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Luk 7:35. Καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς πάντων) and wisdom has been (habitually) justified by [on the part of, owing to] all who are her sons. Καὶ has the force, and; for Jesus manifestly continues His complaint (comp. Mat 11:19, where He does not express until the end of Luk 7:25 that which these words might otherwise be thought to denote, but all her children have justified wisdom): and moreover transfers, as it were indirectly, the complaint from the hypothesis, viz. concerning the perverseness of the men of that time, to the thesis, viz. concerning the perpetual and habitual characteristic of the Jewish people, just as He has also transferred it in ch. Luk 11:47-48. It is to this that the adjective πάντων, all, has reference: this also is the intention of the use of the past time (wherein often is included the force of the verb, is wont) in has been (habitually) justified (whereas, ye say, in the present time, precedes: Luk 7:34): this also is the reason of the employment of the term, Wisdom [viz. as appropriate when speaking, as here, of a fact habitual in all times]; for He is no longer now called the Son of man, as in the preceding verse, but Wisdom: and of these terms the one (Son of man) is suitable to Christ’s manifested state; the other (Wisdom) to all times: ch. Luk 11:49. Furthermore He is called in this place Wisdom, inasmuch as He Himself best knows what is to be done; and His own actions, replete with the purest accommodation [adaptation] to sinners, ought not to have been called to account. Add Pro 8:1; Pro 8:32. The children of this Wisdom are not Pharisees, and those like them (which otherwise would not be inappropriate to be said here; comp. ch. Luk 13:34, at the end, and Mat 8:12); but the Apostles, as well as all publicans and sinners who had been converted to Jesus out of the whole people; whom He thus names, in order to show His own tie of connection with them, and His right of associating with them, and the perverseness of the calumniators. In Thucydides and other writers, δικαιοῦν, to justify, when used of a person, denotes to pass sentence or fix a punishment against (to be inflicted on) any one, and that a just sentence or punishment; when used of a thing, it denotes to account anything just. Gataker, Diss. de stilo Novi Instr. cap. 8, proves this in opposition to Pfochenius, and considers this to be an altogether striking instance of Biblical Græcism beins different from the Greek style of the heathen classics: for in the sacred writings הצדיק, δικαιοῦν, signifies to give one’s judgment in favour of any one, or in other words, to pronounce one just, whether by a just or unjust judgment. Comp. note on Rom 3:20. Δικαιοῦσθαι, Sir 18:22, is the same as ἀποδοῦναι: for he who owes a debt is as it were arraigned [a defendant]; he who pays it [ἀποδίδωσι], or makes good what he was bound to make good, is set free [δικαιοῦται]. French, s’acquitter [to pay off, lit. to acquit one’s self]. And yet we are not to think that both senses of the term cannot be reduced to the one notion, justifying; for the judge accounts that satisfaction has been given him, both in the case of him who has borne his full punishment, and in the case of him who has been acquitted, and thence that both are in his eyes just. There is in the former use of the word the additional element of an Euphemism, which is not needed in the latter. In this passage also δικαιοῦν is employed in the good sense: and ἐδικαιώθη, has been justified, contains a Metonymy of the consequent for the antecedent (for every justification presupposes an accusation, a cause at issue and some controversy, Rom 3:4; Gen 44:16, LXX.: [and so here the consequent, has been justified, is put instead of the antecedent, has been subjected to trial]), combined with a strong Euphemism. Wisdom has been justified; that is to say, accusers have brought her to trial, have been offended at her, Luk 7:23, and have brought the matter to such a pass, that she has been at length obliged to have herself justified, and to be vindicated as just, and that it should be shown, that all her actions have been so ordered as to swallow up (counteract) injustice, and fulfil righteousness; whereas, however, she ought to have been embraced without any objection being raised to need justification of her. A similar passage occurs, Rom 10:21; 1Co 4:12-13. Wisdom has been defended and justified from the taunts of gluttony and wine-bibbing, thrown out against her; and that too by (ἀπὸ) her own children, and by them all: on the part of all her own sons arose to her the necessity of justifying herself, and of defending all her actions along with them [as well as defending them]. See ch. Luk 5:22; Luk 5:30; Luk 5:33, Luk 6:2; Luk 6:7, and in this 7th chapter itself Luk 7:40; Luk 11:17; Luk 13:16; Luk 15:3; Luk 19:7; Mat 15:2. Comp. the use of a ἀπὸ, Luk 19:3 [He was not able, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄχλου, owing to the throng]; 2Co 2:3,[76] Luk 10:7; Heb 10:22; LXX. Ecc 8:11; Isa 25:9; Job 35:9; Psa 28:1 (Psa 27:1), Psa 33:8, Psa 119:53, and Isa 49:19; Isa 2:3, in the Hebr. מדרכיו. So ἀπὸ, on account of, LXX. Psalms 67(Hebr. 68):29 [ἈΠῸ ΤΟῦ ΝΑΟῦ ΣΟῦ ἘΠΊ ἹΕΡΟΥΣΑΛῊΜ, on account of, because of, thy temple at Jerusalem; as here, Because of her children, Wisdom has had to be justified], where מ and על are parallel.
[76] “Have sorrow, ἀφʼ ὧν ἔδει με χαίρειν, arising from those from whom I ought to have cause of joy.” So here, Wisdom has needed to justify her actions, the need arising on the part of her children, whom, as well as herself and her actions, with respect to them she has had to justify.-ED. and TRANSL.