Proverbs 2:18
Ver. 18. For her house inclineth unto death,.... Bends, verges, and points that way; it lies in the way to death, and brings unto it, and sinks into it as into a ditch; or all that are in her house, that are familiar with her, live and dwell with her, and commit wickedness with her; these incline or are liable to lose, and do lose, their name, character, and reputation, which is a death upon them; and bring diseases upon their bodies, which issue in corporeal death; or are in danger of dying by the hand of the injured husband, or the civil magistrate; and also are exposed unto eternal death: or "she inclines to death, which is her house" {x}, so Aben Ezra and Kimchi; and to which the Targum agrees,
"for in the pit of death is her house:''
that is, the house she at last comes to and must dwell in, and all that are ensnared by her; see Pr 5:5; and the second death will be the portion of the whore of Rome and all her followers, Re 14:10;
and her paths unto the dead; that is, her evil ways in which she walks, and into which she draws others to join with her; these lead both her and them to the "damned" {y} in hell, to keep company with them, and be punished as they are: the word "rephaim", here used, sometimes signifies "giants", and so the Targum renders it here; and may refer to the giants of the old world, who were cut off for their debauchery and uncleanness, Ge 6:4; and with whom such persons shall be for ever.
{x} hytb twm la "ad mortem quoad domum suam", Cocceius; "ad mortem domum suam", Gejerus; "quod ad domum suam", Michaelis. {y} Myapr la "ad damnatos", Tigurine version; "ad orcinos", Schultens. Proverbs 2:19Ver. 19. None that go unto her return again,.... That is, those that commit whoredom with her return not again by repentance, and to a sober and chaste way of living, at least but very few; hence some of the ancients thought adultery was the unpardonable sin; but it is certain that some have been recovered by the power of divine grace, and have been brought to repentance for their impure manner of life, and have truly believed in Christ, and lived sober and godly lives afterwards; but, as the Targum adds, they do not return "in peace", but with great distress of mind, remorse of conscience, and bitterness of soul; and these instances are rare; generally speaking, such as are ensnared by an adulterous woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are as bands, are held so fast by her that they seldom get out again, though some few may escape, Ec 7:26. The words may be rendered, "all that go into her {z} shall not return again"; no, very few of them. And it is a very rare thing, when men are fallen into idolatry, superstition, will worship, and heresy, that they are recovered out of this snare of the devil; there is a peradventure they may, but it is not often that they be loosed from it, 2Ti 2:25;neither take they hold of the paths of life; Christ, and the ways of Christ, which lead to eternal life; few there be that find these paths and walk in them, Mt 7:14; and especially such as are drawn aside by an impure woman, they are held so fast by her alluring charms, and so bewildered by her art of deceiving, that they are like persons that are led out of their way, and cannot find it again.{z} hyab lk "omnes ingredientes eam", Pagninus, Montanus. Proverbs 2:20Ver. 20. That thou mayest walk in the way of good [men],.... Who are not so by nature, but made so by the grace of God; such as the saints, prophets, and patriarchs of old; and who walked in the way of righteousness, holiness, and truth; being directed therein by the Spirit and word of God: now the use and profit of wisdom's instructions, or of the Gospel of Christ, and the doctrines of it, and a spiritual understanding of them, are not only to deliver men from the wicked man and the naughty woman, but also to influence and engage them to follow the examples of good men, and to walk in the same good old paths as they have done, Heb 6:12;and keep the paths of the righteous; not only observe them and walk in them, but continue therein, even in the paths of faith and holiness; for righteous men, such as are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ, and are anew created unto righteousness and true holiness, and in consequence thereof live righteously; these walk by faith on Christ, and as becomes his Gospel; and in all the ordinances of it, and in all the duties of religion; and the Gospel teaches all those that receive and profess it to do the same. Proverbs 2:21Ver. 21. For the upright shall dwell in the land,.... Such as are upright in heart, who have a right spirit renewed in them; whose hearts are right with God, have the truth of grace in them; whose faith is unfeigned, their love without dissimulation, and their hope without hypocrisy; and who are upright in their lives and conversations; these being Israelites according to the flesh, as well as Israelites indeed in a spiritual sense, shall dwell in the land of Canaan, which the Lord promised to such, and which good men enjoyed by virtue of it: or the sense is, that such shall dwell peaceably and quietly in the world, and possess the good things of it, though in a small quantity, in such a comfortable manner, with the love of God and a sense of it, as wicked men do not; or else they shall inhabit the world to come, as Jarchi interprets it; not only a future state of happiness in heaven, but the Messiah's kingdom on earth, the new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, 2Pe 3:13;and the perfect shall remain in it; or "be left in it" {a}; or shall be "strengthened" {b}, confirmed, and established in it; or they shall dwell in it as a tent or tabernacle, bound with strong cords; see Isa 33:20; or continue there, when others should have no place in it, as follows. By the "perfect" are meant such as have all grace seminally implanted in them, though it is not come up to maturity; who have a perfection of parts, but not of degrees; are properly men in Christ, though they are not arrived to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; are perfectly holy in Christ, though not in themselves; and are perfectly justified by his righteousness, and perfectly comely through his comeliness, though as yet imperfect in themselves; and those that shall dwell in the new heavens and new earth, and remain there a thousand years, shall be entirely perfect in soul and body, wholly without sin; and complete in knowledge, holiness, and peace: the Targum renders it, who are "without spot", undefiled persons; such who are not defiled with women, with the strange woman before mentioned; whose garments are not defiled, and who are free from the pollution of false doctrine, will worship, superstition, and idolatry, Re 3:4.{a} wdtwy "superstites erunt", Tigurine version, Mercerus; "superstitabunt", Cocceius; "reliqui fient", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "relinquentur", Michaelis. {b} "Nervabuntur", Schultens. Proverbs 2:22Ver. 22. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth,.... Suddenly by death; or in a judicial way by the hand of the civil magistrate, before they have lived out half their days; and shall not enjoy the good things of the earth they have been seeking for, and laying up, and promising themselves a long and quiet possession of; but, on the contrary, like unfruitful trees, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire; and, however, shall not dwell in the second Adam's earth, in the new earth, but shall perish out of his land, Ps 10:16; see Ps 37:2;and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it; such as have acted treacherously and perfidiously {c}, and are opposed to upright men; as the wicked are to the righteous, pure, and spotless; these shall not only be cut off as trees to the stump, but be rooted up, and have neither root nor branch left them; they shall have no posterity to succeed them, and their memory shall utterly perish; see Mal 4:1; or "shall be scraped off", or "swept away" {d}, as the dust and dross of the earth, and the offscouring of all things.{c} Mydgwb "perfide agentis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "perfidi", Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens. {d} wxoy "eradentur", Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus; "everrentur", Schultens.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.