1-5
Falsehood and Oppression Reproved
简体中文
英語原文
Falsehood and Oppression Reproved
¹ Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
These words recommend family-love and peace, as conducing very much to the comfort of human life. 1. Those that live in unity and quietness, not only free from jealousies and animosities, but vying in mutual endearments, and obliging to one another, live very comfortably, though they are low in the world, work hard and fare hard, though they have but each of them a morsel, and that a dry morsel. There may be peace and quietness where there are not three meals a day, provided there by a joint satisfaction in God's providence and a mutual satisfaction in each other's prudence. Holy love may be found in a cottage. 2. Those that live in contention, that are always jarring and brawling, and reflecting upon one another, though they have plenty of dainties, a house full of sacrifices, live uncomfortably; they cannot expect the blessing of God upon them and what they have, nor can they have any true relish of their enjoyments, much less any peace in their own consciences. Love will sweeten a dry morsel, but strife will sour and embitter a house full of sacrifices. A little of the leaven of malice will leaven all the enjoyments.
² A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
Note, 1. True merit does not go by dignity. All agree that the son in the family is more worthy than the servant (Joh 8:35), and yet sometimes it so happens that the servant is wise, and a blessing and credit to the family, when the son is a fool, and a burden and shame to the family. Eliezer of Damascus, though Abram could not bear to think that he should be his heir, was a stay to the family, when he obtained a wife for Isaac; whereas Ishmael, a son, was a shame to it, when he mocked Isaac. 2. True dignity will go by merit. If a servant be wise, and manage things well, he shall be further trusted, and not only have rule with, but rule over a son that causes shame; for God and nature have designed that the fool shall be servant to the wise in heart. Nay, a prudent servant may perhaps come to have such an interest in his master as to be taken in for a child's share of the estate and to have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
³ The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
Note, 1. The hearts of the children of men are subject, not only to God's view, but to his judgment: As the fining-pot is for silver, both to prove it and to improve it so the Lord tries the hearts; he searches whether they are standard or no, and those that are he refines and makes purer, Jer 17:10. God tries the heart by affliction (Ps 66:10,11), and often chooses his people in that furnace (Isa 48:10) and makes them choice. 2. It is God only that tries the hearts. Men may try their silver and gold with the fining-pot and the furnace, but they have no such way of trying one another's hearts; God only does that, who is both the searcher and the sovereign of the heart.
⁴ A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
Note, 1. Those that design to do ill support themselves by falsehood and lying: A wicked doer gives ear, with a great deal of pleasure, to false lips, that will justify him in the ill he does, to those that aim to make public disturbances, catch greedily at libels, and false stories, that defame the government and the administration. 2. Those that take the liberty to tell lies take a pleasure in hearing them told: A liar gives heed to a malicious backbiting tongue, that he may have something to graft his lies upon, and with which to give them some colour of truth and so to support them. Sinners will strengthen one another's hands; and those show that they are bad themselves who court the acquaintance and need the assistance of those that are bad.
⁵ Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
See here, 1. What a great sin those are guilty of who trample upon the poor, who ridicule their wants and the meanness of their appearance, upbraid them with their poverty, and take advantage from their weakness to be abusive and injurious to them. They reproach their Maker, put a great contempt and affront upon him, who allotted the poor to the condition they are in, owns them, and takes care of them, and can, when he pleases, reduce us to that condition. Let those that thus reproach their Maker know that they shall be called to an account for it, Mt 25:40,41, Pr 14:31. 2. What great danger those are in of falling into trouble themselves who are pleased to see and hear of the troubles of others: He that is glad at calamities, that he may be built up upon the ruins of others, and regales himself with the judgments of God when they are abroad, let him know that he shall not go unpunished; the cup shall be put into his hand, Eze 25:6,7.
6-11
Common Truths
简体中文
寻常的真理
⁶ 子孙为老人的冠冕；父亲是儿女的荣耀。
这话本是如此，或说应当如此；他们若行事为人配得，便果然如此。一、人到年老时，能留下儿女、又有「子孙」长成，承袭其德行的脚踪，又能维持并增进其家族的声誉，这于父母乃是荣耀。人能活得长寿，得见自己的子孙（诗 128:6；创 50:23），见自己的家在他们身上建立起来，又见他们能照神的旨意服事自己的世代，这于人乃是荣耀。这便叫他在此世的安慰得着冠冕，臻于圆满。二、儿女能有智慧敬虔的父母，且在自己已长大成人、立业于世之后，父母仍得存留，这于儿女乃是荣耀。那些把年老的父母看为自己重担、以为他们活得太久的儿女，乃是违逆人伦的；反之，儿女若有智慧、有良善，能在父母不甚舒适的暮年作他们的安慰，这便是他们极大的荣耀。
