John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Proverbs 6:1



INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 6



In this chapter the wise man dissuades from rash suretyship; exposes the sin of idleness; describes a wicked man; makes mention of seven things hateful to God; exhorts to attend to parental instructions and precepts, and cautions against adultery. Suretyship is described, Pr 6:1; and represented as a snare and a net, in which men are taken, Pr 6:2; and advice is given what to do in such a case, for safety in it, and deliverance from it, Pr 6:3; The sin of slothfulness is exposed, by observing the industry of the ant, Pr 6:6; by expostulating with the sluggard for his continuance in sloth, and by mimicking him, Pr 6:9; and by the poverty it brings upon him, Pr 6:11. Then a naughty wicked man is described, by his mouth, eyes, feet, fingers, and heart, whose ruin is sudden and inevitable, Pr 6:11. The seven things hateful to God are particularly named, Pr 6:16. And next the exhortation in some preceding chapters is reassumed, to attend to the instructions of parents; which will be found ornamental, pleasant, and useful, Pr 6:20. Especially to preserve from the lewd woman cautioned against, Pr 6:24; whose company is dissuaded from; on account of the extreme poverty and distress she brings persons to, and even danger of life, Pr 6:26; from the unavoidable ruin such come into, Pr 6:27; from the sin of uncleanness being greater than that of theft, Pr 6:30; from the folly the adulterer betrays; from the destruction of his soul, and the disgrace he brings on himself, Pr 6:32; and from the rage and irreconcilable offence of the husband of the adulteress, Pr 6:34.



Ver. 1. My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,.... To another; hast engaged thyself by promise or bond, or both, to pay a debt for him, if he is not able, or if required; or hast laid thyself under obligation to any, to see the debt of another paid;



[if] thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger; or "to" him {b}; whom thou knowest not, and to whom thou owest nothing; and hast given him thine hand upon it, as well as thy word and bond, that what such an one owes him shall be paid; a gesture used in suretyship for the confirmation of it, Pr 17:18; or, "for a stranger" {c} And the sense is, either if thou art become bound for a friend of thine, and especially if for a stranger thou knowest little or nothing of, this is a piece of rashness and weakness; or, as Gersom, if thou art a surety to thy friend for a stranger, this also is a great inadvertency and oversight. It is a rash and inconsiderate entering into suretyship that is here cautioned against; doing it without inquiring into, and having sufficient knowledge of the person engaged for; and without considering whether able to answer the obligation, if required, without hurting a man's self and family; otherwise suretyship may lawfully be entered into, and good be done by it, and no hurt to the surety himself and family. Jarchi interprets it of the Israelites engaging themselves to the Lord at Sinai, to keep his commandments.



{b} rzl "extraneo", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Baynus, Mercerus, Gejerus, Cocceius, Schultens. {c} "Pro alieno", Tigurine version; "pro alio peregrino", Michaelis.





Proverbs 6:2



Ver. 2. Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,.... Got into a snare out of which an escape is not easy; art no longer free, and thine own man, but under obligation to pay the debt if required; by the verbal agreement made and confirmed by striking hands, and this before witnesses;



thou art taken with the words of thy mouth; as in a net, and held fast therein and thereby, and cannot get loose without paying the debt, if the debtor does not, or without the leave of the creditor.





Proverbs 6:3



Ver. 3. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,.... Take the following advice, as the best that can be given in such circumstances, in order to be freed from such an obligation, or to be safe and easy under it;



when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; or,



"because or seeing thou art fallen into the hand of thy friend,''



as the Targum; or



"though thou art,'' &c.



as Aben Ezra; which may be understood either of the creditor to whom a man is bound, or of the debtor for whom he is bound, or of both; for a surety is in the hands or power of both: he is in the hands of the creditor, who may demand payment of the debt of him; and he is in the hands of the debtor, who, if a careless or crafty and deceitful man, may leave him to the payment of it. The Septuagint and Arabic versions are,



"for thou art come into the hands of evil men for thy friend;''



and the Syriac version,



"seeing for thy friend thou art fallen into the hands of thine enemy;''



and therefore must make the best of it thou canst, and in the following way:



go, humble thyself; that is, to the creditor, prostrate thyself before him; lie down upon the ground to be trodden on, as the word {d} signifies; fall down on thine knees, and entreat him to discharge thee from the bond, or give longer time for payment, if up; for thou art in his hands, and there is no carrying it with a high hand or a haughty spirit to him; humility, and not haughtiness, is most likely to be serviceable in such a case;



and make sure thy friend; for whom thou art become a surety, as the Syriac and Arabic versions add; solicit him, as the former of these versions render it; stimulate him, as the Septuagint; stir him up, urge him to pay off the debt quickly, and discharge the bond, or give thee security and indemnity from it. Or, "magnify thy friend" {e}; that is, to the creditor; speak of him as a very able and responsible man, and as an honest and faithful one, that will pay in due time. Some render it "magnify", and speak well of the debtor to thy friend, which may please and appease him: or, "multiply thy friends" {f}; get as many as thou canst to intercede for thee, and get thee discharged from the obligation by some means or another; to this purpose Jarchi.



{d} oprth "praebe conculcandum te", Montanus, Vatablus, Michaelis. {e} Kyer bhr "evehe proximum tuum", Tigurine version; "magnifica", so some in Vatablus. {f} "Multiplica amicos tuos", so some in Bayne.





Proverbs 6:4



Ver. 4. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Until the above things are done; which denotes of what consequence and importance they are; and that persons in such circumstances should not be careless, dilatory, and unconcerned; but should use great diligence, and leave no stone unturned, or method untried, to extricate themselves; see Ps 132:4.





Proverbs 6:5



Ver. 5. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand [of the hunter],.... As such a creature, which is very swift, when it is got into the hand of the hunter, will strive and struggle to get out; so should a man try all ways and means to get out of his suretyship engagements, especially when he finds himself liable to danger by it; this he should do "immediately" and "out of hand" {g}, as the phrase here used sometimes signifies with the Jewish writers;



and as a bird from the hand of the fowler; another metaphor, signifying the same thing.



{g} dym "statim", De Dieu; "subito", Noldius, p. 859. No. 1630. "ilico, repente", so some in Eliae Tishbi, p. 143.





Proverbs 6:6



Ver. 6. Go to the ant, thou sluggard,.... That art become surety for another, and got into a snare and net, and yet takest no pains to get out. Or this may be directed, not to the surety, but the debtor; who, through his slothfulness, has contracted debts, and uses no industry to be in a capacity to pay them. Or, it may be, this has no connection with the former; but the wise man proceeds to a new subject, and to dissuade from idleness, which brings ruin on families, and leads to all sin; and, for the instruction of idle and slothful men, proposes the example of the ant, and sends them to it to learn industry of it {h};



consider her ways; what diligence and industry it uses in providing its food; which, though a small, weak, feeble creature, yet will travel over flints and stones, climb trees, enter into towers, barns, cellars, places high and low, in search of food; never hinder, but help one another in carrying their burdens; prepare little cells to put their provisions in, and are so built as to secure them from rain; and if at any time their corn is wet, they bring out and dry it, and bite off the ends of it, that it may not grow. These, with others, are taken notice of by Frantzius {i}; and some of them by Gersom on the place;



and be wise; learn wisdom of it, and be wiser than that, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions: this is a mortification of proud men, that would be reckoned wise, to be sent to so despicable a creature to get wisdom from.



{h} So Horace gives it as an example of labour----"Parvula (nam exemplo est) magni formica laboris", &c. Sermon. l. 1. Sat. 1. v. 33, 34, 35. & Phocylides, v. 152-159. {i} Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 5. c. 8. Vid. Aelian. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 25. & l. 6. c. 43.





Proverbs 6:7



Ver. 7. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler. None to guide and direct her what to do; nor any to overlook her, to see that she does aright, or to oblige her to work, and keep her to it; nor any to call her to an account, and correct her for doing amiss; and nevertheless diligent and industrious, doing everything of herself, by the instinct of nature, readily and willingly: and yet how slothful are men; who, besides the dictates of nature, reason, and conscience, have parents, masters, ministers, and magistrates, to guide, direct, exhort, instruct, and enforce! so Aristotle {k} says of the ant, that it is

agarcov, without any ruler or governor.



{k} Hist. de Animal. l. 1. c. 1.





