Proverbs 3
DOYLYProverbs 3:3
- — bind them about thy neck.] Alluding to the custom of wearing on their foreheads and wrists the precepts of the Lord, written on slips of parchment. Dr. Isham.
Proverbs 3:5
- — lean not unto thine own understanding.] Rely not on thy wisdom, contrivances, or artifices, to compass thy designs in this world, but keep thyself to the ways and means which God affords thee, and approves: and this, beyond all worldly policy, will secure to thee a happy and easy passage through the dangers of this life. Dr. Hammond.
Proverbs 3:7
- Be not wise in thine own eyes.] That is, Do not follow the dictates of worldly prudence in opposition to the commands of God.
— fear the Lord, and depart from evil.] We find these expressions frequently put together in Scripture, as having nearly the same import, differing only as cause and effect; the proper fear of the Lord producing a departure from evil. Abp. Tillotson.
Proverbs 3:8
- It shall be health to thy navel, &c.] This is the means of preserving a good habit both of body and soul, and of remaining, under all circumstances, cheerful, happy, and without dejection. These peculiar expressions seem to be merely a metaphorical representation of that firmness, and vigorous health, and cheerfulness of mind, which virtue imparts. Bp. Patrick.
In the East, it is usual, for the most part, to apply medicines externally, and especially to the stomach. The expression “health to thy navel” seems to bear allusion to this custom. Harner.
Proverbs 3:9
- Honour the Lord with thy substance.] Honour the Lord in his ministers, by paying them their dues, and bringing oblations to his house at the three solemn feasts, (Exod. xxii. 14, 15.) together with the firstfruits of all that thy estate produces, (Exod. xxii. 29, 30.) in
The happy gain of wisdom. An exhortation to charitableness, &c. Before CHRIST about 1000. g Deuteronomy 28. 8. h Job 5. 17. Hebr. 12. 5. Rev. 3. 19. man that draweth out understanding. i Job 28. 15. &c. Ps. 19. 10. ch. 3. 11. 19. & 16. 16. prepared.
Proverbs 3:15
- — than rubies:] The meaning of the Hebrew word is not well ascertained; there are reasons for thinking that pearls are meant by it, as they were esteemed at a
very high rate, not only by the Jews, but by the Romans, and even by the Medes, Persians, and Indians.
Bochart.
Proverbs 3:16
- Length of days is in her right hand:] Wisdom is here represented figuratively as a queen, holding in one hand length of days, and in the other, riches and honours.
Proverbs 3:17
- Her ways are ways of pleasantness.] Thus it is most true that religion gives us the greatest delights and advantages in this life, even if there were no life hereafter; and hence is most apparent the extreme folly of Atheists, who, besides running a most desperate hazard after death, deprive themselves here of that very pleasure and tranquillity, for which they so anxiously
Proverbs 3:18
- She is a tree of life] This seems an allusion to the tree of life which God planted at first in paradise, and which was to give to man life, health, and immortality. Such is wisdom to those who possess it; it preserves to them a long and happy life in this world, and a blessed immortality in the next. Calmet.
Proverbs 3:29
- Devise not evil—seeing he dwelleth securely] Let not the quietness of any man’s temper, much less the confidence he has in thy honesty and goodness, tempt thee to contrive any mischief against him; for the more securely he relies on thy virtue, and the less mistrust he has of any harm from thee, the greater wickedness will it be to entertain even the thought of doing him an injury. Bp. Patrick.
Proverbs 3:32
- — the froward] He that perversely departs from all the rules of truth and justice. Bp. Patrick. — his secret is with the righteous.] Rather, “His counsel is with the righteous,” as the Hebrew words Before CHRIST about 1000. k Ps. 37. 24. & 91. 11. owners thereof. Practise no evil.
Proverbs 3:35
- — shall inherit glory.] The glory here mentioned as the inheritance of the wise is threefold; the approbation of their own minds, of their fellow-creatures, and of the Supreme Being, the great Searcher of hearts. Dr. J. Balguy. — shame shall be the promotion of fools.] “The branding of infamy ennobles or distinguishes fools.” Schultens. Chap. IV. ver. 1. Hear, ye children, &c.] So great are the sluggishness and forgetfulness of mankind in their principal concernments, that we need not wonder the wise man repeats nearly the same things, and quickens our attention to them in the beginning of this chapter. The very first step to wisdom is to have a mind to be wise. Bp. Patrick.