*H These are also parables of Solomon, which the men of Ezechias, king of Juda, copied out.
Ver. 1. These. Solomon wrote 3,000, and we have only 915 verses extant. C. — The rest perhaps shewed his genius, but were less useful. Tostat. in 3 K. iv. 9. — Men. Isaias, Sobna, &c. C. — Out of other records, (M.) or "translated" into a language better understood. Carthus. Bayn.
*H It is the glory of God to conceal the word, and the glory of kings to search out the speech.
Ver. 2. Speech. The Scriptures will denounce the truth to them, and shew them how to reign with justice. We must adore the mysteries of God; but are allowed to examine the secret designs of princes.
*H The heaven above and the earth beneath, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
Ver. 3. Unsearchable. Their counsellors must not betray their secrets. Tob. xii. 7. The greatest enterprises depend on secrecy.
*H Take away wickedness from the face of the king, and his throne shall be established with justice.
Ver. 5. Justice. The wicked in a kingdom resemble rust on silver. C.
*H Appear not glorious before the king, and stand not in the place of great men.
Ver. 6. Glorious, or a boaster. H. — We must not seek the first places. Lu. xiv. 10.
*H The things which thy eyes have seen, utter not hastily in a quarrel: lest afterward thou mayst not be able to make amends, when thou hast dishonoured thy friend.
Ver. 8. Not. Sept. "repent when thy friend may reproach thee." H. — Friend. A word spoken in haste may expose him to ridicule.
*H Treat thy cause with thy friend, and discover not the secret to a stranger:
Ver. 9. Stranger. It sometimes happens that friends fall out; but if either disclose the secret of the other, he will be deemed infamous. C. Jos. con. Ap. 2. — S. Ambrose says of his brother Satyrus, "though we had all things in common, yet the secret of our friends was not so."
*H Lest he insult over thee, when he hath heard it, and cease not to upbraid thee. Grace and friendship deliver a man: keep these for thyself, lest thou fall under reproach.
Ver. 10. Grace, &c. is no in Heb. Compl. S. Jerom, &c. But it is in the Sept. "favour and friendship may give liberty; which keep thou for thyself, that thou mayst not be exposed to great shame. But guard thy ways unchangeably." H. — Avoid quarrels.
*H To speak a word in due time, is like apples of gold on beds of silver.
Ver. 11. Time, (Sym.) "on its wheels," (Heb.) flowing smoothly, (C.) or "according to his two faces, is apples of gold in network of silver." The Scriptures have a double sense. The exterior one leads to that sense which is interior, and more excellent. Maimonid. Parkhurst, p. 366. — Gold, oranges. — Beds. On such the kings of Parthia slept, and these metals were very common under Solomon, 3 K. x. 27. Est. i. 6. C. — Mont. renders mascioth "transparent cases." Prot. "pictures of silver."
*H As an earring of gold and a bright pearl, so is he that reproveth the wise, and the obedient ear.
Ver. 12. Bright. Heb. chali cathem, "an ornament of fine gold," (Mont. Prot. H.) may probably denote a collar or ring. The eastern nations wore rings fixed at the top of the ears, and under the nose. Some were so large that they put their meat through them. The Scripture often alludes to these customs, which are so different from ours. Cant. vii. 1.
*H As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to him that sent him, for he refresheth his soul.
Ver. 13. Harvest. In June and July, when the heat was most intense, people of quality had snow from Libanus to mix with what they drank. Jer. xviii. 14. C.
*H By patience a prince shall be appeased, and a soft tongue shall break hardness.
Ver. 15. Hardness. Heb. and Sept. "bones." H.
*H Thou hast found honey, eat what is sufficient for thee, lest being glutted therewith thou vomit it up.
Ver. 16. Up. We must moderate the sensual appetite, (M.) and even the study of wisdom, which is compared to honey. C. xxiv. 13. Rom. xii. 3. Eccle. vii. 17. C. — We must not be too familiar, v. 17. Ven. Bede. Cajet.
