Proverbs 17
Butler1. BETTER is a dry morsel and quietness therewith,
Than an house full of feasting with strife.
2. A servant that dealeth wisely shall have rule over a son that causeth shame,
And shall have part in the inheritance among the brethren.
3. The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold:
But the LORD trieth the hearts.
4. An evil-doer giveth heed to wicked lips;
And a liar giveth ear to a mischievous tongue.
5. Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker:
And he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
6. Children’s children are the crown of old men; And the glory of children are their fathers.
7. Excellent speech becometh not a fool: Much less do lying lips a prince.
8. A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it:
Whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
9. He that covereth a transgression seeketh love:
But he that harpeth on a matter separateth chief friends.
10. A rebuke entereth deeper into one that hath understanding
Than an hundred stripes into a fool.
11. An evil man seeketh only rebellion;
Therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
12. Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, Rather than a fool in his folly.
13. Whoso rewardeth evil for good,
Evil shall not depart from his house.
14. The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water:
Therefore leave off contention, before there be quarrelling
15. He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.
16. Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom,
Seeing he hath no understanding?
17. A friend loveth at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.
18. A man void of understanding striketh hands, And becometh surety in the presence of his neighbour.
19. He loveth transgression that loveth strife:
He that raiseth high his gate seeketh destruction.
20. He that hath a froward heart findeth no good:
And he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
21. He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow:
And the father of a fool hath no joy.
22. A merry heart is a good medicine:
But a broken spirit drieth up the bones.
23. A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom, To pervert the ways of judgment.
24. Wisdom is before the face of him that hath understanding:
But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
25. A foolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her that bare him.
26. Also to punish the righteous is not good, Nor to smite the noble for their uprightness.
27. He that spareth his words hath knowledge: And he that is of a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:
When he shutteth his lips, he is esteemed as prudent.
3. THAT is, the fining-pot may try silver, and the furnace disclose true gold; but only Jehovah can explore the human heart. M. S.
—The skill of man finds out the agents and invents the processes for proving and purifying gold and silver; the Lord does the same thing as to human hearts. How can the dross of sin abide the ordeal of His furnace and of His fires! H. C.—Wonderful as is the separation of the pure metal from the dross with which it has mingled, there is something yet more wonderful in the Divine discipline which purifies the good that lies hid, like a grain of gold, even in rough and common natures, and frees it from all admixture of evil. The same similitude meets us again in Mal. 3:2; 1 Pet. 1:7. E. H. P.
In the original languages the same words are often used for trial and temptation; and so it is likewise in our old English. Hence it is, that although James tells us, “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth any man,” yet Moses assures us, that “God tempted Abraham,” when He commanded him to sacrifice his son. In our language use hath now made it otherwise; for to try is taken in a good sense and may be applied to God; whereas to tempt is at present always taken in a bad sense, and can only be applied in strictness to the devil or his instruments. The difference between the trier and the tempter lies in this: he who tries wishes we may resist; whereas he who tempts wishes we may yield. God, in this latter sense, “tempteth no man”—that is, leadeth no man into sin; but, in the former sense, He tempteth all men—that is, He tries their faith and obedience, not for His own information, because He knows all men and foresees all things; but for the exercise of their virtue and the manifestation of His own justice and mercy. In order to these ends He tries our works, if we may believe Paul, as by fire, and lays open to ourselves or others both the principles of our minds and the dispositions of our hearts, by a kind of torture resembling that wherewith the qualities of silver are proved in the fining-pot, and the purity of gold in the furnace. Temptations to sin are and must be, as long as there are moral beings in the world. Man, during his state of trial, must expect to find the chief force of these temptations arising from within, out of the miserable corruption of his nature; and cannot hope for happiness till this corruption is purged out, even by a fierce encounter with these trials, which, if he cannot stand, he must come out but the more corrupt and vicious. Silver and gold are seldom or never found in the earth without dross, nor man without a natural inclination to sin; but “the fining-pot for silver and the furnace for gold, and God’s trials for the heart of man.” Skelton.
It is wonderful to see with what skill God has adjusted all our experiences, so as to make us sensible of our errors and defects. As the invisible ink is brought out in a distinct color by holding what is written to the fire, so God brings out all our faults and our sins by the scorches of experience through which we are ever passing in the fiery trials of life. If we are proud, He has a way to make us see it, and to break down our pride. If we cherish any subtle grudge or animosity, He will somehow call it out and make us see it. If we are selfish, or covetous, or jealous, or frivolous, or captious, or self-indulgent, or sensual, or self-confident, or fanatical, or self-righteous, or partial, or obstinate, or prejudiced, or uncharitable, or censorious—whatever fault we have in us, no matter how subtle or how ingeniously covered it may be, He has us in the furnace of trial and correction, where He is turning us round and round, lifting us in prosperity, crushing us in adversity, subduing us with afflictions, tempting out our faults and then chastising them, humbling us, correcting us, softening, tempering, soothing, fortifying, refining, healing, and so managing us as to detect all our drossy and bad qualities, and separate them from us. He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver, and allows nothing to escape either His discovery or our correction. H. B.
