the seeds of the spiritual life in the
soul, we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often
repeated and so largely inculcated.
(1.) One great kindness God designed men, in giving them his law, was
to preserve them from this sin, v. 24 .
"The reproofs of instruction are therefore the way of life to
thee, because they are designed to keep thee from the evil
woman, who will be certain death to thee, from being enticed by the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman, who pretends to
love thee, but intends to ruin thee." Those that will be wrought upon
by flattery make themselves a very easy prey to the tempter; and those
who would avoid that snare must take well-instructed reproofs as great
kindnesses and be thankful to those that will deal faithfully with
them, Prov. xxvii. 5, 6 .
(2.) The greatest kindness we can do ourselves is to keep at a distance
from this sin, and to look upon it with the utmost dread and
detestation
( v. 25 ):
" Lust not after her beauty, no, not in thy heart, for, if
thou dost, thou hast there already committed adultery with
her. Talk not of the charms in her face, neither be thou smitten
with her amorous glances; they are all snares and nets; let her not take thee with her eye-lids. Her looks are arrows and fiery
darts; they wound, they kill, in another sense than what lovers mean;
they call it a pleasing captivity, but it is a destroying one, it is
worse than Egyptian slavery."
2. Divers arguments Solomon here urges to enforce this caution against
the sin of whoredom.
(1.) It is a sin that impoverishes men, wastes their estates, and
reduces them to beggary
( v. 26 ): By means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of
bread; many a man has been so, who has purchased the ruin of his
body and soul at the expense of his wealth. The prodigal son spent his
living on harlots, so that he brought himself to be fellow-commoner
with the swine. And that poverty must needs lie heavily which men bring
themselves into by their own folly, Job xxxi. 12 .
(2.) It threatens death; it kills men: The adulteress will hunt for
the precious life, perhaps designedly, as Delilah for Samson's, at
least, eventually, the sin strikes at the life. Adultery was punished
by the law of Moses as a capital crime. The adulterer and the
adulteress shall surely be put to death. Every one knew this. Those
therefore who, for the gratifying of a base lust, would lay themselves
open to the law, could be reckoned no better than self-murderers.
(3.) It brings guilt upon the conscience and debauches that. He that touches his neighbour's wife, with an immodest touch, cannot be innocent, v. 29 .
[1.] He is in imminent danger of adultery, as he that takes fire in
his bosom, or goes upon hot coals, is in danger of being burnt. The way of this sin is down-hill, and those that venture
upon the temptations to it hardly escape the sin itself. The fly fools
away her life by playing the wanton with the flames. It is a deep pit,
which it is madness to venture upon the brink of. He that keeps company
with those of ill fame, that goes in with them, and touches them,
cannot long preserve his innocency; he thrusts himself into temptation
and so throws himself out of God's protection.
[2.] He that commits adultery is in the high road to destruction. The
bold presumptuous sinner says, "I may venture upon the sin and yet
escape the punishment; I shall have peace though I go on." He might as
well say, I will take fire into my bosom and not burn my
clothes, or I will go upon hot coals and not burn my feet. He
that goes into his neighbour's wife, however he holds himself, God
will not hold him guiltless. The fire of lust kindles the fire of
hell.
(4.) It ruins the reputation and entails perpetual infamy upon that. It
is a much more scandalous sin than stealing is, v. 30-33 .
Perhaps it is not so in the account of men, at least not in our day. A
thief is sent to the stocks, to the gaol, to Bridewell, to the gallows,
while the vile adulterer goes unpunished, nay, with many, unblemished;
he dares boast of his villanies, and they are made but a jest of. But,
in the account of God and his law, adultery was much the more enormous
crime; and, if God is the fountain of honour, his word must be the
standard of it.
[1.] As for the sin of stealing, if a man were brought to it by extreme
necessity, if he stole meat for the satisfying of his soul when he
was hungry, though that will not excuse him from guilt, yet it is
such an extenuation of his crime that men do not despise him, do
not expose him to ignominy, but pity him. Hunger will break through
stone-walls, and blame will be laid upon those that brought him to
poverty, or that did not relieve him. Nay, though he have not that to
say in his excuse, if he be found stealing, and the evidence be
ever so plain upon him, yet he shall only make restitution seven-fold. The law of Moses appointed that he who stole a sheep
should restore four-fold, and an ox five-fold
( Exod. xxii. 1 );
accordingly David adjudged, 2 Sam. xii. 6 .
But we may suppose in those cases concerning which the law had not made
provision the judges afterwards settled the penalties in proportion to
the crimes, according to the equity of the law. Now, if he that stole
an ox out of a man's field must restore five-fold, it was reasonable
that he that stole a man's goods out of his house should restore
seven-fold; for there was no law to put him to death, as with us,
for burglary and robbery on the highway, and of this worst kind of
theft Solomon here speaks; the greatest punishment was that a man might
be forced to give all the substance of his house to satisfy the
law and his blood was not attainted. But,
[2.] Committing adultery is a more heinous crime; Job calls it so, and an iniquity to be punished by the judge, Job xxxi. 11 .
When Nathan would convict David of the evil of his adultery he did it
by a parable concerning the most aggravated theft, which, in David's
judgment, deserved to be punished with death
( 2 Sam. xii. 5 ),
and then showed him that his sin was more exceedingly sinful than that. First, It is a greater reproach to a man's reason,
for he cannot excuse it, as a thief may, by saying that it was to
satisfy his hunger, but must own that it was to gratify a brutish lust
which would break the hedge of God's law, not for want, but for
wantonness. Therefore whoso commits adultery with a woman lacks
understanding, and deserves to be stigmatized as an arrant fool. Secondly, It is more severely punished by the law of God. A
thief suffered only a pecuniary mulct, but the adulterer suffered
death. The thief steals to satisfy his soul, but the adulterer destroys his own soul, and falls an unpitied sacrifice to the
justice both of God and man. "Sinner, thou hast destroyed thyself."
