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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comKeil and Delitzsch Commentary - Proverbs 16:13 - 16:13
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History is full of such warning examples, and therefore this proverb continues to hold up the mirror to princes.
Well-pleasing to kings are righteous lips,
And whoever speaketh uprightly is loved.
Rightly the lxx ἀγαπᾶ, individ. plur., instead of the plur. of genus, מְלָכִים; on the contrary, Jerome and Luther give to the sing. the most general subject (one lives), in which case it must be distinctly said, that that preference of the king for the people who speak out the truth, and just what they think, is shared in by every one. צֶדֶק, as the property of the שִׂפְתֵי, accords with the Arab. ṣidḳ, truth as the property of the lasân (the tongue or speech). יְשָׁרִים, from יָשָׁר, means recta, as נְגִידִים, principalia, Pro 8:6, and רֵיקִים, inania, Pro 12:11. יְשָׁרִים, Dan 11:10, neut. So neut. וְיָשָׁר, Psa 111:8; but is rather, with Hitzig and Riehm, to be read וָיֹשֶׁר. What the proverb ways cannot be meant of all kings, for even the house of David had murderers of prophets, like Manasseh and Joiakim; but in general it is nevertheless true that noble candour, united with true loyalty and pure love to the king and the people, is with kings more highly prized than mean flattery, seeking only its own advantage, and that, though this (flattery) may for a time prevail, yet, at last, fidelity to duty, and respect for truth, gain the victory.