Proverbs 6:8



Ver. 8. Provideth her meat in the summer,.... Against the winter, of which it is mindful, when it never comes out of its place, having in the summer time got a sufficiency laid up in cells for its use: she toils in the heat of summer to get in her provision for the winter, being sensible that nothing is to be gotten then; she works at it night and day while the season lasts; so diligent is it in laying up its stores at the proper opportunity {l};



[and] gathereth her food in the harvest; the time when corn is ripe, and is shed on the earth; this it gathereth, and lays up in its repositories against a time of need. The seeds it gathers and lays up; it bites off the chit or bud end of them, that they may not grow, as Pliny {m} and others observe, but be a winter store; hence its name in Hebrew is "nemalah", from "namal", "to cut off"; it being done by biting. Yea, according to Aelianus {n}, it seems to have some sense of futurity with respect to famine, which being near, it will work exceeding hard to lay up food, fruits, and seed; and, according to Virgil {o} and others, it seems to presage old age, and therefore provides against it. An instruction this to work, while persons are in health, and have youth on their side; that they may have not only a sufficiency for present use, but to lay up against a time of sickness and old age. The Septuagint and Arabic versions add,



"or go to the bee, and learn what a worker she is, and what an admirable work she performs; whose labours kings and private persons use for health: she is desirable to all, and famous; and though weak in strength, honouring wisdom is advanced.''



But this is not in the Hebrew text; but perhaps being written in the margin of some copy of the Septuagint as a parallel instance, was by some unskilful copier put into the text of the Greek version, from whence the Arabic version has taken it; it crept in very early, for Clemens of Alexandria makes mention of it {p}.



{l} "Ac veluti ingentem formicae farris acervum", &c. Virgil. Aeneid. l. 4. v. 402, &c. So Horat. Satyr. 1. v. 36. {m} Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 30. Plutarch. vol. 2. de Solert. Animal. p. 968. {n} Vat. Hist. l. 1. c. 12. {o} "Inopi metuens formica senectae", Georgic. l. 1. v. 186. So Horace, ut supra. Juvenal. Satyr. 6. v. 360. {p} Stromat. l. 1. p. 286.





Proverbs 6:9



Ver. 9. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?.... Or "lie" {q} in bed, indulging in sloth and ease; while the industrious ant is busy in getting in its provisions, even by moonlight, as naturalists {r} observe;



when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? and be about thy lawful calling? doing the duties of religion, and the business of life; providing things honest in the sight of all men; things necessary for thyself and family, and wherewith to do good to others; exercising a conscience void of offence both to God and men. Time should not be slept away, to the neglect of the affairs of life, nor of the concerns of the immortal soul and a future state; men should not be slothful in things temporal or spiritual: whatever may be the proper time to awake and arise out of sleep in a morning, which seems to be according to a man's circumstances, health and business; it is always high time for the sinner to awake out of the sleep of sin, and arise from the dead; and for the drowsy saint to arise out of his lethargy and carnal security.



{q} bkvt "jacebis", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Gejerus; "cubabis", Piscator, Cocceius. {r} Aelian. de Animal. l. 4. c. 43.





Proverbs 6:10



Ver. 10. [Yet] a little sleep, a little slumber,.... Or, "little sleeps, little slumbers" {s}. These are the words of the sluggard, in answer to the call of him to awake and arise, desiring he might not be disturbed, but be suffered to sleep on longer: there is a very beautiful climax or gradation in the words, aptly expressing the disposition and actions of a sluggard; he first desires a "few sleeps" more, some sound sleeps one after another; which is quite agreeable to his character: and if he cannot be allowed them, then he requests a "few slumbers" at least, some dozings, till he can get himself thoroughly awake; and if these cannot be granted, yet he prays however that this might be admitted,



a little folding of the hands to sleep; or, "to lie down" {t}; a few tossings and tumblings upon the bed more, with his hands folded about his breast; a sleeping gesture, and the posture of sluggards. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "a little thou wilt embrace the breast with the hands"; and the Syriac version, "and a little thou wilt put thine hand upon thy breast". The Jewish commentators understand this as a direction and command to sleep and slumber but little, since a little sleep is sufficient for nature; or otherwise poverty will come, &c. but the former sense is best.



{s} twmwnt jem twnv jem "parvis somnis, parvis dormitationibus", Pagninus; "pauculis somnis, pauculis dormitationibus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {t} bkvl "cubando", Junius & Tremellius; "cubare", Piscator; "ad cubandum", Cocceius.





Proverbs 6:11



Ver. 11. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth,.... Either swiftly and suddenly, as a traveller makes haste to get to his journey's end, and comes upon his family or friends at an unawares; or though he moves gradually, by slow paces and silent steps, yet surely: and so it signifies that poverty should come upon the sluggard very quickly, and before he was aware: and though it might come by degrees, yet it would certainly come;



and thy want as an armed man; or, "thy wants as a man of shield" {u}: denoting many wants that should come rushing in one upon another, like a man armed with shield and buckler; appearing with great terror and force, not to be resisted. It denotes the unavoidableness of being brought into penury and want by sloth, and the terribleness of such a condition. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, add,



"but if thou art not slothful, thy harvest shall come as a fountain (as the inundation of a fountain, Arabic); but want shall flee as an evil racer (as an evil man, Arabic; far from thee, Vulgate Latin):''



but this is not in the Hebrew text.



{u} Nnm vyak "tanquam vir clypei", Montanus; "vir clypeatus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c.





Proverbs 6:12



Ver. 12. A naughty person, a wicked man,.... Or, "a man of Belial, a man of iniquity" {w}. The former signifies an unprofitable man, a man good for nothing, that is of no use to God or man; or one that is lawless, that has thrown off the yoke of the law, and will not be subject to it; Belial is the name of the devil; and here it may design such as are his children, and will do his lusts: the latter phrase signifies one that is wholly given up to work wickedness. The characters well agree with the anomov, the lawless one, the man of sin and son of perdition, antichrist, 2Th 2:3. Who



walketh with a froward mouth; speaking perverse things, things contrary to the light of nature and reason, to law and Gospel; uttering lies, and deceit, and blasphemies against God and man; to which he has used himself, and in which he continues, as the word "walketh" signifies: so antichrist has a mouth opened in blasphemies against God and his saints, Re 13:5.



{w} Nwa vya leylb "homo Belijahal, vir iniquitatis", Montanus, Vatablus, Baynus, Michaelis.





Proverbs 6:13



Ver. 13. He winketh with his eyes,.... Not through natural infirmity, but purposely and with design; with one of his eyes, as Aben Ezra, as is usual with such persons: it is the air and gesture of a sneering and deceitful man, who gives the wink to some of his friends, sneering at the weakness of another in company; or as signifying to them some secret design of his against another, which he chooses not to declare in any other way;



he speaketh with his feet; the motions of the feet have a language; the stamping of the feet expresses rage; here it seems to intend the giving of a him to another, by privately pressing his foot with his, when he should be silent or should speak, or do this or the other thing he would have him do;



he teacheth with his fingers; by stretching them out or compressing them; and so showing either scorn and contempt {x}, or rage and fury. The whole of it seems to design the secret, cunning, artful ways, which wicked men have to convey their meanings to one another, without being understood by other persons; they have a language to themselves, which they express by the motions of their eyes, feet, and fingers: and this character of art and cunning, dissimulation and deceit, fitly agrees with the man of sin, 2Th 2:10. So mimics are said to speak with their hands; some have been famous in this way {y}.



{x} "In hunc intende digitum", Plauti Pseudolus, Act. 4. Sc. 7. v. 45. "----aliis dat digito literas", Ennius. {y} Vid. Barthii Animadv. ad Claudian. de Consul. Mallii Paneg. v. 311.





Proverbs 6:14



Ver. 14. Frowardness [is] in his heart,.... Or perverse things; evil habits and principles of sin; all manner of wickedness, errors and heresies; things contrary to right reason, repugnant to the will and law of God, and the reverse of sound doctrine; all evil thoughts and evil things; see Mt 15:19;



he deviseth mischief continually; against his neighbours, and especially against good men; he is continually planning schemes, contriving methods, ways, and means, how to disturb, distress, and ruin men; being a true child of Belial, or of the devil, his heart is the forge where he is continually framing wickedness in one shape or another; and the ground which he is always ploughing up and labouring at to bring forth sin and wickedness, and with which it is fruitful;



he soweth discord; or "strifes" {z}: the Syriac version adds, "between two"; which Jarchi interprets between a man and his Maker; rather between a man and his neighbour; between one friend and another; between husband and wife, parents and children, brethren and brethren, magistrates and subjects; between kings and princes of the earth in which sort of work the man of sin, antichrist, has been very busy. The Targum is, "he casteth out strifes", as firebrands among men. The words in the Hebrew text are, "he sendeth out discord", or "strife" {a}; these are the messengers sent out by him to make mischief.



{z} Myndm "contentiones", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Gejerus; "jurgia", V. L. "lites", Baynus, Cocceius; "litigia", Schultens. {a} xlvy "mittet", Pagninus, Montanus; "immittit", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Gejerus, Schultens, Michaelis.