This may be applied to the spiritual and eternal death which is the
consequence of sin; he that does it wounds his conscience,
corrupts his rational power, extinguishes all the sparks of the
spiritual life, and exposes himself to the wrath of God for ever, and
thus destroys his own soul. Thirdly, The infamy of it is
indelible, v. 33 .
It will be a wound to his good name, a dishonour to his
family, and, though the guilt of it may be done away by repentance, the reproach of it never will, but will stick to his memory when he
is gone. David's sin in the matter of Uriah was not only a perpetual
blemish upon his own character, but gave occasion to the enemies of the
Lord to blaspheme his name too.
(5.) It exposes the adulterer to the rage of the jealous husband, whose
honour he puts such an affront upon, v. 34, 35 .
He that touches his neighbour's wife, and is familiar with her, gives
him occasion for jealousy, much more he that debauches her, which, if
kept ever so secret, might then be discovered by the waters of
jealousy, Num. v. 12 .
"When discovered, thou hadst better meet a bear robbed of her whelps
than the injured husband, who, in the case of adultery, will be as
severe an avenger of his own honour as, in the case of manslaughter, of
his brother's blood. If thou art not afraid of the wrath of God, yet be
afraid of the rage of a man. Such jealousy is; it is strong
as death and cruel as the grave. In the day of
vengeance, when the adulterer comes to be tried for his life, the
prosecutor will not spare any pains or cost in the prosecution, will
not relent towards thee, as he would perhaps towards one that had
robbed him. He will not accept of any commutation, any composition; he will not regard any ransom. Though thou offer to bribe him,
and give him many gifts to pacify him, he will not rest
content with any thing less than the execution of the law. Thou
must be stoned to death. If a man would give all the
substance of his house, it would atone for a theft
( v. 31 ),
but not for adultery; in that case it would utterly be contemned. Stand in awe therefore, and sin not; expose not thyself to all
this misery for a moment's sordid pleasure, which will be bitterness in
the end."
INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 6
In this chapter the wise man dissuades from rash suretyship; exposes the sin of idleness; describes a wicked man; makes mention of seven things hateful to God; exhorts to attend to parental instructions and precepts, and cautions against adultery. Suretyship is described, Pr 6:1; and represented as a snare and a net, in which men are taken, Pr 6:2; and advice is given what to do in such a case, for safety in it, and deliverance from it, Pr 6:3; The sin of slothfulness is exposed, by observing the industry of the ant, Pr 6:6; by expostulating with the sluggard for his continuance in sloth, and by mimicking him, Pr 6:9; and by the poverty it brings upon him, Pr 6:11. Then a naughty wicked man is described, by his mouth, eyes, feet, fingers, and heart, whose ruin is sudden and inevitable, Pr 6:11. The seven things hateful to God are particularly named, Pr 6:16. And next the exhortation in some preceding chapters is reassumed, to attend to the instructions of parents; which will be found ornamental, pleasant, and useful, Pr 6:20. Especially to preserve from the lewd woman cautioned against, Pr 6:24; whose company is dissuaded from; on account of the extreme poverty and distress she brings persons to, and even danger of life, Pr 6:26; from the unavoidable ruin such come into, Pr 6:27; from the sin of uncleanness being greater than that of theft, Pr 6:30; from the folly the adulterer betrays; from the destruction of his soul, and the disgrace he brings on himself, Pr 6:32; and from the rage and irreconcilable offence of the husband of the adulteress, Pr 6:34.
Ver. 1. My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,.... To another; hast engaged thyself by promise or bond, or both, to pay a debt for him, if he is not able, or if required; or hast laid thyself under obligation to any, to see the debt of another paid;
[if] thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger; or "to" him {b}; whom thou knowest not, and to whom thou owest nothing; and hast given him thine hand upon it, as well as thy word and bond, that what such an one owes him shall be paid; a gesture used in suretyship for the confirmation of it, Pr 17:18; or, "for a stranger" {c} And the sense is, either if thou art become bound for a friend of thine, and especially if for a stranger thou knowest little or nothing of, this is a piece of rashness and weakness; or, as Gersom, if thou art a surety to thy friend for a stranger, this also is a great inadvertency and oversight. It is a rash and inconsiderate entering into suretyship that is here cautioned against; doing it without inquiring into, and having sufficient knowledge of the person engaged for; and without considering whether able to answer the obligation, if required, without hurting a man's self and family; otherwise suretyship may lawfully be entered into, and good be done by it, and no hurt to the surety himself and family. Jarchi interprets it of the Israelites engaging themselves to the Lord at Sinai, to keep his commandments.
{b} rzl "extraneo", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Baynus, Mercerus, Gejerus, Cocceius, Schultens. {c} "Pro alieno", Tigurine version; "pro alio peregrino", Michaelis.
Proverbs 6:2
Ver. 2. Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,.... Got into a snare out of which an escape is not easy; art no longer free, and thine own man, but under obligation to pay the debt if required; by the verbal agreement made and confirmed by striking hands, and this before witnesses;
thou art taken with the words of thy mouth; as in a net, and held fast therein and thereby, and cannot get loose without paying the debt, if the debtor does not, or without the leave of the creditor.
