The Expositor's Bible: The Book Of Proverbs Part 11

[165] Prov. xix. 7. The sense of the Authorised Version is here retained, but it will be seen in Lecture XII. that there is good reason for treating the third clause of the verse as a mutilated fragment of another proverb: see p. 166.

[166] Prov. xxii. 7.

[167] Prov. xii. 9. This reading is obtained by following the LXX., whose translation ? d???e??? ?a?t? shows that they pointed ??? ???????.

_Cf._ Eccles. x. 27: "Better is he that laboureth and aboundeth in all things than he that boasteth himself and lacketh bread."

[168] Prov. x. 4.

[169] Prov. xiii. 18.

[170] Prov. xxii. 4.

[171] Prov. xxi. 20.

[172] Prov. xxiii. 21.

[173] Prov. xxvii. 23-27.

[174] Prov. xi. 28.

[175] Prov. xxiii. 5 (marg.).

[176] _Cf._ the Turkish proverb: "Of riches lawfully gained the devil takes half, of riches unlawfully gained he takes the whole and the owner too."

[177] Prov. xv. 6, _cf._ xiv. 24, "A crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools, (though they be rich, remains nothing but) folly."

[178] Prov. xiii. 11.

[179] Prov. xxi. 6. It is evident from their translation ?p? pa??da?

?a??t?? that the LXX. read ??????????????? as in Psalm xviii. 6, and this gives a very graphic and striking sense, while the received text of the Hebrew, ????????????????, is hardly intelligible.

[180] Prov. xxii. 16.

[181] Prov. xiii. 22; xxviii. 8.

[182] Prov. xi. 4.

[183] Prov. x. 22.

[184] Prov. xv. 6.

[185] Prov. xvi. 8.

[186] Prov. xix. 1. The parallelism in this verse is not so complete as in xxviii. 6. The Pes.h.i.tto reads, "than he who is perverse in his lips and is rich," but it is better to retain the text and understand: There is a poor man walking in his integrity, and everyone thinks that he is to be commiserated; but he is much better off than the fool with perverse lips, though no one thinks of commiserating this last.

[187] Prov. xvi. 16.

[188] Prov. xx. 15.

[189] Prov. xv. 16, 17.

[190] Prov. xvii. 1.

[191] Prov. xxii. 1. This proverb is inscribed in the cupola which lights the Manchester Exchange. It is a good skylight, but apparently too high up for the busy merchants on the floor of the Exchange to see without more effort than is to be expected of them.

[192] Prov. xxii. 2.

[193] Prov. xiv. 31; xvii. 5.

[194] Prov. xxviii. 11. Cf. an interesting addition to xvii. 6 in the LXX.--t?? p?st?? ???? ? ??s?? t?? ????t?? t?? d? ?p?st?? ??d?

?????. The faithful man owns the whole world of possessions, the unfaithful owns not a farthing.

[195] It is said of Aga.s.siz that he excused himself from engaging in a profitable lecturing tour on the ground that he had not time to make money.

[196] _Cf._ the saying of Sirach: "Winnow not with every wind and go not into every way, for so doth the sinner that hath a double tongue."

(Eccles. v. 9).

[197] Prov. xv. 27.

[198] Prov. xx. 21.

[199] Prov. xxviii. 20.

[200] Prov. xxviii. 22.

[201] Prov. xxiii. 4.

[202] Prov. xxi. 26.

[203] Prov. xi. 24, 25.

[204] Prov. xxviii. 27.

[205] Prov. xix. 17.

[206] Prov. xxii. 9.

[207] Prov. x.x.x. 8, 9.

XI.

_GOODNESS._

"The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them."--PROV. xi. 6.