23 He that is poor speaketh with supplications, but the rich answereth roughly.
and ye look upon him who wears the splendid apparel, and say, Do thou sit here well, and say to the poor, Do thou stand there, or sit here under my footstool:
And Joseph saw his brethren, and knew them; but he made himself strange to them, and spoke roughly to them, and said to them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to buy food.
And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, to whose voice I am to hearken to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go.
and she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers. And she came, and has continued from the morning until now: her sitting in the house has been little as yet.
And it shall come to pass [that] every one that is left of thy house shall come to crouch to him for a small piece of silver and for a cake of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priestly offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.
And Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master.
And now know and consider what thou wilt do, for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household; and he is such a son of Belial, that one cannot speak to him.
And a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha saying, Thy servant my husband is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant feared Jehovah; and the creditor is come to take my two children to be bondmen. And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid has not anything at all in the house but a pot of oil.
Even all these things hath my hand made, and all these things have been, saith Jehovah. But to this man will I look: to the afflicted and contrite in spirit, and who trembleth at my word.
Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, for *theirs* is the kingdom of the heavens.
But let the brother of low degree glory in his elevation, and the rich in his humiliation, because as [the] grass's flower he will pass away. For the sun has risen with its burning heat, and has withered the grass, and its flower has fallen, and the comeliness of its look has perished: thus the rich also shall wither in his goings.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Proverbs 18
Commentary on Proverbs 18 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 18
Pro 18:1
The original here is difficult, and differently understood.
Pro 18:2
A fool may pretend to understanding, and to seek and intermeddle with the means of it, but,
Pro 18:3
This may include a double sense:-
Pro 18:4
The similitudes here seem to be elegantly transposed.
Pro 18:5
This justly condemns those who, being employed in the administration of justice, pervert judgment,
Pro 18:6-7
Solomon has often shown what mischief bad men do to others with their ungoverned tongues; here he shows what mischief they do to themselves.
Pro 18:8
Tale-bearers are those who secretly carry stories from house to house, which perhaps have some truth in them, but are secrets not fit to be told, or are basely misrepresented, and false colours put upon them, and are all told with design to blast men's reputation, to break their friendship, to make mischief between relations and neighbours, and set them at variance. Now the words of such are here said to be,
Pro 18:9
Note,
Pro 18:10
Here is,
Pro 18:11
Having described the firm and faithful defence of the righteous man (v. 10), Solomon here shows what is the false and deceitful defence of the rich man, that has his portion and treasure in the things of this world, and sets his heart upon them. His wealth is as much his confidence, and he expects as much from it, as a godly man from his God. See,
Pro 18:12
Note,
Pro 18:13
See here how men often expose themselves by that very thing by which they hope to gain applause.
Pro 18:14
Note,
Pro 18:15
Note,
Pro 18:16
Of what great force gifts (that is, bribes) are he had intimated before, ch. 17:8, 23. Here he shows the power of gifts, that is, presents made even by inferiors to those that are above them and have much more than they have. A good present will go far,
Pro 18:17
This shows that one tale is good till another is told.
Pro 18:18
Note,
Pro 18:19
Note,
Pro 18:20
Note,
Pro 18:21
Note,
Pro 18:22
Note,
Pro 18:23
Note,
Pro 18:24
Solomon here recommends friendship to us, and shows,