Proverbs 6:3
Ver. 3. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,.... Take the following advice, as the best that can be given in such circumstances, in order to be freed from such an obligation, or to be safe and easy under it;
when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; or,
"because or seeing thou art fallen into the hand of thy friend,''
as the Targum; or
"though thou art,'' &c.
as Aben Ezra; which may be understood either of the creditor to whom a man is bound, or of the debtor for whom he is bound, or of both; for a surety is in the hands or power of both: he is in the hands of the creditor, who may demand payment of the debt of him; and he is in the hands of the debtor, who, if a careless or crafty and deceitful man, may leave him to the payment of it. The Septuagint and Arabic versions are,
"for thou art come into the hands of evil men for thy friend;''
and the Syriac version,
"seeing for thy friend thou art fallen into the hands of thine enemy;''
and therefore must make the best of it thou canst, and in the following way:
go, humble thyself; that is, to the creditor, prostrate thyself before him; lie down upon the ground to be trodden on, as the word {d} signifies; fall down on thine knees, and entreat him to discharge thee from the bond, or give longer time for payment, if up; for thou art in his hands, and there is no carrying it with a high hand or a haughty spirit to him; humility, and not haughtiness, is most likely to be serviceable in such a case;
and make sure thy friend; for whom thou art become a surety, as the Syriac and Arabic versions add; solicit him, as the former of these versions render it; stimulate him, as the Septuagint; stir him up, urge him to pay off the debt quickly, and discharge the bond, or give thee security and indemnity from it. Or, "magnify thy friend" {e}; that is, to the creditor; speak of him as a very able and responsible man, and as an honest and faithful one, that will pay in due time. Some render it "magnify", and speak well of the debtor to thy friend, which may please and appease him: or, "multiply thy friends" {f}; get as many as thou canst to intercede for thee, and get thee discharged from the obligation by some means or another; to this purpose Jarchi.
{d} oprth "praebe conculcandum te", Montanus, Vatablus, Michaelis. {e} Kyer bhr "evehe proximum tuum", Tigurine version; "magnifica", so some in Vatablus. {f} "Multiplica amicos tuos", so some in Bayne.
Proverbs 6:4
Ver. 4. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Until the above things are done; which denotes of what consequence and importance they are; and that persons in such circumstances should not be careless, dilatory, and unconcerned; but should use great diligence, and leave no stone unturned, or method untried, to extricate themselves; see Ps 132:4.
Proverbs 6:5
Ver. 5. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand [of the hunter],.... As such a creature, which is very swift, when it is got into the hand of the hunter, will strive and struggle to get out; so should a man try all ways and means to get out of his suretyship engagements, especially when he finds himself liable to danger by it; this he should do "immediately" and "out of hand" {g}, as the phrase here used sometimes signifies with the Jewish writers;
and as a bird from the hand of the fowler; another metaphor, signifying the same thing.
{g} dym "statim", De Dieu; "subito", Noldius, p. 859. No. 1630. "ilico, repente", so some in Eliae Tishbi, p. 143.
Proverbs 6:6
Ver. 6. Go to the ant, thou sluggard,.... That art become surety for another, and got into a snare and net, and yet takest no pains to get out. Or this may be directed, not to the surety, but the debtor; who, through his slothfulness, has contracted debts, and uses no industry to be in a capacity to pay them. Or, it may be, this has no connection with the former; but the wise man proceeds to a new subject, and to dissuade from idleness, which brings ruin on families, and leads to all sin; and, for the instruction of idle and slothful men, proposes the example of the ant, and sends them to it to learn industry of it {h};
consider her ways; what diligence and industry it uses in providing its food; which, though a small, weak, feeble creature, yet will travel over flints and stones, climb trees, enter into towers, barns, cellars, places high and low, in search of food; never hinder, but help one another in carrying their burdens; prepare little cells to put their provisions in, and are so built as to secure them from rain; and if at any time their corn is wet, they bring out and dry it, and bite off the ends of it, that it may not grow. These, with others, are taken notice of by Frantzius {i}; and some of them by Gersom on the place;
and be wise; learn wisdom of it, and be wiser than that, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions: this is a mortification of proud men, that would be reckoned wise, to be sent to so despicable a creature to get wisdom from.
{h} So Horace gives it as an example of labour----"Parvula (nam exemplo est) magni formica laboris", &c. Sermon. l. 1. Sat. 1. v. 33, 34, 35. & Phocylides, v. 152-159. {i} Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 5. c. 8. Vid. Aelian. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 25. & l. 6. c. 43.
Proverbs 6:7
Ver. 7. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler. None to guide and direct her what to do; nor any to overlook her, to see that she does aright, or to oblige her to work, and keep her to it; nor any to call her to an account, and correct her for doing amiss; and nevertheless diligent and industrious, doing everything of herself, by the instinct of nature, readily and willingly: and yet how slothful are men; who, besides the dictates of nature, reason, and conscience, have parents, masters, ministers, and magistrates, to guide, direct, exhort, instruct, and enforce! so Aristotle {k} says of the ant, that it is
agarcov, without any ruler or governor.
{k} Hist. de Animal. l. 1. c. 1.
Proverbs 6:8
Ver. 8. Provideth her meat in the summer,.... Against the winter, of which it is mindful, when it never comes out of its place, having in the summer time got a sufficiency laid up in cells for its use: she toils in the heat of summer to get in her provision for the winter, being sensible that nothing is to be gotten then; she works at it night and day while the season lasts; so diligent is it in laying up its stores at the proper opportunity {l};
[and] gathereth her food in the harvest; the time when corn is ripe, and is shed on the earth; this it gathereth, and lays up in its repositories against a time of need. The seeds it gathers and lays up; it bites off the chit or bud end of them, that they may not grow, as Pliny {m} and others observe, but be a winter store; hence its name in Hebrew is "nemalah", from "namal", "to cut off"; it being done by biting. Yea, according to Aelianus {n}, it seems to have some sense of futurity with respect to famine, which being near, it will work exceeding hard to lay up food, fruits, and seed; and, according to Virgil {o} and others, it seems to presage old age, and therefore provides against it. An instruction this to work, while persons are in health, and have youth on their side; that they may have not only a sufficiency for present use, but to lay up against a time of sickness and old age. The Septuagint and Arabic versions add,
"or go to the bee, and learn what a worker she is, and what an admirable work she performs; whose labours kings and private persons use for health: she is desirable to all, and famous; and though weak in strength, honouring wisdom is advanced.''
But this is not in the Hebrew text; but perhaps being written in the margin of some copy of the Septuagint as a parallel instance, was by some unskilful copier put into the text of the Greek version, from whence the Arabic version has taken it; it crept in very early, for Clemens of Alexandria makes mention of it {p}.
