and others take it for "tristitia,"

"acerbitas;" in sense

much the same.

21. There shall no evil]-Instead of ', Schnurrer, Michalis, Dathe, and Schulz, read ms "nothing evil is desired by the righteous."

desideratur, i. e. Though this may,

perhaps, be sanctioned by the LXX, it is not supported by MSS.; and the textual reading, "no calamity or affliction shall happen to the righteous," yields an appropriate sense, perfectly in character with a believer in the temporal rewards and punishments under the Mosaic dispensation. Observations which have reference to the Theocracy, ought not to be extended to the general administration of Providence.

23. A prudent man, &c.]" Prudence requires, that knowledge should be displayed only on proper occasions; whereas the fool proclaimeth his inconsiderate thoughts, without regard to the circumstances of time, place, or persons."-Durell.

24. The hand of the diligent, &c.]-" Piger perpetuo alionem consilio indiget, et ab aliis dependet. Quod eleganter tributum vocatur, quod pendere cogatur aliis."-Dathe.

25. Trouble in the heart]-The enallage of gender in this hemistich is singular, but evident.

26. The righteous explore, &c.]—The righteous duly examine all their plans and proceedings, but the way of the wicked seduces them, leads them into error and misery. Our authorized version is, "The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour;" but, to extract any meaning from it, it must be understood of a wicked neighbour, and even then, though the remark is true, it is unimportant. Besides, the antithesis is lost in that version. ', therefore, is best derived from n to explore, to investigate.

their pastures]-Figuratively, for the business of life, as that by which subsistence is gained. It may, however, be rendered, "The righteous man explores (searches) from his friend," that is, takes counsel and advice as to the proper way in which he ought to proceed, but the wicked, by following their own paths, are led astray into error.-(So Cocceius in 1.) But the antithesis is better preserved in the version which I have adopted after Michalis, Doederlein, and Dathe.

27. The slothful man roasteth not]—The general sense appears to be, as expressed in Mant's and D'Oyly's Bible, that "the slothful man, for want of exertion, loses even the fruit of his former labours; but the diligent man sets a just value on it, and converts it to its proper use.", as a verb, is aπaž λɛy. and it seems impossible to fix its meaning with certainty amidst the discordance of our authorities. In Arabic it denotes movere, excitare; hence Schultens renders it non ciebit;" but, if its meaning is to be determined by the Oriental dialects, we should rather take it to mean ussit, cremavit, as it has this signification both in Syriac and Chaldee, which constitute a preponderance of evidence; not to say that they are more analogous to the Hebrew than is the Arabic. If this be allowed, we must adhere to the received version. The ancient versions vary much; but still the notion of finding or obtaining is common to them all, and this sense is adopted by Parkhurst, Schulz, and others. A derivative of this root occurs Cant. ii. 9, where there can be little doubt it means lattices. From this circumstance, I am inclined to accede to the interpretation of Fuller, (Miscel. lib. vi. cap. 13,) who translates it, "non clathrabit,' i. e. non clathris aut cancellis circumdatis asservabit quod venando cepit."-See Castell and Geier, and particularly Harmer, vol. ii. p. 95.

precious wealth]-p' ought, I think, to be construed with, as ch. i. 13, xxiv. 4. So Houbigant.

28. And in the pathway thereof]-Durell's version and comment are," In the highway of righteousness is life; but its by-path leadeth to death. П is always used in a good sense; but 'n sometimes in a bad one. See ch. i. 15, vii. 25; Hos. ii. 6. By this construction the verse is cleared of all difficulties, the antithesis is preserved, and there is neither a redundancy or deficiency in the words." Hodgson's version is," But the by-way leadeth unto death." But the common version is literal, according to the Masoretic points; though all the ancient versions have " ad mortem," reading

literally, “ the way of its,דרך נתיבה .al אל el, instead of אל

paths," a periphrasis for paths; or 777 may mean the journey or proceeding in its paths. The reader must judge which of these expositions is preferable.

CHAPTER XIII.

