Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:1

Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:1 - 6:35

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Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:1 - 6:35

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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

6:1 - 6:35

EXPOSITION

Pro_6:1-35

The sixth chapter embraces four distinct discourses, each of which is a warning. The subjects treated of are

(1) suretyship (Pro_6:1-5);

(2) sloth (Pro_6:6-11);

(3) malice (Pro_6:12-19); and

(4) adultery (Pro_6:20 to the end).

The continuity of the subject treated of in the preceding chapter appears to be somewhat abruptly interrupted to make way for the insertion of three discourses on subjects which apparently have little connection with what precedes and what follows. Their unlooked for and unexpected appearance has led Hitzig to regard them as interpolations, but it has been conclusively pointed out by Delitzsch that there is sufficient internal evidence, in the grammatical construction, figures, word formations, delineations, and threatenings, to establish the position that they proceeded from the same hand that composed the rest of the book and to guarantee their genuineness. But another and not less interesting question arises as to whether any connection subsists between these discourses and the subject which they apparently interrupt. Such a connection is altogether denied by Delitzsch, Zockler, and other German commentators, who look upon them as independent discourses, and maintain that, if there is any connection, it can be only external and accidental. On the other hand, Bishops Patrick and Wordsworth discover an ethical connection which, though not clear at first sight, is not on that account less real or true. The subject treated of in the preceding chapter is the happiness of the married life, and this is imperilled by incautious undertaking of suretyship, and suretyship, it is maintained, induces sloth, while sloth leads to maliciousness After treating of suretyship, sloth, and malice in succession, the teacher recurs to the former subject of his discourse, viz. impurity of life, against which he gives impressive warnings. That such is the true view them appears little doubt. One vice is intimately connected with another, and the verdict of experience is that a life of idleness is one of the most prolific sources of a life of impurity. Hence we find Ovid saying—

"Quaeritur, AEgisthus, qua re sit factus adulter?

In promptu causa est—desidiosus erat."

"Do you ask why AEgisthus has become an adulterer?

The reason is close at hand—he was full of idleness."

Within the sphere of these discourses them. selves the internal connection is distinctly observable, Pro_6:16-19 being a refrain of Pro_6:12-15, and the phrase, "to stir up strife," closing each enumeration (see Pro_6:14 and Pro_6:19).

Pro_6:1-5

9. Ninth admonitory discourse. Warning against suretyship.

Pro_6:1

The contents of this section are not to be taken so much as an absolute unqualified prohibition of suretyship as counsel directed against the inconsiderate and rash undertaking of such an obligation. There were some occasions on which becoming surety for another was demanded by the laws of charity and prudence, and when it was not inconsistent with the humane precepts of the Mosaic Law as enunciated in Le Pro_19:19. In other passages of our book the writer of the Proverbs lays down maxims which would clearly countenance the practice (Pro_14:21; Pro_17:17; Pro_18:24; Pro_27:10), and in the apocryphal writings the practice is encouraged, if not enjoined (Ec Pro_29:14; Pro_8:13). Notwithstanding this limitation, however, it is observable that suretyship is almost invariably spoken of in terms of condemnation, and the evil consequences which it entailed on the surety may be the reason why it is so frequently alluded to. The teacher refers to the subject in the following passages: here; Pro_11:15 : Pro_17:18; Pro_22:26; Pro_20:16; Pro_27:13. My son. On this address, see Pro_2:1; Pro_3:1, Pro_3:17. If thou be surety (Hebrew, im-aravta); literally, if thou hast become surety; LXX; ἐάν ἐγγύσῃ ; Vulgate, si spoponderis. What the teacher counsels in the present instance is that, if by inadvertence a person has become surety, he should by the most strenuous endeavours prevail on his friend to free him from the bond. The Hebrew verb arav is properly "to mix," and then signifies "to become surety" in the sense of interchanging with another and so taking his place. The frequent mention of suretyship in the Proverbs is alluded to above. The first recorded instances are those where Judah offers to become surety for Benjamin, first to Israel (Gen_43:9), and secondly to Joseph (Gen_44:33). It is singular that it is only once alluded to in the Book of Job, where Job says, "Lay down now, put me in surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me?" (Job_17:3); and once only, and that doubtfully, in the whole of the Mosaic writings, in the phrase tesummat yad, i.e. giving or striking the hand in the case of perjury (Le Job_6:2). The psalmist refers to it in the words, "Be surety for thy servant for good" (Psa_119:122). It is spoken of twice in Isaiah (Isa_38:14; Isa_36:8), once in Ezekiel (Eze_27:27) and in Nehemiah (Neh_5:3), and the cognate noun, arrabon, "the pledge," security for payment, is met with in Gen_38:17 and 1Sa_17:18. These scattered notices in the Old Testament show that the practice was always in existence, while the more frequent notices in the Proverbs refer to a condition of society where extended commercial transactions had apparently made it a thing of daily occurrence, and a source of constant danger. In the New Testament one instance of suretyship is found, when St. Paul offers to become surety to Philemon for Onesimus (Phm_1:19). But in the language of the New Testament, the purely commercial meaning of the word is transmuted into a spiritual one. The gift of the Spirit is regarded as the arrabon, ὀρραβὼν , "the pledge," the earnest of the Christian believer's acceptance with God (2Co_1:22; 2Co_5:5; Eph_1:14). For thy friend; Hebrew, l'reeka. The Hebrew reeh, more usually rea, is "the companion or friend," and in this ease obviously the debtor for whom one has become surety. The word reappears in Phm_1:3. The ìÀ (le) prefixed to reeh is the dativus commodi. So Delitzsch and others. If not in the original, but rightly inserted. Thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger (Hebrew, taka'ta lazzar kapeyka); properly, thou hast stricken thy hand for a stranger. The analogous use of le ( ìÀ ) in lazzar determines this rendering. As in the corresponding l'reeyka, the ìÀ (le) indicates the person for whose benefit the suretyship is undertaken, i.e. the debtor, and not the person with whom the symbolical act is performed, i.e. the creditor. Compare the following passages, though the construction with ìÀ is wanting: "He that is surety for a stranger" (Pro_11:15); "Take his garment that is surety for a stranger" (Pro_20:16 and Pro_27:13). "The stranger," zar, is not an alien, or one belonging to another nationality, but simply one extraneous to one's self, and so equivalent to akher, "another." The meaning, therefore, seems to be, "If thou hast entered into a bond for one with whom thou art but slightly acquainted." Others (Wordsworth, Plumptre), however, take zar as representing the foreign money lender. The phrase, "to strike the hand," taka kaph, or simply "to strike," taka, describes the symbolical act which accompanied the contract. Taka is properly "to drive," like the Latin defigere, and hence "to strike," and indicates the sharp sound with which the hands were brought into contact. The act no doubt was accomplished before witnesses, and the hand which was stricken was that of the creditor, who thereby received assurance that the responsibility of the debtor was undertaken by the surety. The "striking of the hand" as indicating the completion of a contract is illustrated by the author of the 'Kamoos' (quoted by Lee, on Job_17:3), who says, "He struck or clapped to him a sale … he struck his hand in a sale, or on his hand … he struck his ow hand upon the hand of him, and this is among the necessary (transactions) of sale." So among Western nations the giving of the band has been always regarded as a pledge of bona fides. Thus Menelaus demands of Helena, Ἐπὶ τοῖσδε νῦν δεξιὰς ἐμῆς θίγε , "Touch my right hand now on these conditions," i.e. in attestation that you accept them. In purely verbal agreements it is the custom in the present day for the parties to clasp the hand. A further example may be found in the plighting of troth in the Marriage Service.

