10 Accuse not a servant unto his lord, Lest he disesteem thee, and thou be found guilty.
And he saith, `My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for thy servant said, I saddle for me the ass, and ride on it, and go with the king, for thy servant `is' lame; and he uttereth slander against thy servant unto my lord the king, and my lord the king `is' as a messenger of God; and do thou that which is good in thine eyes,
Thou -- who art thou that art judging another's domestic? to his own master he doth stand or fall; and he shall be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
And the king hath said, and they have brought those men who had accused Daniel, and to the den of lions they have cast them, they, their sons, and their wives; and they have not come to the lower part of the den till that the lions have power over them, and all their bones they have broken small.
Then they have answered, yea, they are saying before the king, that, `Daniel, who `is' of the sons of the Removed of Judah, hath not placed on thee, O king, `any' regard, nor on the interdict that thou hast signed, and three times in a day he is seeking his petition.'
Therefore at that time drawn near have certain Chaldeans, and accused the Jews; they have answered, yea, they are saying to Nebuchadnezzar the king, `O king, to the ages live! Thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man who doth hear the voice of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, doth fall down and do obeisance to the golden image; and whoso doth not fall down and do obeisance, is cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the work of the province of Babylon -- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, these men have not made of thee, O king, `any' regard; thy gods they are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up -- are not making obeisance.' Then Nebuchadnezzar, in anger and fury, hath said to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Then these men have been brought in before the king. Nebuchadnezzar hath answered and said to them, `Is `it' a laid plan, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego -- my gods ye are not serving, and to the golden image that I have raised up ye are not doing obeisance? Now, lo, ye are ready, so that at the time that ye hear the voice of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and do obeisance to the image that I have made! -- and lo, ye do no obeisance -- in that hour ye are cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; who is that God who doth deliver you out of my hands?' Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego have answered, yea, they are saying to the king Nebuchadnezzar, `We have no need concerning this matter to answer thee. Lo, it is; our God whom we are serving, is able to deliver us from a burning fiery furnace; and from thy hand, O king, He doth deliver. And lo -- not! be it known to thee, O king, that thy gods we are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up we do no obeisance.'
These also are for the wise: -- To discern faces in judgment is not good. Whoso is saying to the wicked, `Thou `art' righteous,' Peoples execrate him -- nations abhor him.
Whoso is withholding corn, the people execrate him, And a blessing `is' for the head of him who is selling.
and Joash the king hath not remembered the kindness that Jehoiada his father did with him, and slayeth his son, and in his death he said, `Jehovah doth see, and require.' And it cometh to pass, at the turn of the year, come up hath the force of Aram against him, and they come in unto Judah and Jerusalem, and destroy all the heads of the people from the people, and all their spoil they have sent to the king of Damascus, for with few men have the force of Aram come in, and Jehovah hath given into their hand a mighty force for multitude, because they have forsaken Jehovah, God of their fathers; and with Joash they have executed judgments.
And David hath passed on a little from the top, and lo, Ziba, servant of Mephibosheth -- to meet him, and a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred `of' summer-fruit, and a bottle of wine. And the king saith unto Ziba, `What -- these to thee?' and Ziba saith, `The asses for the household of the king to ride on, and the bread and the summer-fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for the wearied to drink in the wilderness.' And the king saith, `And where `is' the son of thy lord?' and Ziba saith unto the king, `Lo, he is abiding in Jerusalem, for he said, To-day do the house of Israel give back to me the kingdom of my father.' And the king saith to Ziba, `Lo, thine `are' all that Mephibosheth hath;' and Ziba saith, `I have bowed myself -- I find grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king.'
And David saith unto him, `Dost thou bring me down unto this troop?' and he saith, `Swear to me by God -- thou dost not put me to death, nor dost thou shut me up into the hand of my lord -- and I bring thee down unto this troop.'
And, now, let, I pray thee, my lord the king hear the words of his servant: if Jehovah hath moved thee against me, let Him accept a present; and if the sons of men -- cursed `are' they before Jehovah, for they have cast me out to-day from being admitted into the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.
And David saith to Saul, `Why dost thou hear the words of man, saying, Lo, David is seeking thine evil?
And answer doth Doeg the Edomite, who is set over the servants of Saul, and saith, `I have seen the son of Jesse coming in to Nob, unto Ahimelech son of Ahitub, and he asketh for him at Jehovah, and provision hath given to him, and the sword of Goliath the Philistine hath given to him.
`Take heed to thee lest there be a word in thy heart -- worthless, saying, Near `is' the seventh year, the year of release; and thine eye is evil against thy needy brother, and thou dost not give to him, and he hath called concerning thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee sin;
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.