Chú giải Kinh Thánh

Proverbs 24:1-2. Be not thou envious, &c. — The proneness of good men, especially while they are weak, and only in the beginnings of their course of piety and virtue, to be dejected at the prosperity of the ungodly, and so to be tempted to imitate them, is the reason that the admonition which we here meet with is so often repeated; neither desire to be with them — Desire not their company, nor to imitate their manner of life. For their heart studieth destruction — How they may oppress and destroy others, which yet, at last, fails upon their own heads.

Proverbs 24:3-6. Through wisdom is a house built — There is no need that thou shouldst raise thyself and family by ruining others, as the manner of wicked men is; for thou mayest more easily and effectually do it by wisdom and the fear of God. And by knowledge — Which, in the phraseology of the Scriptures, includes the love and practice of that which we know. A wise man is strong — Is courageous and resolute, and able by wisdom to do greater things than others can accomplish by their own strength. For by wise counsel, &c. — As if he had said, This is plainly seen in war itself, wherein success is often owing more to conduct than force. So this proves what was said in Proverbs 24:5.

Proverbs 24:7. Wisdom is too high for a fool — For a wicked man, whose sins enfeeble his mind, and make it incapable of wisdom. Or, he judges it too difficult for him to understand: he despairs of attaining it, because he will not put away his sins, and be at the trouble of using the means necessary in order to that end: as, on the contrary, wisdom is said to be easy to him that understandeth, Proverbs 14:6, because he seriously gives his mind to it, and therefore easily and certainly attains it. He openeth not his mouth in the gate — He knows not how to speak acceptably in the public assembly.

Proverbs 24:8-9. He that deviseth, &c., shall be called mischievous — Hebrew, בעל מזמות, a master of crafts or mischiefs. Though he cover his wicked devices with fair pretences, and wishes to be better esteemed, he shall be branded with that infamy which is due to him. The thought of foolishness is sin — The very inward thought or contrivance of evil, of which he spake Proverbs 24:8, even before it break forth into action, is a sin in God’s sight, and is hateful to God; and the scorner — He who not only deviseth and practiseth wickedness, but obstinately persists in it, and rejects all admonitions against it; is an abomination to men — Is abominable not only to God, as all sinners are, but to all sober men.

Proverbs 24:10. If thou faint in the day of adversity — If thou art impatient and unable to bear sufferings; if thy resolution flag, and thou give way to despondency or dejection of mind; thy strength is small — Hebrew, is narrow, it lies in a little compass; it is strait, as thy condition is; for there is an elegant allusion in the word rendered small, or narrow, in this clause, to that rendered adversity in the former. The sense is, This is a sign that thou hast but little Christian strength or courage, for that is best known by adversity.

Proverbs 24:11-12. If thou forbear to deliver — When it is in thy power to do it lawfully; them that are drawn unto death — Namely, unjustly, or by the violence of lawless men; and those that are ready to be slain — That are in present danger of death or destruction. He enforces, in these verses, the necessity of giving our assistance toward the rescue of innocent persons, when their lives are in danger, either by counselling them, or petitioning others in their behalf, or by doing any thing in our power for their deliverance. If thou sayest, We knew it not — I was ignorant, either of his innocence, or of his extreme danger, or of my power to relieve him; doth not he consider it — That this is only a frivolous excuse, and that the true reason of thy neglect was, thy want of true love to thy brother, whose life thou wast, by the law of God and of nature, obliged to preserve, and a carnal fear of some mischief, or trouble, which might befall thee in the discharge of thy duty. And he that keepeth thy soul — Who is the preserver of men, Job 7:20, who daily does, and who only can, keep thee both in and from the greatest dangers; and this favour of God may be here mentioned, partly as an encouragement to the performance of the duty here spoken of, from the consideration of God’s special care and watchfulness over those that do their duty; and partly to intimate to them, that by the neglect of this duty they would forfeit God’s protection over themselves, and expose themselves to manifold dangers and calamities. The Hebrew word נצר, however, may be rendered, he that observeth thy soul, that sees all the secret thoughts and inward motions of thy heart; which interpretation is favoured both by the preceding and following words. And shall not he render, &c. — God will certainly deal with thee as thou hast dealt with him, either rewarding thy performance of this duty, or punishing thy neglect of it.

Proverbs 24:13-14. My son, eat thou honey — This is not a command, but a concession, and is here expressed only to illustrate the following verse. Do not slight, much less nauseate, such precepts as these; but, as honey is most acceptable to thy palate, especially that pure part of it which drops of itself immediately from the honey-comb, so let that knowledge be to thy mind, which tends to make thee wise and virtuous. Then there shall be a reward — As nothing is more necessary for thee, nothing more delightful; so, if it be seriously studied, and thoroughly digested, it will abundantly reward thy pains, even in the present world, but more especially in the next. It is well known, says Bishop Patrick, in how high esteem honey was among the ancients, for food, for drink, for medicine, for preserving of dead bodies, and particularly for infants. Isaiah 7:15. All this is here fitly applied to wisdom, from which the mind derives the greatest satisfaction, and which therefore ought to be our daily diet, our sweetest refreshment.

Proverbs 24:15-16. Lay not wait, &c., against the dwelling of the righteous — Against his person, or family, or possessions. Do him no injury, either by subtle and secret devices, or, as it follows, by manifest violence. For a just man falleth — Into calamities, of which he evidently speaks both in the foregoing verse, and in the opposite and following branch of this verse; and in this sense the same word, נפל, is used in the next verse, and in many other places. It is never applied to sin; but, when set in opposition to the word riseth up, implies affliction or calamity, as Micah 7:8; Amos 8:4; Jeremiah 25:27; Psalm 34:19-20. These words are commonly, not only in sermons, but in books, applied to the falling into sin; and, that men may the more securely indulge themselves in their sins, and yet think themselves good men, they have added something to them; for the words are commonly cited thus: A just man falleth seven times a day, which last words, a day: or, in a day, are not in any translation of the Bible, much less in the original, but only in some corrupt editions of the vulgar Latin, which, against the plain scope of the context, and the meaning of the words, seems to understand this place of falling into sin. See Bishop Patrick. But the plain meaning is that which is given above, and seven times is put for frequently. The righteous fall frequently into trouble. But the wicked shall fall into mischief — Into unavoidable and irrecoverable destruction, ofttimes in this life, and infallibly in the next.