Pro_6:2

Thou art snared with the words of thy month, etc.; i.e. the inevitable consequence of an inconsiderate undertaking of suretyship is that you become entangled and involved by your own premises, and hampered by self-imposed obligations. The Authorized Version rightly regards this as the conclusion. So the Vulgate. Others, however, carry on the hypothesis, and insert im, "if:" "If thou art snared," etc.; but without warrant (Zockler, Wordsworth, Plumptre). The LXX. throws the thought into the form of a proverb, as "a strong net to a man are his own words." A distinction is to be drawn between the verbs rendered "entangled" and "taken;" the former, yakosh, signifying to be taken unwarily, off one's guard; the latter, lakad, referring, as before observed (cf. Pro_5:22), to the being stricken with the net. They are found in the same collocation in Isa_8:15, "Many among them shall be snared and taken." The repetition of the phrase, "with the words of thy mouth," is not unintentional or purely rhetorical. It is made, as Delitzsch observes, to bring with greater force to the mind that the entanglements in which the surety is involved are the result of his own indiscretion.

Pro_6:3

In this verse advice is tendered as to what is to be done under the circumstances of this entanglement. The surety is to take immediate steps to be set free. The urgency of the advice is to be explained by the serious consequences which would follow in the event of the debtor not satisfying the creditor in due time. The surety became liable to the penalties inflicted by the Hebrew law of debt. His property could be distrained. His bed and his garment could be taken from him (Pro_22:27 and Pro_20:16), and he was liable as well as his family to be reduced to the condition of servitude. So we find the son of Sirach saying, "Suretyship hath undone many of good estate, and shaken them as a wave of the sea: mighty men hath it driven from their houses, so that they wandered among strange nations" (Ec 29:18; cf. 2Ki_4:1; Neh_5:3-5; and Mat_18:25). Compare the dictum of Thales, the Greek philosopher, Ἐγγύα πάρα δ ἄτα , "Give surety, and ruin is near;" and that of Chilo (Pliny, 'Nat. Hist.,' 6.32), "Sponsioni non deest jactura"—"Loss is not wanting to a surety." The same idea is conveyed in the modern German proverb, "Burgen soll man wurgen"—"Worry a surety" Do this now; or, therefore. The particle epho is intensive, and emphasizes the command, and in this sense is of frequent occurrence (Job_17:15; Gen_27:32; Gen_43:11; 2Ki_10:10, etc.). It appears to be equivalent to the Latin quod dico. So the Vulgate, "Do therefore what I say;" similarly the LXX. renders, "Do, my son, what I bid thee ( ἃ ἐγὼ σοι ἐντέλλομαι )." It carries with it the sense of instant and prompt action. And deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; i.e. set thyself free when thou findest thou art actually at the mercy of thy friend for whom thou hast become surety. The ki ( ëÄÌé ) is not hypothetical, but actual; it is not "if" you are, but "when" or because you actually are in his power. The Vulgate and LXX. render ëÄÌé respectively by quia and γὰρ . Go, humble thyself; i.e. present thyself as a suppliant, prostrate thyself, offer thyself to be trodden upon (Michaelis), or humble thyself like to the threshold which is trampled and trode upon (Rashi). or humble thyself under the soles of his feet (Aben Ezra). The expression implies the spirit of entire submission, in which the surety is to approach his friend in order to be released from his responsibility. The Hebrew verb hith'rappes has, however, been rendered differently. Radically raphas signifies "to tread or trample with the feet," and this has been taken to express haste, or the bestirring of one's self. So the Vulgate reads festina, "hasten;" and the LXX. ἴσθι μὴ ἐκλυόμενος , i.e. "be not remiss." But the hithp, clearly determines in favour of the reflexive rendering; comp. Psa_68:30, "Till every one submit himself with pieces of silver"—the only other passage where raphas occurs. And make sure thy friend (Hebrew, r'hav reeyka); rather, importune thy friend, be urgent with him, press upon him to fulfil his engagement. The verb rahav is properly "to be fierce," "to rage," and hence with the accusative, as here, "to assail with impetuosity." In Isa_3:5 it is used with áÀÌ (be), and signifies to act fiercely against any one. The meaning of the passage is that if abject submission or persuasion does not avail, then sterner measures are to be resorted to to gain the desired end.