⁷ 愚顽人说美言本不相宜，何况君王说谎话呢？
这里指出两件极为荒谬之事：一、毫无声望之人竟充作发号施令者。还有什么比这更不相宜：愚顽人——人所共知其少有见识与判断——却妄图企及那远超其上、又是他们生来全不适于的事？在所罗门的箴言中，「愚顽人」指的是恶人，「美言」与他本不相宜，因他的为人行事正与他的美言相矛盾。那些「恨恶管教」的人，有什么资格传述神的律例呢？（诗 50:16）。基督不许污鬼说出认识他是神的子（可 1:34，参 路 4:41）。又见 徒 16:17,18。二、声望甚隆之人竟作行骗者。卑微之人若僭妄地装作哲士或政客而发言，无人理会他，因人都因他的为人对他存了成见，这固然不相宜；但君王、有尊荣的人，竟仗着自己的身份与人对他所存的信任，去说谎、行诡诈、毫无良心地背弃自己的诺言，这就更为不相宜了。说谎与任何人都不相称，而与君王尤不相称；今世的政略何等败坏，竟暗示君王不当受自己言语的约束，过于其自身利益所许的范围；又有所谓「Qui nescit dissimulare nescit regnare——不知掩饰者不知如何为王」之说。
⁸ 贿赂在馈送的人眼中看为宝玉，随处运动都得顺利。
这一观察的用意是要表明：一、那手中有银钱的人，自以为凭着银钱便无所不能。富人看一点银钱如同「宝玉」一般贵重，又因银钱而自高，仿佛它不单赐人体面，更赐人权势，叫人人都得听其使唤，连公义本身也不例外。无论他们把这闪光的钻石转向何处，都指望它能使众人眼花缭乱，叫人盼着得它，便照他们所要的去行。钱袋最深的，必赢得讼案。出价高，便可随意得着所求的。二、那心存银钱、又把心放在其上的人，必为它甘愿行任何事：「贿赂在收受的人眼中看为宝玉」，对他有极大的影响力，他必定照它所引的方向而行，左右随它，纵然有违公义，也与自己前后不一致。
⁹ 遮掩人过的，寻求人爱；屡次挑错的，离间密友。
要注意：一、要在亲属邻舍之间保守和睦，其道在于凡事往好处想——凡无关乎他人安危的事，不去将那些抵挡他们所说所行的告诉别人；凡无关乎自身安危的，对别人所说所行抵挡我们的，也不去理会，乃要将二者都加宽容，往最善处去解释。「这不过是一时疏忽，你便宽容了它。这是出于健忘而行的，你便忘了它。它或许根本没把你放在眼里，你也不要把它放在眼里。」二、揭人之过，乃是扯断爱心；最能离间朋友、使他们彼此生隙的，莫过于「屡次重提」那已生嫌隙的事；因为这些事重提之时，分量往往有增无减，事情本身被夸大，从前因它而起的怒气也被重新挑动、激化。和睦最好的法子，乃是一道大赦或遗忘的命令。
¹⁰ 一句责备话深入聪明人的心，强如责打愚昧人一百下。
要注意：一、对聪明人，一句话就够了。一句温和的责备，不单进入聪明人的头脑，更进入他的心里，叫他深受影响；因为只要给良心一点提醒，任凭它便能将事推进、贯彻到底。二、对愚昧人，责打却还不够，不足以叫他知觉自己的过错，以致悔改、日后更加谨慎。那刚愎自用的人，极少因严厉而得益处。大卫一听「你就是那人」（撒下 12:7）便心软了；法老在埃及一切灾祸之下，心仍刚硬。
¹¹ 恶人只寻背叛，所以必有严厉的使者奉差攻击他。
这里论到恶人的罪与刑罚。一、他的罪。那寻索一切机会去背叛神、背叛神所立在他之上的权柄、又与周围的人顶撞争闹的，实在是个恶人。「Quærit jurgia——他寻索争端」，有译作此。有些人受了一股敌对之灵的驱使，专为反对而反对，凡有拦阻管束，仍执意行其恶道。「背叛的人寻求祸患」（有此一译），窥伺一切机会去搅扰公众的安宁。二、他的刑罚。因他不肯被温柔和缓的方法挽回，「必有严厉的使者奉差攻击他」，就是某样可畏的审判，如同从神而来的使者。天使，神的使者，必被差派作他公义的执行者来攻击他（诗 78:49）。撒但，那死亡的使者，必被放出来攻击他，连同撒但的差役。他的君王必差一名差役来拿他，差一名行刑者来剪除他。那「用脚踢刺」的，必「等候刀剑」（参 伯 15:22）。
英語原文
Common Truths
⁶ Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
They are so, that is, they should be so, and, if they conduct themselves worthily, they are so. 1. It is an honour to parents when they are old to leave children, and children's children, growing up, that tread in the steps of their virtues, and are likely to maintain and advance the reputation of their families. It is an honour to a man to live so long as to see his children's children (Ps 128:6, Ge 50:23), to see his house built up in them, and to see them likely to serve their generation according to the will of God. This crowns and completes their comfort in this world. 2. It is an honour to children to have wise and godly parents, and to have them continued to them even after they have themselves grown up and settled in the world. Those are unnatural children who reckon their aged parents a burden to them, and think they live too long; whereas, if the children be wise and good, it is as much their honour as can be that thereby they are comforts to their parents in the unpleasant days of their old age.
⁷ Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.
Two things are here represented as very absurd: 1. That men of no repute should be dictators. What can be more unbecoming than for fools, who are known to have little sense and discretion, to pretend to that which is above them and which they were never cut out for? A fool, in Solomon's proverbs, signifies a wicked man, whom excellent speech does not become, because his conversation gives the lie to his excellent speech. What have those to do to declare God's statutes who hate instruction? Ps 50:16. Christ would not suffer the unclean spirits to say that they knew him to be the Son of God. See Ac 16:17,18. 2. That men of great repute should be deceivers. If it is unbecoming a despicable man to presume to speak as a philosopher or politician, and nobody heeds him, being prejudiced against his character, much more unbecoming is it for a prince, for a man of honour, to take advantage from his character and the confidence that is put in him to lie, and dissemble, and make no conscience of breaking his word. Lying ill becomes any man, but worst a prince, so corrupt is the modern policy, which insinuates that princes ought not to make themselves slaves to their words further than is for their interest, and Qui nescit dissimulare nescit regnare—He who knows not how to dissemble knows not how to reign.
⁸ A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
The design of this observation is to show, 1. That those who have money in their hand think they can do any thing with it. Rich men value a little money as if it were a precious stone, and value themselves on it as if it gave them not only ornament, but power, and every one were bound to be at their beck, even justice itself. Whithersoever they turn this sparkling diamond they expect it should dazzle the eyes of all, and make them do just what they would have them do in hopes of it. The deepest bag will carry the cause. Fee high, and you may have what you will. 2. That those who have money in their eye, and set their hearts upon it, will do any thing for it: A bribe is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that takes it; it has a great influence upon him, and he will be sure to go the way that it leads him, hither and thither, though contrary to justice and not consistent with himself.