*H Withdraw thy foot from the house of thy neighbour, lest having his fill he hate thee.
Ver. 17. Having. Heb. "being tired of thee." No man is so perfect, but he will manifest some defect, and become importunate. C.
*H And one that looseth his garment in cold weather. As vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a very evil heart. As a moth doth by a garment, and a worm by the wood: so the sadness of a man consumeth the heart.
Ver. 20. And. Prot. "as he that taketh away a, &c. and as vinegar...to a heavy heart." H. — The former sentence may be joined with the preceding, as it is improper to deprive a person of his garment, no less than to trust in the faithless; though some would suppose (C.) that this conduct, as well as the mixing of vinegar with nitre, is no less absurd than to attempt to relieve by music those who are extremely afflicted. Eccli. xxii. 6. T. — But Solomon does not speak of such, but only of those who are "heavy;" and we know that music has wonderful efficacy in relieving them, (1 K. xvi. 17.) in like manner as this mixture serves to cleanse the skin and garments, (Jer. ii. 22. C.) and to purify the ears, when they are deafish. Pliny xxxi. 10. Vales. lx. — As a, &c. is not in Heb. S. Jer. &c. C. — The Chal. has the latter part, (H.) "grief tries the heart, as fire does silver. As the worm eats wood, so folly," &c. C.
* Footnote * Romans 12 : 20
But if the enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink. For, doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.*H For thou shalt heap hot coals upon his head, and the Lord will reward thee.
Ver. 22. Coals of charity; (S. Chrys. in Rom. xii. 20.) or, if he prove obstinate, his punishment will be the greater. Geier. — The former sense is more received. C.
*H The north wind driveth away rain, as doth a sad countenance a backbiting tongue.
Ver. 23. Rain; (Sym. Prot.) or marg. "bringeth forth rain." H. — But S. Jerom, who live in the country, knew that this wind was rather dry; and therefore he has abandoned the Sept. raiseth the clouds." Job xxxvii. 9. Joel ii. 20. Eccli. xviii. 23. The countries north of Palestine were not calculated to produce vapours and rain, which came rather from the south. C. — Tongue. If the hearers would shew their displeasure, detractors would soon be reduced to silence. S. Jer. ad. Rust. S. Bern.
*H It is better to sit in a corner of the housetop: than with a brawling woman, and in a common house.
Ver. 24. It is. C. xxi. 9. Sixtus V. does not insert this verse here.
*H As cold water to a thirsty soul, so are good tidings from a far country.
Ver. 25. Tidings. Heb. and Sept. The Vulg. seems rather to speak of a "good messenger." Homer said that a good messenger honoured the business most. Pind. Pyth. viii. C.
*H A just man falling down before the wicked, is as a fountain troubled with the foot and a corrupted spring.
Ver. 26. Falling into disgrace, or sin, occasions the wicked to exult, as if there were no God or religion. C.
*H As it is not good for a man to eat much honey, so he that is a searcher of majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory.
Ver. 27. Majesty, viz. of God. For to search into that incomprehensible Majesty, and to pretend to sound the depths of the wisdom of God, is exposing our weak understanding to be blinded with an excess of light and glory, which it cannot comprehend. Ch. — When the Church proposes to us any mystery, we have only to believe. Heb. "but it is glorious to sound their glory," and see where the wicked end, that we may not envy them. C. iii. 31. Ps. xxxvi. 7. C. — Prot. "so for men to search their own glory, is not glory," but a sin. H. — "It is not good to eat too much honey," (Chal.) or to sound the glorious words of God and wisdom, or the mysteries of religion. Sept. "But it is right to reverence glorious speeches," (C.) with esteem and humility. Cat. Græc.
*H As a city that lieth open and is not compassed with walls, so is a man that cannot refrain his own spirit in speaking.
Ver. 28. Speaking. He lays himself open to every attack. C. xxix. 11.