- until perfect day]-1153 à participial noun, from 1 to prepare, to establish, and □vn (12) denotes to the full establishment of day, or until perfect day, i. e. till the dawn ends and the day begins. (See Rosenmuller, Scholia in Hosea, vi. 3.) Those who consider the phrase to mean mid-day, impair, if they do not completely destroy, the imagery. Besides, though the day increases in heat, the light does not shine more and more till the meridian. Duport, however, in his metrical Greek version of the Proverbs, has adopted and elegantly expressed this idea.

Οιη δ' ηελιου αιγλη πελε ουρανόθι προ,

Οφρα κεν ηως η, το δε γίνεται αιεν εφ' ώρας
Λαμπρότερον τε φαος, και αέξεται ιερον ήμαρ,
Ειως ηέλιος μεσον ουρανον αμφιβέβηκε,

Στιλβων αγλαιη· τοιη οδος εστι δικαίων.

Namely," As at morn the sun darts its beams in the heavens, but the light becomes each moment brighter, and the day advances, till the sun has attained its meridian, effulgent in splendour; such is the path of the righteous."

19. The way of the wicked, &c.]-While the path of the righteous is honourable and full of light, that of the wicked is through thick darkness, in which they cannot discern the objects over which they stumble. A figurative description of the unexpected calamities and certain misery which await the wicked, beautifully contrasted with the happiness of the righteous pictured in the preceding verse.

22. For they are life, &c.]—To those who receive the words of wisdom, inwardly digest them, and model their conduct by them, they are the cause of a long and prosperous life, and are as salutary as healing medicines to a diseased body. Compare ch. iii. 8, xvi. 24.

a

23. Guard thy heart, &c.]—The heart is here compared to a fountain; and as the streams are limpid or muddy, according to the state of the fountain from which they spring; so will the conduct of life be virtuous or vicious, according to the disposition of the heart.-Matt. xv. 19.

the issues of life]-If the view of the passage here taken be just, nisin are those things which proceed from the heart-the actions and proceedings of life. Durell takes the word for "the goings forth," or "the progress of life," i. e.

as the heart is pure or corrupt, so is the whole course of a man's life."-Old version.

24. Put away, &c.]—Literally, "depravity of mouth, and perverseness of lips;" metonymical expressions for corrupt and perverse speech.

25. Let thine eyes, &c.]—A direction to keep justice and equity steadily in view, and to use circumspection in every pursuit.

that which is right]-I take no not for a particle, as most critics do, but for a noun, signifying equity, right, as it does ch. viii. 9; Isaiah, xxvi. 10, xxx. 10, lix. 14; Amos, ii. 10. The LXX render it, οι οφθαλμοι σου ορθα βλεπέτωσαν, where, though op9a may be taken adverbially, yet it more probably means "right things." The Syriac is, "Let thy eyes look at (or, on) equity," (12,) and likewise the Targum. n is a noun mas. in two other places in Prov. ch. viii. 9, xxiv. 26, though in all the other places it is feminine.

— direct the way]--There seems to be an ellipsis of 777 the way, after the verb "", to be supplied from the following verse. w has the sense of directing, applied to ways, in three other places of this book, ch. iii. 6, ix. 15, xi. 5. The sense is, Look well to thy ways; examine thy conduct,

and see that it is right. "Nam hujus versus hortatio est ad rectitudinem, ei perversitati contrariam, de qua versus superior, et in quam redeunt duo inferiores."-Houbigant.

CHAPTER V.

2. may keep knowledge]—Doederlein and Dathe expound this of the shame and modesty natural in youth, which, being lost through the impure conversation of harlots, often leads to greater transgressions. But, perhaps, the meaning is more general, i. e. by attending unto wisdom, youth will preserve discretion in conduct, and manifest sound wisdom in speech. Then follows the exemplification in one instance, that of illicit love. The LXX, Vulg. 'and Arabic add a clause to the end of this verse, namely" attend not to a deceitful woman,” which Houbigant and Schleusner (Opuscula Critica, p. 272) think is required by the context. In my judgment, this addition is unnecessary, and unsupported by sufficient authority to be adopted, if it were. It is safer to leave the sacred text, in our opinions, imperfect, than to alter one iota without the most complete evidence.