Proverbs 6:15



Ver. 15. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly,.... Unthought of and unexpected: he that deviseth mischief to others secretly shall have no warning of his own ruin, nor time and means of preventing it; the destruction of antichrist will be sudden, and of all wicked men at the coming of Christ, 1Th 5:3;



suddenly shall he be broken without remedy; or, "and there shall be no healing" {b}: his bones will be broken to pieces, and there will be no cure for him; or he shall be like an earthen vessel, which, when broke, cannot be put together again. The ruin of wicked men is sudden, inevitable, and irreparable; so antichrist will "come to his end, and none shall help him", Da 11:45.



{b} aprm Nyaw "et non sanitas", Pagninus, Montanus; "curatio", Junius & Tremellius; "medicina", Piscator, Cocceius.





Proverbs 6:16



Ver. 16. These six [things] doth the Lord hate,.... That is, the six following, which are all to be found in a man of Belial, a wicked man before described. There are other things besides these that God hates, and indeed more so; as sins against the first table, which more immediately strike at his being, horror, and glory; these being such as are against the second table, but are mentioned, as more especially appearing in the character of the above person; and must be hateful to God, as contrary to his nature, will, and law;



yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him; or, "the abomination of his soul" {c}; what his soul abhors, or he abhors from his very heart: meaning not seven others, but one more along with the six, which make seven; a like way of speaking, see in Pr 30:15. Nor is the word "abomination" to be restrained to the "seventh", or "hatred" to the "sixth"; but they are all to be supposed to be hateful and abominable to the Lord; though some think the cardinal number is put for the ordinal, "seven" for the "seventh"; as if the seventh, which is sowing discord among brethren, was of all the most abominable, Pr 6:19; it being what was last mentioned in the character of the wicked man, Pr 6:14; and which seems to have given occasion to, and for the sake of which this enumeration is made.



{c} wvpn twbewt "abominatio ejus animae", Montanus, Vatablus, Mercerus, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens.





Proverbs 6:17



Ver. 17. A proud look,.... Or, "eyes elated" {d}; scorning to look down upon others; or looking upon them with disdain; or reckoning them as unworthy to be looked upon, having an high opinion of their own worth and merit. Pride is the first of the hateful things mentioned; it being the first sin committed, as is probable, the sin of the angels, and of the first man; and is a predominant evil in human nature, and is directly opposite to God and to his nature, and against which he sets himself; for "he resisteth the proud", Jas 4:6; the pride of the heart shows itself in the eyes, or by the looks of a man; Gersom says, the phrase denotes impudence and haughtiness;



a lying tongue; that is the second of the hateful things; a tongue speaking falsehood, knowingly and willingly, with an intention to deceive others; to hurt the character of a neighbour, or to flatter a friend, is a most detestable evil; it ought to be so to men, it must be so to God, who is a God of truth: nor is there anything in which a man more resembles the devil, who is the father of lies;



and hands that shed innocent blood; human blood; and that of persons who have not been guilty of any capital sin, for which they ought to die by the laws of God or men, and yet shed or poured out as common water; such hands must be defiled, and such men must be hateful to God, they destroying his image, and being like to the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning. These "three" sins are plainly to be seen in the son of Belial, antichrist, who exalts himself above all that is called God, the kings and princes of the earth; he and his followers speak lies in hypocrisy; and is the whore that is drunk with the blood of the saints, 2Th 2:4.



{d} twmr Mynye "oculi clati", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.





Proverbs 6:18



Ver. 18. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,.... Or, "thoughts of wickedness" {e}; which are framed and formed in the heart: and this being the source and fountain of all wickedness, is placed in the midst of these hateful and abominable things; See Gill on "Pr 6:14"; evil thoughts and designs, both against God and men, are intended, which are forged and fabricated in the wicked heart of man; and may respect the depths of Satan in the antichristian beast of Rome, Re 2:24;



feet that be swift in running to mischief; to commit all manner of sin with greediness, especially murder; see Pr 1:16.



{e} Nwa twbvxm "cogitationes iniquitatis", Montanus; "cogitationes vanitatis", Cocceius.





Proverbs 6:19



Ver. 19. A false witness [that] speaketh lies,.... Or, "that speaketh lies, [even] a false witness" {f}; and so this is distinguished from a lying tongue, the second of these evils: this is the sin of bearing false witness against one's neighbour, a breach of the eighth command. It may be rendered, "he that bloweth lies" {g}; that raises lies, and spreads them abroad, and swears to them, to the damage of others. This makes the sixth; and the seventh follows,



and him that soweth discord among brethren; whether in a natural relation, or in a civil society, or in a religious community.



{f} So Vatablus, Mercerus, &c. {g} Mybzk xypy "qui efflat mendacia", Piscator, Michaelis.





Proverbs 6:20



Ver. 20. My son, keep thy father's commandment,.... These are not the words of David to Solomon continued from Pr 4:4; but the words of Solomon to his son; and not to his son only, in a strict natural relation, but to everyone that came to him for and put himself under his instruction; and to everyone that stood in such a relation to a religious father; for not the divine Being, the Father of all, is here meant, according to some Jewish writers; though the commandment no doubt is the commandment of God taught by godly parents; or such a system of precepts that is founded upon and agrees unto the revealed will of God, and which being so should be laid up and kept in the heart, and not forgotten; and should be observed and attended to and obeyed throughout the whole course of life, as if it was the commandment of God himself; and indeed it is no other than that which pious parents train up their children in the knowledge of, instil into them, and urge upon them the observance of;



and forsake not the law of thy mother; the same as before, and which is mentioned to show that the same respect is to be had to a mother as to a father, the commandment and law of them being the same, and they standing in the same relation; which yet children are apt to make a difference in, and while they stand in awe of their father and his precepts, slight their mother and her directions, which ought not to be. Some understand this of the congregation of Israel, as some Jewish writers; and others of the church of God, the mother of us all.





Proverbs 6:21



Ver. 21. Bind them continually upon thine heart,.... Not upon the head or arm, as the words of the law were to be bound, De 6:3; to which there seems to be an allusion; and which may confirm the sense of the words given, that this respects the law of God itself, and the precepts of it, instructed in by parents; but they should be bound upon the heart, and have an abiding place in the understanding, affections, memory, and will;



[and] tie them about thy neck; as an ornament, instead of a necklace of pearl, or chains of gold; they should be so far from being thought burdensome and troublesome, that they should be reckoned comely and graceful; see Pr 1:9.





Proverbs 6:22



Ver. 22. When thou goest, it shall lead thee,.... The law of God taught by parents; this directs man in the path of duty and business of life; teaches him what way to shun, and which to walk in; it leads out of the paths of sin, and into the way in which he should go, which is most conducive to his good, and to the glory of God; it will lead him safely, so that he shall not stumble, Pr 3:3;



when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; from terrifying dreams, evil spirits, dangers by fire or thieves; one that observes it conscientiously may lie down and sleep, secure of the guardianship of divine Providence, and not fear any evil; or "shall watch over thee" {h} in the night season;



and [when] thou awakest, it shall talk with thee; familiarly; and instruct what to do, and how to behave the day following; or "it shall go out with thee" {i}, into the fields for a morning's walk, and assist in meditation. Jarchi interprets this of sleeping by death, and of awaking at the resurrection of the dead.



{h} Kyle rmvt "excubabit apud te", Cocceius; "excubias aget super te", Michaelis, Schultens. {i} Kxwvt ayh "illa ipsa spatiabitur tecum", Schultens.





Proverbs 6:23



Ver. 23. For the commandment [is] a lamp,.... The law of God is a lamp or candle to see to work by and to walk by; it enlightens the eyes and directs the feet, and makes working more pleasant, and walking more comfortable; and indeed wit, bout it a man knows not rightly what to do or where he should walk, or where he is walking; see Ps 119:105;



and the law [is] light; it makes things clear and manifest, what is right and what is wrong; it enlightens the eyes of the understanding, whereby persons come to see both their sin and their duty; and it directs them to avoid the one and do the other; see Ps 19:8;



and reproofs of instruction [are] the way life; kind reproofs given by parents agreeable to the word of God, which instruct what should be shunned and what should be performed, when attended to, put men in the way of an honourable and useful life; and are the means of preserving them from a scandalous and useless one.





Proverbs 6:24



Ver. 24. To keep thee from the evil woman,.... This is one use of the profit arising from attending to the instructions of parents, and to the law of God, as taught by them; to preserve from fornication and adultery, one of its precepts expressly forbidding adultery and all corporeal uncleanness; and the whole of it directing to an observance of all duties respecting God and our neighbour, which requires diligence and industry, and prevents idleness, that inlet to all sin, and especially to uncleanness {k};



from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman; the same with the evil woman, the lewd and adulterous one; see Pr 2:16. Jarchi interprets this of idolatry; the character well agrees with the idolatrous church of Rome, or antichrist, represented by a whore,

Re 17:1; as this woman is called "the woman of evil" {l}, for so it may be rendered, one very evil, given up and abandoned to sin; so antichrist is called "the man of sin", 2Th 2:3; and as this woman is said to have the "smoothness of a strange tongue" {m}, as the words may be translated, and are by the Targum; so the religion of this false church is delivered in a strange language the people understand not, by which they are kept in ignorance and deception; now the word of God read and explained in the mother tongue, and especially the Gospel part of it, the doctrine of wisdom, is a means of preserving persons from the errors and heresies, superstition and idolatry, of the church of Rome, and from being carried away with their false glosses, and gaudy worship, and all its deceivable ways of unrighteousness.