⁹ He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
Note, 1. The way to preserve peace among relations and neighbours is to make the best of every thing, not to tell others what has been said or done against them when it is not at all necessary to their safety, nor to take notice of what has been said or done against them when it is not at all necessary to their safety, nor to take notice of what has been said or done against ourselves, but to excuse both, and put the best construction upon them. "It was an oversight; therefore overlook it. It was done through forgetfulness; therefore forget it. It perhaps made nothing of you; do you make nothing of it." 2. The ripping up of faults is the ripping out of love, and nothing tends more to the separating of friends, and setting them at variance, than the repeating of matters that have been in variance; for they commonly lose nothing in the repetition, but the things themselves are aggravated and the passions about them revived and exasperated. The best method of peace is by an amnesty or act of oblivion.
¹⁰ A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
Note, 1. A word is enough to the wise. A gentle reproof will enter not only into the head, but into the heart of a wise man, so as to have a strong influence upon him; for, if but a hint be given to conscience, let it alone to carry it on and prosecute it. 2. Stripes are not enough for a fool, to make him sensible of his errors, that he may repent of them, and be more cautious for the future. He that is sottish and wilful is very rarely benefited by severity. David is softened with, Thou art the man; but Pharaoh remains hard under all the plagues of Egypt.
¹¹ An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
Here is the sin and punishment of an evil man. 1. His sin. He is an evil man indeed that seeks all occasions to rebel against God, and the government God has set over him, and to contradict and quarrel with those about him. Quærit jurgia—He picks quarrels; so some. There are some that are actuated by a spirit of opposition, that will contradict for contradiction-sake, that will go on frowardly in their wicked ways in spite of all restraint and check. A rebellious man seeks mischief (so some read it), watches all opportunities to disturb the public peace. 2. His punishment. Because he will not be reclaimed by mild and gentle methods, a cruel messenger shall be sent against him, some dreadful judgment or other, as a messenger from God. Angels, God's messengers, shall be employed as ministers of his justice against him, Ps 78:49. Satan, the angel of death, shall be let loose upon him, and the messengers of Satan. His prince shall send a sergeant to arrest him, an executioner to cut him off. He that kicks against the pricks is waited for of the sword.
12-16
Weighty Sayings
简体中文
重要的箴言
¹² 宁可遇见丢崽子的母熊，不可遇见正行愚妄的愚昧人。
当注意，1. 暴躁的人便是禽兽般的人。他在别的时候也许还有一些智慧，但他在不能自制的怒气之中，便是正行愚妄的愚昧人；那些胸中怀怒、面容发怒的人便是愚昧人。他已经脱去了人，变成了一只熊——一只发怒的熊，丢了崽子的母熊；他对自己情欲与脾气的满足之贪恋，如同母熊之爱其崽（虽然丑陋，却是自己的），他追求它们时之急切，如同母熊在幼崽失踪时四处寻觅，他在追求中受拦阻时之愤慨亦然。2. 他是危险的人，凡挡他路的人——哪怕无辜、哪怕朋友——他都要加害，如同丢了崽子的母熊遇见第一个人便扑上去，以之为盗崽之贼。*Ira furor brevis est——怒气是暂时的疯狂。*人要拦阻、逃避、防备一只暴怒的熊，比防备一个狂怒的人更容易。因此我们当谨守自己的脾气（免得它发作成害），这是顾全我们自己的体面；当避开狂怒之人的同伴，在他们发怒时躲开他们的道，这是顾全我们自己的安全。Currenti cede furori——当给怒气让路。
¹³ 以恶报善的，祸患必不离他的家。
此处所描绘的是一个心怀恶意、好行伤害的人，1. 对朋友忘恩负义。他常常如此荒谬、对所受的恩惠如此无动于衷，竟以恶报善。大卫遇见那些为他的爱心而作他的对头的人（诗 109:4）。以恶报恶是禽兽之行，但以恶报善却是魔鬼之行。一个本性败坏的人，因为定意不报答恩惠，竟要加以报复。2. 因此对家人也无亲情，因为他把咒诅遗留给全家。这罪如此重大，以致不仅要在他自己身上受罚，也要在他的后裔身上受罚——他如此为他们积存了愤怒。刀剑必不离开大卫的家，因为他以恶报善，恶待了忠心服事他的乌利亚。犹太人因基督所行的善事而用石头打他；因此他的血归到他们和他们的儿女身上。
¹⁴ 纷争的起头，如同放水之争；所以在它动怒以先，必当止息争竞。
此处，1. 纷争的起头有何危险。一句火爆的话、一句暴躁的非议、一个发怒的要求、一次恶意的反驳，便生出另一句，又生第三句，如此递增，直至如同决堤之水；水一旦得了小小的通道，便自己扩大破口，冲倒面前的一切，再也无法阻挡、无法收回。2. 由此推论的一个好警戒：当谨防争竞的第一颗火星，一发现便立即扑灭。当畏惧破冰之始，因为一旦破裂，必越破越大；所以要在看到争端之初就罢手——不仅在你看到最坏的时候才罢手，因为那时也许已经太迟，而是在你看到它一开始之时就罢手。Obsta principiis——当抵挡其初萌。要在被搅动以先就罢手；若可能，要在你还没开始之前就罢手。
¹⁵ 定恶人为义的，定义人为恶的，都为耶和华所憎恶。
这表明何事触犯神，1. 当那些受托管理公众正义的人——法官、陪审员、证人、原告、律师——或释放有罪的人，或定无罪的人为有罪，或稍有助长二者之一；这就破坏了政府的目的，即保护良善、惩罚恶人（罗 13:3-4）。称恶人为义——纵然是出于怜悯、in favorem vitæ——为保全性命——与定义人为恶同样触怒神。2. 当任何私人之为罪和罪人辩护、掩饰并原谅邪恶，或反对美德与敬虔，从而颠倒主的正道，混淆善恶之间永恒的分别。
¹⁶ 愚昧人既无聪明，为何手中有价银买智慧呢？
此处论到两件事令人惊叹：— 1. 神对愚昧人之人的大恩典——将买智慧的价银交在他手中，使他可以得着知识与恩典，为两个世界作好预备。我们有理性的灵魂、有恩典的器、有圣灵的感动、有借祷告亲近神的途径；我们也有时间和机会。那有良好家业的人（有人如此理解），便有借此购买教训而得智慧的便利。善良的父母、亲属、传道人、朋友，都是得智慧的帮助。这是价银——因此是有价值的，是一个才干。这是在手中的价银——已经拥有的；*"这道离你不远。"*这是为买得而有的价银；是为我们自己的益处；是为买得智慧——正是我们这些愚昧人最需要的那一样。神如此顾念我们的需要，并将这样的便利交托给我们——尽管他预见我们不会善用——我们实在有理由为此惊叹。2. 人的大恶——他疏忽神的恩惠和自己的益处，这是十分荒谬、无可推诿的：他无心于它——无心于当得的智慧，也无心于可用以得着智慧的价银。他没有心——没有技巧、没有意愿、没有勇气——来善用他的便利。他的心已定在别的事上，以致他无心于本分，无心于灵魂的大事。为何要将价银抛弃、失落在如此不配的人身上呢？
英語原文
Weighty Sayings
¹² Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
