Bibelkommentare

1. what] Rather, who. Be continually on your guard; let not the luxury that surrounds you betray you into forgetting in whose presence you are, for the favour of a ruler, an Eastern despot, is a dangerous thing.

2. put a knife] i.e. Restrain forcibly thy appetite as with a knife held to thy throat. Others render, thou wilt put (R.V. marg.) and understand it to mean, that death may be the penalty of indulgence.

3. Maurer quotes in illustration of these verses (1–3):

“Keep thee from the man that hath power to kill,

And thou shalt have no suspicion of the fear of death:

And if thou come unto him, commit no fault,

Lest he take away thy life:

Know surely that thou goest about in the midst of snares,

And walkest upon the battlements of a city.” Sir 9:13.

4. Labour not] Rather, Weary not thyself, R.V., as the same Heb. word is rendered “till his hand was weary,” 2 Samuel 23:10; “be weary,” Isaiah 40:30-31. Comp. John 6:27; 1 Timothy 6:9-10.

cease from thine own wisdom] from the wisdom, namely, of becoming rich. Prudentiae tuae pone modum, set a limit to thy prudence in acquiring wealth. Vulg.

We may, however, render cease of thine own wisdom, “by reason of thine own understanding,” R.V. marg. Let thine own sense teach thee better. τῇ δὲ σῇ ἐννοίᾳ ἀπόσχου, LXX.

5. Wilt thou set thine eyes] More literally and forcibly: Wilt thou cause thine eyes to fly (or, shall thine eyes fly) upon it (with eager glance, as a bird swoops upon its prey, Isaiah 11:14)? it is gone! It eludes even the swiftness of thy glance, and itself spreads its wings and flies away.

For riches (supplied from Proverbs 23:4) certainly make themselves wings, Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.

Comp. for the sentiment πλούτου ἀδηλότης, 1 Timothy 6:17.

6. evil] i.e. grudging. See Proverbs 22:9 note, and comp. Deuteronomy 15:9; Matthew 20:15.

dainty meats] Better, dainties.

7. thinketh in his heart] Rather, reckoneth within himself, R.V. Not by his liberal words, “eat and drink,” but by the mercenary reckoning of his heart, which is calculating meantime and grudging the cost, is he to be estimated.

8. The feast will be in every way a failure: the food that should nourish will nauseate thee, and thy attempts at pleasant conversation will be wasted.