{k} "Otia si tollas periere cupidinis arcus", Ovid. de Remed. Amor. l. 1. v. 139. Quaeritur Aegistheus, "quare sit factus adulter?--in promptu causa est, desidiosus erat". Ibid. v. 161, 162. {l} er tvam "a muliere mali", Baynus, Mercerus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. {m} hyrkn Nwvl tqlxm "a lenitate linguae extraneae", Montanus; "a laevitate linguae peregrinae", Michaelis; "ex lubrica glabritie linguae peregrinae", Schultens.





Proverbs 6:25



Ver. 25. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart,.... Do not look upon it with the eye, nor dwell upon it in the thought; the one will lead on to and kindle last in the heart, and the other will cherish it and blow it up into a flame; and lust thus conceived and nourished in the heart is no other than committing adultery, Mt 5:28;



neither let her take thee with her eyelids; let her not take thee from instruction with them, so Aben Ezra, from attending to that; or let her not take thy wisdom from thee, so Jarchi; or rather let her not take thee as in a net, with the sparkling of her eyes, with the wanton and amorous glances of them; so the Syriac version, "let her not captivate thee", &c. which applied to the antichristian church, may signify the outward pomp and grandeur of it, its pretensions to antiquity, to the apostolic see, to infallibility, miracles, great devotion, &c. which are taking to men, and are the Circean cup with which she bewitches and allures, Re 17:4. The Targum is,



"let her not seduce thee,'' &c.





Proverbs 6:26



Ver. 26. For by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a piece of bread,.... To be glad of one, and to beg for one, for the least morsel; it is expressive of the extreme poverty and want which harlots bring men to, who strip them of all their substance, and then send them going to get their bread as they can; thus the prodigal, having spent his substance with harlots, was so reduced as to desire the husks which swine ate, Lu 15:13; so spiritual fornication or idolatry leaves men without bread for their souls, brings them into spiritual poverty, and even to desperation and death;



and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life; or "soul" {n}; not content with his precious substance, his jewels, his gold and silver; having stripped him of his goods and livelihood, though some think that is here intended; she lays snares for him, and draws him into those evils which bring him into the hands of her husband, who avenges himself by slaying the adulterer; or into the hands of the civil magistrate, by whom this sin of adultery was punished with death; nay, is the occasion of the ruin of his precious and immortal soul to all eternity: the precious souls of men are part of the wares of antichrist, Re 18:13.



{n} vpn "animam", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.





Proverbs 6:27



Ver. 27. Can a man take fire in his bosom,.... A whore is compared to fire, and is so called by the poets {o}; and it is a saying of Pythagoras,



"it is a like thing to fall into fire and into a woman {p};''



the Hebrew words va, "esh", "fire", and hvya, "ishah", "a woman", have some affinity in sound; and the phrase of taking it "into the bosom" fitly expresses the impure embraces of a harlot;



and his clothes not be burned? he cannot, it is impossible; and equally vain is it to think that a man can commit whoredom and it not be known, or he not hurt by it in his name and substance, or in his body, soul, and life.



{o} Plauti Bacehides, Act. 4. Sc. 9. v. 15. "Accede ad ignem hunc", Terent. Eunuehus, Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 5. {p} to eiv pur kai eiv gunaika, apud Maximum, Eclog. c. 39.





Proverbs 6:28



Ver. 28. Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?] He cannot; if he sets his feet upon them, and continues them ever so little on them, they will be burnt, and much more if he walks upon them; and so if a man gives way to the burning lusts of his heart after a whorish woman, and commits adultery with her, though not with frequency, he will not escape punishment in one shape or another; and much more if he continues such a lewd course of life; such practices are extremely dangerous {q}, and there is no possibility of being unhurt by them: see Job 31:12; the lake of fire and brimstone, everlasting burnings, will be the portion of those that commit fornication with the whore of Rome, Re 14:10.



{q} "Periculosae plenum opus aleae tractas: et incedis per ignes suppositos cineri doloso", Horat. Carmin. l. 2. Ode. 1.





Proverbs 6:29



Ver. 29. So he that goeth into his neighbour's wife,.... To converse with her, or lie with her, as the Targum; for it means not barely going into her house or chamber, or into her company, though without any ill design at first, which yet may be dangerous; but committing adultery with her, as this phrase is often used, Ge 19:31;



whosoever toucheth her; by impure dalliances, and especially by carnal copulation with her, in which sense it is used, See Gill on "1Co 7:1";



shall not be innocent; or free {r} from disgrace and infamy, from loss of substance or health; from punishment in this life, either by the jealous husband or civil magistrate; and in the world to come by the Lord himself; for "whoremongers and adulterers God will judge",

Heb 13:4.



{r} xqny al "non insons, vel immunis", Schultens; so Gejerus.





Proverbs 6:30



Ver. 30. [Men] do not despise a thief, if he steal,.... They do not discommend or reproach him for it, or fix a mark of infamy upon him, or expose him to public shame by whipping him; but rather excuse him and pity him when it appears what his case is, what put him upon it, and that he had no other intention in it than to do as follows;



to satisfy his soul; his craving appetite for food, having nothing to eat, nor no other way of getting any: the words should be supplied thus, "for he does this to satisfy his soul"; or, as the Syriac version, "for he steals to satisfy his soul": and so they are a reason why men do not despise him, nor use him ill, because it is done with no other view; not with a wicked design to hurt his neighbour, nor with a covetous intent to increase his own substance in an unlawful way, but only to satisfy nature in distress; and another reason follows, or the former confirmed;



when he is hungry; or for "he is hungry" {s}; pressed with famine; the temptation is great, nature urges him to it; and though it is criminal, men in such cases wilt not bear hard upon him for it. The Targum is,



"it is not to be wondered at in a thief that he should steal to satisfy his soul when it is hungry.''



The Vulgate Latin version is,



"it is not a great fault when anyone steals, for he steals to fill a hungry soul;''



it is a fault, but it is not a very heinous one, at least it is not so heinous as adultery, for the sake of which it is mentioned, and with which it is compared: the design of the instance is to show the adultery is far greater than that; and yet in our age we see that the one is severely punished even with death for trifling things, when the other goes unpunished.



{s} ber yk "quia esurit", Cocceius, Michaelis.





Proverbs 6:31



Ver. 31. But [if] he be found, he shall restore sevenfold,.... According to the law in Ex 22:1; in case of theft double was to be restored, if the theft was found alive in his hand; and in some cases fourfold and fivefold. Aben Ezra observing that double and fivefold being near together in the law, joins them, and so makes sevenfold. Some think Solomon has reference to a law in other nations, which obliged to a sevenfold restoration; or that the penalty was increased in his time, but neither appears; rather the meaning is, that a thief should make restoration according to law as often as he is found guilty, be it seven times, or seventy times seven, Mt 18:21; or the sense is, that be should make perfect restoration, full restitution as the law requires: but then this finding: him is not to be understood of finding him in the fact, stealing to satisfy hunger, for then to insist upon a legal restitution, as it is incompatible with such a man's circumstances, so would contradict what is before said, that such an one is not usually reproached and found fault with; but the sense is, if it should be found otherwise, or it should be found that he has food to satisfy his soul, as Gersom observes, and has no need to steal; or if he is found in a man's house, then he shall make restitution as the law directs, even a full one, Ex 22:2;



he shall give all the substance of his house: to pay the sevenfold, or to make full restitution; nay, if necessary, he himself may be sold, as the above law requires.





Proverbs 6:32



Ver. 32. [But] whoso committeth adultery with a woman,.... Which is a greater degree of theft than the former, it being the stealing of another man's wife;



lacketh understanding; or "an heart" {t}; the thief lacks bread, and therefore steals, but this man lacks wisdom, and therefore acts so foolish a part; the one does it to satisfy hunger, the other a brutish lust;



he [that] doeth it destroyeth his own soul; is liable to have his life taken away by the husband of the adulteress; so according to Solon's law {u} the adulterer taken in the act might be killed by the husband: or by the civil magistrate; for according to the law of. Moses he was to die, either to be strangled or stoned, See Gill on "Joh 8:5"; and besides, he not only ruins the natural faculties of his soul, besotting, corrupting, and depraving that, giving his heart to a whore, but brings eternal destruction on it; yet so foolish is he, though it issues in the ruin of his precious soul; "he does this" {w}, for so the first part of this clause, which stands last in the original text, may be rendered.