{l} "Ac veluti ingentem formicae farris acervum", &c. Virgil. Aeneid. l. 4. v. 402, &c. So Horat. Satyr. 1. v. 36. {m} Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 30. Plutarch. vol. 2. de Solert. Animal. p. 968. {n} Vat. Hist. l. 1. c. 12. {o} "Inopi metuens formica senectae", Georgic. l. 1. v. 186. So Horace, ut supra. Juvenal. Satyr. 6. v. 360. {p} Stromat. l. 1. p. 286.
Proverbs 6:9
Ver. 9. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?.... Or "lie" {q} in bed, indulging in sloth and ease; while the industrious ant is busy in getting in its provisions, even by moonlight, as naturalists {r} observe;
when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? and be about thy lawful calling? doing the duties of religion, and the business of life; providing things honest in the sight of all men; things necessary for thyself and family, and wherewith to do good to others; exercising a conscience void of offence both to God and men. Time should not be slept away, to the neglect of the affairs of life, nor of the concerns of the immortal soul and a future state; men should not be slothful in things temporal or spiritual: whatever may be the proper time to awake and arise out of sleep in a morning, which seems to be according to a man's circumstances, health and business; it is always high time for the sinner to awake out of the sleep of sin, and arise from the dead; and for the drowsy saint to arise out of his lethargy and carnal security.
{q} bkvt "jacebis", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Gejerus; "cubabis", Piscator, Cocceius. {r} Aelian. de Animal. l. 4. c. 43.
Proverbs 6:10
Ver. 10. [Yet] a little sleep, a little slumber,.... Or, "little sleeps, little slumbers" {s}. These are the words of the sluggard, in answer to the call of him to awake and arise, desiring he might not be disturbed, but be suffered to sleep on longer: there is a very beautiful climax or gradation in the words, aptly expressing the disposition and actions of a sluggard; he first desires a "few sleeps" more, some sound sleeps one after another; which is quite agreeable to his character: and if he cannot be allowed them, then he requests a "few slumbers" at least, some dozings, till he can get himself thoroughly awake; and if these cannot be granted, yet he prays however that this might be admitted,
a little folding of the hands to sleep; or, "to lie down" {t}; a few tossings and tumblings upon the bed more, with his hands folded about his breast; a sleeping gesture, and the posture of sluggards. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "a little thou wilt embrace the breast with the hands"; and the Syriac version, "and a little thou wilt put thine hand upon thy breast". The Jewish commentators understand this as a direction and command to sleep and slumber but little, since a little sleep is sufficient for nature; or otherwise poverty will come, &c. but the former sense is best.
{s} twmwnt jem twnv jem "parvis somnis, parvis dormitationibus", Pagninus; "pauculis somnis, pauculis dormitationibus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {t} bkvl "cubando", Junius & Tremellius; "cubare", Piscator; "ad cubandum", Cocceius.
Proverbs 6:11
Ver. 11. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth,.... Either swiftly and suddenly, as a traveller makes haste to get to his journey's end, and comes upon his family or friends at an unawares; or though he moves gradually, by slow paces and silent steps, yet surely: and so it signifies that poverty should come upon the sluggard very quickly, and before he was aware: and though it might come by degrees, yet it would certainly come;
and thy want as an armed man; or, "thy wants as a man of shield" {u}: denoting many wants that should come rushing in one upon another, like a man armed with shield and buckler; appearing with great terror and force, not to be resisted. It denotes the unavoidableness of being brought into penury and want by sloth, and the terribleness of such a condition. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, add,
"but if thou art not slothful, thy harvest shall come as a fountain (as the inundation of a fountain, Arabic); but want shall flee as an evil racer (as an evil man, Arabic; far from thee, Vulgate Latin):''
but this is not in the Hebrew text.
{u} Nnm vyak "tanquam vir clypei", Montanus; "vir clypeatus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c.
Proverbs 6:12
Ver. 12. A naughty person, a wicked man,.... Or, "a man of Belial, a man of iniquity" {w}. The former signifies an unprofitable man, a man good for nothing, that is of no use to God or man; or one that is lawless, that has thrown off the yoke of the law, and will not be subject to it; Belial is the name of the devil; and here it may design such as are his children, and will do his lusts: the latter phrase signifies one that is wholly given up to work wickedness. The characters well agree with the anomov, the lawless one, the man of sin and son of perdition, antichrist, 2Th 2:3. Who
walketh with a froward mouth; speaking perverse things, things contrary to the light of nature and reason, to law and Gospel; uttering lies, and deceit, and blasphemies against God and man; to which he has used himself, and in which he continues, as the word "walketh" signifies: so antichrist has a mouth opened in blasphemies against God and his saints, Re 13:5.
{w} Nwa vya leylb "homo Belijahal, vir iniquitatis", Montanus, Vatablus, Baynus, Michaelis.
Proverbs 6:13
Ver. 13. He winketh with his eyes,.... Not through natural infirmity, but purposely and with design; with one of his eyes, as Aben Ezra, as is usual with such persons: it is the air and gesture of a sneering and deceitful man, who gives the wink to some of his friends, sneering at the weakness of another in company; or as signifying to them some secret design of his against another, which he chooses not to declare in any other way;
he speaketh with his feet; the motions of the feet have a language; the stamping of the feet expresses rage; here it seems to intend the giving of a him to another, by privately pressing his foot with his, when he should be silent or should speak, or do this or the other thing he would have him do;
he teacheth with his fingers; by stretching them out or compressing them; and so showing either scorn and contempt {x}, or rage and fury. The whole of it seems to design the secret, cunning, artful ways, which wicked men have to convey their meanings to one another, without being understood by other persons; they have a language to themselves, which they express by the motions of their eyes, feet, and fingers: and this character of art and cunning, dissimulation and deceit, fitly agrees with the man of sin, 2Th 2:10. So mimics are said to speak with their hands; some have been famous in this way {y}.
{x} "In hunc intende digitum", Plauti Pseudolus, Act. 4. Sc. 7. v. 45. "----aliis dat digito literas", Ennius. {y} Vid. Barthii Animadv. ad Claudian. de Consul. Mallii Paneg. v. 311.