Pro_6:4

This verse carries on the thought one step further. The appeal to the friend is not to be confined to one spasmodic effort and then relinquished. He is to be followed up pertinaciously and continually, with unwearied diligence, until prevailed upon to fulfil his engagements. Of this unwearied energy in the pursuit of an object in which cue is deeply interested, compare David's resolution, "I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob" (Psa_132:4, Psa_132:5).

Pro_6:5

The struggles of the roe and the bird to escape from the snare are employed figuratively to describe the efforts which the surety is to make to tear and free himself from his friend. From the hand of the hunter (Hebrew, miyyad); literally, from the hand, as shown by the italics. The variation in all the ancient versions, with the exception of the Vulgate and Venetian, which read "from the snare," suggests that the original text was mippath instead of miyyad. The Hebrew yad, "hand," may, however, be used by metonymy for a toil or gin; but this is improbable, as no example of this kind can be found. With regard to the addition, "of the hunter," though this does not occur in the original, the parallelism would seem to clearly require it, and Bottcher maintains, but upon insufficient evidence, and against the reading of all manuscripts, which omit it, that the word tsayyad, equivalent to "of the hunter," formed part of the original text, but has fallen out. The plain reading, "from the hand," may, however, be used absolutely, as in 1Ki_20:42, "Because thou hast let go out of thy hand (miyyad)," in which case the hand will not be that of the hunter, but that of the person for whom the one is surety. Roe. There is a paronomasia in ts'vi, equivalent to "roe," and tsiphor, equivalent to "bird," of the original, which is lost in the Authorized Version. The ts'vi is the "roe" or "gazelle," so named from the beauty of its form (see also So 1Ki_2:7-9, 1Ki_2:17; 1Ki_3:5; 1Ki_8:14; 1Ki_5:3; Isa_13:14). Tsippor is a generic word, and represents any small bird. It is derived from the twittering or chirping noise which the bird makes, the root being tsaphar, "to chirp, or twitter." As to its identification with the sparrow, Passer montanus, or the blue thrush, Petrocossyphus cyanens.

Pro_6:6-11

10. Tenth admonitory discourse. Warning against sloth. The ethical connection of this discourse with the preceding has already been pointed out. Sloth militates against prosperity; it is the prolific parent of want, and, even more surely than suretyship, leads to misfortune and ruin, The certainty with which ruin steals upon the sluggard may be the reason why the teacher closes the discourse in the way he does. In the case of suretyship such an issue is uncertain; there is the possibility of escape, the surety may prevail upon his friend to release him from his obligation, and so he may escape ruin; but with sloth no such contingency is possible, its invariable end is disaster. So far as the grammatical structure of the two discourses is concerned, they appear to be quite independent of each other, the only points of coincidence observable being the repetition of one or two words, which is purely accidental (cf. "go" in Pro_6:3 and Pro_6:6, and "sleep" and "slumber" in Pro_6:4 and Pro_6:10).

Pro_6:6

Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. The ant (Hebrew, n'malah) is here brought forward as supplying an example of wisdom to the sluggard. The habits of this insect, its industry and providence, have in all ages made it the symbol of these two qualities, and not only the sacred, but also profane writers have praised its foresight, and held it up for imitation. The ant is only mentioned twice in the Old Testament, and on both occasions in our book (see present passage and Pro_30:25). The derivation of n'malah is either from the root nam, with reference first to the silence with which it moves, and secondly to its active yet unperceived motion (Delitzsch), or from namal, i.q. malal, "to cut off," from its cutting off or consuming seeds (ab incidendis seminibus) (Buxtorf, Gesenius). The Aramaic name, shum'sh'manah, however, points to its activity and rapid running hither and thither (Fleischer). Sluggard; Hebrew, atsel, a verbal adjective tbund only in the Proverbs. The primary idea of the root atsal is that of languor and laxity. The cognate abstract nouns ats'lah and ats'luth, equivalent to "slothfulness," occur in Pro_19:15; Pro_31:27. Consider her ways; attentively regard them, and from them derive a lesson of wisdom. Her ways are the manner in which the ant displays her industry and foresight.

Pro_6:7

Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler. This statement is substantially correct, for though the most recent observations made by modern naturalists have discovered various classes of ants occupying the same ant hill, yet there appears to be a total want of that gradation and subordination in ant life which is noticeable among bees. The three terms used here, katsa, shoter, moshel, all refer to government, and correspond respectively with the modern, Arabic terms, kadi, wall, and emir (Zockler). The first refers to the judicial office, and should rather be rendered "judge," the root katsah being "to decide" (see Isa_1:10; Isa_3:6, Isa_3:7; Mic_3:9). The word, however, is used of a military commander in Jos_10:24; Jdg_2:6-11, and in this sense it is understood by the Vulgate, which has dux. Shoter, rendered "overseer," is literally "a scribe," and appears as the general designation for any official In Exo_5:6, Exo_5:19 the shoter is the person employed by the Egyptian taskmasters to urge on the Israelites in their forced labour; in Num_11:16 the shoter is one of the seventy elders; and in 1Ch_23:4 he is a municipal magistrate. The meaning assigned to the word in the Authorized Version seems to be the correct one. The ant has no overseer; there is none to regulate or see that the work is done. Each ant apparently works independently of the rest, though guided by a common instinct to add to the common store. In moshel we have the highest title of dignity and power, the word signifying a lord, prince, or ruler, from mashal, "to rule."