{t} bl rox "deficit corde", Pagninus, Montanus; "caret corde", Mercerus, Gejerus; so Michaelis. {u} Plutarch. in Vita Solon. p. 90. {w} hnvey awh "ipse faeiet illud", Montanus; "ipse faciet hoc", so some in Vatablus; "is id faciet, sive facit", Cocceius; "ille facit id", Michaelis; "is patrabit illud", Schultens.





Proverbs 6:33



Ver. 33. A wound and dishonour shall he get,.... A wound, stroke, or blow, either from the husband of the strumpet, as was often the case {x} in later times; or from the civil magistrate, being ordered by him to be beaten {y} or stoned; or from God himself inflicting diseases on him; see Ge 12:17; where the same word is used as here: and "dishonour" from men; for though they do not despise a thief in circumstances before related, yet they will despise an adulterer, and speak reproachfully of him, whenever they have occasion to make mention of him;



and his reproach shall not be wiped away; as long as he lives, though his life may be spared; yea, it shall even continue after death; and though he may repent of his sin and reform, as in the case of David.



{x} "Secat ille cruentis verberibus", Juvenal. Satyr. 10. v. 316. Vid. A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 17. c. 18. Horat. Satyr. l. 1. Sat. 2. v. 41, 42. {y} Valer. Maximus, l. 6. c. 1. s. 13.





Proverbs 6:34



Ver. 34. For jealousy [is] the rage of a man,.... Fills a man with rage against him of whom he is jealous; which keeps boiling within him, till he has an opportunity of venting it: and very severe it is; it is strong as death, and cruel as the grave;



therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance; when he has an opportunity of avenging himself; whenever he finds the adulterer in his house, or catches him and his wife in bed together, he spares not to take away his life, and sometimes the life of both of them; instances of this nature history furnishes us with: or he will spare no cost and pains to prosecute him before a civil magistrate, and bring him to public justice; prayers and entreaties, bribes and gifts, wilt be of no avail, as follows.





Proverbs 6:35



Ver. 35. He will not regard any ransom,.... So that his case is much worse than, a thief's; if he is taken, he makes restitution according to law, and he is freed, and no more is said and done to him; and, at most, it is but parting with all the goods in his house; but in this case it will not do. In the Hebrew text it is, "he will not accept the face of any ransom" {z}; that is, as the Targum paraphrases it,



"he will not accept the face of anyone that gives a gift:''



he will have no respect unto him for the sake of the gift; whatever gift is offered, be it what it will, for the ransom of his life from death, it will be disregarded;



neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts; increase them, and keep continually giving; nothing but the life of the adulterer will satisfy him, which he will either take away himself, or obtain it in a way of legal prosecution. How foolish therefore is the man that will expose his name and credit, his health and substance, his life in this world, and his soul in another, to utter ruin, for the sake of gratifying a sordid lust! This may be interpreted of God, who is a jealous God in matters of worship, and will not suffer idolatry to go unpunished, which is spiritual adultery.



{z} ynp avy al "non accipiet facies", Montanus; "non acceptabit faciem ullius redemptionis", Mercerus, Gejerus; "ullius lytri", Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Proverbs 7:1



INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 7



The sum of this chapter is to exhort men to attend to the doctrines and precepts of Wisdom, in order to avoid the adulterous woman; the exhortation to keep them with care, affection, and delight, in order to answer the end, is in Pr 7:1. A story is told, of Solomon's own knowledge, of a young man ensnared and ruined by a lewd woman; it begins Pr 7:6. The young man is described as foolish, and as throwing himself in the way of temptation, Pr 7:7; the harlot that met him is described by her attire, her subtlety, her voice, her inconstancy, her impudence, and pretensions to piety, Pr 7:10. The arguments she made use of to prevail upon him to go with her are taken partly from the elegance of her bed, the softness of it, and its sweet perfume, and satiety of love to be enjoyed in it, Pr 7:15; and partly from the absence of her husband, who was gone a long journey, and had made provision for it for a certain time, Pr 7:19. By which arguments she prevailed upon him to his utter ruin: which is illustrated by the similes of an ox going to the slaughter, a fool to the stocks, and a bird to the snare, Pr 7:21. And the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to hearken to the words of Wisdom, and to avoid the ways and paths of the harlot, by which many and mighty persons have been ruined; they being the direct road to hell and death, Pr 7:24.



Ver. 1. My son, keep my words,.... Doctrines and instructions; which, as a father to a son, or a master to his scholars, he had delivered; these he would have him observe and attend to;



and lay up my commandments with thee: as a treasure in his heart, to be brought out upon occasion; to be kept as valuable, and made use of as an antidote against and a preservative from sinning; see Ps 119:11. The Septuagint and Arabic versions add, what is not in the Hebrew text,



"son, honour the Lord, and thou shalt be strong;''



the Arabic adds,



"and he shall strengthen thee; and fear none besides him.''





Proverbs 7:2



Ver. 2. Keep my commandments and live,.... Not the commandments of the law only, but the commandments of Christ; and even the doctrines of Christ are so called, as faith in him, and love to the saints, 1Jo 3:23; which is the way to live comfortably, peaceably, pleasantly, and honourably;



and my law as the apple of thine eye; the doctrine of Christ, the law of the Lord, that goes out of Zion; which should be as dear to men as the apple of their eye, and as carefully preserved, that the least injury is not done to it; it should be kept inviolate.





Proverbs 7:3



Ver. 3. Bind them upon thy fingers,.... Let the above words and doctrines be as ready and familiar as if they were at the fingers' ends; or let them be always fresh in memory, as a piece of thread is tied about the fingers, to put in mind of anything to be done; or let them be as rings upon the fingers, both memorial and ornamental: or put into practice the things taught and commanded; the fingers being the instruments of action, and especially of doing things nicely and accurately;



write them upon the table of thine heart; that they may be strong in the memory, deep in the affection, and abiding in the understanding and will; see Pr 3:3.





Proverbs 7:4



Ver. 4. Say unto wisdom, Thou art [my] sister,.... Intimately acquainted, greatly beloved, and highly delighted in: this may be understood both of the Gospel, the wisdom of God in a mystery, which men should be conversant with, be strongly affected to, and take delight and pleasure in; and of Christ, the essential Wisdom of God, and who stands in the relation of a brother to his people, and should be respected as such;



and call understanding [thy] kinswoman; or "kinsman" {a}; such Christ is in our nature, our "goel", our near kinsman, partaker of the same flesh and blood, and therefore is not ashamed to call us brethren, nor should we be ashamed to call him kinsman: moreover, his Word and Gospel, and the understanding of it, should be familiar to us; it should be well "known" {b} by us, as the word used signifies, and dwell richly in us.



{a} edm "cognatum", Piscator. {b} "Notam", Montanus, Michaelis.





Proverbs 7:5



Ver. 5. That they may keep thee from the strange woman,.... Nothing has a greater tendency than Christ and his Gospel, and an intimate acquaintance with them, and a retention of them, to keep from all sin, from all fleshly lusts, from the sin of uncleanness; and also from all the errors, heresies, idolatry, superstition, and will worship, of the whore of Rome; a stranger to God and true godliness, to Christ and his truths, the Spirit and his operations;



from the stranger [which] flattereth with her words;

See Gill on "Pr 2:16",

see Gill "Pr 5:3", and

see Gill "Pr 6:24".





Proverbs 7:6



Ver. 6. For at the window of my house,.... This is either an historical account of a matter of fact known to Solomon, or a parable made by him, setting forth the cunning artifices of an harlot, the folly and weakness of a young man ensnared, and the ruin he is brought into by her. As Solomon was a public magistrate, he is here represented as a private observer of the behaviour of his subjects, as sitting in his palace at a window, at the small windows of it, as the Targum, where he could see and not be seen himself; near to which was an harlot's house; for they generally get about the courts of princes, where they make their prey;



I looked through my casement; or "lattice" {c}; the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions: understand this of the harlot looking out of the window of her house and through the casement, when she spied a young man, as follows; but this agrees not with the Hebrew text, which carries it to Solomon; though a greater than he may be designed, the omniscient God, who looks through the windows and lattice of heaven, and beholds all the actions of the children of men; those that are most private, and done in the dark; and Christ the Son of God, whose "eyes [are] like unto aflame of fire", to look through all the darkness of Popery, represented by the Thyatirian church state; into all the intrigues of the Romish harlot, and behold all the follies of those that commit fornication with her, Re 2:18.



{c} ybnva deb "per cancellum meum", Montanus; "per cancellos", Tigurine version, Michaelis.





Proverbs 7:7



Ver. 7. And beheld among the simple ones,.... Such as are easily persuaded and drawn into sin; simple and foolish in things moral and spiritual, and not arrived to any ripeness of understanding in things natural and civil; have seen but little of the world, and know less of religion, and are easily imposed upon and carried away with the company they keep; such simple foolish creatures are the followers of antichrist; see 2Ti 3:6;



I discerned among the youths; or "children" {d}; at least in understanding, the children Jezebel, Re 2:23;



a young man void of understanding; or "wanting a heart" {e}; to know and fear the Lord, and not in the way to learn and improve; but in company like himself, and so in a fair way to continue foolish and simple, and destitute of the true understanding of things, and exposed to the snares delusions of such that lie in wait to deceive.