Note, 1. A passionate man is a brutish man. However at other times he may have some wisdom, take him in his passion ungoverned, and he is a fool in his folly; those are fools in whose bosom anger rests and in whose countenance anger rages. He has put off man, and is become like a bear, a raging bear, a bear robbed of her whelps; he is as fond of the gratifications of his lusts and passions as a bear of her whelps (which, though ugly, are her own), as eager in the pursuit of them as she is in quest of her whelps when they are missing, and as full of indignation if crossed in the pursuit. 2. He is a dangerous man, falls foul of every one that stands in his way, though innocent, though his friend, as a bear robbed of her whelps sets upon the first man she meets as the robber. Ira furor brevis est—Anger is temporary madness. One may more easily stop, escape, or guard against an enraged bear, than an outrageous angry man. Let us therefore watch over our own passions (lest they get head and do mischief) and so consult our own honour; and let us avoid the company of furious men, and get out of their way when they are in their fury, and so consult our own safety. Currenti cede furori—Give place unto wrath.
¹³ Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
A malicious mischievous man is here represented, 1. As ungrateful to his friends. He oftentimes is so absurd and insensible of kindnesses done him that he renders evil for good. David met with those that were his adversaries for his love, Ps 109:4. To render evil for evil is brutish, but to render evil for good is devilish. He is an ill-natured man who, because he is resolved not to return a kindness, will revenge it. 2. As therein unkind to his family, for he entails a curse upon it. This is a crime so heinous that it shall be punished, not only in his person, but in his posterity, for whom he thus treasures up wrath. The sword shall not depart from David's house because he rewarded Uriah with evil for his good services. The Jews stoned Christ for his good works; therefore is his blood upon them and upon their children.
¹⁴ The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
Here is, 1. The danger that there is in the beginning of strife. One hot word, one peevish reflection, one angry demand, one spiteful contradiction, begets another, and that a third, and so on, till it proves like the cutting of a dam; when the water has got a little passage it does itself widen the breach, bears down all before it, and there is then no stopping it, no reducing it. 2. A good caution inferred thence, to take heed of the first spark of contention and to put it out as soon as ever it appears. Dread the breaking of the ice, for, if once broken, it will break further; therefore leave it off, not only when you see the worst of it, for then it may be too late, but when you see the first of it. Obsta principiis—Resist its earliest display. Leave it off even before it be meddled with; leave it off, if it were possible, before you begin.
¹⁵ He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
This shows what an offence it is to God, 1. When those that are entrusted with the administration of public justice, judges, juries, witnesses, prosecutors, counsel, do either acquit the guilty or condemn those that are not guilty, or in the least contribute to either; this defeats the end of government, which is to protect the good and punish the bad, Ro 13:3,4. It is equally provoking to God to justify the wicked, though it be in pity and in favorem vitæ—to safe life, as to condemn the just. 2. When any private persons plead for sin and sinners, palliate and excuse wickedness, or argue against virtue and piety, and so pervert the right ways of the Lord and confound the eternal distinctions between good and evil.
¹⁶ Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?
Two things are here spoken of with astonishment:—1. God's great goodness to foolish man, in putting a price into his hand to get wisdom, to get knowledge and grace to fit him for both worlds. We have rational souls, the means of grace, the strivings of the Spirit, access to God by prayer; we have time and opportunity. He that has a good estate (so some understand it) has advantages thereby of getting wisdom by purchasing instruction. Good parents, relations, ministers, friends, are helps to get wisdom. It is a price, therefore of value, a talent. It is a price in the hand, in possession; the word is nigh thee. It is a price for getting; it is for our own advantage; it is for getting wisdom, the very thing which, being fools, we have most need of. We have reason to wonder that God should so consider our necessity, and should entrust us with such advantages, though he foresaw we should not make a right improvement of them. 2. Man's great wickedness, his neglect of God's favour and his own interest, which is very absurd and unaccountable: He has no heart to it, not to the wisdom that is to be got, nor to the price in the use of which it may be got. He has no heart, no skill, nor will, nor courage, to improve his advantages. He has set his heart upon other things, so that he has no heart to his duty or the great concerns of his soul. Wherefore should a price be thrown away and lost upon one so undeserving of it?