4. A liar gives heed to a malicious, back-biting tongue, that he may have something to graft his lies upon, with which to give them some color of truth and so to support them. Sinners will strengthen one another’s hands; and those show they are bad themselves who court the acquaintance and need the assistance of those that are bad. H.
- “He that mocketh the poor” is said “to reproach his Maker”—that is, he throws an injurious reflection upon the wisdom and goodness of Divine providence, which hath appointed this inequality of conditions among men, for exercising the patience and resignation of the poor, and that the rich may be furnished with constant opportunities of acknowledging their obligations to God and their dependence upon Him for all they possess by distributing what they can spare from their own necessary uses for the relief and comfort of their needy brethren. R. W.
6. The special point dwelt on is the reciprocity of good in sustained family relationships. A long line of children’s children is the glory of old age, a long line of ancestors the glory of their descendants. E. H. P.—The reflection of honor between fathers and sons is reciprocal. Each class, therefore, has this high and noble motive to a virtuous life: the father, that he may be a glory to his sons; sons and grandsons, that they may be a crown of honor as well as a perpetual joy to their aged father. H. C.—It is an honor to parents, when they are old, to leave children that tread in the steps of their virtues, and are likely to maintain and advance the reputation of their families. It is an honor to children to have wise and godly parents, and to have them continued to them even after they are themselves grown up and settled in the world. H.
9. He that covereth a transgression secketh love. He that concealeth within himself an offence done to him by his friend, takes a course to maintain friendship and love. Bishop Hall.—It is a noble and great thing to cover the blemishes and to excuse the failings of a friend; to draw a curtain before his stains, and to display his perfections; to bury his weaknesses in silence, but to proclaim his virtues upon the housetop. South.
10. Sentiment: “A man of intelligence will be more influenced by mere rebuke than the fool by severe scourging.” M. S.—A gentle reproof will enter not only into the head but into the heart of a wise man, so as to have a strong influence upon him; for if but a hint be given to conscience, let it alone to carry it on and prosecute it. H.
14. Where water is dammed up, a small breach in the dam occasions a rush of water, which speedily widens that breach, and then it rolls on in impetuous torrents. So with strife, which, though trifling at first, when persevered in, becomes impetuous and mischievous. Therefore, Let alone strife, before it rolls on like the impetuous torrent. M. S.—While passion is kept within its proper channel, all is safe and well; but if once we suffer the banks that should dam it to be broken down, it roars and rages like a mighty torrent and overspreads and carries all before it. Dean Stanhope.—Strife is sometimes compared to fire and sometimes to water. They are both unmerciful elements when once they are let loose. It is easy to open the sluices and let the water out, but who can call the floods back again? And so when the burning is once begun, it is more easily propagated and continued than extinguished. T. M.
15. As God’s glorious nature and His infinitely just administration hold Him to condemn the wicked and to justify the righteous, He must instinctively abhor those who seek to reverse His policy and frustrate His aims of justice. Why should not he both abhor them with the utmost ardor of His holy soul, and withstand them with the full energy of His almighty arm? H. C.
16. That is, a man cannot purchase wisdom for any price who is without understanding; for this is absolutely necessary to the acquisition of it. M. S.—It is not for the lack of brains but for the lack of a morally right heart that such multitudes never pay out the money God has put into their hands for the genuine article—heavenly wisdom. This fact may well be for a lamentation and a marvel! H. C.
17. At all times—i.e., as well in adversity as in prosperity, a true friend will love. A brother for adversity is one who will act the part of a brother in a season of adversity. M. S.—What is meant is not a depreciation of the ties of friendship as compared with those of kindred, but to exalt the true friend to the uttermost. It describes, as in 18:24, the “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” At all times a friend loveth, but in adversity he is born (sc. becomes) a brother. E. H. P.
The last fruit of friendship (which is, like the pomegranate, full of many kernels) is aid and bearing a part in all actions and occasions of life. Here the best way to represent to life the manifold use of friendship is to cast and see how many things there are which a man cannot do himself; and then it will appear that it was a sparing saying of the ancients to say, “that a friend is another himself; for that a friend is far more than himself.” Bacon.—A true friend hath the skill and observation of the best physician; the diligence and vigilance of the best nurse; and the tenderness and patience of the best mother. Lord Clarendon.