{d} Mynbb "inter filios", Pagninus, &c. {e} bl rox "carentem corde", Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus; "destitutum corde", Schultens.





Proverbs 7:8



Ver. 8. Passing through the street near her corner,.... The house of the harlot that stood in a corner to take in persons that came both ways; to come near which is dangerous; this was putting himself in the way of temptation; or the corner of the street where she stood to pick up young men; it could be with no good design to walk the streets in the night, and to go where harlots haunt, and where they dwell or stand; or, however, it was exposing himself to danger, and, had he took the wise man's advice, would not have done it, Pr 5:8; we should abstain from all appearance of evil, and from everything that leads to sin; and as to immorality and uncleanness, so to false doctrine and false worship; the synagogues of Satan and Popish chapels should be avoided;



and he went the way to her house; that led directly to her house, which shows a bad intention; and if his design was not to commit fornication, yet to gratify his lusts by looks, dalliances, and impure discourse with her; and hither he went in a set, stately manner, as the word {f} signifies; with an air pleasing to the harlot, as a beau and fop of the town; and by which air and gait he was known by her to be a proper person to attack.



{f} deuy "intelligitur incessus, compositus et pomposus", Piscator; "magnis et patheticis possibus", Michaelis; "est aliquid grande et audax in verbo", Schultens.





Proverbs 7:9



Ver. 9. In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. Which is the usual time adulterers take to commit their works of darkness in, by which they think to conceal them; they being such as they themselves do not care should be seen and known, Job 24:15; their works will not bear the sun and daylight, therefore they take the twilight and when the sun is set; and choose the night, and not light nights neither, but the blackest and darkest nights, as fittest for their purpose; most likely to meet with harlots, and less liable to be seen by their neighbours; but always to be seen by the omniscient God, with whom the darkness and the light are both alike. Perhaps these several words may express the time from the young man's first setting out to his drawing nigh to the harlot's house, and his being attacked and ensnared by her; when he first set out from his own or his father's house, it was "twilight", the sun was declining; by that time he had got good part of his way the sun set, and then it was "evening"; and when he came near the harlot's house it was "black [and] dark night": and this may represent the gradual and progressive growth of Popery; there was first a "twilight", a decline of the purity of Gospel light and knowledge, and then the sun of the Gospel set, which brought on an "evening", and issued in the gross "darkness" of Popery, represented by the Thyatirian church state, as before observed; since that, the "morning star" of the Reformation has appeared, but this is become obscure, we are in a twilight again; it is neither day nor night with us as yet, but a dark black night is hastening on; and it is easy to observe how many, like this foolish young man, are marching on in a stately manner to the harlot's house, or are verging to Popery, whether they design it or not.





Proverbs 7:10



Ver. 10. And, behold, there met him a woman,.... A married woman, and an adulteress, as the following account of her shows; as soon as ever she discerned the young man before described, who she knew, by his air, walk, and dress, was a fit person for her turn, she at once set out from her house, or the corner where she stood, and met him; she did not wait till he came up and made his suit to her, but she went out, and first attacked him; wherefore the word "behold" is prefixed as a note of admiration at the impudence of the woman, and as a note of attention to observe the consequence of this affair. This woman represents the woman on a scarlet-coloured beast, the mother of harlots, who, though she pretends to be the spouse of Christ, is an arrant whore,

Re 17:3;



[with] the attire of a harlot; not with her face veiled, as Tamar was,

Ge 38:14; for though that might be the sign of a harlot in the daytime, yet not in the night, as this was; rather with showy gaudy garments, such as the Athenian whores wore, or short ones, as the Romans; the word signifies one fitted to her body, neat and well shaped, to recommend her: so the woman, the whore of Rome, is said to be arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls; signifying the outward pomp and splendour of the Romish religion, designed to captivate weak and unwary minds,

See Gill on "Re 17:4";



and subtle of heart; mistress of all artful and intriguing methods to seduce and ensnare {g}; or, "reserved of heart" {h}, cautious and wary what she said, told everything that was encouraging, but kept back what was discouraging; or she kept her own heart to herself, while she stole the hearts of others; so the Targum renders it,



"which takes away the hearts of young men;''



and to the same purpose are the versions of the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic: the subtlety of the popes, priests, jesuits, and other emissaries of Rome, to deceive the hearts of the simple, is well known; the coming of antichrist was after the working of Satan, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, 2Th 2:9.



{g} "Fallendique vias mille ministret amor", Tibullus ad Junonem, 6. v. 12. {h} bl trun "cauta corde", Tigurine version, Mercerus: Gejerus; "retento corde", Cocceius.





Proverbs 7:11



Ver. 11. She [is] loud and stubborn,.... "Loud"; not that her voice may be heard, and so be found by those that seek her in the dark, as Aben Ezra interprets it; but rather clamorous, noisy, and talkative, when she has got her gallant with her; pouring out foolish and unchaste words to allure and entice him; unless it is to be understood of her bawling and scolding, when within doors, at her husband, in order to get him out, and be rid of him; to whom she is "stubborn" or "rebellious", as the Targum, breaking covenant with him, and disobeying his commands; and departing from him, declining out of the way, as Jarchi; speaking rebellion, as Aben Ezra: all which agree with the whore of Rome, who is rebellious against Christ, whose spouse she professes to be; is perfidious to him, disobedient to his commandments; is gone out of the way of his truths and ordinances, and publishes and encourages everything that is contrary thereunto; as well as has a mouth speaking blasphemies, Re 13:5;



her feet abide not in her house; to attend the business of it; but site is gadding abroad to seek her lovers, and bring them in; it is the character of good women that they are keepers at home, but it is the sign of a harlot to gad abroad, which is enlarged upon in Pr 7:11.





Proverbs 7:12



Ver. 12. Now [is she] without,.... The word for whore is sometimes rendered in the Targum {i} one that goes abroad, or without her house; sitting or standing at the door of it, in an idle posture, and in order to invite her lovers in; and if she can get none this way, or quickly, grows impatient: she is



now in the streets; takes her walks abroad in the streets of the city, to see who she can light of, to pick up and bring home;



and lieth in wait at every corner; of the street, where more ways meet, sometimes at one corner, and sometimes at another, that she may take all that comes; sometimes she is "without" in the fields, and in the country, to see what she can meet with there; and sometimes in the "streets" of the city, and in the populous places of it, in the markets, and courts, and in every private corner, trying all ways to gain lovers, and satisfy her lust {k}: all which may represent the diligence and industry, art and cunning, of the Romish emissaries to gain proselytes to their idolatrous worship, who everywhere lie in wait to deceive.



{i} Targ. Onk. in Gen. xxxiv. 31. {k} "Mille modi veneris", Ovid de Arte Amandi, l. 3. prope finem.





Proverbs 7:13



Ver. 13. So she caught him, and kissed him,.... The young man that went near her corner where she was plying, or in the way to her house, where she was sitting, or standing, waiting and watching for such an opportunity, for such a person, as a prey to fasten on; and no sooner she saw him, and come up to him, but, without any ceremony or address, she laid hold upon him, as the word {l} signifies, threw her arms about his neck, and embraced him in them; and, what is unusual for women to do, kissed him, in order to stir up wanton affections and impure desires in him;



[and] with an impudent face; or, "and she strengthened her face" {m}; rubbed her forehead, put on a brasen face, a whore's front; see Jer 3:3. And



said unto him; accosted him in the following manner, without shame or blushing.



{l} wb hqyzxh "apprehendit eum", Pagninus, Mercerus, Gejerus, Michaelis, Schultens. {m} hynp hzeh "et roboravit facies suas", Montanus; "vultumque suum obfirmavit", Schultens, so Michaelis; "obfirmabat", Cocceius.





Proverbs 7:14



Ver. 14. [I have] peace offerings with me,.... Meaning at her house. These peace offerings were of the eucharistic kind; they were offered by way of thanksgiving for favours received; the greatest part of which, all excepting the fat on the kidneys, the rump of the sheep, the breast and right shoulder, which were the priest's, were returned to the offerers to feast upon with their friends, and were to be eaten the same day, Le 7:11. This she said to show that she was no common strumpet, or that prostituted herself for gain; that she was a sufficient housewife, had a considerable affluence of life, her substance greatly increased, for which she had made her thank offering that day; that she wanted nothing of him but his company, and the enjoyment of him; and that she had good cheer to regale him with. She was properly hvdq, "a holy" religious harlot, as the word sometimes signifies; and such is the church of Rome, which makes great pretensions to devotion and religion, yet is the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth, Re 17:5;



this day have I paid my vows; not on account of the young man, and for his health, and for meeting with him; for those vows were not now made to be paid, but were made and paid already: but her vows of peace offerings and thanksgivings, which, as she had promised, she had performed. Under this point may be reckoned the vows of virginity and celibacy, through a show of which the most shocking iniquities are committed by the members of the church of Rome.