Pro_6:8

Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. It is this characteristic, combined with what has just been said, which gives point to the lesson the sluggard is to learn. The teacher, as it were, argues: If the ant, so insignificant a creature in the order of the animal kingdom, is so provident, how much more should you be—you, a man endued with superior intelligence, and with so many more resources at hand, and with greater advantages! If the ant, with none to urge, direct, or control her work, is so industrious, surely she provides an example at which you, the sluggard, should blush, since there is every external incentive to rouse you to action—your duty to the community, the urgent advice of your friends, and your dignity as a man. If she provides for the future, much more should you do so, and threw off your sloth. Objection has been taken to what is here stated of the provident habits of the ant in storing food, on the ground that it is carnivorous and passes the winter in a state of torpidity. That the ant does lay up stores for future use has, however, been the opinion of all ages. Thus Hesiod ('Days,' 14) speaks of the ant as harvesting the grain, calling it ἴδρις , "the provident." Virgil says—

"Veluti ingentem formicae farris acervum

Quum populant hiemis memores, tectoque repenunt."

"So the ants, when they plunder a tall heap of corn, mindful of the winter, store it in their cave." The language of Horace ('Sat.,' 1.50, 32) might be a comment on our passage—

"Parvula (nam exemplo est) magni formica laboris sicut

Ore trahit quodcunque potest, atque addit acervo,

Quem struit, haud ignara ac non incauta futuri,

Quae, simul universum contristat Aquarius annum

Non usquam prorepit, et illis utitur ante Quaesitis sapiens."

"For thus the little ant (to human lore

No mean example) forms her frugal store,

Gathered, with mighty toils, on every side,

Nor ignorant, nor careless to provide

For future want; yet when the stars appear

That darkly sadden the declining year,

No more she comes abroad, but wisely lives

On the fair store industrious summer gives."

(Francis' Translation.)

The same provident character is noted in AEsop's fable, 'The Ant and the Grasshopper;' see also Aristotle ('Hist. Nat.,' 9.6). All objections on this subject appear to be based on insufficient data, and have been conclusively answered by recent observation. Apart from the remark of Buffon, that "the ants of tropical climates lay up provisions, and as they probably live the whole year, they submit themselves to regulations entirely unknown among the ants of Europe." The late Professor Darwin states of the agricultural ant of Texas, which in many features resembles the ant of Palestine, that it not only stores its food, but prepares the soil for the crops, keeps the ground free from weeds, and finally reaps the harvest. Canon Tristram also observes, "The language of the wise man is not only in accordance with the universal belief of his own time, but with the accurately ascertained facts of natural history. Contrary to its habits in colder climates, the ant is not there dormant through the winter; and among the tamerisks of the Dead Sea it may be seen, in January, actively engaged in collecting the aphides and saccharine exudations, in long flies passing and repassing up and down the trunk. Two of the most common species of the Holy Land (Alta barbara, the black ant, and Alta structor, the brown ant) are strictly seed feeders, and in summer lay up large stores of grain for winter use. These species are spread along the whole of the Mediterranean coasts, but are unknown in more northern climates. Hence writers who were ignorant of ants beyond those of their own countries have been presumptuous enough to deny the accuracy of Solomon's statement". The Mishna, section 'Zeraim,' also contains a curious piece of legislation which bears testimony to the storing properties of the ant.

Pro_6:9-11

contain a call to the sluggard to rouse himself from his lethargy, and the warning of the evil consequences if he remains heedless of the reproof. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? It is the same as if it were said, "What infatuation is this which makes you lie and sleep as if you had nothing else to do?" The double question stigmatizes the sluggard's utter indolence, and suggests the picture of his prolonging his stay in bed long after every one else is abroad and about his business. How long (Hebrew, ad-matha; Vulgate, usquequo); literally, till when? When; Hebrew, matha; Vulgate, quando. The came words are used in the same order in introducing a question in Neh_2:6, "For how long will the journey be? and when wilt thou return?" Wilt thou … sleep. The Hebrew tish'kar is literally "wilt thou lie," but the verb easily passes to the secondary meaning of "to sleep." The delineation of the sluggard is again drawn in Pro_24:30-34 in almost identical language, but with some additions.

Pro_6:10

Yet a Little sleep, etc. Is this the answer of the sluggard which the teacher takes up and repeats ironically, and in a tone of contempt? or is it the teacher's own language describing how the sluggard slides on insensibly to ruin? The Vulgate favours the latter view, "Thou shalt sleep a little, thou shalt slumber a little, thou shalt fold thy hands to sleep, and then," etc. Habits, as Aristotle in his 'Ethics' has shown, are the resultant of repeated acts, and habits entail consequences. So here the inspired teacher would have it learnt, from the example of the sluggard, that the self-indulgence which he craves leads on to a confirmed indolence, which in the end leaves him powerless. "Yet a little" is the phrase on the lips of every one who makes but a feeble resistance, and yields supinely to his darling vice.

Pro_6:11

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. The inevitable consequences of sloth—poverty and want, two terms conveying the idea of utter destitution—are described under a twofold aspect: first, as certain; second, as irresistible. Poverty will advance upon the sluggard with the unerring precision and swiftness with which a traveller tends towards the end of his journey, or, as Michaelis puts it, "quasi viator qui impigre pergit ac proprius venit donec propositum itineris scopum contingat" (Michaelis, 'Notre Uberiores'). Muffet, in loc; keeping to the figure, however, explains differently, "Poverty shall overtake thee, as a swift traveller does one who walks slowly." The Authorized Version, "as one that travelleth," correctly represents the original kim'hallek. There is no ground whatever, from the use of the verb, for rendering the piel participle m'hallek as "a robber." The verb halak invariably means "to go, or walk," and the piel or intensive form of the verb means "to walk vigorously, or quickly." The participle can only mean this in the two other passages where it occurs—Psa_104:3 and Ecc_4:14. The substantive helek in 2Sa_12:4 also signifies "a traveller." So the Vulgate here, quasi viator. The other view, it is stated, is required by the parallel expression in the second hemistich, "as an armed man," and receives some support from the LXX. reading, ὥσπερ κακὸς ὁδοιπόρος , "as an evil traveller," which may mean either a traveller bringing evil news, or one who wanders about with an evil intention and purpose, in the sense of the Latin grassator, "a highwayman." In this case the meaning would be that poverty shall come upon the sluggard as he is indulging in his sloth, and leave him destitute as if stripped by a robber. But the destitution of the sluggard wilt not only be certain and swift, it will be also irresistible. His want shall come upon him as an armed man (k'ish magen); literally, as a man of a shield; Vulgate, quasi vir armatus; i.e. like one fully equipped, and who attacks his foe with such onset and force that against him resistance is useless. As the unarmed, unprepared man succumbs to such an opponent, so shall the sluggard fall before want. The expressions," thy poverty" and "thy want," represent the destitution of the sluggard as flowing directly from his own habit of self-indulgence. It is his in a special manner) and he, not others, is alone responsible for it. Compare, beside the parallel passage Pro_24:33, the similar teaching in Pro_10:4; Pro_13:4; Pro_20:4. The Vulgate, LXX; and Arabic Versions at the close of this verse add, "But if thou art diligent, the harvest shall come as a fountain, and want shall flee far from thee;" the LXX. making a further addition, "as a bad runner ( ὥσπερ κακὸς δρομεὺς )." It is observable, in comparing this section with the preceding, that the teacher pursues the subject of the sluggard to its close, while he leaves the end of the surety undetermined. The explanation may be in the difference in character of the two. The surety may escape the consequences of his act, but there is no such relief for the sluggard. His slothfulness becomes a habit, which increases the more it is indulged in, and leads to consequences which are as irremediable as they are inevitable.

