9 lest I be full and deny [thee], and say, Who is Jehovah? or lest I be poor and steal, and outrage the name of my God.
For I shall bring them into the land which I swore unto their fathers, which floweth with milk and honey; and they will eat and fill themselves, and wax fat, and will turn unto other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.
According to their pasture, they became full; they became full, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me.
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters, but she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me, and I took them away when I saw [it].
If I have made gold my hope, or said to the fine gold, My confidence! If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much; If I beheld the sun when it shone, or the moon walking in brightness, And my heart have been secretly enticed, so that my mouth kissed my hand: This also would be an iniquity for the judge, for I should have denied the ùGod who is above.
Then Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked -- Thou art waxen fat, Thou art grown thick, And thou art covered with fatness; -- He gave up +God who made him, And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
And thou shalt eat and be filled, and shalt bless Jehovah thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not Jehovah thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command thee this day; lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built and inhabited fine houses, and thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
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.
O generation, mark ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Wherefore say my people, We have dominion; we will come no more unto thee?
And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, wells digged, vineyards and olive-gardens, and fruit trees in abundance. And they did eat and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. But they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets who testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.
And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spoke unto us; and it shall be a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.
And it shall be, when Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into the land which he swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee: great and good cities which thou buildedst not, and houses full of everything good which thou filledst not, and wells digged which thou diggedst not, vineyards and oliveyards which thou plantedst not, and thou shalt have eaten and shalt be full; [then] beware lest thou forget Jehovah who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
And if any one sin, and hear the voice of adjuration, and he is a witness whether he hath seen or known [it], if he do not give information, then he shall bear his iniquity.
And the people cried out, A god's voice and not a man's. And immediately an angel of [the] Lord smote him, because he did not give the glory to God, and he expired, eaten of worms.
And again he denied with an oath: I do not know the man.
the king spoke and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
And thy fame went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect through my magnificence, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah. But thou didst confide in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by: his it was.
Whoso shareth with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth the adjuration, and declareth not.
For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
And now, let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you in this manner, neither yet believe him; for no +god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, nor out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of my hand? And his servants spoke yet more against Jehovah, the [true] God, and against his servant Hezekiah. And he wrote a letter to rail at Jehovah the God of Israel, and to speak against him saying, As the gods of the nations of the countries have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of my hand.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Proverbs 30
Commentary on Proverbs 30 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 30
Pr 30:1-33.
1. This is the title of this chapter (see Introduction).
the prophecy—literally, "the burden" (compare Isa 13:1; Zec 9:1), used for any divine instruction; not necessarily a prediction, which was only a kind of prophecy (1Ch 15:27, "a song"). Prophets were inspired men, who spoke for God to man, or for man to God (Ge 20:7; Ex 7:14, 15, 16). Such, also, were the New Testament prophets. In a general sense, Gad, Nathan, and others were such, who were divine teachers, though we do not learn that they ever predicted.
the man spake—literally, "the saying of the man"; an expression used to denote any solemn and important announcement (compare 2Sa 23:1; Ps 36:1; 110:1; Isa 1:24, &c.). Ithiel and Ucal were perhaps pupils.
2-4. brutish—stupid, a strong term to denote his lowly self-estimation; or he may speak of such as his natural condition, as contrasted with God's all-seeing comprehensive knowledge and almighty power. The questions of this clause emphatically deny the attributes mentioned to be those of any creature, thus impressively strengthening the implied reference of the former to God (compare De 30:12-14; Isa 40:12; Eph 4:8).
5. (Compare Ps 12:6; 119:140).
6. Add … words—implying that his sole reliance was on God's all-sufficient teaching.
reprove thee—or, "convict thee"—and so the falsehood will appear.
7-9. A prayer for exemption from wickedness, and the extremes of poverty and riches, the two things mentioned. Contentment is implied as desired.
8. vanity—all sorts of sinful acts (Job 11:11; Isa 5:18).
9. be full … deny—that is, puffed up by the pride of prosperity.
take the name … vain—This is not (Hebrew) the form (compare Ex 20:7), but "take" rather denotes laying violent hold on any thing; that is, lest I assail God's name or attributes, as justice, mercy, &c., which the poor are tempted to do.
10. Accuse not—Slander not (Ps 10:7).
curse … guilty—lest, however lowly, he be exasperated to turn on thee, and your guilt be made to appear.
11-14. Four kinds of hateful persons—(1) graceless children, (2) hypocrites, (3) the proud, (4) cruel oppressors (compare on Pr 30:14; Ps 14:4; 52:2)—are now illustrated; (1) Pr 30:15, 16, the insatiability of prodigal children and their fate; (2) Pr 30:17, hypocrisy, or the concealment of real character; (3 and 4) Pr 30:18-20, various examples of pride and oppression.
15, 16. horse leech—supposed by some to be the vampire (a fabulous creature), as being literally insatiable; but the other subjects mentioned must be taken as this, comparatively insatiable. The use of a fabulous creature agreeably to popular notions is not inconsistent with inspiration.
There are three … yea, four—(Compare Pr 6:16).
17. The eye—for the person, with reference to the use of the organ to express mockery and contempt, and also as that by which punishment is received.
the ravens … eagles … eat—either as dying unnaturally, or being left unburied, or both.
18-20. Hypocrisy is illustrated by four examples of the concealment of all methods or traces of action, and a pertinent example of double dealing in actual vice is added, that is, the adulterous woman.
20. she eateth … mouth—that is, she hides the evidences of her shame and professes innocence.
21-23. Pride and cruelty, the undue exaltation of those unfit to hold power, produce those vices which disquiet society (compare Pr 19:10; 28:3).
23. heir … mistress—that is, takes her place as a wife (Ge 16:4).
24-31. These verses provide two classes of apt illustrations of various aspects of the moral world, which the reader is left to apply. By the first (Pr 30:25-28), diligence and providence are commended; the success of these insignificant animals being due to their instinctive sagacity and activity, rather than strength. The other class (Pr 30:30, 31) provides similes for whatever is majestic or comely, uniting efficiency with gracefulness.
26. conies—mountain mice, or rabbits.
28. spider—tolerated, even in palaces, to destroy flies.
taketh … hands—or, uses with activity the limbs provided for taking prey.
32. As none can hope, successfully, to resist such a king, suppress even the thought of an attempt.
lay … hand upon thy mouth—"lay" is well supplied (Jud 18:19; Job 29:9; 40:4).
33. That is, strife—or other ills, as surely arise from devising evil as natural effects from natural causes.