Proverbs 7:15



Ver. 15. Therefore came I forth to meet thee,.... Having so much good cheer at home, and none to eat of it with her; and having so fond and affectionate a regard to this young man, as she pretended; he being the only person in her thoughts, whom she hoped to meet with, and whose company she desired, and his only; though, had she met any other, she would have said the same things to them. Aben Ezra, upon Pr 7:14, says, she told him lies; probably that might be true; but this was no doubt a lie; and it is no unusual thing for the whore of Rome to speak lies in hypocrisy, 1Ti 4:2;



diligently to seek thy face; which of all faces she desired to see, being most lovely to her; with the comeliness of which she was exceedingly taken and ravished, and got up betimes in the morning, as the word {n} signifies, even before day, to seek for him;



and I have found thee; which she speaks with a rapture and ecstasy of joy; blessing herself on this happy occasion, that she should come out so opportunely, and find him so quickly; intimating, that it was a kind providence, and that the thing was of God: so conversions to the antichristian church, which are the artifice of hell, are ascribed to the divine Being.



{n} rxvl "ad quaerendum mane", Montanus.





Proverbs 7:16



Ver. 16. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry,.... Made use of by the ancients {o} for bed clothes: beautiful ornaments, as Gersom; and precious garments, as Jarchi. She had adorned her bed with curtains and clothes, very delightful to the eye, and inviting; and had well corded it, as some interpret it, with cords of fine linen, and all to allure her lovers; she soon discovered her lustful inclinations, what her heart was upon, and says this, and more, to fire the young man's lust, and cause him to follow her: so the church of Rome adorns her places of worship in the most pompous manner; which are the beds in which she commits adultery, Re 2:22; and also her images to strike the minds of people, and draw them into her idolatrous worship;



with carved [works]; perhaps the bed's head, tester, and posts, were all carved, and cut out of cedar wood and others, as Gersom observes; though some think: this refers to the variety of work in tapestry, which look like incisions and carvings, or the network, and agnet holes made therein: this may be very well applied to the carved work, and carved images, set up in the Romish churches;



with fine linen of Egypt; the sheets, pillows, and bolsters, made thereof, and so soft to lie upon; which was reckoned the best and finest, though not the strongest. Pliny says {p}, of the linen of Egypt, that it had less strength and firmness in it (it being so fine); but bore the best price, and was the most gainful and profitable. The word used is not what is elsewhere met with, even when the linen of Egypt is mentioned, and indeed is nowhere else used: the Targum renders it, an Egyptian covering; and so most of the Oriental versions interpret it of bed coverings of tapestry painted, brought out of Egypt. The word is used in the Chaldee language for cords; and may here signify threads of linen twisted together, or linen cords, with which the harlot's bed was corded, and looked beautiful. Pliny {q} says, there were four sorts of linen in Egypt; Tanitic, Pelusiac, Butic, and Tenterytic; so called from the names and provinces where they were cultivated; and perhaps the Etun of Egypt may be the Tanitic: the fine linen, called "byssus", was brought out of India into Egypt; and is said to grow upon a tree as high as the poplar, and its leaves like a willow {r}. Egypt is very properly made mention of in this account; it being one of the names of the city of Rome, of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, and equal to both for lust and luxury, Re 11:8.



{o} Vid. Homer. Odyss. 4. c. 299. & Odyss. 7. prope finem. {p} Nat. Hist. l. 19. c. 1. {q} Ibid. {r} Philostrat. Vit. Apollen. l. 2. c. 9.





Proverbs 7:17



Ver. 17. I have perfumed my bed,.... As she had made it entertaining to the senses of seeing and feeling, it being showy and gaudy, soft and easy; so to the sense of smelling; and all to provoke lust, and draw into her embraces; by censing it with incense, as Donesh in Jarchi; or by sprinkling {s} a liquor, made of the following spices, on the head, posts, and sides of the bed, to remove all ill scents, and make it more acceptable; so the Targum, Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions, render it, "I sprinkled my bed": or, it may be, by suffumigation, which women are said to use with their garments and bed clothes {t}. Even this the harlot did,



with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon; all odorous, and of a sweet smell: Horace {u} speaks of the anointed beds of such persons; and of the above spices ointments were made, with which the harlot's bed might be perfumed. Cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, are reckoned among the wares of Babylon, or the church of Rome, Re 18:13.



{s} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 1. {t} Clemens Alex. Paedagog. l. 2. c. 8. p. 177. {u} "Uctis cubilibus pellicum", Epod. Ode. 5. v. 69, 70.





Proverbs 7:18



Ver. 18. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning,.... Taking him by the hand, and pulling him along, she says, "come"; let us not stand here in the streets, but let us go within, and after supper to bed; and there enjoy ourselves, till "inebriated" with love, as the word {w} signifies: so the poet {x} speaks of "ebrios ocellos", "eyes drunk", that is, with love; and so continue till the morning light, the night being the fittest season for those works of darkness: this expresses the insatiableness of her lust;



let us solace ourselves with loves; mutual love, not lawful, but criminal; more properly lusts; denoting the abundance of it, and the pleasure promised in it, which is very short lived, and bitterness in the end.



{w} hwrn "inebriemur", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis, Schultens. {x} Catullus de Acme, Ep. 43. c. 11.





Proverbs 7:19



Ver. 19. For the good man [is] not at home,.... Or, "for the man is not in his house" {y}. She does not say, "my man", or "my husband"; though the Septuagint. Syriac, and Arabic versions so render it; lest this should throw some difficulty in the young man's way, or remind herself of her conjugal obligation; but "the man", by way of contempt, as disowning him for her husband, or, however, having no regard for him in comparison of others: and this she says to encourage the young man to go with her; since her husband was gone, and show as alone, and mistress of the house;



he is gone a long journey; or, "a way afar off" {z}; into a distant country, and therefore need not fears return of him that night; she was prepared to answer all objections. The good man of the house may be understood of Christ, who is gone into a far country, to heaven, to take a kingdom to himself, and return, Lu 19:12; and in the mean while the church of Rome, who professes herself the true church and spouse of Christ, is committing fornication with the kings of the earth; and has set up another in his room and stead, whom she calls Christ's vicar on earth; and flatters herself and her lovers with impunity, from his distance from her, and his vicar having a right to do as he pleases.



{y} wtybb vyah Nya yk "quia non est vir in domo suo", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, &c. {z} qwxwm Krdb "in via longinqua", Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Schultens; "in via a longinquo", Montanus.





Proverbs 7:20



Ver. 20. He hath taken a bag of money with him,.... Or, "in his hand" {a}; either for merchandise, as Gersom; or for defraying: the charges of his journey; and both suppose length of time: if for merchandise, it required time to purchase goods, and see them packed up and sent away; or if for his journey, since it was not a few pieces of money he put in his pocket to defray expenses, but a bag of it he carried in his hand, it shows that he should be out a considerable time;



[and] will come home at the day appointed; and not before: Aben Ezra interprets it, at the beginning of the month, at the new moon, when the moon is covered {b}, which Horace {c} calls "tricessima sabbata": but rather it is to be understood of the full moon, as Aquila and the Vulgate Latin version render it; when it is light all night, and so a proper time for travelling home again. Gersom takes it to mean the beginning of the year, when the holy blessed God, parabolically speaking, sits upon a throne to judge the world in righteousness: the Targum calls it the day of the congregation; some fixed festival day, when the congregation meets together; and at such a festival, or appointed time, this good man had fixed for his return, and when, and not before, he would. This she says to remove all fears from the young man of being surprised and caught by her husband. There is an appointed time for Christ's second coming, when he will certainly come, and not before; and which is supposed to be at a great distance of time: and therefore wicked men and seducers, and such as the apostate church of Rome make use of to encourage themselves in their wickedness, in hopes of impunity, put the evil day far away from them; but in the appointed time Christ will come, and call his servants to an account, good and bad.



{a} wdyb "in manu sua", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus, Michaelis. {b} aokh Mwyl "in die plenae lunae", V. L. Michaelis; "novilunii", so some in Vatablus, Piscator; "ad diem interlunii", Cocceius, Schultens. {c} Satirar. l. 1. Sat. 9. v. 69.