17-19
True Friendship
简体中文
真友谊
¹⁷ 朋友乃时常亲爱，弟兄为患难而生。
这里指明了那些将我们彼此联结的纽带之坚固，以及我们当何等珍惜这些纽带。1. 朋友之间必须时常彼此忠诚。不恒久的朋友之情不是真正的友谊；若是真诚的、由良善原则所发动的，就必恒久。那些在友情上任性或自私的人，只在情绪被取悦、利益被满足时才肯相爱，因此他们的情感随风转向、随天气而变。燕子般的朋友，在夏天飞向你，到冬天却已远去；这样的朋友失去也无足惜。但若友谊是明达、宽厚、真诚的——若我因朋友有智慧、有德行、良善而爱他，只要他仍旧如此，纵然他陷入贫穷与羞辱，我仍要爱他。基督是爱我们到底的朋友（约 13:1），我们也当这样爱他（罗 8:35）。2. 亲属在患难中应当格外细心、温柔地彼此体恤：弟兄为患难而生，为要在困苦中扶助弟兄或姊妹；因天性将他与之如此紧密相连，他便更能体恤他们的重担，也更近乎出于本能地倾向、有责任去帮助他们。我们当常常思想自己是为何而生——不仅是作为人，更是处在这样的地位与关系之中。*焉知你得了王后的位分不是为现今的机会吗？*我们若不尽亲属的本分，就是没有尽亲属的责任。有人如此解释：那时常亲爱的朋友，便是在患难中而生（即成为）的弟兄，理当如此被看重。
¹⁸ 蒙昧人手贴掌，在朋友面前击掌。
虽然所罗门称许患难中的友谊（箴 17:17），却不要有人借慷慨待友之名，对家庭行不义、亏负家人；我们一方面的本分当与另一方面的本分相合。当注意，1. 尽量不欠债乃是智慧，尤其要畏惧作保。一个人在朋友缺席时，为朋友作担保，直到他亲自出面承当，这也许有正当的理由；但在朋友面前作保——当他本人在场时——就意味着他自己的话不被采纳，因他被视为无力偿还或不诚实的人，那么谁能放心为他说项呢？2. 那些心中无知的人常陷入这网罗，累及自己的家人，因此不可将他们的事务全权交托，而当受人的指教。
¹⁹ 喜爱争竞的，是喜爱过犯；高立家门的，乃自取败坏。
当注意，1. 好争竞的人使自己陷入许多罪咎之中：那喜爱争竞的人——在世事上好兴讼，在信仰上好争论，在寻常交谈中好顶撞、好反目，惟有身在火中才得安宁——是喜爱过犯；因为这一种罪伴随许多别的罪，其道 downhill，越陷越深。他自称是为真理、为自己的尊荣与权利而争，其实所爱的正是神所恨恶的罪。2. 那些野心勃勃、好高骛远的人，使自己招致许多烦恼，往往以己身的败亡告终：那高立家门的人——建造华美的房屋，至少筑起宏伟的门面，好凌驾、盖过邻舍——乃是自取败坏，费力去毁掉自己；他把门立得如此之大，以致房屋与产业都从其中漏尽了。
英語原文
True Friendship
¹⁷ A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
This intimates the strength of those bonds by which we are bound to each other and which we ought to be sensible of. 1. Friends must be constant to each other at all times. That is not true friendship which is not constant; it will be so if it be sincere, and actuated by a good principle. Those that are fanciful or selfish in their friendship will love no longer than their humour is pleased and their interest served, and therefore their affections turn with the wind and change with the weather. Swallow-friends, that fly to you in summer, but are gone in winter; such friends there is no loss of. But if the friendship be prudent, generous, and cordial, if I love my friend because he is wise, and virtuous, and good, as long as he continues so, though he fall into poverty and disgrace, still I shall love him. Christ is a friend that loves at all times (Joh 13:1) and we must so love him, Ro 8:35. 2. Relations must in a special manner be careful and tender of one another in affliction: A brother is born to succour a brother or sister in distress, to whom he is joined so closely by nature that he may the more sensibly feel from their burdens, and be the more strongly inclined and engaged, as it were by instinct, to help them. We must often consider what we were born for, not only as men, but as in such a station and relation. Who knows but we came into such a family for such a time as this? We do not answer the end of our relations if we do not do the duty of them. Some take it thus: A friend that loves at all times is born (that is, becomes) a brother in adversity, and is so to be valued.
¹⁸ A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend.
Though Solomon had commended friendship in adversity (Pr 17:17), yet let not any, under pretence of being generous to their friends, be unjust to their families and wrong them; one part of our duty must be made to consist with another. Note, 1. It is a piece of wisdom to keep out of debt as much as may be, especially to dread suretiship. There may be a just occasion for a man to pass his word for his friend in his absence, till he come to engage himself; but to be surety in the presence of his friend, when he is upon the spot, supposes that his own word will not be taken, he being deemed insolvent or dishonest, and then who can with safety pass his word for him? 2. Those that are void of understanding are commonly taken in this snare, to the prejudice of their families, and therefore ought not to be trusted too far with their own affairs, but to be under direction.
¹⁹ He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
Note, 1. Those that are quarrelsome involve themselves in a great deal of guilt: He that loves strife, that in his worldly business loves to go to law, in religion loves controversies, and in common conversation loves to thwart and fall out, that is never well but when he is in the fire, he loves transgression; for a great deal of sin attends that sin, and the way of it is down-hill. He pretends to stand up for truth, and for his honour and right, but really he loves sin, which God hates. 2. Those that are ambitious and aspiring expose themselves to a great deal of trouble, such as often ends in their ruin: He that exalts his gate, builds a stately house, at least a fine frontispiece, that he may overtop and outshine his neighbours, seeks his own destruction and takes a deal of pains to ruin himself; he makes his gate so large that his house and estate go out at it.
