“Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.”
Lips. All hate affectation and vanity, John v. 51.
“A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both. heavy: Heb. heaviness”
Both. He is insupportable to himself and to others, Ecclesiasticus xxii. 17.
“Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? Wrath: Heb. Wrath is cruelty, and anger an overflowing envy: or, jealousy?”
And who. Septuagint, “but envy (zeal) beareth nothing.” The more we yield to the envious, the more he is offended at our good behaviour.
“Open rebuke is better than secret love.”
Love. Which can be of no service to us, while reproof may cause us to amend.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. deceitful: or, earnest, or, frequent”
Enemy. Joab slew Amasa, while he kissed him, 2 Kings xx. 9., and Matthew xxvi. 48. True friendship is not attentive to outward appearances.
“As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.”
Place, or vocation, like the prodigal son, Luke xv. The Israelites were much attached to their own country, where they might practise the true religion. (Calmet)
“Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. by: Heb. from the counsel of the soul”
And. Septuagint add, “wine and incense….but accidents tear the soul.” (Haydock)
“Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.”
Affliction. He will be less compassionate than a tried friend. — Better, &c. This daily experience evinces. “Those who purchase land, should consider if there be plenty of water, and a neighbour.” (Pliny, [Natural History?] xviii. 5.) — The Persians honour most those who live nearest to them. (Herodotus i. 134.)
“My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.”
Thou. Hebrew, Complutensian, and Sixtus V, “I may,” &c. Septuagint, “and cast reproaches from thee.”
“He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.”
In the night. Or “early in the morning,” de nocte, as the Hebrew implies. — Curseth. His importunity will be equally displeasing. (Haydock) — Flattery is dangerous, (Calmet) and unworthy of a free man. (Cicero, de Amic.)
“Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.”
Hand. As it will flow away, such a woman is commonly incorrigible. (Calmet)
“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
Sharpeneth. Or instructeth. Fungar vice cotis. (Horace, Art.)
“Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.”
Glorified. He who serves his master well shall be promoted.
“As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.”
Are. Hebrew, “to men.” Our hearts have all something similar. (Calmet) — Septuagint, “as faces are not like each other, so neither are the hearts of men.” They have all some peculiarity. (Haydock) — But this agrees not with the original.
“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. never: Heb. not”
Destruction. Hebrew abaddo, or abadon, chap. xv. 11., and Apocalypse ix. 11. People die, and are plunged in hell daily. — Eyes. Avarice and ambition, Ecclesiasticus xiv. 9.
“As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.”
Praiseth. If he be not puffed up, or if all agree in his praises, we may conclude that they are well founded. — The, &c., is not in Hebrew, Comp.[Complutensian?], St. Jerome, or Chaldean, and destroys the connection.
“Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.”
Mortar. Such were used by those who could not afford handmills. (Calmet)
“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. look: Heb. set thy heart”
Flocks. John x. 3., and Ecclesiasticus vii. 24. This may be applied to pastors.
“For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? riches: Heb. strength to: Heb. to generation and generation?”
Generation. Thou wilt be cited as an example of prudence, if thou hast forseen the change of thy affairs, and provided for it. In the east it was not unusual to see a general of an army reduced to the meanest condition, and economy is necessary for all.
“The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.”
Field. If thou wishest to purchase, or to pay the workmen.
“And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. maintenance: Heb. life”
Milk. We cannot but admire such frugality. Septuagint are rather different; (Calmet) ver. 25., “Be careful of the grass in thy field….that thou mayst have lambs for thy clothing. Honour the field, that there may be lambs for thee. (27) Son, thou hast from me solid instructions for thy life, and for that of thy servants.” (Haydock)