29 A wicked man hath hardened by his face, And the upright -- he prepareth his way.
The righteousness of the perfect maketh right his way, And by his wickedness doth the wicked fall.
O the happiness of a man fearing continually, And whoso is hardening his heart falleth into evil.
A man often reproved, hardening the neck, Is suddenly broken, and there is no healing.
Lift thine eyes to the high places, and see, Where hast thou not been lain with? On the ways thou hast sat for them, As an Arab in a wilderness, And thou defilest the land, By thy fornications, and by thy wickedness. And withheld are showers, and gathered rain hath not been. The forehead of a whorish woman thou hast, Thou hast refused to be ashamed.
Jehovah, Thine eyes, are they not on stedfastness? Thou hast smitten them, and they have not grieved, Thou hast consumed them, They have refused to receive instruction, They made their faces harder than a rock, They have refused to turn back.
They were ashamed when they did abomination! Yea, they are not at all ashamed, And blushing they have not known, Therefore, they do fall among falling ones, In the time of their inspection they stumble, said Jehovah.
`The word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah -- we are not hearkening unto thee; for we certainly do everything that hath gone out of our mouth, to make perfume to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out to her libations, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our heads, in cities of Judah, and in streets of Jerusalem, and -- we are satisfied with bread, and we are well, and evil we have not seen.
And he seeth and turneth back, From all his transgressions that he hath done, He doth surely live, he doth not die,
And now, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Set your heart to your ways.
And now, lay `it', I pray you, to your heart, From this day, and onwards, Before the laying of stone to stone in the temple of Jehovah.
Set `it', I pray you, to your heart, from this day and onwards, from the twenty and fourth day of the ninth `month', even from the day that the temple of Jehovah hath been founded, set `it' to your heart. Is the seed yet in the barn? And hitherto the vine and the fig, And the pomegranate, and the olive-tree, Have not borne -- from this day I bless.'
`And having come to himself, he said, How many hirelings of my father have a superabundance of bread, and I here with hunger am perishing! having risen, I will go on unto my father, and will say to him, Father, I did sin -- to the heaven, and before thee,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Proverbs 21
Commentary on Proverbs 21 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 21
Pro 21:1
Note,
Pro 21:2
Note,
Pro 21:3
Here,
Pro 21:4
This may be taken as showing us,
Pro 21:5
Here is,
Pro 21:6
This shows the folly of those that hope to enrich themselves by dishonest practices, by oppressing and over-reaching those with whom they deal, by false-witness-bearing, or by fraudulent contracts, of those that make no scruples of lying when there is any thing to be got by it. They may perhaps heap up treasures by these means, that which they make their treasure; but,
Pro 21:7
See here,
Pro 21:8
This shows that as men are so is their way.
Pro 21:9
See here,
Pro 21:10
See here the character of a very wicked man.
Pro 21:11
This we had before (ch. 19:25), and it shows that there are two ways by which the simple may be made wise:-
Pro 21:12
Pro 21:13
Here we have the description and doom of an uncharitable man.
Pro 21:14
Here is,
Pro 21:15
Note,
Pro 21:16
Here is,
Pro 21:17
Here is an argument against a voluptuous luxurious life, taken from the ruin it brings upon men's temporal interests. Here is
Pro 21:18
This intimates,
Pro 21:19
Note,
Pro 21:20
Note,
Pro 21:21
See here,
Pro 21:22
Note,
Pro 21:23
Note,
Pro 21:24
See here the mischief of pride and haughtiness.
Pro 21:25-26
Here we have,
Pro 21:27
Sacrifices were of divine institution; and when they were offered in faith, and with repentance and reformation, God was greatly honoured by them and well-pleased in them. But they were often not only unacceptable, but an abomination, to God, and he declared so, which was an indication both that they were not required for their own sakes and that there were better things, and for effectual, in reserve, when sacrifice and offering should be done away. They were an abomination,
Pro 21:28
Here is,
Pro 21:29
Here is,
Pro 21:30-31
The designing busy part of mankind are directed, in all their counsels and undertakings, to have their eye to God, and to believe,