Pro_6:12-19

11. Eleventh admonitory discourse. Warning against mischievousness as a thing hateful to God. The connection of this with the preceding discourse is not at first sight very clear, but it may be found in the fact, attested only too unhappily by experience, that sloth leads those who indulge in it to such vices as are next enumerated. The sluggard may develop into a treacherous and deceitful man, and even if such should not happen, the characteristics of the two are nearly allied, and their end is much the same. St. Paul, in his First Epistle to Timothy, observes this same combination of character, and remarks that idlers are "tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not" (see 1Ti_6:13). The intention of the discourse is obviously to dissuade all, and especially the young, from the vices, and to preserve them from the ruin, of those men of whom "the naughty person and wicked man" is the type.

Pro_6:12

A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. The teacher begins by stating in general terms the nature and character of the man whom he now holds up as a warning to others, dud then proceeds to point out the various features in his conduct and behaviour by which he may be known. In concise terms he is described as "a naughty person, a wicked man." This is pre-eminently his character, and the first feature in it is that his life is one of wilful and injurious misreprescntation of the truth. A naughty person, a wicked man. In apposition and mutually explanatory. The grammatical arrangement of the sentences which follow, each of which is introduced by a participle, and is thus coordinate to the ethers, as well as the parallel terms, "person" (adam) and "man" (ish), determine this apposition. So Bertheau and Delitzsch. Others (as Zockler, Noyes, Kamph), however, connect the second expression with the series of characteristics which follow, and render, "A worthless person is a deceiver, who," etc; but wrongly. A naughty person (Hebrew, adam b'liyyaal); literally, a man of Belial; Vulgate, homo apostata; LXX; ἀνὴρ ἄφρων . The word "Belial" is derived from b'li, "without," and yaal, "profit" (i.e. "without profit"), or from b'li and ol, "yoke" (i.e. "without yoke"), and strictly signifies either a worthless or a lawless person. The latter derivation is, however, rejected by Gesenius and others. Its abstract signification is worthlessness, uselessness; its concrete or adjectival, worthless. The word "naughty" (Anglo-Saxon, naht, ne aht, "not anything," equivalent to "nothing"), in the sense of good-for-nothing, ne'er-do-well, adopted in the Authorized Version, exactly reproduces its strict etymological meaning. The word, however, always carries with it the idea of moral turpitude. In the present instance its meaning is determined by the appositional phrase, "a man of iniquity," or "a wicked man," and such iniquity as takes the form of mischief making, deceit, and sowing discord among brethren. The "man of Belial" is not therefore simply, as its etymological derivation would imply, a worthless individual, one who is of no use either to himself or to the community at large, but a positively wicked, iniquitous, and despicable character. The meaning of the word varies in other passages. Thus in Deu_13:13, where it first occurs, it is used to designate those who have fallen sway into idolatry, and induce others to follow their example. In this sense it corresponds with the Vulgate, apostata, as signifying a defection from the worship of the true God. Again, in 1Sa_1:16 it is applied to the profanation of sacred places. When Hannah is accused by Eli of drunkenness in God's house at Shiloh, she replies, "Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial." In the historical books (e.g. Judges, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles), where it is of frequent occurrence, it has the general meaning of "wickedness," under whatever form it appears. So in the Psalms (Psa_18:4; Psa_41:8; Psa_101:3) and Nahum (Nah_1:11, Nah_1:15). In the Book of Job (Job_34:18, once only) it is used adjectively and as a term of reproach, "Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked [b'liyyaal; i.e. 'worthless']?" Individuals possessing the qualities of worthlessness, profanity, or wickedness are designated in Holy Scripture either as "sons," "children," "daughters," or "men of Belial." The word only occurs in two other passages in the Proverbs—Pr 16:27 and Pro_19:28. In the New Testament (2Co_6:15) the word "Belial" (Greek, βελίαρ or βελίαλ ) appears as an appellative of Satan, ὁ πονηρὸς , "the evil one," as the representative of all that is bad, and as antichrist. A wicked man (Hebrew, ish aven); literally, a man of vanity or iniquity; Vulgate, vir inutilis; LXX; ἀνὴρ παράνομος . The radical idea of aven (from un, "nothing") is that of emptiness or vanity, and has much, therefore, in common with b'liyaal. Its secondary meaning, and that which it usually bears in Scripture, is iniquity. "A man of iniquity" is one who is altogether deficient in moral consciousness, and who goes about to work wickedness and do hurt and injury to others (cf. Pro_19:18 and Job_22:15). Walketh with a froward mouth. His first characteristic, as already observed. His whole life and conduct are marked by craftiness, deceit, perversion, and misrepresentation, and an utter want of truth. "Walking" is here, as elsewhere in Scripture, used of some particular course of conduct. So we find the LXX. paraphrase, πορεύεται ὁδοὺς οὐκ ἀγαθάς . "he enters or walks not in good ways." With a froward mouth (Hebrew, ik'shuth peh); literally, with perversity of mouth; Vulgate, ore perverse. Symmachus has στρεβλύμασι στόματος , "with perversity of mouth." The mouth, or speech, is the vehicle by which this person gives outward expression to the evil thoughts which are inwardly filling his heart. The phrase occurs before in Pro_4:24. The meaning of the passage is well illustrated in Psa_10:7, "His mouth is full of misery, deceit, and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity."