Proverbs 6:14
Ver. 14. Frowardness [is] in his heart,.... Or perverse things; evil habits and principles of sin; all manner of wickedness, errors and heresies; things contrary to right reason, repugnant to the will and law of God, and the reverse of sound doctrine; all evil thoughts and evil things; see Mt 15:19;
he deviseth mischief continually; against his neighbours, and especially against good men; he is continually planning schemes, contriving methods, ways, and means, how to disturb, distress, and ruin men; being a true child of Belial, or of the devil, his heart is the forge where he is continually framing wickedness in one shape or another; and the ground which he is always ploughing up and labouring at to bring forth sin and wickedness, and with which it is fruitful;
he soweth discord; or "strifes" {z}: the Syriac version adds, "between two"; which Jarchi interprets between a man and his Maker; rather between a man and his neighbour; between one friend and another; between husband and wife, parents and children, brethren and brethren, magistrates and subjects; between kings and princes of the earth in which sort of work the man of sin, antichrist, has been very busy. The Targum is, "he casteth out strifes", as firebrands among men. The words in the Hebrew text are, "he sendeth out discord", or "strife" {a}; these are the messengers sent out by him to make mischief.
{z} Myndm "contentiones", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Gejerus; "jurgia", V. L. "lites", Baynus, Cocceius; "litigia", Schultens. {a} xlvy "mittet", Pagninus, Montanus; "immittit", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Gejerus, Schultens, Michaelis.
Proverbs 6:15
Ver. 15. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly,.... Unthought of and unexpected: he that deviseth mischief to others secretly shall have no warning of his own ruin, nor time and means of preventing it; the destruction of antichrist will be sudden, and of all wicked men at the coming of Christ, 1Th 5:3;
suddenly shall he be broken without remedy; or, "and there shall be no healing" {b}: his bones will be broken to pieces, and there will be no cure for him; or he shall be like an earthen vessel, which, when broke, cannot be put together again. The ruin of wicked men is sudden, inevitable, and irreparable; so antichrist will "come to his end, and none shall help him", Da 11:45.
{b} aprm Nyaw "et non sanitas", Pagninus, Montanus; "curatio", Junius & Tremellius; "medicina", Piscator, Cocceius.
Proverbs 6:16
Ver. 16. These six [things] doth the Lord hate,.... That is, the six following, which are all to be found in a man of Belial, a wicked man before described. There are other things besides these that God hates, and indeed more so; as sins against the first table, which more immediately strike at his being, horror, and glory; these being such as are against the second table, but are mentioned, as more especially appearing in the character of the above person; and must be hateful to God, as contrary to his nature, will, and law;
yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him; or, "the abomination of his soul" {c}; what his soul abhors, or he abhors from his very heart: meaning not seven others, but one more along with the six, which make seven; a like way of speaking, see in Pr 30:15. Nor is the word "abomination" to be restrained to the "seventh", or "hatred" to the "sixth"; but they are all to be supposed to be hateful and abominable to the Lord; though some think the cardinal number is put for the ordinal, "seven" for the "seventh"; as if the seventh, which is sowing discord among brethren, was of all the most abominable, Pr 6:19; it being what was last mentioned in the character of the wicked man, Pr 6:14; and which seems to have given occasion to, and for the sake of which this enumeration is made.
{c} wvpn twbewt "abominatio ejus animae", Montanus, Vatablus, Mercerus, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens.
Proverbs 6:17
Ver. 17. A proud look,.... Or, "eyes elated" {d}; scorning to look down upon others; or looking upon them with disdain; or reckoning them as unworthy to be looked upon, having an high opinion of their own worth and merit. Pride is the first of the hateful things mentioned; it being the first sin committed, as is probable, the sin of the angels, and of the first man; and is a predominant evil in human nature, and is directly opposite to God and to his nature, and against which he sets himself; for "he resisteth the proud", Jas 4:6; the pride of the heart shows itself in the eyes, or by the looks of a man; Gersom says, the phrase denotes impudence and haughtiness;
a lying tongue; that is the second of the hateful things; a tongue speaking falsehood, knowingly and willingly, with an intention to deceive others; to hurt the character of a neighbour, or to flatter a friend, is a most detestable evil; it ought to be so to men, it must be so to God, who is a God of truth: nor is there anything in which a man more resembles the devil, who is the father of lies;
and hands that shed innocent blood; human blood; and that of persons who have not been guilty of any capital sin, for which they ought to die by the laws of God or men, and yet shed or poured out as common water; such hands must be defiled, and such men must be hateful to God, they destroying his image, and being like to the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning. These "three" sins are plainly to be seen in the son of Belial, antichrist, who exalts himself above all that is called God, the kings and princes of the earth; he and his followers speak lies in hypocrisy; and is the whore that is drunk with the blood of the saints, 2Th 2:4.
{d} twmr Mynye "oculi clati", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.
Proverbs 6:18
Ver. 18. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,.... Or, "thoughts of wickedness" {e}; which are framed and formed in the heart: and this being the source and fountain of all wickedness, is placed in the midst of these hateful and abominable things; See Gill on "Pr 6:14"; evil thoughts and designs, both against God and men, are intended, which are forged and fabricated in the wicked heart of man; and may respect the depths of Satan in the antichristian beast of Rome, Re 2:24;
feet that be swift in running to mischief; to commit all manner of sin with greediness, especially murder; see Pr 1:16.
{e} Nwa twbvxm "cogitationes iniquitatis", Montanus; "cogitationes vanitatis", Cocceius.
Proverbs 6:19
Ver. 19. A false witness [that] speaketh lies,.... Or, "that speaketh lies, [even] a false witness" {f}; and so this is distinguished from a lying tongue, the second of these evils: this is the sin of bearing false witness against one's neighbour, a breach of the eighth command. It may be rendered, "he that bloweth lies" {g}; that raises lies, and spreads them abroad, and swears to them, to the damage of others. This makes the sixth; and the seventh follows,
and him that soweth discord among brethren; whether in a natural relation, or in a civil society, or in a religious community.