The best physic for man is man; such a man as is an able and faithful friend, to whom we may impart our joys, fears, griefs, hopes, counsels, or whatsoever lieth upon the heart to oppress it. A true friend is not born every day. While thou hast him, prize him, and let him well perceive it, by communicating thy joys and sorrows as is fitting; so shalt thou enlarge and redouble the one, and mitigate and lessen the other. For as in bodies union strengtheneth and cherisbeth any natural action, and on the other side weakeneth and dulleth any violent impression, so in minds. No man imparts his loves unto his friend but loves the more. None imparts his sorrows to his friend but grieves the less. N. Rogers, 1632.—Friendship includes devotion, self-sacrifice, defence against all things—including calumny and misfortune; but, best of all, joy in another’s joy, and exultation in his prosperity; this being in my mind the highest proof of friendship. It is easy to sympathize with misfortune—the heart full of envy and malice might even do that; but devoid of these must that beautiful soul be that can look upon a friend’s success with gladness, having no other interest than that of pure enjoyment of his happiness. T. Buchanan Read.
There are friends whose companionship is constant inspiration and strength and encouragement. Their hearts are so full of love and kindness and appreciation and sympathy, that we have no disposition to hide from, but rather to confide to them our difficulties, sorrows, failures. Our weakness finds comfort in their strength; our impatience in their patience; our unwisdom and folly in their broad, calm views of life; our irritation over trifles in their serenity and faith that all things will work for good. Their observation of our conduct under circumstances of trial and irritation does not burden or chagrin us, but is helpful and cheering, because we feel that they understand and appreciate our difficulties. Interior.—A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend; one human soul whom we can trust utterly; who knows the best and the worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults; who will speak the honest truth to us, while the world flatters us to our face and laughs at us behind our back; who will give us counsel and reproof in the day of prosperity and self-conceit; but who, again, will comfort and encourage us in the day of difficulty and sorrow, when the world leaves us alone to fight our own battle as we can. Kingsley.
Jesus is the “Brother born for adversity,” to comfort in and support under it. A friend and a brother makes one’s sorrows and sufferings his own. So did Jesus. Our sins were His, He “bore them in His own body.” “He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” And did He love before time? Does He love at all times? Then what shall separate from His love? “In all things we are more than conquerors, through Him who loved us.” As Jesus’ power is equal to His love, death, which parts the dearest friends and dissolves the sweetest friendships below, shall introduce us to the nearest enjoyment of Him, our best Friend and glorified Redeemer above; for He says, “Father, I will that they whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.” W. Mason.
19. Building the gates of one’s palace very high evinces pride, provokes envy, and precipitates ruin. As a very high gate is dangerously exposed to a sudden and crashing fall, so the pride which it represents works in a thousand ways to bring down destruction. To connect the last clause with the first, we have only to consider that such manifestations of pride naturally provoke contention, and hence also the sin and ruin which ensue. H. C.
20. Two bad things are here reproved. The first is the sullen, snarling spirit of discontent, which kills all hearty, genial gaiety; the second is the vicious habit of unbridled, flippant talk, which goes far to destroy all cheerful, loving fellowship. The vice of the age is a spirit of detraction. Such a spirit, says Solomon, findeth no good. The man that is always looking out for what is wrong will gradually lose his interest in that which is perfect, till all that is simply pure and gentle and true and lovely will appear to him tame and insipid. The froward heart, which is always on the watch for faults and failure, goes on to require these things as its very daily food, and at last waxes frantic when there is no fault to find. A. Jessopp.
22. If in modern parlance we distinguish between cheerfulness and mirth, ascribing to the latter a more giddy, unseasonable, and vociferous effusion of hilarity, we shall lose the entire force of this text and other passages. Mirth, in good old English, included even the graver kinds of cheerfulness. The old Psalter praises God with “awful mirth;” both words being such as have suffered deflection. And the adage of Solomon is cleared by the exhortation of the Apostle James: “Is any merry, let him sing Psalms.” A merry heart is therefore precisely a cheerful heart; and that it “doeth good like a medicine,” is one of those truths which every one of us has found true, blessed be God, in his own experience. J. W. A.—Medicines are either preventive or curative; but prevention is better than cure. And a cheerful heart is both a preventive and a cure; but it is better to take it in time. The wise economy which bids us by simple precautions avert pronounced forms of disease, also bids us avert the heavier depressions of sorrow by cultivating an equable and hopeful habit of mind. The best tonic, the best medicine, is a cheerful heart. Coz.