Pro_6:13

He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers. He employs his other members for the same nefarious purpose. In the language of St. Paul, he yields his members to uncleanness, and to iniquity unto iniquity (Rom_6:19). "To wink with the eye (karats ayin)," as in Pro_10:10 and Psa_35:19, or "with the eyes (karats b'eynayim)," is properly to compress or nip them together, and so to wink, and give the signal to others not to interfere (Gesenius and Delitzsch); cf. the LXX; ἐννεύει ὀφθαλμῷ ; and the Vulgate, annuit oculis. Aquila and Theodoret, however, read, κνίζει , "he vexes or annoys." The observation of the teacher in Pro_10:10 is, "He that winketh with his eyes causeth sorrow." The same verb karuts is also used of the compression or closing of the lips in Pro_16:30. He speaketh with his feet; i.e. he conveys signs by them to his companion; cf. the LXX; σημαίνει δὲ ποδὶ , and the Vulgate, terit pede, which conveys much the same meaning. He teacheth with his fingers; or, as more fully expressed in the LXX; διδάσκει δὲ ἐννεύμασι δακτύλων , "he teacheth by the signs of his fingers." Symmachus has δακτυλοδεικτῶν , which, however, in its strictly classical use is pointing at with the finger. "Teaching" is only the secondary meaning of the Hebrew participle moreh, which is here used. The verb yarah, to which it belongs, means properly to extend or stretch out the hand for the purpose of pointing out the way (compare the Hebrew shalakh yod, and the Latin monstrare), and hence came to mean "to teach." The crafty and deceitful character which is here presented to as is strikingly reproduced in Ecclesiasticus: "He that winketh with the eyes worketh evil: and he that knoweth him will depart from him. When thou art present, he will speak sweetly, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and slander thy sayings. I have hated many things, but nothing like him; for the Lord will hate him" (Ec 27:22-24). The heathen poet Naevius says of the impudent woman—

"Allium tenet, alii adnutat, alibi manus

Est occupata: est alii percellit pedem."

Compare also Ovid's words ('Amor.,' 1.4, 16)—

"Clam mihi tange pedem:

Me specta, mutusque meos, vultumque loquacem …

Verba superciliis sine voce loquentia dicam;

Verba leges digitis."

So Tibullus, 1.12—

"Illa viro coram nutus conferre loquaces

Blandaque compositis abdere verba notis."

The lesson which we may learn from this verse is not to abuse the members of our bodies, by employing them for the purposes of deceit and hypocrisy, and so to promote evil, but to put them to their natural and legitimate use.

Pro_6:14

From these external features the teacher passes to the heart the seat of all this mischief and deceit. In this respect we observe a striking correspondence with the method adopted by our Saviour in his leaching, who referred everything to the heart, as the true seat of all that was good or bad in man. Frowardness is in his heart (Hebrew, tah'pukoth b'libbo); i.e. his heart is full of perverse imaginations, it is there he nourishes his jealousy, his hatred, his malice, his ill will. It is there, too, he deviseth mischief continually. "Devising mischief" carries us one step further back in the history of evil. It is this feature, this deliberate premeditation to plot mischief and to devise means to carry it into execution, which makes the character of the man simply diabolical. He makes his heart as it were the workshop wherein he fabricates and prepares his villainy. The Hebrew kharash (to which the participle khoresh belongs) is equivalent to the Vulgate machinari, and the LXX. τεκαίνομαι , "to fabricate, devise, plot." (See Pro_3:29 and Pro_3:18; and cf. Psa_36:4, "He deviseth mischief upon his bed.") The LXX. combines the two statements in one proposition: "A perverse heart deviseth evil at all times." Similarly the Vulgate, which, however, joins "continually" (Hebrew, b'koleth; Vulgate, omni tempore) to the second hemistich, thus: "And at all times he sows discord (et omni tempore jurgia seminat)." He soweth discord (Hebrew, mid'-yanim (Keri) y'shalleakh); literally, he sends forth (i.e. excites) strife; or, as the margin, he casteth forth strife. The Keri reading mid'yanim, for the Khetib m'danim, is probably, as Hitzig suggests, derived from Gen_37:36. The phrase occurs again as shallakh m'danim in Gen_37:19, and as shillakh madon Pro_16:28 (cf. Pro_10:12). This is the culminating point in the character of the wicked man. He takes delight in breaking up friendship and in destroying concord among brethren (see Pro_16:19), and thus destroys one of the most essential elements for promoting individual happiness and the welfare of the community at large. This idea of the community is introduced into the LXX; which reads, "Such an one brings disturbance to the city ( ὁ τοσοῦτος ταραχὰς συνίστησι πόλει )." The motive cause may be either malice or self-interest.

