The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 445

displeasuro from the en~my 89 the punish- king, and disobey neither of them." The ment of the malignant man, either mentally verse has been largely used e.s a text by or mntorinlly. 'l'o B mnlignnnt mind no preachers who desi!ed to r_ecommenrl loyalty severer blow could be given the.n to see e. and to censure cl1saffect1on and rebellion. foe recover God's fovoUL" antl rise from hie It has been a favourite motto for discourses fa.11. The more.list then wnrn8 the disciple on the Gunpowder Treason and the execution ago.inst giving way to this ,1r,xa.,p,Ka.1<la, of Charles I. lest he prepare for himself hitter mortifica- Ver. 22.-For their oBl.a.mity shall rise tion by having to witn~ss the restoration of suddenly. Though these dissiclents seem to the hated one, or hy being himself mutle to succeed for e. time, yet retribution shall fall suffer thnt evil which he he.d rejoiced to see suddenly upon them. And who knoweth his neighbour experience (comp. eh. xvii. 5, the ruin of them both l This seems to and note there). mee.n the two classes, those who dishonour Vera. 19, 20.-.A. warning against envying Goel and those who dishonour the king; but no such diatinction is made in the the prosperity of the wicked. previous verse; the rebels are classed under Ver. 19.-Fret not thyself because of evil one ce.tegory. Wordsworth renders, "the - men (comp. ver. I and Ps. :xxxvli. I). Tbe stroke of vengeance from them both," i.e. verb (charah) means "to burn," '' to be from God and the Iring. Otherwise, wo uugry;" so here we may render, "lle not must give another signification to □ ;i•i~, eurag-ed on account of evil-doers." The and, with the Syriac and many mo,lcrn anger would arise ou account of the apparent commentators, tako it in the sense of inequitable distribution of bleesing~. St. '' years," which !?;;i'}.? will beBr, ns Job Jerome has, Ne conlendas cum pessimis; x=vi. 11, e.ncl translate, "Tho destrnction Septuagint, "Rejoice not over ('1rl) evil- [equivalent to •end'] of their yeo.rs, who doers." Neither be thou envious at the knoweth?" No one can tell when the wicked; i.e. do not fancy that their pro- crisis of their fate shnll come; but it will sperity is to be desired, nor be lecl to arrive some clay, and then the time of their imi tute their doings in order to secure like prosperity will be at an end. Septuagint, succe.;s. The next verse shows the ~olemn "For they (God and tho king) will suddenly reason for this warning. punish the ungodly; and who sho.ll know Ver. 20.-For there shBll be no reward to the vengeance of both ( -ra.• .,..,_,.,,,p[<ZS c:.µ.cpo- the evil mau. He has no happy "future" to -repo,v)?" After this the LXX. inserts three expect, as ver. H; eh. x.xiii. IS (where see proverbs not found now in the Hebrew, note). The oandle, etc. (see oh. xiii. 9, where which, however, Ewald (' J Bhrb. der Bibi. the clause appears). Septungint, '' Fo1· the Wissensch.,' xi. 17, etc.) considers to havo evil man shall he.ve no poaterity, and the been trnnslated from a Hebrew originnl: torch of the wicked shnll be quenched." "A son that keepeth the commandment Vei-s. 21, 22. -.A.n injunction urging shall be snre from destruction (eh. xxix. 27, loyalty to God and the king. Vulga.te), nnd be b.nth fully received it (the word). Lot no lie be spoken by the tonguo Ver. 21.-Fear thou the Lord and the of the king; and uo lie shnll proceed. from king. The king is God's vicegerent nnd his tongue. The king's tongue is n sword, representative, nnd therefore to be honoured nud not of flesh; ancl whosoever ah.nil be and obeyed (see Eccles. viii. 2; x. 20; 1 delivered unto it shall be destroyed; for if Pet. ii. 17). Meddle not with them that hie nnger be inflrtmecl. he consumes men B?e given to ohange. 'fhere fa some doubt with their nerves, rtnd dornurs men's bones, a.bout the interpretation of the Inst word and burns them up as o. flnme, so that they o•i\ti (shonim), which me.y mean those who are not food for tho young eagles." The ohe.ngo, iunove.tors (in which trnnsitive allusion !Lt the ond is to !Lnimals killed eonse the verb does not elsewhere occur), by lightning. Hore follows tho series of or those who think dift'ereutly, dissidents, provorbs (eh. u:x. 1-14) culled in tho who respect neither God nor the king. He brow, "The words of Agur." The second. The verb ;,~~ signifies tre.nsiti vely "to rt?- pnrt of "the words of Agur," aud ·• tl,o. peat," and intrnnsilively "to be ob.e.nged;" words of Lemuol" (eh. xxx. 15-xxxi. !>) so it ml\y be most uccurately trnnslated here, follow in tho Greek rtftor eh. xxfr. 31 of tho with Delitzsch, "those who nre otherwise Hebrew. Dolitzsch explains the llll\ttor thus: disposed " who have not tho proper senti- In the copy from which the Alexamhin, ~ ments of fear e.nd honour for God and the translated, the appendix (eh. xxx.-xxxi. 9) king. St. Jerome h11s, Et cum detractoribus was divided into two part8, half of it non co·mmiecearis, by which word he pro- standing after" the words of tho wiso" (eh. bably means what wo call revolutionists, xxii. 17-x:xiv. 22), rtllll hrtlf o.fter the persons who rlispnrnge nnd despise nil supplement containing further sayings or auth~rity. t:icptuagiut, "Fmr God uml tho witio won (eh. xxiv. 23-31).  THE PROVERBS. [ Oil. X:S.IV. 1--M.