The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 356

All to the dooming gods their gnllt trans- !'JO-~;,, rendere, " Every bad man is a re- Inte, proach to 11, man," which mRy mean that IJ And follies are miscalled the crimes of eordid, evil man brings only disgrace on him- fote." self; or that, while many truckle to and try (Pope.) to win the interest of a prince, bad courtiers Ver. 4.-Wealth maketh many friends bring on him not glory, but infamy and (vors. 6, 7; eh. xiv. 20). A Greek gnome shRme. expresses Lho same trnth- Ver. 7.-This is one of the few tristichs in the book, and probably contains the 'Eav Ii' tx"'P.'" xp/Jµa8' :!oµev <pl/1.ovr. mutilated remains of two distichs. The The poor is separated from his neighbour. third line, corrected by the 8eptaagint, But it is better to make the act of separa- which has an addition here, rune into two tion emanate from the friend ( as the He brew clauses (Cheyne). All the brethren of the allows), and to render, with the Revised poor do hate him. Even his own brothers, Version, The friend of the poor separateth children of the same parents, hate am! shun himse~f from him. The word for "poor•• is a poor man (eh. xiv. 20). Much more do his here dal, which means "feeble," "langnicl; •• friends go far from him. There should be so ver.17; and the same word(rea), "friend" no interrogation. We have the expression or "neighbour," is UBed in both clauses. (aph-1'i) in eh. xi. 31; xv.11, etc. Euripides, '.l'he idea of man's selfishness is carried on in 'Medea,' 561- vers. 6 and 7. The Law of Moses had tried Il<V71Ta </>•lrr« ,ras -ris i1<1roli~v ,pl.>..or. to counteract it (Deut. xv. 7, etc.), but it "Each single friend far from the poor man was Christianity that introduced the prac- flies." tical realization of the law of love, and the honouring of the poor as members of Christ. Septuagint, "Every one who hateth a poor Septuagint, " But the poor is deserted even brother will be also far from friendship." by his whilom friend." Then follows an addition not found in the Ver. 5.-This verse is repented below Hebrew, "Good thought dmweth nigh to (ver. 9). It comes in awkwardly here, in- those who know it, and a prudent man will terrupting the connection which subsists find it. He who doeth mnch evil brim~s between vers. 4 and 6. Its right place is malice to perfection ( Te/1.E<novp,-•i 1<a1<fav); doubtless where it occurs below. The Law and he who rouses words to anger shall not not only strictly forbade false witness (Exod. be safe." He pursueth them with words, xx. 16; xxiii. 1), but it enacted severe yet they are wanting to him; or, they are penalties against offenders in this particular gone. He makes a pathetic appeal to his (Dent. xiL 16, etc.) ; the !ez talionis was to quondam friends, but they hearken not to be enforced against them, they were to him. But the sense is rather, "He pnrsneth receive no pity: "Life shall be for life, eye after, craves for, words of kindness or for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot promises of help, and there is naught. or for foot." He that speaketh lies shall not he gets words only and no material aid." escape. The Septuagint confines the notion Wordsworth quotes Catullus, • Carm.,' of this clause to false accusers, 'o Ii~ i-y1<a.A0,v iuxviii. 5- clli(1<.,,, "Ha who maketh an unjust charge shall not escape," which renders the two " Quern tu, quod minimnm focillimumque clauses almost synonymous. We mo.ke a est, distinction between the members by seeing Qua solatus es adlocutione? in the former a denunciation against a fe.lse lrascor tibi. Sic meos a.mores?" witness in a suit, and in the second a more Vulgate, Qui tantum verba sectat11r, nihil sweeping menace against any one, whether habebit, "He who pursues words only shall accuser, slanderer, sycophant, who by lying have naught." The Hebrew is literally, injures a neighbour. The History of Susanna " Seeking words, they are not." This is is brought forward in confirmation of the according to the Khetib; the Keri, instead well-deserved fate of false accusers. of the negation ~~. read~ ,S, which makes 'Vevli~r li,aflo/1.~ -r~v fl/ov /1.vµ,alve-ra,. the clause signify, "He who pursues words. "A slander is an outrage on man's life." they ore to him;" i.e. he gets word;; and nothing else. Delitzsch and others., supply- Ver. 6.-lllany will intreat the favour of ing the lost member from the Septuagint, tho prinoe; literally, will stmke the face of reo.d the third line thus : "He thot bath the prince, of the liberal and powerful man, many friends, or the frieDLl of every one, is in expectation of 1·eceiving some benefit from requited with evil; and he that seeketh him (eh. xxix. 26; Job xi. 19). Every man (fair) speecht>s shall not be delivered." is a friend to him that giveth gifts (see on Cheyne also makes a distich of this line, eh. xvii. 8). The LXX. 1 reading !'Jy~~; for to.king the Septuagint as representing the 3(l6 TRE PROVERBS. [CH, XIX, 1-20.