He shall seek, &c.]—He shall ask or seek for a crop in harvest, but shall find none. Some commentators understand it differently, namely, he shall be reduced to beg in the time of harvest, since he has no crops to reap: or he shall beg in harvest, but shall have nothing given him. 5. Counsel, &c.]-Counsel in the mind of a wise man is deep and profound; but the prudent will endeavour to obtain it. The image is taken from the drawing of water out of a deep well.-Compare ch. xviii. 4, and note. 6. Most men, &c.]-The Vulgate, Syriac, Targum, render it, "multi homines vocantur misericordes;" evidently reading on, instead of 170, and Houbigant, Durell, Reiske, &c. think the Vau should be omitted. who can find]—“ Interrogatio non prorsus negat reperiri posse, sed raritatem innuit."-Michalis, Not. Uber. 8. A king that, &c.]-" To sit upon the throne," in the Jewish phrase, signifies to reign, to exercise the “jura regalia."-Deut. xvii. 18; 1 Kings, i. 20, 27, 46. With his eyes]-That is, he sees into or examines all evil, punishes it, and, as far as possible, drives it away from his kingdom. The image appears to be taken from the winnowing of corn.-(Poli Synop.) "Tunc vere in solio judicii sedet rex, cum malos a conspectu suo profligat ac plectit, et de medio tollit."-Mercer. 9. Who can say, &c.]-The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament frequently declare, that there is no man who sins not, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.-(See Gastrell's Inst. p. 70.) Hence the necessity of an atonement, 10. Diverse weights, &c.]-See ch. xi. 1, note. A repetition of the same noun often denotes diversity.-Robertson's Gram. p. 295; Schroeder, Inst. reg. 5; Glassii Phil. Sac. ed. Dathe. p. 16, 11. Even a child, &c.]—This version is due to Schultens and Parkhurst, who properly distinguishes between, to acknowledge, and 71, to alienate. This latter root occurs in Hithp. Gen. xlii. 7; 1 Kings, xiv. 5, 6, undoubtedly in the sense of dissembling; a sense adopted here by Geier, Gousset, Dathe, as well as the above-mentioned authors. A slight acquaintance with children will confirm the truth of the observation. The authorized version, "Even a child is known by his doings," is sanctioned by Vulgate, Syriac, Targ. Sym. That in truth]—ON vere, omnino.—Noldius, 5. 12. The hearing ear, &c.]-Better, perhaps, according to LXX, Durell, Le Clerc, Dathe, "The ear heareth, and the eye seeth; but Jehovah," &c.-Compare Ps. xciv. 9. ירש 13. Love not sleep, &c.]-Descriptive of the advantages of active industry over indolence and sloth. w possedit, hereditavit, in Niph. signifies to be possessed by another, to be stript of one's property, and made poor.-(Taylor's Concordance.) So it is used ch. xxiii. 21, xxx. 9; Gen. xlv. 11. .רש from תורש Parkhurst derives 14. It is vile, &c.]-This will be confirmed by every man's experience., a Hebrew superlative. 15. There is gold, &c.]—A comparison, i. e. wise lips are more precious than gold and gems. The verse may be rendered, "Substance, gold, and a multitude of gems and precious jewels are the lips of knowledge."-(See Baynus and Dimock.) According to this translation, it is a metaphorical description of the excellence of the lips of knowledge. 16. Take his garment, &c.]-In the translation of this verse, I have followed Durell, who remarks, that " Solomon repeatedly advises to beware of being surety for any body: but here he intimates, that it is not safe to admit the suretiship of a stranger, without taking a sufficient pawn or pledge as an additional security." It was common among the Israelites to lend on pledge, which was sometimes grossly abused.— (Job, xxii. 6, xxiv. 3, 9.) It was permitted by Moses, who only made some regulations against its abuse.-Deut. xxiv. 10-13; Exod. xxii. 25; Michalis, Commentaries, Art. 150. Compare ch. vi. 1, and note. where strangers]-Instead of the textual, the Keri, the parallel passage ch. xxvii. 13, and many MSS. have. Should this be thought sufficient evidence for its adoption, cannot mean a strange woman, an harlot, as, in that sense, it yields no consistent meaning, but must be put "neutraliter, pro negotio alieno et peregrino;" (see Geier, Michælis, Not. Uber.;) that is, "take a pledge of him who is surety in the affair of a stranger's business." is applied to things Exod. ii. 22, xviii. 3; Isa. xxviii. 21; Jer. ii. 21. 