- of any bird bra, literally, "master or lord of wing," a well-known Hebraism for a bird.-Glassii Phil. Sac. p. 93, ed. Dathe.

19. Such are the ways]-This is the Parœmiast's conclusion from his preceding remarks on the evil consequences of yielding to the allurement of sinners. Such, says he, and so pernicious are the ways of those who desire unjust gain: wealth obtained by injustice is the destruction of its possessors. "Sensus est; nemo illorum effugere potest exitium, et inevitabile est Dei judicium adversus avaros et impie quæstuosos."-Glass, p. 94.

unjust gain]- necessarily means unjust gain in this place, as there is no condemnation against fair and honest gain. It is used in the same sense 1 Sam. viii. 3; Isaiah, xxxiii. 15; Ezek. xxii. 13, 27, and in other places.

20. Wisdom crieth without]-Some are of opinion that our Lord Jesus Christ is here characterized by the term "Wisdom;" and that this, and what follows to the end of the chapter, is prophetical of the ministry of Christ during the time of his incarnation, and of the calamities that should come upon the Jews for their rejection of him.-(Dr. Gill's Bible, Poli Synop.) But it seems rather to be considered as a personification of Wisdom, by which is meant wisdom in moral and divine things, that is, Religion. (See note on ch. viii. 1.) here and ch. ix. 1, xxiv. 7; Ps. xlix. 3, is plural, to denote the dignity and eminence of wisdom. For similar instances in' other nouns see Glass, Phil. Sac. p. 58 et seq.; Robertson's Gram. Heb. p. 310. But Simonis (Lex. Heb. in voc.) contends that лn has a fem. termination singular, not plural: his reasons, however, do not appear convincing.-See Dindorfii Lex. Heb. in voc.

21. chief place of concourse]-If non be the true reading, it cannot be better rendered than by our English translators, whom I have followed; but the LXX, Syr. Chald. and Arab. read mon, on the top of the walls," i. e. the

66

city walls, or the house-tops.

22. How long, ye simple]-The simple are those who, being endowed with weak, irresolute minds, are easily led astray; the scorners are those who laugh at religion, and scorn the admonitions of the wise and prudent; the fools are those who are destitute of true wisdom, and pursue the paths of vice, 12 is the second person pl. fut.; 170 is the third person pl. pret.; N is the third person pl. fut.; but such an enallege being inadmissible in English, I have translated them as the second person pl. fut.

23. my spirit]-By "spirit" some understand the will of God; others the mind, animum et sensus; others the divine influence of the Holy Spirit: but, as wisdom is represented as speaking this, it probably means that the scorner and the fool, on turning or reforming at her reproof, shall be endowed with a portion of the spirit of wisdom.— the precepts of wisdom.

26. I also will laugh]-I also; namely, I, wisdom.

at your calamity]-Parkhurst derives 8 from П to throw, to cast; but better referred to a root of the same letters, as most lexicographers do. In Arabic is gravis, molestus.

your fear]-A metonymy of the effect for the cause, i. e. I will mock when that which causes you terror shall So poßoç is used 1 Pet. iii. 14.

come.

28. Then shall they call]-There is something very striking in the change of the tense from the second to the third person,

significative of the contempt with which wisdom looks down upon sinners. She suddenly starts aside from her harangue to them, and, as if they were too despicable to be any longer in her presence or to be addressed personally, she continues to speak of them in the third person, and to paint in vivid colours the certain misery consequent upon sin.

seek me diligently]-nw from nigrum esse, hence the dawn, and the verb means to seek diligently or earnestly, as those may be supposed to do who rise early, and commence their search with the dawn. The Nun in the verbs in this verse is doubled, or rather an epenthetic Nun is inserted.—See Altingii Fundam. Punct. Ling. Sanct. p. 385.

31. Therefore shall they eat, &c.]-That is, the wicked shall reap the just reward of their transgressions; and the verse may be illustrated by comparing it with ch. xii. 14, xxii. 8; Isaiah, iii. 10; Hosea, x. 13; Job, iv. 8; Gal. vi. 7.

shall be sated]-

denotes not only to fill, but to cloy and sate, as is evident from ch. xiv. 14, xxv. 16; Ps. Ixxxviii. 4, in Heb. Ps. cxxiii. 3; Isaiah, i. 11, &c. wa "h. e. ad nauseam implebuntur et comedent, ita ut consiliorum suorum vehementer tandem, sed nimis sero, ipsos poeniteat." -Michælis, Notæ Uberiores in Prov.

