Proverbs 18:1

Through desire a man having separated himself, seeketh,.... Or, "a separated man seeketh desire" (g); his own desire, will, and pleasure.

Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

CHAPTER 18 According to this interpretation the sense is, Through desire (of it, to wit of wisdom, which is easily understood out of the end of the verse; such ellipses being frequent in Scripture) a man, having separated himself, ( being sequestered from the company, and noise, and business of the world, betaking himself to retirement and solitude, as men do that apply themselves to any serious study.) seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom, i.e. useth all diligence, that he may search and find out all solid knowledge and true wisdom. And this earnest desire and endeavour to get true wisdom within a man’ s self is fitly opposed to the fool’ s contempt of wisdom, or to his desire of it, not for use and benefit, but only for vain ostentation, which is expressed in the next verse, although coherence is little regarded by interpreters in the several verses and proverbs of this book. But this verse is otherwise rendered in the margin of our English Bible, and by divers others, He that separateth himself, (either, 1. From his friend; or rather, 2. From other men; who affects singularity, is wedded to his own opinion, and through self-conceit despiseth the opinions and conversation of others,) seeketh according to his desire, (seeketh to gratify his own inclinations and affections, and chooseth those opinions which most comply with them,) and intermeddleth (for this word is used in a bad sense, 20:3, and it is not found elsewhere, save in this place) in every business, as proud and singular persons are commonly pragmatical, delighting to find faults in others, that they may get some reputation to themselves by it. Heb. in every thing that is; thrusting themselves into the actions and affairs of other men. Or, as this last clause is and may be rendered, and contendeth (Heb. mingleth himself; for words of that signification are commonly used for contending or fighting, as ,9,19 Isaiah 36:8 ) with or against (for the Hebrew prefix beth oft signifies against) all reason or wisdom; whatsoever any man speaketh against his opinion and desire, though it be never so reasonable and evident, he rejecteth it, and obstinately maintains his own opinion.

Proverbs 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh [and] intermeddleth with all wisdom.Ver. 1. Through desire a man having separated himself, &c.] Here the reading that is in margin, methinks, is the better: "He that separates himself" - either from his friend, as the old interpreter makes the sense, or from anything else that he hath formerly followed - "seeketh according to his desire" - seeketh to satisfy his own heart’ s lust, and to compass what he coveteth - "and intermeddleth with every business" - stirs very busily in everything that is done, and leaves no stone unrolled, no course unattempted, whereby he may effect his design, and come off with his credit. The practice hereof we may observe in the Pharisees, those old Separatists, who slandered all that our Saviour did; and in their pertinacious malice, never left till they had slain him for a deceiver of the people. So the Donatists separated, and affirmed that there were no true churches but theirs. They were also divided among themselves, in minutula frustula, into small sucking congregations, as Augustine saith, whose arguments not being able to confute, they reproached him for his former life, when he was a Manichee. In like sort dealt the Anabaptists with Luther, whom they held more pestiferous than the pope. Muncer wrote a book against him, dedicating it to the illustrious Prince Christ, and rails at him, as one that wanted the spirit of revelation, and savoured only the things of the flesh. Our Separatists, the better sort of them, have said, that the differences are so small between themselves and us, that they can for a need come to our churches, partake in the sacraments, and hold communion with us as the churches of Christ. But if so, how then dare they separate, and intermeddle with every business, that they may have some spacious pretence for it? Turks wonder at English for cutting or picking their clothes, counting them little better than mad to make holes in whole cloth, which time of itself would tear too soon. Men may do pro libitu - as some render "through desire" in this text - as they will with their own; but woe he to those that cut and rend the seamless coat of Christ with causeless separations. Scultet. Annal., ii. 38. Apologet. Narrat., p. 6.

XVIII. (1) Through desire a man, having separated himself . . .—This should probably be rendered, The separatist seeketh after his own desire, against all improvement he shows his teeth. The man of small mind is here described, who will only follow his own narrow aims, who holds himself aloof from men of wider views than his own, and will not join with them in the furtherance of philanthropic or religious plans, but rather opposes them with all his power, as he can see nothing but mischief in them. (For his temper of mind, comp. John 7:47-49.) Intermeddleth.—See above on Proverbs 17:14. Wisdom.—See above on Proverbs 2:7.

CHAPTER XVIII The man who separates himself and seeks wisdom. The fool and the wicked man. Deep wisdom. Contention of fools. The talebearer and the slothful. The name of the Lord. Pride and presumption because of riches. Hastiness of spirit. The wounded spirit. The influence of gifts. The lot. The offended brother. The influence of the tongue. A wife a good from God. The true friend. NOTES ON CHAP. XVIII Verse 1. Through desire a man, having separated himself] The original is difficult and obscure. The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Arabic, read as follows: "He who wishes to break with his friend, and seeks occasions or pretenses, shall at all times be worthy of blame." My old MS. Bible translates, Occasioun seeketh that wil go awei fro a freend: at al tyme he schal ben wariable. Coverdale thus: "Who so hath pleasure to sowe discorde, piketh a quarrel in every thinge." Bible by Barker, 1615: "Fro the desire thereof he will separate himself to seeke it, and occupie himself in all wisdome." Which has in the margin the following note: "He that loveth wisdom will separate himself from all impediments, and give himself wholly to seek it." The Hebrew: לתאוה יבקש נפרד בכל תושיה יתגלע lethaavah yebakkesh niphrad, bechol tushiyah yithgalla. The nearest translation to the words is perhaps the following: "He who is separated shall seek the desired thing, (i.e., the object of his desire,) and shall intermeddle (mingle himself) with all realities or all essential knowledge." He finds that he can make little progress in the investigation of Divine and natural things, if he have much to do with secular or trifling matters: he therefore separates himself as well from unprofitable pursuits as from frivolous company, and then enters into the spirit of his pursuit; is not satisfied with superficial observances, but examines the substance and essence, as far as possible, of those things which have been the objects of his desire. This appears to me the best meaning: the reader may judge for himself.

1. Through desire] According to the rendering of A.V. this would mean: A man who is possessed by an intense desire of wisdom separates himself from all other avocations and pursuits and from the society of his fellow men, isolates himself, as we say, that he may “intermeddle with” it, give himself wholly to (but see Proverbs 17:14 note) the pursuit of it. We must, however, render with R.V.: He that separateth himself seeketh his own desire: He rageth against (or, quarrelleth with, marg.) all sound wisdom. The proverb then is a condemnation of the selfish isolation of the self-seeker or the misanthrope. Mr Horton, who has an interesting chapter on this verse, writes: “Shakespeare might have had this proverb before him in that grim delineation of Richard the Third, who boasts that he has neither pity, love, nor fear. He was, he had been told, born with teeth in his mouth, ‘And so I was,’ he exclaims, ‘which plainly signified That I should snarl, and bite, and play the dog.’ And then he explains this terrible character in these significant lines:— ‘I have no brother, I am like no brother: And this word Love, which greybeards call divine, Be resident in men like one another, And not in me; I am myself alone.’ III. K. Henry VI. Act v. Sc. 6.” wisdom] Or, sound wisdom, R.V., as the same Heb. word is rendered in A.V. in Proverbs 2:7.

The text and the marginal readings indicate the two chief constructions of this somewhat difficult verse.

1. Through desire a man, etc. — Wonderful are the diverse translations of this proverb, and of the senses attributed to it.