Proverbs 1:4

To give subtlety to the simple,.... Men of mean abilities, weak capacities, shallow understandings, incautious, credulous, and easily imposed upon: these, by attending to what is herein contained,

To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

Subtilty; or rather, prudence, as this word is used, 5:2 8:5,12, which elsewhere is taken in an evil sense for craft or subtilty. The simple; such as want wisdom, and are easily deceived by others, and therefore most need this blessing. The young man, which wants both experience and self-government.

Proverbs 1:4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.Ver. 4. To give subtilty.] Serpentine subtilty, sacred sagacity, a sharp wit, a deep reach, a Spirit that "searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God," and transformeth a man "into the same image from glory to glory." Equidem scio multos esse qui hoc non credant, et non paucos qui ea rideant, nosque insanire arbitrentur, saith Peter Martyr, sed istos rogatos velim, &c.: that is, I know well there be many that will not believe it, and not a few that will deride it, and think we are mad in ascribing so much to the Scriptures. But oh that they would be entreated to make trial awhile, and to take to the reading of the Bible! Male mihi sit (ita enim in tanta causa iurare ausim) nisi tandem capiantur: sentient denique quantum divina hac ab humanis distent, &c. Let me never be believed, if they perceive not a plain and palpable difference between these and all human writings whatsoever. And to the same purpose Erasmus, expertus sum in meipso, saith he, I can speak it by experience, that there is little good to be gotten by reading the Bible cursorily and carelessly; but do it duly and dillgently, with attention and affection, and you shall find such an efficacy as is to be found in no other book that can be named. To the simple.] Fatuo, ôçà, fatuello - Lipsius’ s diminutive; to the silly simple, whose learning hangs not in his light, who holds not himself too wise to be taught, who is not uncounsellable, unpersuadable. Bis desipit qui sibi sapit; he is two fools that is wise in his own eyes. Plurima ignoro, sed ignorantiam meam non ignoro. Little though it be that I know, yet this I know, that I know but little. To the young man.] Though rude and rash, headlong and headstrong, untameable and untractable as "a wild ass’ s colt"; though addicted to "youthful lusts," and madly set upon sin, yet he may "cleanse his ways by cleaving to God’ s word," and become a young saint, an old angel; whereas otherwise, like young lapwings, he is apt to be snatched up by every buzzard. Pet. Mart. in Rom. Ep. dedicat. Erasm., Praefat. in Lucam. Chytraeus. Arist., Ethic., lib. i.

(4) Subtilty (‘Ormah).—Used in a bad sense (Exodus 21:14) for “guile.” For the meaning here, comp. Matthew 10:16 : “Be ye wise as serpents;” comp. also the reproof of Luk 16:8, that “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light;” and St. Paul’s advice to “redeem the time “(Ephesians 5:16), i.e., seize opportunities for good. Simple.—Literally, those who are open to good impressions and influences, but who also can be easily led astray. (Comp. Proverbs 8:5; Proverbs 14:15.) Young man.—The Hebrew term is used of any age from birth to about the twentieth year. Discretion.—Or rather, thoughtfulness; a word also used in a bad sense in Proverbs 12:2, and there translated “wicked devices.”

Verse 4. To give subtilty to the simple] The word simple, from simplex, compounded of sine, without, and plica, a fold, properly signifies plain and honest, one that has no by-ends in view, who is what he appears to be; and is opposed to complex, from complico, to fold together, to make one rope or cord out of many strands; but because honesty and plaindealing are so rare in the world, and none but the truly religious man will practice them, farther than the fear of the law obliges him, hence simple has sunk into a state of progressive deterioration. At first, it signified, as above, without fold, unmixed, uncompounded: this was its radical meaning. Then, as applied to men, it signified innocent, harmless, without disguise; but, as such persons were rather an unfashionable sort of people, it sunk in its meaning to homely, homespun, mean, ordinary. And, as worldly men, who were seeking their portion in this life, and had little to do with religion, supposed that wisdom, wit, and understanding, were given to men that they might make the best of them in reference to the things of this life, the word sunk still lower in its meaning, and signified silly, foolish; and there, to the dishonour of our language and morals, it stands! I have taken those acceptations which I have marked in Italics out of the first dictionary that came to hand - Martin's; but if I had gone to Johnson, I might have added to SILLY, not wise, not cunning. Simplicity, that meant at first, as MARTIN defines it, openness, plaindealing, downright honesty, is now degraded to weakness, silliness, foolishness. And these terms will continue thus degraded, till downright honesty and plaindealing get again into vogue. There are two Hebrew words generally supposed to come from the same root, which in our common version are rendered the simple, פתאים pethaim, and פתים or פתיים pethayim; the former comes from פתא patha, to be rash, hasty; the latter, from פתה pathah, to draw aside, seduce, entice. It is the first of these words which is used here, and may be applied to youth; the inconsiderate, the unwary, who, for want of knowledge and experience, act precipitately. Hence the Vulgate renders it parvulis, little ones, young children, or little children, as my old MS.; or very babes, as Coverdale. The Septuagint renders it ακακοις, those that are without evil; and the versions in general understand it of those who are young, giddy, and inexperienced. To the young man] נער naar is frequently used to signify such as are in the state of adolescence, grown up boys, very well translated in my old MS. yunge fulwaxen; what we would now call the grown up lads. These, as being giddy and inexperienced, stand in especial need of lessons of wisdom and discretion.

4. subtilty to the simple] Both words are here used in a good sense, or perhaps we might say, in their proper or neutral sense. The Hebrew word for simple is literally open (Heb.), sc. to influence, whether good or bad. The primary meaning of the English word simple, whether it be without fold (Trench) or one-fold (Skeat) is entirely different; but the idea conveyed by it adequately represents the meaning of the Hebrew. For, as Trench points out, to be without fold (or to be one-fold) is to be “just what we may imagine Nathanael to have been, and what our Lord attributes as the highest honour to him, the ‘Israelite without guile.’ ” But then since, as he truly adds, “in a world like ours such a man will make himself a prey, will prove no match for the fraud and falsehood he will everywhere encounter,” he needs the safeguard of subtilty, or prudence (R.V. marg.) to preserve him (see Proverbs 1:22, below). Such subtilty may be the craft of the serpent (Genesis 3:1, where the Heb. word is the same); but it may be the wisdom of the serpent without its guile (see Matthew 10:16, and comp. Proverbs 8:5; Proverbs 15:5; Proverbs 19:25). The simple, though specially to be found among the young of the parallel clause of the verse, embrace others also.

This verse points out the two classes for which the book will be useful: (1) the “simple,” literally the “open,” the open-hearted, the minds ready to receive impressions for good or evil Proverbs

4. Having thus stated the object in general terms, the teacher proceeds to a more specific setting forth of what it is, or of what he anticipates in respect to certain classes.