32. And the carelessness of fools]-That mb is taken sometimes in a good sense for quietness, security, is evident from ch. xvii. 1; Ps. cxxii. 7; but the parallelism shows that it is here applied in a bad sense, for carelessness or indolence, the too common effect of peace and security. In this latter sense it appears to be used Ezek. xvi. 49.—(See Schultens, Origines Hebreæ, pars. 2. c. iii. § 21. et seq.; Gussetii Comment. in voc.; and compare 2 Chron. xxix. 11; 2 Sam. vi. 7; 2 Kings, iv. 28.) The Syr. and Chald. render it by

andy, both signifying error.

Hodgson's version is, "the

indifference of fools shall undo them," and Dathe's, "incuria ignavorum eos perdit."

CHAPTER II.

1. And lay up my commandments]—¡ to lay up, or reserve for future uses, as in ch. vii. 1, x. 14, xiii. 22. Compare Ps. exix. 11; Luke, ii. 19, 51; for laying up or treasuring up is a kind of hiding. An allusion, as Dymock observes, to the concealing the most valuable things in secret repositories. The personification of wisdom terminates with the preceding chapter, and Solomon now resumes his address to his hearers.

2. If by inclining, &c.]-The construction of this verse is rather perplexed. O is probably to be supplied from the first verse, and prefixed to the beginning of this; so Jun. and Tremel. Piscat. Durell. I am induced by the context to adopt this construction, for ver. 1-4 describe the conditions upon which a man may "understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God;" (ver. 5.) Verse 2 should, therefore, be translated with an "if" like the other, as it contaius one of the conditions specified. Otherwise it might be literally rendered in connexion with the first verse, 66 If thou wilt receive my words, and lay up my commandments with thee, (ver. 2,) To incline thine ear unto wisdom; thou shalt apply thine heart to understanding."-wpn I construe as a gerund.- the mind, or intellectual part, which the Hebrews frequently denominated "the heart."-Michalis, Suppl. in voc.

3. Yea, if] is not redundant, as some suppose, but means certe, omnino.-Noldius, 4.

4. If thou wilt seek her]-The pronominal affix n, I think, refers to an wisdom, mentioned ver. 2.

5. Then shalt thou, &c.]-To seek after religious knowledge is to find it, and to endeavour sincerely and earnestly to become righteous is to succeed.-Matt. vii. 7.

6. For Jehovah giveth wisdom]" If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."-James, i. 5. “¡n dat, i. e. tradit, docet sapientiam: nam adit in parallelo; I'D ex ore ejus, illo instituente."-Doederlein Scholia in loc.

7. He layeth up sound wisdom]—'n occurs in three other places in Proverbs, ch. iii. 21, viii. 14, xviii. 1; and appears in each to mean wisdom. It is derived from nw or rather west, existit, and in general means that which is real and substantial; applied to wisdom in particular, it denotes real or sound wisdom. "Est igitur nomen notionis valde generalis, cujus specialior ex contextu semper definienda est, v. c. Hiob. 6. 13, est spes solida, alibi sapientia solida, &c.”— (Simonis, Lex. Heb. ed. Eichhorn.) Hence proceeds the variety of the ancient versions. The LXX render it by owrnpiav; Vulg. by "salutem;" Syr. in spes; and Targum by naw, rendered in the Polyglot "incolumitatem," but perhaps better "honorem."-(Castell and Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. in ) Dindorf explains it by salus, incolumitas, and adopts Dathe's translation; " Hic probis solidam servat fortunam.”—(Lex. Heb. in voc.) Michalis (Suppl. ad Lex. No. 1066) deduces in its origin the same with pro sanavit, solatus fuit; and translates it "medicina, solatium:" a sense which I cannot find that either or any of its derivatives ever undoubtedly possesses, and is moreover unsuitable to ch. iii. 21, xviii. 1. But see Michalis, whose explanation is adopted by Schulz in Cocceii Lex. Heb.

وسي

from the Arabic תושיה

8. By keeping the paths]-If this hemistich be referred to those who walk uprightly in ver. 7, the sense will be as