{f} So Vatablus, Mercerus, &c. {g} Mybzk xypy "qui efflat mendacia", Piscator, Michaelis.
Proverbs 6:20
Ver. 20. My son, keep thy father's commandment,.... These are not the words of David to Solomon continued from Pr 4:4; but the words of Solomon to his son; and not to his son only, in a strict natural relation, but to everyone that came to him for and put himself under his instruction; and to everyone that stood in such a relation to a religious father; for not the divine Being, the Father of all, is here meant, according to some Jewish writers; though the commandment no doubt is the commandment of God taught by godly parents; or such a system of precepts that is founded upon and agrees unto the revealed will of God, and which being so should be laid up and kept in the heart, and not forgotten; and should be observed and attended to and obeyed throughout the whole course of life, as if it was the commandment of God himself; and indeed it is no other than that which pious parents train up their children in the knowledge of, instil into them, and urge upon them the observance of;
and forsake not the law of thy mother; the same as before, and which is mentioned to show that the same respect is to be had to a mother as to a father, the commandment and law of them being the same, and they standing in the same relation; which yet children are apt to make a difference in, and while they stand in awe of their father and his precepts, slight their mother and her directions, which ought not to be. Some understand this of the congregation of Israel, as some Jewish writers; and others of the church of God, the mother of us all.
Proverbs 6:21
Ver. 21. Bind them continually upon thine heart,.... Not upon the head or arm, as the words of the law were to be bound, De 6:3; to which there seems to be an allusion; and which may confirm the sense of the words given, that this respects the law of God itself, and the precepts of it, instructed in by parents; but they should be bound upon the heart, and have an abiding place in the understanding, affections, memory, and will;
[and] tie them about thy neck; as an ornament, instead of a necklace of pearl, or chains of gold; they should be so far from being thought burdensome and troublesome, that they should be reckoned comely and graceful; see Pr 1:9.
Proverbs 6:22
Ver. 22. When thou goest, it shall lead thee,.... The law of God taught by parents; this directs man in the path of duty and business of life; teaches him what way to shun, and which to walk in; it leads out of the paths of sin, and into the way in which he should go, which is most conducive to his good, and to the glory of God; it will lead him safely, so that he shall not stumble, Pr 3:3;
when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; from terrifying dreams, evil spirits, dangers by fire or thieves; one that observes it conscientiously may lie down and sleep, secure of the guardianship of divine Providence, and not fear any evil; or "shall watch over thee" {h} in the night season;
and [when] thou awakest, it shall talk with thee; familiarly; and instruct what to do, and how to behave the day following; or "it shall go out with thee" {i}, into the fields for a morning's walk, and assist in meditation. Jarchi interprets this of sleeping by death, and of awaking at the resurrection of the dead.
{h} Kyle rmvt "excubabit apud te", Cocceius; "excubias aget super te", Michaelis, Schultens. {i} Kxwvt ayh "illa ipsa spatiabitur tecum", Schultens.
Proverbs 6:23
Ver. 23. For the commandment [is] a lamp,.... The law of God is a lamp or candle to see to work by and to walk by; it enlightens the eyes and directs the feet, and makes working more pleasant, and walking more comfortable; and indeed wit, bout it a man knows not rightly what to do or where he should walk, or where he is walking; see Ps 119:105;
and the law [is] light; it makes things clear and manifest, what is right and what is wrong; it enlightens the eyes of the understanding, whereby persons come to see both their sin and their duty; and it directs them to avoid the one and do the other; see Ps 19:8;
and reproofs of instruction [are] the way life; kind reproofs given by parents agreeable to the word of God, which instruct what should be shunned and what should be performed, when attended to, put men in the way of an honourable and useful life; and are the means of preserving them from a scandalous and useless one.
Proverbs 6:24
Ver. 24. To keep thee from the evil woman,.... This is one use of the profit arising from attending to the instructions of parents, and to the law of God, as taught by them; to preserve from fornication and adultery, one of its precepts expressly forbidding adultery and all corporeal uncleanness; and the whole of it directing to an observance of all duties respecting God and our neighbour, which requires diligence and industry, and prevents idleness, that inlet to all sin, and especially to uncleanness {k};
from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman; the same with the evil woman, the lewd and adulterous one; see Pr 2:16. Jarchi interprets this of idolatry; the character well agrees with the idolatrous church of Rome, or antichrist, represented by a whore,
Re 17:1; as this woman is called "the woman of evil" {l}, for so it may be rendered, one very evil, given up and abandoned to sin; so antichrist is called "the man of sin", 2Th 2:3; and as this woman is said to have the "smoothness of a strange tongue" {m}, as the words may be translated, and are by the Targum; so the religion of this false church is delivered in a strange language the people understand not, by which they are kept in ignorance and deception; now the word of God read and explained in the mother tongue, and especially the Gospel part of it, the doctrine of wisdom, is a means of preserving persons from the errors and heresies, superstition and idolatry, of the church of Rome, and from being carried away with their false glosses, and gaudy worship, and all its deceivable ways of unrighteousness.
{k} "Otia si tollas periere cupidinis arcus", Ovid. de Remed. Amor. l. 1. v. 139. Quaeritur Aegistheus, "quare sit factus adulter?--in promptu causa est, desidiosus erat". Ibid. v. 161, 162. {l} er tvam "a muliere mali", Baynus, Mercerus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. {m} hyrkn Nwvl tqlxm "a lenitate linguae extraneae", Montanus; "a laevitate linguae peregrinae", Michaelis; "ex lubrica glabritie linguae peregrinae", Schultens.
