Importance of friendship; wealth is not forever
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| 1 Boast not thyself
of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. 3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. 4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? |
1 -
Boast not We need to trust the Lord ro0828,
ph0411
instead of feeling that we can make our own future. We must not trust in
our own wisdom. Also mt0634,
2th0308,
lu1215,
ja0413.
2 - Let another ... praise Compare jn0854, 2co1018. 4 - Envy It eats at the soul pr0634, so0806. Satan envied Christ's position opening the door to evil. is1413. |
| 5 Open rebuke is better
than secret love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. 8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. .9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. |
5 -
Secret love Loving or kind thoughts for a person need to be expressed.
6 - Faithful From ne'emanim. Supportive. 7 - Full soul ... hungry "Soul" here means "person." We are reminded of spiritual hunger mt0506. 8 - Wandereth Encouragement for a man or woman to be diligent in fulfilling home responsibilities. |
| 10 Thine own friend,
and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house
in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near
than a brother far off.
11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me. 12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. 13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman. 14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him. |
10
- Better is a neighbour Apparently a metaphor indicating that a
person close in friendship is of more value than a relative who is not
close. pr1717, pr1824.
11 - Make my heart glad The meaning is clear. Children are responsible to their parents. 12 - Prudent ... evil See on pr2203. 13 - Take his garment This may be an example of the evil of v12. Compare pr2016. |
| 15 A continual dropping
in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself. |
15
- Contentious woman That is, one who argues or strives. See on pr1913.
16 - Hideth her ... wind "You may as well attempt to repress the blowing of the wind, as the tongue of a scold; and to conceal this unfortunate propensity of a wife is as impossible as to hush the storm, and prevent its sound from being heard." (Adam Clarke's Commentary.) |
| 17 Iron sharpeneth iron;
so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured. 19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. 19 As in water face reflects face, So a man's heart reveals the man. (NKJV) |
17
- Iron sharpeneth "As hard iron, viz., steel, will bring a knife
to a better edge when it is properly whetted against it: so one friend
may be the means of exciting another to reflect, dive deeply into, and
illustrate a subject, without which whetting or excitement, this had never
taken place." (Clarke's commentary).
19 - Water face A person is understood in his face. |
| 20 Hell and destruction
are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise. 22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him. |
21 - pot for silver ... praise "according to his praise, as he bears it. Thus vain men seek it, weak men are inflated by it, wise men disregard it, &c." (JFB). |
| 23 Be thou diligent
to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? 25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. 26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. 27 And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. |
25 - Hay appeareth Or "the grass is laid bare." Apparently the grass is cut and stored allowing the grass to produce more hay. |
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