17. Bread of deceit]—The sense is, Illicit pleasures terminate in pain and misery. "Bread of deceit" is that which is obtained by fraud and deceit; though it may mean fallacious bread, that which deceives, and yields no solid satisfaction. (See Schultens, Doederlein, and Poli Synop.) In either case it denotes stolen and clandestine pleasures, as ch. ix. 17. 19. A talebearer, &c.]—This line is nearly the same with ch. xi. 13.-See the note. a babbler]—ñлo primarily means to open, as it does in Syriac and Chaldee; hence vл лл means, as Michalis well explains it, (Suppl. No. 2093,) “ patulo labiis suis, seu, ut Vulgata vertit, qui dilatat labia sua, omnia ipsi concredita evulgans,” i. e. a tattler, a babbler. So Dathe. The parallelism is a strong confirmation of this interpretation. 21. An inheritance, &c.]—As wealth obtained by honest means is not to be condemned, whether it be "gotten hastily," by fortunate speculation, or by the slower, but more sure, profits of laudable industry, the sense must be, that a man may make such great haste to grow rich, as is inconsistent with honour and liberality, and even integrity of conduct, "An inheritance" acquired by such hasty means, to the neglect of those duties, the exercise of which is demanded by the good of society, "shall not be blessed," it will not produce lasting comfort and prosperity. Such appears to be the particular explication of this aphorism; but its general design, as well as that of similar ones ch. xxi. 5, xxiii. 4, xxviii. 20, 22, is to censure and repress an inordinate love of money, than which no passion has a more pernicious effect upon the heart. No generous affection, no exalted sentiment can inhabit the bosom that is tenanted by the spirit of avarice. He who indulges this base passion may not, perhaps, be stainedby any sins of gross delinquency; his principles may be, for the most part, sound, and his practice generally upright; but his principles will be paralized by selfishness, and his character will only exhibit a negative virtue, a mere exemption from vice; it will never be marked by those deeds of ardent benevolence, those acts of noble-minded generosity, which dignifythe Christian and the man. מבהלת the Keri has ,מבחלת,Instead of the textual reading which, in all probability, is the true reading, as it is confirmed by the parallel passage ch. xxviii. 22, by many MSS., and by all the ancient versions. Schultens (Animadvers. inter Opera Minora) would depart from the usual signification of л, and, referring to the Arabic Je maledixit, would render it, "hæreditas est, cujus male dicitur in initio, et extremo ejus non bene dicetur;" but this is unsupported by scriptural usage, and totally unnecessary. Capellus, (Critica Sacra, p. 224,) adopting the textual reading, explains it from the Arabic, "hæreditas, quæ avaritia parta est initio, non benedicetur in fine;" and this exposition is adopted by the German critics. This comes to the same point with the interpretation given above; nevertheless, I take nлan to be the true reading. 24. A man's goings, &c.]-By "goings" I understand the issue or event of a man's proceedings, and by "way,” the way of life which he has adopted. The sense therefore is, The issue of men's proceedings is in the disposal of heaven; who, then, can understand what will be the result of the line of life that he pursues? "Sensus est, neminem scire, quis exitus sit futurus eorum, quæ adgreditur, a Deo enim eum pendere."-Le Clerc. 25. The man is snared, &c.]—He has committed a trespass who has contracted the obligation of a vow before he has made proper inquiry. "For a man to vow, and to devour what he hath vowed, and not to pay it; and then to make inquiry concerning his vow, whether he hath vowed well or ill, or no? This is a snare: this should have been done before he made his vow, and not after."-(Lightfoot's Works, vol. ii. p. 1220.) wp is the participle Pah.; (Durell ;) or as a noun," it is a snare to the man who," &c. The meaning of is determined by Obadiah, 16, which proves that it signifies to swallow. means a throat, ch. xxiii. 2. If may be referred to the same root, Job, xxxix. 30, it likewise determines the meaning to be that of swallowing, or sucking up; "gobble up," Bishop Stock. This sense is applicable to Job, vi. 3: “ my words are swallowed up,” i. e. falter and stick in the throat, "vox faucibus hæret," as is יעלען |