3. Although, &c.]—A highly figurative description of the soft, alluring speech of a lewd woman, who employs every blandishment to seduce unsuspecting youth.

distil honey]

occurs five times. Prov. xxiv. 13, shows that it cannot mean the honey-comb, because the honeycomb cannot be eaten; and Ps. xix. 11, proves that it cannot be synonymous with common honey; it therefore means pure, fine, virgin honey. We find the same expression in Cant. iv. 11, and it is equally common to the Greeks and Orientals. See Good's Song of Solomon, p. 119, where a variety of similar passages are quoted from profane authors. To tran

scribe them might amuse, but would not contribute to the illustration of the passage under consideration.

4. Yet in the end, &c.]-The pleasures she promised terminate in bitterness and wo; and, instead of being a source of permanent delight, she serves only to plant daggers in the heart. ns, literally, "her end,” i. e. in the end she is, &c. -Hodgs. Michal.

5. Her feet go down, &c.]—That is, she will lead to certain destruction, if you follow her. Compare ch. ii. 18, vii. 27.

6. Lest she should, &c.]--In order to banish serious reflection, and to avoid the upbraidings of conscience for having forsaken the paths of virtue, she plunges into a vortex of continual dissipation. The context requires us to understand oon as the third person fem. with the ancient versions, Castalio, Geier, Durell, Le Clerc, Dathe, and Schultens; whose version is, "Iter vitæ ne forte libraverit; nutant orbitæ ejus, haud curat." Still, it is not to be denied that E. T. is admissible, "Lest thou shouldst ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable," i. e. she tries many ways to captivate, and many arts of deception, "that thou canst not know them."

-She regardeth nothing]—y often means to regard, to care for, as may be seen in Parkhurst, 4; Cocceius, 4 and 11; Taylor's Concordance. The expression is here elliptical, and to be supplied by л, as ch. ix. 13, п ¬ ba; or by in, as Gen. xxxix. 6; or the pronominal affix, referring to " п, may be supplied, "she doth not regard it," i. e. way of life. , like the former verb, is the third per

the

son feminine.

8. Remove thy way]-Though, as Durell remarks, the expression "remove thy way" is somewhat harsh, yet the meaning is so evident, that any change is unnecessary.

9. the cruel harlot] to the cruel, namely, to the harlot, who is cruel, because she allures unguarded youth to destruction. (Vatablus.) The word has a feminine termination ch. xxvii. 4. If the gender be thought an insuperable objection to this explication, it will be best to understand it, in a general sense, for the servants, friends, gallants, &c. of the harlot, who will cruelly plunder and torment the companion of lewd women.

10. And with thy riches]-Try, literally, "labours," and, by a metonymy of the cause for the effect, riches, wealth, which are commonly gained by labour and toil.-(Doederlein.) So no, literally, "strength," denotes, figuratively, wealth, Job, vi. 22. The original may be rendered as E. T.; and Dathe supplies it thus, "Et robur tuum pereat in domo peregrinâ."

11. And thou mourn]-On is applied to express the roaring of lions ch. xix. 12, xx. 2, xxviii. 15. It is a strong expression, denoting the mourning and lamentation of him who, by a dissipated course, has not only consumed his wealth, but reduced himself to a state of disease and wretchedness. To express the full force of the word has been attempted by some translators; as, "ulules," Piscat.; "et rugias," Pagn. Mont. Geier, Le Clerc; " et infremas temet vorans," Schult.; "lest thou roar," Hodgson.

When thy flesh and thy body]-The LXX and Syriac take this for an Hendyadis, i. e. the flesh of thy body.

14. I have been, &c.]-There are different interpretations of this verse, for which see the commentators; but the sense perhaps is, Alas! how I have disobeyed the voice of my teachers! I have plunged into almost every kind of vice; and it is an aggravation of my offences that they have been com