He said: ‘Speak not atall’. They said: ‘We cannot do this’. He said then: ‘Only say what is good’.” It must be
remembered that the Arabs are the most foul-mouthed people on earth.
Ver. 20. ὀργὴ yap, etc. : Man’s wrath is rarely, if ever, justifiable; even “just indignation ” is too often intermixed with other elements; and frequently the premisses on which it is founded are at fault. Man, unlike God, never knows all the circumstances of the case. On the subject of anger, see Matt. v. 21, 22, and cf. the Expositor, July, 1905, pp. 28 ff.
Vv. 21-25 form a self-contained section. By putting away all impurity the “im- planted word” can influence the heart; but it is necessary not only to hear the word but also to act in accordance with it,
Ver. 21. ἀποθέμενοι: used in
432
1 iii. 13; of. πραύτητι 1 Ἶ δέξασθε τὸν ™ ἔμφυτον λόγον τὸν " δυνάμενον 2
Ps. xxv. ¥ ο ας 9. υχας ὑμῶν. m Wisd. X P xii. 10.
n—n Arts xiii. 26; Rom. i. 16; 1 Cor. xv. 2; Eph. i. 13; 2 Tim. iii. 15; Heb. ii. 3.
26; Rom. ii. 13.
σῶσαι τὰς
22. γίνεσθε δὲ “ ποιηταὶ λόγου," καὶ μὴ ἀκροαταὶ
ο Matt. vii.
1 Add σοφιας P, add καρδιας ΤΗΙ., πραυτητι Weiss.
2 Qui potestis ff.
3 qpev La,
άγομου C?, 38a, 73, 83, Aeth., Thl.
Heb. xii. 1 of putting off every weight preparatory to “running the race that is set before us”; the metaphor is taken from the divesting oneself of clothes.— ῥυπαρία: not elsewhere in the Ν.Τ,
or Septuagint; the Syriac has shina which is the same word used in Ezek.
xliv. 6 for the Hebrew J YIP “ abom- ination,” meaning that which is abhorrent to God; usually it has reference to idol- atrous practices, but it occurs a number of times in the later literature in reference to unchastity, this more especially in Pro- verbs. The adjective is used in Zech. iii. 4 of garments, and cf. Rev. xxii. 11, where the meaning is “filthy”. The word before us, therefore, probably means “‘filthiness” in the sense of lustful im- purity—mweptogetav κακίας: not merely “excess” in the sense of the A.V. “superfluity” and the R.V. “ over- flowing,” because κακία in the smallest measure is already excess. The phrase seems to mean simply “ manifold wicked- ness”; this has to be got out of the way first before the “implanted word” can be τεοεϊνεά.--ἐν πραύτητι: this must refer to the meekness which is the natural result of true repentance. Cf. Matt. iv. 17, Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.—rév ἔμφυτον λόγον: ἔμφυτος occurs only here in the N.T.; in Wisd. xii. το we have, οὐκ ἀγνοῶν ὅτι πονηρὰ ἡ γένεσις αὐτῶν Kal ἔμφυτος ἡ κακία αὐτῶν. Mayor holds that the expression must be understood as “the rooted word,” i.e., a word whose property it is to root itself like a seed in the heart, cf. Matt. xiii. 21, οὐκ ἔχει δὲ pilav ἐν ἑαυτῷ ; and Matt. xv. 13, πᾶσα φυτεία ἣν οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ πατήρ μου ὃ οὐράνιος ἐκριζωθήσεται; and cf. iv. Esdr. ix. 31, “ Ecce enim semino in vobis legem meam, et faciet in vobis fructum et glorificabimini in eo persaeculum”. The meaning “rooted word” agrees admirably with the rest of the verse, and seems to give the best sense, see further below. --τὸν δυνάμενον σῶσαι Tas ψυχὰς ὑμῶν: 6/.1 Pet.i.g., τὸ τέλος τῆς πίστεως σωτηρίαν ψυχῶν. The
words before us leave the impression that those to whom they were addressed could not yet be called Christians; πᾶσαν ῥυπαρίαν καὶ περισσείαν κακίας, which they are enjoined to put off, implies a state far removed from even a moderate Christian ideal; and the “rooted word,’ which is able to save their souls, has evidently not been received yet. On the subject of the “rooted word” being able to save souls, see further under ver. 22.