Proverbs 7:21



Ver. 21. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield,.... Or, "to decline" from the right way: or, "inclined him" {d}; his ear to listen to her, and his heart to go after her and along with her. This she did, by using a great many words, by her prolixity, and by some taking and striking expressions; lewd women are generally very talkative {e}. It may be rendered, "by her much doctrine" {f}, as the word is in Pr 4:2; so Jezebel calls herself a prophetess, and sets up for a teacher of men; and, by her false doctrine, deceives some that are called the servants of Christ to commit fornication, and eat things sacrificed to idols, Re 2:20;



with the flattering of her lips she forced him; to go along with her, not against his will, but with it: though at first there was some reluctance, conscience rose up and opposed; but her words, which were smoother than oil, found a way into his heart, and prevailed upon him to yield to her entreaties; he could no longer withstand her attacks, but surrendered to her; her charming voice, and flattering lips, had more effect upon him than her kisses; notwithstanding these he was reluctant, but could stand it out no longer against her alluring words and soothing language. With this compare the deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish through antichrist, 2Th 2:10.



{d} wtjh "declinare facit eum", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Gejerus; "flexit", Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Michaelin; "inclinavit illum", Cocceius. {e} "Verbosa gaudet Venus Ioquela", Catullus ad Camer. Ep. 53. v. 20. {f} hxql brb "multitudine discipline suae", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "doctrinae suae", Michaelis.





Proverbs 7:22



Ver. 22. He goeth after her straightway,.... Or "suddenly" {g}; and inconsiderately, giving himself no time to think of what would be the sad consequences of it;



as an ox goeth to the slaughter; as senseless and stupid as that; and as ignorant of the issue as that is, led by the butcher, as if it was going to a pasture, when it is going to the slaughter house. So such persons as are ensnared by harlots; they follow them in a view of pleasure, but it ends in ruin; if not in the loss of bodily life, by the revengeful husband or civil magistrate; yet in the destruction of their immortal souls;



or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; a drunken besotted fool, who, while he is leading to the stocks, is insensible whither he is going; but when he has been there awhile, and is come out of his drunken fit, then he is sensible of his punishment and his shame. Or, "as the stocks are for the correction of a fool" {h}: or, as a man goes to "the stocks, to the correction of a fool" {i}; so the young man went after the harlot: or, as "one fettered" {k}, goes thither, bound hand and foot; he cannot help himself, nor avoid the shame. It denotes both the power of sin, there is no withstanding its allurements and blandishments, when once given way to, and the shame that attends or follows it. The Targum is,



"as a dog to a chain;''



and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions.



{g} Matp "subito", Baynus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis. {h} lywa rowm la okek "sicut compes ad castigationem stulti", Pagninus, Montanus, Baynus. {i} "Abiens post cam, quasi veniens ad compedes ad castigationem stultorum", Gejerus. {k} "Velut compeditus", Junius & Tremellius; "velut in compede ibat", Michaelis; "tanquam constricto ad pedes capite", Schultens.





Proverbs 7:23



Ver. 23. Till a dart strike through his liver,.... The fountain of blood, and so of life; which, being pierced through and poured out, is certain death, La 2:11; the meaning is, till he is slain either by the hand of God, or by the civil magistrate, or by the jealous husband; and be thrust through by him, as Zimri and Cozbi were by Phinehas. The "liver" may be particularly mentioned, not only for the reason before given, but because it is the seat of lust {l}; so he is stricken in the part where his lust begins, where he has been smitten by Cupid's darts: or this dart through the liver may denote some disease, infecting the blood through sinful lust. The Targum is,



"as an hart into whose liver an arrow flies;''



or is wounded by an arrow in the liver, as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions: and so the meaning is, that this young man went as swiftly after the harlot as a hart does when it is wounded;



as a bird hasteth to the snare; it has its eye upon the bait, and flies swiftly to that, insensible of the snare that is laid for it;



and knoweth not that it [is] for his life; the bird knows not that the snare is set for its life, as Jarchi; or the fool knows not that it is for his soul; that it shall die, which hates correction, as Aben Ezra. The man that goes after the harlot knows not, or does not consider, that it is to the destruction of his precious and immortal soul; so the Targum,



"he knows not that it tends to the death of his soul;''



and to the same sense the Syriac and Arabic versions; the second death, which adulterers and idolaters shall have their part in, Re 21:8. The souls of men, and the ruin of them, are what the whore of Rome deals in, Re 18:13; she goes into perdition, into the bottomless pit, herself, and carries all her worshippers with her, Re 17:8.



{l} "Spleu ridere facit, cogit amare jecur", Ovid. "Si torrere jecur quaeris idoneum", Horat. Carmin. l. 4. Ode 1. v. 12. "Cum tibi flagrans amor et libido saeviet circa jecur ulcerosum". lbid l. 1. Ode 25. v. 13, 15.





Proverbs 7:24



Ver. 24. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children,.... The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, read, in the singular number, "my son", in the same manner as the chapter begins; but it is in the plural number in the Hebrew text; and so read the Targum and Syriac version, "children", the children of Solomon; not only those of his own body, but all such that put themselves under his instruction, or were willing to take his advice: it may be extended to all the children of men, for all are interested herein; especially such who profess to be the children of God and of Christ, the followers of wisdom. This is the epilogue, or application of the above story. Since this is the case, that young men are in danger of being ensnared and brought to ruin by this harlot, therefore take the advice of the wisest of men, even of Wisdom herself;



and attend to the words of my mouth; the doctrines of Christ; the best preservative from the allurements of the whore of Rome.





Proverbs 7:25



Ver. 25. Let not thine heart decline to her ways,.... Or turn not aside from the right way, the path of truth and holiness, to those of the whorish woman, that lead to ruin and destruction; do not so much as think of going out of the one into the other; let there not be the least wandering thought, affection, or disposition of the mind thereunto; stop and check the first motion of the heart, which leads to a compliance with her, and seems to be directed to her ways, or to betray any love and liking of them;



go not astray in her paths; for whoever walks in her paths goes astray from God and his law; from Christ and his Gospel; and from the true church of God; and from the right paths of faith, duty and worship.





Proverbs 7:26



Ver. 26. For she hath cast down many wounded,.... Wounded in their name, character, and reputation; in their bodies by diseases; and in their souls by guilt, shame, and horror, through a compliance with her sinful lusts: these she "cast down" from the honours they were possessed of, from the health they enjoyed, and from the peace and tranquillity of mind they formerly felt within them. And not a single person, as the young man instanced in, or a few only, but "many"; great multitudes, hundreds and thousands, and those not weak, and foolish, and inconstant, as he might be thought to be; but such as were "great" {m} and mighty, as the word also signifies; men of great riches, and wisdom, and courage; as soldiers {n}, mighty men of war, such as wound and kill others; which seems the true sense of the word here used: and therefore none ought to trust in themselves, nor trust themselves in her company, nor in the least decline to her ways; and especially such as are weak and unskilful, and ignorant of her devices, as the "children" here addressed;



yea, many strong [men] have been slain by her; men famous for martial exploits, as Samson and others, have been overcome by her: some of great fortitude of mind have not been able to withstand her, she has prevailed over them; and others of robust constitutions have been weakened by diseases, contracted through incontinency with her; and some have suffered death by her means, either from her husband, or her gallants, or the civil magistrate: and of these there have been "innumerable" instances; so the word {o} for "strong men" sometimes signifies; and so it is here rendered in the Septuagint and Arabic versions, "and innumerable are they whom she has slain". All the world have wondered after the whore of Rome; kings of the earth and mighty men have committed fornication with her; high and low, rich and poor, have been ruined by her; thousands have gone to hell by her means; and some of the sycophants of Rome have even said, that if the pope of Rome should send thousands to hell, of which they seem themselves to be conscious, no one should say to him, What dost thou?



{m} Mybr "multos magnosque", Gejerus. {n} See Dr. Kennicott's Dissert. 1. p. 110. {o} Mymue anariymhtoi, Sept. so Arab. "numerosi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Amama, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens; so Bootius, Animadv. l. 4. c. 11. s. 2.





Proverbs 7:27



Ver. 27. Her house is the way to hell,.... Or "ways" {p}; the broad highway to it; either to the grave, as "sheol" often signifies; or to hell itself, the place of the damned: to go into her house, and commit wickedness with her, is to take a step to destruction, a large stride towards hell; and, if grace prevent not, will bring a man thither. Who would go into such a house, and much less dwell there, which is the very suburbs of hell?



going down to the chambers of death; to enter her chamber, to step into her bed, howsoever decked and adorned, entertaining and inviting it is, not only leads to the chambers of the grave, as the Targum; but to the lowest and innermost parts of hell; the apartments of the second death, the lot of all unclean and idolatrous persons, without repentance and faith. The Phoenicians called Pluto, the god of hell, by the name of Moth {q}, a word similar to this used here; and so those chambers are no other than the chambers of hell. Plautus {r} also calls the gate of a whore's house the gate of hell; which agrees with the first clause of the verse.



{p} ykrd "viae", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c. {q} Sanchoniatho apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. p. 38. {r} "Januam hane orci", Bacchides, Act. 3. Sc. 1. v. 1.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

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