1. A wise son, &c.]—There is an ellipsis of you in the first hemistich, to be supplied from the second. If on be the participle Hoph. it may be rendered,

66

A son becomes wise by the correction of his father;
But he becomes a scorner who heareth not rebuke."

So Schultens, Doederlein, Dathe. Or, with De Dieu and
Durell,

"A wise son is instructed (or corrected) by his father;

But a scorner heareth not rebuke."

But the first is the most easy and natural construction, so often occurring as a noun; and it is supported by the ancient versions. Such an ellipsis as it requires is not uncommon, as in verse 2.-See Walteri Ellipses, p. 125.

2. A man shall eat, &c.]—A wise man shall enjoy much good by the discreet use of the valuable faculty of speech,.

but those who transgress in the use of it shall experience trouble, and violence, and punishment. That this is the true interpretation, appears from the following verse, which is a reiteration of the same apophthegm. The Paroemiast has elsewhere given similar instructions respecting the government of the tongue; and St. James has a noble lesson upon the same subject, Ep. ch. iii. "To eat" is a scriptural phrase for to enjoy, as Gen. xlv. 18; Ps. cxxviii. 2, xxxiv. 9; Isaiah, i. 19, iii. 10. Compare ch. xii. 14, xviii. 20, 21, xxi. 23.

3. But he that is rash with his lips]-pwo occurs in no other place except Ezek. xvi. 25, where it implies something criminal, and is to be taken "sensu obsceno;" "now w must also be understood of opening the lips in a reprehensible manner, rash speaking; πрожετηs Xeλεσiv, LXX; “ qui inconsideratus est ad loquendum," Vulg. The dialects desert us; the antithesis, however, proves the correctness of this explication.

4. shall be made fat]-Metaphorically, shall be filled with plenty and abundance, as ch. xi. 25, xv. 30, xxviii. 25; Ps. xcii. 14.

5. a false word]-pw may mean a false thing, a treacherous conduct; and in this sense the antithesis is more complete.

6. Righteousness keepeth, &c.]—Literally rendered, 777 On is "integrity of way," i. e. the upright: and non is "sin," i. e. the sinner: the abstract put for the concrete.

7. There is that, &c.]-Some are sedulous to amass wealth, and yet are destitute of the true riches, religion and the favour of God; others voluntarily continue poor in the eyes of the world, and yet abound in true spiritual riches.-(See Clemens

Alex. Pædag. 1. iii. c. 7.) IIλouroç is used in a spiritual sense by the sacred writers of the New Testament.-See Schleusner in voc.

8. The protection]—, being here applied to temporal deliverance, is better rendered "protection" than " ransom." Money preserves life in many ways; it discharges the pecuniary penalties which may be imposed for offences; it ransoms a man from the hands of robbers, and redeems men from slavery.

But do not the poor, &c.]-Among the various interpretations which have been given of this clause, I prefer that proposed by Durell, who construes it interrogatively. "Doth not the poor hear rebuke? That is," as he observes, "the rich, by their wealth, can always extricate himself out of difficulties; while the poor man, who has nothing to offer by way of atonement for his faults, meets with rebukes.", in many instances, signifies annon, nonne, (Noldius, 3,) in all which there is an ellipsis of interrogative. Should this exposition by Durell not be thought satisfactory, it may be rendered, as E. T., " But the poor heareth not rebuke,” meaning, by" rebuke," the maledictions of those who envy the rich; they are free from the calumnies which attend the rich. 66 Adeoque licet divitiæ aliquando utiles esse possint, tamen et paupertas commoda sua habet, ut patienter et æquo animo ferri debeat.”—Michæl. Not. Uber. But, whichever interpretation be adopted, it is to be considered as a reflection on what generally happens in human life with respect to poverty and wealth.

9. The light of the righteous]—The prosperous state of the righteous shall be a continual source of joy and gladness; but the prosperity of the wicked shall quickly be extinguished. "Light" denotes prosperity Job, xviii. 5, 18; Ps. xcvii. 11,

K K