20-28
Folly and Wickedness
简体中文
愚妄与邪恶
²⁰ 心存邪僻的，寻不着好处；舌弄是非的，陷在祸患中。
请留意：1. 图谋恶念与我们无益，得不到丝毫好处：心存邪僻的人——播弄是非、满怀怨恨——不能指望由此所得足以补偿他在内心安宁与名誉上的损失，也不能从中得到任何合理的满足；他寻不着好处。2. 出言不逊将大大有害于我们：舌弄是非的人——恶毒辱骂、粗鄙下流或背后说人——必陷在这样或那样的祸患之中，失去朋友，激怒仇敌，把灾祸惹到自己头上。许多人因纵舌不羁而付上了惨重的代价。
²¹ 生愚昧子的，必自愁苦；愚顽人的父毫无喜乐。
本节所强调的，正是许多智慧善良之人深切感受的——有一个愚妄败坏的儿女，是何等令人伤痛、烦扰的事。请看：1. 我们一切受造之物所带来的安慰是何等无常，以致我们往往不仅在其中失望，反倒那曾使我们满心期待的，竟成了最大的十字架。生男孩进入世界时本有喜乐（约 16:21），然而他若变为败坏，连生他的父亲也愿他从未生在世上。押沙龙一名意即他父亲的平安，他却成了他父亲最大的烦恼。这应当节制人得子的欲望，并父母在儿女身上的喜乐，因他们可能成为父母的忧伤；然而在受苦父亲所遇的境况中，这也当使他的埋怨缄默——因为他的儿子若是愚妄人，乃是"他所生的愚妄人"，所以他必须尽力承受，视之为自己的十字架，何况亚当也"生了一个和自己形象相似的儿子"（创 5:3）。2. 我们任由一种患难（而不肖的儿女较其他患难更为常见）淹没了千百样恩典的知觉，是何等不明智：愚顽人的父亲把这事看得太重，以致对其他一切都毫无喜乐。这事他当怪自己；因为有足够的喜乐足以抵消那忧愁。
²² 喜乐的心乃是良药；忧伤的灵使骨枯干。
请留意：1. 喜乐有益健康。主顾念身体，不仅为它预备了食物，也预备了良药，并在此告诉我们，最好的良药就是喜乐的心——不是耽于虚浮、属肉体的、感官之乐的心；所罗门自己论到那种欢乐曾说：那不是良药，而是疯狂；不是食物，而是毒药；有何益处呢？（传 2:2）他所指的是那以神为乐、甘心事奉他，并进而享受外在福分、特别是愉快交谈之乐的心。神既赐我们许可可以喜乐，又赐我们因由可以喜乐，尤其是若藉着他的恩典赐我们一颗可以喜乐的心，这便是极大的恩惠。这使良药见效（有人如此读）；它使药物更有功效。或作如良药一般有益于身体，使之轻爽、易于工作。然而欢乐若作良药（视之为消遣与娱乐），必须节制使用，只在需要时用，不可当作食物；且须按医理使用，在规范之下，循规而行。2. 心中的忧愁往往大大助长身体的疾病：忧伤的灵——因重担而颓丧的灵，尤其是因罪疚之感与震怒之惧而受伤的良心——使骨枯干，耗损根本的津液，耗尽骨髓，使身体只剩皮包骨。所以我们当儆醒祷告，抵挡一切忧郁的性情，因为它们既引人陷入试探，也引人陷入患难。
²³ 恶人从怀中掏出贿赂，为要颠倒是非。
请看：1. 贿赂是何等邪恶的事：那收受贿赂以作假见证、错判或枉法裁判的，是恶人；他行这事时自觉羞愧，所以尽可能隐秘地从怀中取出来——他知道那已为他预备妥当；他煞费苦心地加以掩饰，且若能做到，连自己的良心也要瞒过。有人读作贿赂是从恶人怀中掏出来的；因为送贿的与受贿的一样都是恶人。2. 它是何等有力之物。它有如此功效，竟能颠倒是非。公义的道路不仅被堵塞，更被扭转成为不义；最大的冤屈竟在主持公道的名义下行出来。
²⁴ 明哲人眼前有智慧；愚顽人眼望地极。
请留意：1. 那不仅有智慧、而且有用时即得着智慧的人，当算为聪明人。他将智慧摆在眼前，如同他据以导航的海图与罗盘，目光始终注视其上，犹如抄写的人注视字帖；这样他便有智慧在眼前；不必远求，常在手边。2. 心思浮动、胡思乱想的人，永远不能胜任任何扎实的事业。他是愚妄人，一无所用，他的眼目在地的尽头——忽此忽彼、处处皆是，独独不在当在之处；他不能将思想固定在一个题目上，也不能以任何恒心追求任何一个目的。当他的心当用于学习和事业之时，却被千万件无关痛痒的杂事所充满。
²⁵ 愚昧子使父亲愁烦；使生他的母亲痛苦。
请留意：1. 败坏的儿女是父母双方的痛苦。他们使父亲发怒（这是该词的含义），因为他们藐视父亲的权柄；却使母亲忧伤痛苦，因为他们滥用母亲的慈心。父母既同受其苦，就当彼此以安慰互相担当，尽力使这担子轻省——母亲去消解父亲的怒气，父亲去减轻母亲的忧伤。2. 所罗门屡次重申这话，或许因为这是他自己的情形；无论如何，这是常见的情形。
²⁶ 惩罚义人为不善；责打君子为不义。
在官长与百姓之间发生的争端中（此类争端常有），1. 愿官长留心，切勿惩罚义人，在任何情形下都不可作行善之人的威吓，因为那是滥用权力、辜负所托付的重任。这是不善，即极恶之事，结局必不善，无论他们以此为达到何种目的。君王一旦成为暴君与逼迫者，其宝座必不得安稳。2. 愿百姓留心，不可因政府尽其本分而加以非难，因为因公平而责打君王乃恶事——或以毁谤其施政，或以暗中之图谋攻击他们，正如那十支派背叛时，借所罗门征收必要税赋而加以讥刺（王上 12:16）。有人译作也不可因公平而责打无辜之人。官长当谨慎，不可使任何人在其手下因行善而受苦；父母也不可因不义的责备惹儿女的气（弗 6:4）。
²⁷ 寡少言语的有知识；性情温良的有聪明。 ²⁸ 愚昧人若静默不言也可算为智慧；闭口不说也可算为聪明。
人有两种方法可以表明自己是智慧人：1. 借着他性情的美好——温柔与镇静：明哲的人有优良的灵，是宝贵的灵（原文如此）；他是那留心保守自己心灵的人，使它合乎当有的样子，因而保持心境平稳，对自己轻松，对别人也愉快。恩惠的灵是宝贵的灵，使人蒙悦纳、比邻舍更尊贵（传 4:4）。有人读作冷静的灵——不为怒气所激，也不被任何败坏情欲的冲动所扰乱、陷入混乱，而是平稳坚定。冷静的头脑与热切的心相配，乃是绝佳的组合。2. 借着他对舌头的善治。(1.) 智慧人必言语寡少，因他怕说错了话：有知识的人——并立志以知识行善的人——开口时谨慎说得中肯，少说话以便有时间思考。他吝惜言语，因为言语宁可省下，也好过用错了。(2.) 这一般被视为智慧的可靠标记，以致愚妄人只要有智慧闭口不言，多听、多看、少说，便可博得智慧人的名声。愚妄人若静默，宽厚的人便以为他聪明，因为看不出相反的迹象；又以为他正在留意别人所说的话，从中汲取经验，并心里盘算自己当说什么，好说得中肯。看哪，要得人的好感、要欺骗人是何等容易！然而当愚妄人静默之时，神知道他的心，也知道其中所充满的愚妄；在神面前，心思就是言语，所以他在判断人这件事上不能被欺瞒。
英語原文
Folly and Wickedness
²⁰ He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
Note, 1. Framing ill designs will be of no advantage to us; there is nothing got by them: He that has a froward heart, that sows discord and is full of resentment, cannot promise himself to get by it sufficient to counterbalance the loss of his repose and reputation, nor can he take any rational satisfaction in it; he finds no good. 2. Giving ill language will be a great disadvantage to us: He that has a perverse tongue, spiteful and abusive, scurrilous or backbiting, falls into one mischief or other, loses his friends, provokes his enemies, and pulls trouble upon his own head. Many a one has paid dearly for an unbridled tongue.