To be free-minded and cheerfully disposed at hours of meat, and of sleep, and of exercise, is one of the best precepts of long lasting. As for the passions and studies of the mind, avoid envy, anxious fears, anger, fretting inward, subtle and knotty inquisitions, joys and exhilarations in excess, sadness not communicated. Entertain hopes, cheerfulness rather than joy, variety of delights rather than surfeit of them. Bacon.—It is healthful to be cheerful. The Lord is for the body, and has provided for it not only meat but medicine, and has here told us that the best medicine is a merry heart; not a heart addicted to vain, carnal, sensual mirth; Solomon himself said of that mirth, It is not medicine but madness; it is not food but poison; What doth it? But he means a heart rejoicing in God and serving Him with gladness, and then taking the comfort of outward enjoyments, and particularly that of pleasant conversation. It is a great mercy that God gives us leave to be cheerful and cause to be cheerful; especially if by His grace He gives us hearts to be cheerful. But if mirth be a medicine (understand it of diversion and recreation), it must be used sparingly only when there is occasion, not turned into food, and it must be used medicinally as a prescribed regimen and by rule. The sorrows of the mind often contribute very much to the sickliness of the body: A broken spirit, sunk by the burden of afflictions, and especially a conscience wounded with the sense of guilt and fear of wrath, dries the bones, wastes the radical moisture, exhausts the very marrow, and makes the body a mere skeleton. We should therefore watch and pray against all melancholy indispositions, for they lead us into trouble as well as into temptation. H.
23. Another protest against the pervading corruption of Oriental judges. The words “from the bosom,” from the fold of the garment, rather than from the bag or girdle in which money was usually carried, possibly point to the stealthiness with which the gift is offered. E. H. P.
24. The wisdom of wise men is at hand, ready for use, always before him, under his eye; but, over against this, the eyes of the fool see none of the present facts of his condition—overlook the very things he needs to see in order to judge well and to act discreetly. What eyes he has are in the ends of the earth, occupied upon things utterly remote and valueless. H. C.—He is to be reckoned an intelligent man that not only has wisdom, but has it ready when he has occasion for it. He lays his wisdom before him as his card and compass which he steers by, has his eye always upon it, as he that writes has on his copy; and then he has it before him, it is not to seek but still at hand. He that has a giddy head, a roving, rambling fancy, will never be fit for any solid business. He is a fool and good for nothing whose eyes are in the ends of the earth, here and there and everywhere; anywhere but where they should be; who cannot fix his thoughts to one subject nor pursue any one purpose with anything of steadiness. When his mind should be applied to his study and business, it is filled with a thousand things foreign and impertinent. H.
27. I prefer to transpose both clauses and render thus: He who spareth his words evinces good sense [valuable knowledge], and the man of cool, self-governed spirit is the man of understanding. The author of these proverbs accounts much talk prima facie proof of a shallow mind; and, on the other hand, a prudent reserve in speech a proof of good sense and a fair intelligence. H. C.
28. Is wise—i.e., is reputed or regarded as wise; for, so far as this goes, he acts wisely. The second clause is a more general proposition, extending the remark to all who act in the like way. M. S.—This proverb follows out the thought of the next preceding, and confirms the general doctrine taught there. Even a fool, if he had the sense to hold his peace, might have some reputation for wisdom. So strong are the convictions of mankind to the point, that much talk goes with little thought, and that reserve in speech often signifies more than average thinking. H. C.
He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most explicit and distinct manner. He tries to compress as much thought as possible into a few words. W. Irving.—Think not silence the wisdom of fools, but, if rightly timed, the honor of wise men, who have not the infirmity, but the virtue of taciturnity, and speak not out of the abundance, but the well-weighed thoughts of their hearts. Such silence may be eloquence, and speak thy worth above the power of words. Browne.
He that has knowledge and aims to do good with it, is careful when he does speak to speak to the purpose, and therefore says little that he may take time to deliberate upon it. He spares his words because they are better spared than ill spent. This is generally taken for such a sure indication of wisdom, that a fool may gain the reputation of being a wise man, if he have but wit enough to hold his tongue, to hear, and see, and say little. If a fool hold his peace, men of candor will think him wise, because nothing appears to the contrary, and because it will be thought that he is making observations on what others say, and gaining experience, and is consulting with himself what he shall say, that he may speak pertinently. See how easy it is to gain men’s good opinion and to impose upon them. But when a fool holds his peace, God knows his heart and the folly that is bound there; thoughts are words to Him, and therefore He cannot be deceived in His judgment of men. H.