1.
My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
My son. See note on Proverbs 1:8 .
understanding =. discernment.
2.
That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
regard discretion, &c. Hebrew infinitive = to guard deep counsels and knowledge. Let them mount guard over thy lips. Compare James 3:8 , "the tongue can no man tame".
3.
For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
a strange woman. Two words are used for "strange" and "stranger": one, Hebrew. zur, an apostate Israelite woman gone over to the idolatrous impurities of heathen religion; the other nakar, a purely foreign woman of a similar character. The danger is religious rather than moral. Hence here it is zur. See note on Proverbs 2:16 .
drop as an honeycomb = distil honey. The invitations of religious idolatry suit the tastes of the natural man.
4.
But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
5.
Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
hell = the grave. Hebrew. sheol. App-35 .
6.
Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
Lest thou shouldest ponder. Render: So that she findeth not the level path of life; her ways are unstable and she knoweth it not.
7.
Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
children = sons.
words = sayings. Hebrew. 'imrah. App-73 .
8.
Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
door = entrance.
9.
Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
years. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6 , for what happens in them.
10.
Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
wealth. Hebrew strength: put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6 , for what is produced by it.
labours. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for what is produced by it.
a stranger = a foreigner. Hebrew. nakar. Not the same word as in verses: Proverbs 5:3 , Proverbs 5:17 . See note above and on Proverbs 2:16 .
11.
And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12.
And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13.
And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
obeyed = hearkened to.
14.
I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
I was almost in all evil. The Beth Essentiae denotes "in", in the sense of "as" = I soon became as an evil man, &c. See App-75 .
almost = in a little while. Hebrew. kim'at. Occurs eighteen times (Genesis 26:10 . 2 Samuel 19:36 . 1 Chronicles 16:19 . 2 Chronicles 12:7 . Ezra 9:8 . Job 32:22 .Psalms 2:12 ; Psalms 73:2 ; Psalms 81:14 ; Psalms 94:17 ; Psalms 105:12 ; Psalms 119:87 . Psa 5:14 ; Psa 10:20 . Song of Solomon 3:4 .Isaiah 1:9 ; Isaiah 26:20 . Ezekiel 16:47 ). It is rendered "almost" only in Psalms 73:2 , Psalms 119:87 , and here, where it may as well be rendered "soon" or "quickly" as in Job 32:22 .Psalms 81:14 ; Psalms 94:17 (margin) It denotes in a little time, as in Psalms 2:12 ; Psalms 105:12 (= soon numbered). 2 Chronicles 12:7 (= a little while). Song of Solomon 3:4 (= a little while; i.e. scarcely). Isaiah 26:20 .
evil. Hebrew. ra'a'. App-44 .
15.
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16.
Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
Let thy fountains. Septuagint reads "Let not thy fountain", &c. This must be the sense from the context. The Revised Version obtains it by a question, "Should thy fountain . . . ?".
fountains. Plural of emphasis: i.e. thine own wife. Compare Song of Solomon 4:12 .
And = As or nor [thy].
rivers of waters = divisions of waters. Hebrew. palgey mayim: i.e. thy garden irrigation channels in the streets. See note on Proverbs 21:1 .
streets = open places.
17.
Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
18.
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
thy fountain: i.e. thine own wife. Compare Proverbs 5:16 .
rejoice with = get thy joy with. Some codices, with Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "in" instead of "with".
19.
Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
20.
And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
strange = apostate. Hebrew. zur . See note on Proverbs 5:3 .
stranger = alien or foreigner. Hebrew. nakar. See note on verses: Proverbs 5:3 , Proverbs 5:10 .
21.
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
man = a man. Hebrew. 'ish. App-14 . Illustrations: Cain (Genesis 4:5 , Genesis 4:6 ); Babel's builders (Genesis 11:4-7 ); Sodom (Genesis 18:21 , &c.); Uzzah ( 2Sa 6:6 , 2 Samuel 6:7 ; 1 Chronicles 15:13 .Numbers 4:15; Numbers 4:15 ); David (2 Samuel 12:9 ); Baasha (1 Kings 15:29 . Compare Proverbs 16:7 ); Ahab(1 Kings 21:19 ); Belshazzar (Daniel 5:22-28 ); Nathanael (John 1:48 ); The Seven Assemblies (Revelation 2:2 , Revelation 2:9 , Revelation 2:13 , Revelation 2:19 ; Revelation 3:1 , Revelation 3:8 , Revelation 3:15 ). Compare 1 Samuel 16:7 .
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
22.
His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
iniquities. Hebrew. 'avah. App-44 .
take = trap or entrap him.
wicked = a lawless man. Hebrew. rasha, '. App-44 .
he shall be holden. Illustrations: Saul (1 Samuel 18:8 , 1 Samuel 18:9 . Compare Proverbs 24:16 , Proverbs 24:17 ; Proverbs 26:21 ; Proverbs 28:5-20 ); Jerusalem (Jeremiah 2:16-19 . Ezekiel 22:31 ); Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23 ); Judas (John 12:6 . Matthew 26:47-49 ). Compare Proverbs 23:29 , Proverbs 23:35 .
sins. Hebrew. chata;. App-44 .
23.
He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
die without instruction. Illustration: Saul (1 Chronicles 10:13 , 1 Chronicles 10:14 ).