Pro_6:15

Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. Great sins, as Muffet, in loc; observes, have great punishments; neither only great, but sudden. Therefore; Hebrew, al-ken. A Nemesis or retribution awaits this man of malice and deceit. His calamity or destruction is represented as the direct result of, as flowing forth from, what he has done. His calamity; Hebrew, eydo. On eyd, see Pro_1:26. Shall come suddenly; i.e. sooner than he anticipates; when he thinks his diabolical plans are succeeding, then suddenly his victims will discover his fraud and malice, and will rise and inflict the punishment which is his due. Suddenly; petha, a variation of pithom just used. Shall he be broken; Hebrew, yish-shaver; Vulgate, conteretur. The verb shavar, "to break," "to break to pieces," is used of ships which are wrecked (Isa_14:29; Eze_27:34; Jon_1:4); of an army which is defeated and dispersed (Dan_11:22; 2Ch_14:12); of the destruction of a kingdom, city, or people (Isa_8:15; Jer_48:4); and of the complete prostration of the spirit of man by affliction (Psa_34:19); and as such, in the passage before us, conveys the idea of the complete ruin of this man. It is a destruction that shall break him up. Without remedy (Hebrew, v)eyn mar)pe; literally, and there is no remedy. There shall be, as Fleischer, as it were, no means of recovery for his shattered members. His destruction shall be irremediable, or as the LXX; a συντριβή ἀνίαψτος , a contritio insanibilis; or as the Vulgate, nec habebit ultra medicinam. The idea seems to be taken from the shattered fragments of a potter's vessel, which it is impossible to reunite. So in the case of the man whose life has been one of fraud, deceit, and malice, there is for him no hope of any recovery. The language may seem exaggerated, but the picture is painted with this high colouring to exhibit a strong deterrent to such a line of conduct, and further, it may be remarked that, in the present day, only the most confiding would again put trust in a man who has wilfully and maliciously deceived them (cf. Isa_30:14). The second hemistich of this verse occurs again verbatim in Pro_29:1.

Pro_6:16

The whole structure and arrangement of the thoughts which occur in Pro_6:16-19 clearly show that this is not an independent section, but one closely allied to that which has just preceded. The object is to show that those evil qualities of deceit and malice which are disastrous to man are equally odious in the sight of Jehovah, and consequently within the scope of the Divine displeasure. These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him. The use of the numerical proverb, though common to the gnomic literature of Persia and Arabia, as Umbreit shows, is by our author confined to this single instance. Other examples occur in our book in the words of Agur the son of Jakeh (see Pro_30:7-9, Pro_30:24-28), and the midda, the name given by later Jewish writers to this form of proverb, is observable in the apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasticus (see Pro_23:16; Pro_20:7 and Pro_26:5-28). When, as in the present instance, two numbers are given, the larger number corresponds with the things enumerated. So in Job_5:19. In Amo_1:1-15 and Amo_2:1-16, however, there is an exception to this rule, where the numbers appear to be used indefinitely. As to the origin of the numerical proverb, the most probable explanation is that given by Hitzig and adopted by Zockler, namely, that it is due to the exigencies of parallelism. The author first adopts one number optionally, and then a second is employed as a parallel to it. Here, however, the number determined on in the writer's mind is the larger number seven, and the smaller number six is used as a rhetorical parallel. An examination of the following verses will show that the seven exactly measures the things which are described as odious to the Lord. The Authorized Version, so far as the numbers are concerned, exactly represents the original, which, by the use of the cardinal number "seven" (sheva), and not the ordinal "seventh," which would be sh'vii, shows that the things enumerated are equally an abomination in God's sight. The view therefore, that the seventh vice is odious to God in an especial degree above the others, is untenable, though it has found defenders in Lowenstein, Bertheau, and von Gerlach, and is supported by the Vulgate, Sex sunt quae odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima ejus. All the seven things are execrable, all are equally objects of the Divine abhorrence. Besides, we cannot imagine that the vice of sowing discord among brethren, of verse 19, is more odious to God than the crime of shedding innocent blood of verse 17. Unto him (Hebrew, naph'sho); literally, of his soul.

Pro_6:17

The enumeration begins with pride. A proud look (Hebrew, eynayim ramoth); literally, haughty or lofty eyes, as in the margin; Vulgate, oculos sublimes; LXX; ὀφθάλμὸς ὑβριστοῦ . It is not merely the look which is meant, but the temper of mind which the look expresses (Wardlaw). The lofty look is the indication of the swelling pride which fills the heart, the mentis elatae tumor, the supreme disdain, grande supercilium, for everything and everybody. Pride is put first, because it is at the bottom of all disobedience and rebellion against God's laws. It is the very opposite of humility, which the apostle, in Eph_4:2, mentions as the basis, as it were, of all the virtues. All pride is intended, and the face of the Lord is against this pride. He "resisteth the proud;" he "knoweth them afar off;" he "hath respect unto the lowly;" he "will bring down high looks" (Psa_18:27); he judgeth those that are high (Job_21:22). It is against this spirit that Job prays Jehovah "to behold every one that is proud, and abase him," and "to look upon every one that is proud, and bring him low" (Job_40:11, Job_40:12). The next thing in the enumeration is a lying tongue. Lying is hateful to God, because he is the God of truth. In a concise form the expression, "a lying tongue," represents what has been already said in verses 12 and 13 of "the wicked man" who "walks with a froward mouth," and whose conduct is made up of deceit. Lying is the wilful perversion of truth, not only by speech, but by any means whatever whereby a false impression is conveyed to the mind. The liar "sticks not at any lies, flatteries, or calumnies" (Patrick). Lying is elsewhere denounced as the subject which excites the Divine displeasure (see Psa_5:6; Psa_120:3, Psa_120:4; Hos_4:1-3; Rev_21:8, Rev_21:27); and in the early Christian Church, in the ease of Ananias and Sapphira, it was punished with death. On the subject of lying, see St. Augustine, 'Enchiridion,' 100: 18; wherein he says, "Mihi autem videtur peccatum quidem esse omne mendacium." Every lie is a sin. The third thing is hands that shed innocent blood, i.e. a murderous and cruel disposition, which, rather than have its plans frustrated, will imbue the hands with innocent blood, i.e. the blood of those who have done it no injury. The Divine command is, "Thou shall do no murder," and those who break it will find, even if they escape man, that the Lord is "the avenger of blood," and that he "maketh inquisition" for it (cf. Job_1:1-22 and Job_2:1-13, and Isa_59:7, which bear a close resemblance to this passage). That the shedding of innocent blood cues for vengeance, and pulls down God's heavy judgments on the murderer, appears in the ease of Cain and Abel (Muffet).