Proverbs 6:25
Ver. 25. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart,.... Do not look upon it with the eye, nor dwell upon it in the thought; the one will lead on to and kindle last in the heart, and the other will cherish it and blow it up into a flame; and lust thus conceived and nourished in the heart is no other than committing adultery, Mt 5:28;
neither let her take thee with her eyelids; let her not take thee from instruction with them, so Aben Ezra, from attending to that; or let her not take thy wisdom from thee, so Jarchi; or rather let her not take thee as in a net, with the sparkling of her eyes, with the wanton and amorous glances of them; so the Syriac version, "let her not captivate thee", &c. which applied to the antichristian church, may signify the outward pomp and grandeur of it, its pretensions to antiquity, to the apostolic see, to infallibility, miracles, great devotion, &c. which are taking to men, and are the Circean cup with which she bewitches and allures, Re 17:4. The Targum is,
"let her not seduce thee,'' &c.
Proverbs 6:26
Ver. 26. For by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a piece of bread,.... To be glad of one, and to beg for one, for the least morsel; it is expressive of the extreme poverty and want which harlots bring men to, who strip them of all their substance, and then send them going to get their bread as they can; thus the prodigal, having spent his substance with harlots, was so reduced as to desire the husks which swine ate, Lu 15:13; so spiritual fornication or idolatry leaves men without bread for their souls, brings them into spiritual poverty, and even to desperation and death;
and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life; or "soul" {n}; not content with his precious substance, his jewels, his gold and silver; having stripped him of his goods and livelihood, though some think that is here intended; she lays snares for him, and draws him into those evils which bring him into the hands of her husband, who avenges himself by slaying the adulterer; or into the hands of the civil magistrate, by whom this sin of adultery was punished with death; nay, is the occasion of the ruin of his precious and immortal soul to all eternity: the precious souls of men are part of the wares of antichrist, Re 18:13.
{n} vpn "animam", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
Proverbs 6:27
Ver. 27. Can a man take fire in his bosom,.... A whore is compared to fire, and is so called by the poets {o}; and it is a saying of Pythagoras,
"it is a like thing to fall into fire and into a woman {p};''
the Hebrew words va, "esh", "fire", and hvya, "ishah", "a woman", have some affinity in sound; and the phrase of taking it "into the bosom" fitly expresses the impure embraces of a harlot;
and his clothes not be burned? he cannot, it is impossible; and equally vain is it to think that a man can commit whoredom and it not be known, or he not hurt by it in his name and substance, or in his body, soul, and life.
{o} Plauti Bacehides, Act. 4. Sc. 9. v. 15. "Accede ad ignem hunc", Terent. Eunuehus, Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 5. {p} to eiv pur kai eiv gunaika, apud Maximum, Eclog. c. 39.
Proverbs 6:28
Ver. 28. Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?] He cannot; if he sets his feet upon them, and continues them ever so little on them, they will be burnt, and much more if he walks upon them; and so if a man gives way to the burning lusts of his heart after a whorish woman, and commits adultery with her, though not with frequency, he will not escape punishment in one shape or another; and much more if he continues such a lewd course of life; such practices are extremely dangerous {q}, and there is no possibility of being unhurt by them: see Job 31:12; the lake of fire and brimstone, everlasting burnings, will be the portion of those that commit fornication with the whore of Rome, Re 14:10.
{q} "Periculosae plenum opus aleae tractas: et incedis per ignes suppositos cineri doloso", Horat. Carmin. l. 2. Ode. 1.
Proverbs 6:29
Ver. 29. So he that goeth into his neighbour's wife,.... To converse with her, or lie with her, as the Targum; for it means not barely going into her house or chamber, or into her company, though without any ill design at first, which yet may be dangerous; but committing adultery with her, as this phrase is often used, Ge 19:31;
whosoever toucheth her; by impure dalliances, and especially by carnal copulation with her, in which sense it is used, See Gill on "1Co 7:1";
shall not be innocent; or free {r} from disgrace and infamy, from loss of substance or health; from punishment in this life, either by the jealous husband or civil magistrate; and in the world to come by the Lord himself; for "whoremongers and adulterers God will judge",
Heb 13:4.
{r} xqny al "non insons, vel immunis", Schultens; so Gejerus.
Proverbs 6:30
Ver. 30. [Men] do not despise a thief, if he steal,.... They do not discommend or reproach him for it, or fix a mark of infamy upon him, or expose him to public shame by whipping him; but rather excuse him and pity him when it appears what his case is, what put him upon it, and that he had no other intention in it than to do as follows;
to satisfy his soul; his craving appetite for food, having nothing to eat, nor no other way of getting any: the words should be supplied thus, "for he does this to satisfy his soul"; or, as the Syriac version, "for he steals to satisfy his soul": and so they are a reason why men do not despise him, nor use him ill, because it is done with no other view; not with a wicked design to hurt his neighbour, nor with a covetous intent to increase his own substance in an unlawful way, but only to satisfy nature in distress; and another reason follows, or the former confirmed;
when he is hungry; or for "he is hungry" {s}; pressed with famine; the temptation is great, nature urges him to it; and though it is criminal, men in such cases wilt not bear hard upon him for it. The Targum is,
"it is not to be wondered at in a thief that he should steal to satisfy his soul when it is hungry.''
The Vulgate Latin version is,
"it is not a great fault when anyone steals, for he steals to fill a hungry soul;''
it is a fault, but it is not a very heinous one, at least it is not so heinous as adultery, for the sake of which it is mentioned, and with which it is compared: the design of the instance is to show the adultery is far greater than that; and yet in our age we see that the one is severely punished even with death for trifling things, when the other goes unpunished.
{s} ber yk "quia esurit", Cocceius, Michaelis.