²¹ He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
This expresses that very emphatically which many wise and good men feel very sensibly, what a grievous vexatious thing it is to have a foolish wicked child. See here, 1. How uncertain all our creature-comforts are, so that we are often not only disappointed in them, but that proves the greatest cross in which we promised ourselves most satisfaction. There was joy when a man-child was born into the world, and yet, if he prove vicious, his own father will wish he had never been born. The name of Absalom signifies his father's peace, but he was his greatest trouble. It should moderate the desire of having children, and the delights of their parents in them, that they may prove a grief to them; yet it should silence the murmurings of the afflicted father in that case that if his son be a fool he is a fool of his own begetting, and therefore he must make the best of him, and take it up as his cross, the rather because Adam begets a son in his own likeness. 2. How unwise we are in suffering one affliction (and that of an untoward child as likely as any other) to drown the sense of a thousand mercies: The father of a fool lays that so much to heart that he has no joy of any thing else. For this he may thank himself; there are joys sufficient to counterbalance even that sorrow.
²² A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Note, 1. It is healthful to be cheerful. The Lord is for the body, and has provided for it, not only meat, but medicine, and has here told us that the best medicine is a merry heart, not a heart addicted to vain, carnal, sensual mirth; Solomon himself said of that mirth, It is not medicine, but madness; it is not food, but poison; what doth it? But he means a heart rejoicing in God, and serving him with gladness, and then taking the comfort of outward enjoyments and particularly that of pleasant conversation. It is a great mercy that God gives us leave to be cheerful and cause to be cheerful, especially if by his grace he gives us hearts to be cheerful. This does good to a medicine (so some read it); it will make physic more efficient. Or it does good as a medicine to the body, making it easy and fit for business. But, if mirth be a medicine (understand it of diversion and recreation), it must be used sparingly, only when there is occasion, not turned into food, and it must be used medicinally, sub regimine—as a prescribed regimen, and by rule. 2. The sorrows of the mind often contribute very much to the sickliness of the body: A broken spirit, sunk by the burden of afflictions, and especially a conscience wounded with the sense of guilt and fear of wrath, dries the bones, wastes the radical moisture, exhausts the very marrow, and makes the body a mere skeleton. We should therefore watch and pray against all melancholy dispositions, for they lead us into trouble as well as into temptation.
²³ A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
See here, 1. What an evil thing bribery is: He is a wicked man that will take a gift to engage him to give a false testimony, verdict, or judgment; when he does it he is ashamed of it, for he takes it, with all the secresy imaginable, out of the bosom where he knows it is laid ready for him; it is industriously concealed, and so slyly that, if he could, he would hide it from his own conscience. A gift is taken out of the bosom of a wicked man (so some read it); for he is a bad man that gives bribes, as well as he that takes them. 2. What a powerful thing it is. It is of such force that it perverts the ways of judgment. The course of justice is not only obstructed, but turned into injustice; and the greatest wrongs are done under colour of doing right.
²⁴ Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
Note, 1. He is to be reckoned an intelligent man that not only has wisdom, but has it ready when he has occasion for it. He lays his wisdom before him, as his card and compass which he steers by, has his eye always upon it, as he that writes has on his copy; and then he has it before him; it is not to seek, but still at hand. 2. He that has a giddy head, a roving rambling fancy, will never be fit for any solid business. He is a fool, and good for nothing, whose eyes are in the ends of the earth, here, and there and every where, any where but where they should be, who cannot fix his thoughts to one subject nor pursue any one purpose with any thing of steadiness. When his mind should be applied to his study and business it is filled with a thousand things foreign and impertinent.
²⁵ A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
Observe, 1. Wicked children are an affliction to both their parents. They are an occasion of anger to the father (so the word signifies), because they contemn his authority, but of sorrow and bitterness to the mother, because they abuse her tenderness. The parents, being joint-sufferers, should therefore bring mutual comfort to bear them up under it, and strive to make it as easy as they can, the mother to mollify the father's anger, the father to alleviate the mother's grief. 2. That Solomon often repeats this remark, probably because it was his own case; however, it is a common case.
²⁶ Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.