Pro_6:18

The fourth thing is an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations. "Wicked imaginations" are literally "thoughts of iniquity;" Hebrew, makh'sh'voth aven; Vulgate, cogitationes pessimas; LXX; λογισμοὺς κακοὺς . The same expression in Isa_59:7 is rendered "thoughts of iniquity." (On deviseth, Hebrew khoresh, see Isa_59:14 and Isa_3:1-26 :29.) The thought is a repetition of Isa_59:14. There are evil thoughts in all men's hearts; but the devising, fabricating of them, and thus making the heart into a devil's workshop, is the mark of utter depravity and wickedness, and is abhorrent to God. The devices of the heart, though planned in secret, are clear to him "to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are bid." The peculiar position which the heart occupies in the enumeration is to be accounted for on the ground that it is the fountain, not only of those vices which have been already mentioned, but of those which follow. The fifth thing is feet that be swift in running to mischief. Again we are reminded of Isa_59:7, "Their feet run to evil." "Mischief" (Hebrew, ra) is a re-echo of Isa_59:14 and Pro_1:16. "To run to mischief" is to carry out with alacrity and without delay what has already been devised in the heart. It implies more than falling or sliding into sin, which is common to all. It denotes, Cornelius a Lapide remarks, "inexplebilem sceleris aviditatem, et destinatum studium."

Pro_6:19

The sixth thing is perjury. A false witness that speaketh lies; literally, he that breathes out, or utters, lies as a false witness. So the Vulgate, proferentem mendacia testem fallacem. The Hebrew puakh is "to breathe," "to blow," and in the hiph. form, which is used here (yaphiakh, hiph. future), it is "to blow out" or" utter," either in a bad sense, as in the present instance, and in Pro_6:19; Pro_14:5; Pro_19:5, Pro_19:9 (cf. Psa_10:5; Psa_12:5); or in a good sense, "to utter the truth," as in Pro_12:17. Lies; Hebrew k'zavim, plural of kazav, "falsehood," "lying" (cf. Pro_21:25). A false witness (Hebrew, ed-k'zavim), as in margin, "a witness of lies." The expression, "as a false witness," as it appears in the original, is explanatory, and indicates the particular aspect under which the speaking of lies is regarded. Lying in its more general sense has been already spoken of in Pro_12:17. The vice which is here noted as odious to God is expressly forbidden in the moral code, "Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour" (Exo_20:16). But this, though the chief, is only one view of the case. Perjury may be employed, not only in ruining the innocent, but also in screen-tog the guilty. "Much hurt," says Muffet, in loc; "doth the deceitful and lying witness, for he corrupteth the judge, oppresseth the innocent, suppresseth the truth, and in the courts of justice sinneth against his own soul and the Lord himself most grievously." "He that speaketh lies as a false witness," again, may be the vile instrument in the hands of unscrupulous and inexorable enemies, as those employed against our Lord and Stephen. Perjury, too, destroys the security of communities. The shipwreck of society which it occasions may be seen in the frightful misery which ensued when the system of delatores was not only countenanced, but encouraged under the Roman empire. Truly speaking, he that lies as a false witness must be hateful to God. And he that soweth discord among brethren; the seventh and last thing in the enumeration, but not, as Delitzsch holds, the ne plus ultra of all that is hated of God. It closes, as in Pro_12:14, the series, but with the addition "among brethren;" thus emphatically stigmatizing the conduct of that man as diabolical who destroys the harmony and unity of those who ought to live together in brotherly affection, and who disturbs the peace of communities.

Pro_6:20-35

12. Twelfth admonitory discourse. In this the teacher returns again to the subject which he has already treated in the eighth discourse. The extreme tendency of men, and especially young men, to sins of impurity is no doubt, as Delitzsch remarks, the reason why this subject is again resumed. The subject is gradually worked up to the preceding admonitions in Pro_6:20-23, pointing out that the way of life, the way of safety, is to be secured by obedience to the precepts of parents, whose commandment and law illumine the perilous road of life, and whose reproofs are salutary to the soul. The arguments against the sin of adultery are cogent in their dissuasiveness, and none stronger of a purely temporal nature could be devised. It may be objected that the sin is not put forward in the higher light, as an offence before God. and that the appeal is made simply on the lines of self-interest; but who will deny that the scope of the teaching is distinctly moral, or that mankind is not influenced and dissuaded from sin by such a category of evils as includes personal beggary, dishonour, and death?

Pro_6:20

The first part of this verse is couched in almost the same terms as that of Pro_1:8, except that mitz'rath, "precept," preceptum, is here used instead of musar, eruditio, or "disciplinary instruction," while the latter part of the two verses are identical.

Pro_6:21

This verse recalls also Pro_3:3, and reminds us of the use of the phylacteries, or tefellim, common among the Jews of our Lord's time, and the practice of binding which upon various parts of the person may have had its origin in this and such like passages. The "tying about" the neck may suggest the use of amulets, an Oriental custom, to ward off evil, but it is more likely that it refers to the wearing of ornaments. Them; i.e. the commandment and law of father and mother respectively, expressed in the Hebrew by the suffix -em, in the verb kosh'rem, equivalent to liga ea, and again in ondem, equivalent to vinci ea. (For the personal use of this figure, see So Pro_8:6.) Tie them; Hebrew, ondem. The verb anad, "to tie," only occurs twice as a verb—here and in Job_31:36. Lee prefers "to bind;" Delitzsch, however, states that it is equivalent to the Latin circumplicare, "to wind about." The meaning of this and similar passages (cf. Pro_7:3; Exo_13:9; Deu_6:8; Deu_11:13) is that the commandment, precept, law, or whatever is intended, should be always present to the mind. The heart suggests that they are to be linked to the affections, and the <