Proverbs 6:31
Ver. 31. But [if] he be found, he shall restore sevenfold,.... According to the law in Ex 22:1; in case of theft double was to be restored, if the theft was found alive in his hand; and in some cases fourfold and fivefold. Aben Ezra observing that double and fivefold being near together in the law, joins them, and so makes sevenfold. Some think Solomon has reference to a law in other nations, which obliged to a sevenfold restoration; or that the penalty was increased in his time, but neither appears; rather the meaning is, that a thief should make restoration according to law as often as he is found guilty, be it seven times, or seventy times seven, Mt 18:21; or the sense is, that be should make perfect restoration, full restitution as the law requires: but then this finding: him is not to be understood of finding him in the fact, stealing to satisfy hunger, for then to insist upon a legal restitution, as it is incompatible with such a man's circumstances, so would contradict what is before said, that such an one is not usually reproached and found fault with; but the sense is, if it should be found otherwise, or it should be found that he has food to satisfy his soul, as Gersom observes, and has no need to steal; or if he is found in a man's house, then he shall make restitution as the law directs, even a full one, Ex 22:2;
he shall give all the substance of his house: to pay the sevenfold, or to make full restitution; nay, if necessary, he himself may be sold, as the above law requires.
Proverbs 6:32
Ver. 32. [But] whoso committeth adultery with a woman,.... Which is a greater degree of theft than the former, it being the stealing of another man's wife;
lacketh understanding; or "an heart" {t}; the thief lacks bread, and therefore steals, but this man lacks wisdom, and therefore acts so foolish a part; the one does it to satisfy hunger, the other a brutish lust;
he [that] doeth it destroyeth his own soul; is liable to have his life taken away by the husband of the adulteress; so according to Solon's law {u} the adulterer taken in the act might be killed by the husband: or by the civil magistrate; for according to the law of. Moses he was to die, either to be strangled or stoned, See Gill on "Joh 8:5"; and besides, he not only ruins the natural faculties of his soul, besotting, corrupting, and depraving that, giving his heart to a whore, but brings eternal destruction on it; yet so foolish is he, though it issues in the ruin of his precious soul; "he does this" {w}, for so the first part of this clause, which stands last in the original text, may be rendered.
{t} bl rox "deficit corde", Pagninus, Montanus; "caret corde", Mercerus, Gejerus; so Michaelis. {u} Plutarch. in Vita Solon. p. 90. {w} hnvey awh "ipse faeiet illud", Montanus; "ipse faciet hoc", so some in Vatablus; "is id faciet, sive facit", Cocceius; "ille facit id", Michaelis; "is patrabit illud", Schultens.
Proverbs 6:33
Ver. 33. A wound and dishonour shall he get,.... A wound, stroke, or blow, either from the husband of the strumpet, as was often the case {x} in later times; or from the civil magistrate, being ordered by him to be beaten {y} or stoned; or from God himself inflicting diseases on him; see Ge 12:17; where the same word is used as here: and "dishonour" from men; for though they do not despise a thief in circumstances before related, yet they will despise an adulterer, and speak reproachfully of him, whenever they have occasion to make mention of him;
and his reproach shall not be wiped away; as long as he lives, though his life may be spared; yea, it shall even continue after death; and though he may repent of his sin and reform, as in the case of David.
{x} "Secat ille cruentis verberibus", Juvenal. Satyr. 10. v. 316. Vid. A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 17. c. 18. Horat. Satyr. l. 1. Sat. 2. v. 41, 42. {y} Valer. Maximus, l. 6. c. 1. s. 13.
Proverbs 6:34
Ver. 34. For jealousy [is] the rage of a man,.... Fills a man with rage against him of whom he is jealous; which keeps boiling within him, till he has an opportunity of venting it: and very severe it is; it is strong as death, and cruel as the grave;
therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance; when he has an opportunity of avenging himself; whenever he finds the adulterer in his house, or catches him and his wife in bed together, he spares not to take away his life, and sometimes the life of both of them; instances of this nature history furnishes us with: or he will spare no cost and pains to prosecute him before a civil magistrate, and bring him to public justice; prayers and entreaties, bribes and gifts, wilt be of no avail, as follows.
Proverbs 6:35
Ver. 35. He will not regard any ransom,.... So that his case is much worse than, a thief's; if he is taken, he makes restitution according to law, and he is freed, and no more is said and done to him; and, at most, it is but parting with all the goods in his house; but in this case it will not do. In the Hebrew text it is, "he will not accept the face of any ransom" {z}; that is, as the Targum paraphrases it,
"he will not accept the face of anyone that gives a gift:''
he will have no respect unto him for the sake of the gift; whatever gift is offered, be it what it will, for the ransom of his life from death, it will be disregarded;
neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts; increase them, and keep continually giving; nothing but the life of the adulterer will satisfy him, which he will either take away himself, or obtain it in a way of legal prosecution. How foolish therefore is the man that will expose his name and credit, his health and substance, his life in this world, and his soul in another, to utter ruin, for the sake of gratifying a sordid lust! This may be interpreted of God, who is a jealous God in matters of worship, and will not suffer idolatry to go unpunished, which is spiritual adultery.
{z} ynp avy al "non accipiet facies", Montanus; "non acceptabit faciem ullius redemptionis", Mercerus, Gejerus; "ullius lytri", Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
If we live as directed by the word of God, we shall
find it profitable even in this present world. We are stewards of our
worldly substance, and have to answer to the Lord for our disposal
of it; to waste it in rash schemes, or such plans as may entangle us
in difficulties and temptations, is wrong. A man ought never to be
surety for more than he is able and willing to pay, and can afford to
pay, without wronging his family; he ought to look upon every sum
he is engaged for, as his own debt. If we must take all this care to
get our debts to men forgiven, much more to obtain forgiveness
with God. Humble thyself to him, make sure of Christ as thy Friend,
to plead for thee; pray earnestly that thy sins may be pardoned, and
that thou mayest be kept from going down to the pit.
If we live as directed by the word of God, we shall
find it profitable even in this present world. We are stewards of our
worldly substance, and have to answer to the Lord for our disposal
of it; to waste it in rash schemes, or such plans as may entangle us
in difficulties and temptations, is wrong.
If we must take all this care to
get our debts to men forgiven, much more to obtain forgiveness
with God. Humble thyself to him, make sure of Christ as thy Friend,
to plead for thee; pray earnestly that thy sins may be pardoned, and
that thou mayest be kept from going down to the pit.
Sources: Matthew Henry; Gill's Exposition; Matthew Henry Concise
Commentary
Commentary