In differences that happen between magistrates and subjects, and such differences often arise, 1. Let magistrates see to it that they never punish the just, that they be in no case a terror to good works, for that is to abuse their power and betray that great trust which is reposed in them. It is not good, that is, it is a very evil thing, and will end ill, whatever end they may aim at in it. When princes become tyrants and persecutors their thrones will be neither easy nor firm. 2. Let subjects see to it that they do not find fault with the government for doing its duty, for it is a wicked thing to strike princes for equity, by defaming their administration or by any secret attempts against them to strike at them, as the ten tribes that revolted reflected upon Solomon for imposing necessary taxes. Some read it, Nor to strike the ingenuous for equity. Magistrates must take heed that none suffer under them for well doing; nor must parents provoke their children to wrath by unjust rebukes.
²⁷ He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
²⁸ Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
Two ways a man may show himself to be a wise man:—1. By the good temper, the sweetness and the sedateness, of his mind: A man of understanding is of an excellent spirit, a precious spirit (so the word is); he is one that looks well to his spirit, that it be as it should be, and so keeps it in an even frame, easy to himself and pleasant to others. A gracious spirit is a precious spirit, and renders a man amiable and more excellent than his neighbour. He is of a cool spirit (so some read it), not heated with passion, nor put into any tumult or disorder by the impetus of any corrupt affection, but even and stayed. A cool head with a warm heart is an admirable composition. 2. By the good government of his tongue. (1.) A wise man will be of few words, as being afraid of speaking amiss: He that has knowledge, and aims to do good with it, is careful, when he does speak to speak to the purpose, and says little in order that he may take time to deliberate. He spares his words, because they are better spared than ill-spent. (2.) This is generally taken for such a sure indication of wisdom that a fool may gain the reputation of being a wise man if he have but wit enough to hold his tongue, to hear, and see, and say little. If a fool hold his peace, men of candour will think him wise, because nothing appears to the contrary, and because it will be thought that he is making observations on what others say, and gaining experience, and is consulting with himself what he shall say, that he may speak pertinently. See how easy it is to gain men's good opinion and to impose upon them. But when a fool holds his peace God knows his heart, and the folly that is bound up there; thoughts are words to him, and therefore he cannot be deceived in his judgment of men.
责备虚谎与欺压
这些话推崇家中的相爱与和睦，以其大大有益于人生的安慰。1. 那些在合一安宁中生活的人——不单脱离猜忌与仇怨，更彼此以恩相待、互相迁就——纵然在世卑微、辛劳度日、粗茶淡饭，纵然彼此都不过有一块饼，且是一块干饼，他们的生活也甚是安慰。一日纵不得三餐，仍可有平安与安宁，只要彼此对神的护理同存满足、又对彼此的明智之处彼此满意。圣洁的爱可以在一间陋舍中寻见。2. 那些在争竞中生活的人——总是争吵叫嚷、彼此责难——纵然山珍满桌、设筵满屋，生活却毫无安慰；他们既不能指望神赐福临到他们和他们所有的，也不能真尝出所享之物的滋味，更不能在自己良心里得着丝毫平安。爱能使一块干饼变甜，争竞却使满屋的筵席发酸变苦。一点恶毒的酵足以使一切享受全发起酵来。
请注意：1. 真正的才德并不随尊位而定。众人都承认，家中的儿子比仆人更有体面（约 8:35），然而有时却恰恰相反：仆人有智慧，成为家中的福分与荣耀，儿子反倒是愚昧人，成为家中的累赘与羞辱。大马士革人以利以谢，虽然亚伯兰一想到要立他为后嗣便不能甘心，却在为以撒娶得妻子时成了家中的扶持；反观以实玛利，身为儿子，却在戏笑以撒时成了家中的羞辱。2. 真正的尊荣却必随才德而定。仆人若有智慧、办事得宜，便要进一步被信托，不单与儿子同有管理之权，更要管辖那贻羞之子；因为神与天性都定意要使愚昧人作心中有智慧之人的仆役。不但如此，一个精明的仆人，或许竟能在主人面前博得这般信任，以致被收纳承受儿子的一份家业，在众子中同分产业。
请注意：1. 世人的心，不单伏在神的鉴察之下，也伏在祂的判断之下：正如鼎为炼银——既验明它，又精炼它——耶和华也照样熬炼人心；祂察验人心是否合乎标准，凡合标准的，祂便加以精炼，使之愈发纯净，耶 17:10。神藉患难熬炼人心（诗 66:10,11），又常在那炉中拣选祂的子民（赛 48:10），使他们成为精选之物。2. 惟独神能熬炼人心。人可以用鼎与炉熬炼自己的金银，却没有这样的法子熬炼彼此的心；惟独神能如此行，祂既是人心的鉴察者，也是人心的主宰。
请注意：1. 那些图谋作恶的人，靠虚谎与谎言支撑自己：行恶的极其欢喜地侧耳听奸诈之言——那为他所行之恶辩护的言语；正如那些一心要在公众间挑起骚乱的人，贪婪地抓住毁谤之词与虚假的传闻，去诋毁掌权者及其施政。2. 那些任意撒谎的人，也乐于听人撒谎：说谎的留心听那恶毒诽谤的舌头，好叫自己的谎言有所依附，并藉此给谎言抹上几分真相的色彩、加以支撑。罪人必彼此壮胆；那些奉承结交恶人、又需仰仗恶人相助的人，正显明自己本是恶的。
请看这里：1. 那些践踏穷人的人所犯的是何等大罪——他们讥诮穷人的缺乏与外表的寒微，以贫穷羞辱他们，又趁他们软弱无力之机欺凌伤害他们。他们这是辱没造他们的主，是大大藐视、冒犯那位定规穷人处于此境、又承认他们、看顾他们、且能随时使我们落到那境地的主。让那些这样辱没造他们之主的人知道，他们必为此被追讨，太 25:40,41，箴 14:31。2. 那些乐见乐闻别人遭难的人，自己又是何等地有陷入患难的危险：那幸灾乐祸的——想要踏着别人的废墟把自己建立起来，又当神的审判遍行时以之自乐——让他知道，他必不免受罚；那杯也必递到他手中，结 25:6,7。