For wisdom will enter into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Parallel Translations
-
For wisdom will enter into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
-
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
-
For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Proverbs 2:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by your name, Yahweh, God of Armies.
- Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
- Job 23:12 I haven’t gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
- Psalms 19:10 They are more to be desired than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.
- Psalms 104:34 Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in Yahweh.
- Psalms 119:162 I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great plunder.
- Proverbs 18:1-2 A man who isolates himself pursues selfishness, and defies all sound judgment. A fool has no delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own opinion.
- Proverbs 24:13-14 My son, eat honey, for it is good, the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste; so you shall know wisdom to be to your soul. If you have found it, then there will be a reward: Your hope will not be cut off.
- Psalms 119:111 I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
- Psalms 119:97 How I love your law! It is my meditation all day.
- Psalms 119:103 How sweet are your promises to my taste, more than honey to my mouth!
- Proverbs 14:33 Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, and is even made known in the inward part of fools.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and…
Pro 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Ver. 10. Is pleasant to thy soul.] Spiritual joy mortifies sin. His mouth hankers not after homely provision that hath lately tasted of delicate sustenance. Pleasure there must be in the ways of God, because therein men let out their souls into God, that is the fountain of all good; hence they so infinitely distaste sin’s tasteless fooleries. Crede mihi, res severa est verum gaudium, saith Seneca. True joy is a solid business.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain When wisdom entereth into thine heart; when thou dost…
When wisdom entereth into thine heart; when thou dost truly love it, and passionately desire it, and hide its precepts in thy heart, according to Psa 119:11.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain The scope of these verses is to show, 1.…
The scope of these verses is to show, 1. What great advantage true wisdom will be of to us; it will keep us from the paths of sin, which lead to ruin, and will therein do us a greater kindness than if it enriched us with all the wealth of the world. 2. What good use we should make of the wisdom God gives us; we must use it for our own guidance in the paths of virtue, and for the arming of us against temptations of every kind. 3. By what rules we may try ourselves whether we have this wisdom or no. This tree will be known by its fruits; if we be truly wise, it will appear by our care to avoid all evil company and evil practices.
This wisdom will be of use to us,
Read full note →
I. For our preservation from evil, from the evil of sin, and, consequently, from the evil of trouble that attends it.
1. In general (Pro 2:10, Pro 2:11), "When wisdom has entire possession of thee, it will keep thee." And when has it an entire possession of us? (1.) When it has dominion over us. When it not only fills the head with notions, but enters into the heart and has a commanding power and influence upon that, - when it is upon the throne there, and gives law to the affections and passions, - when it enters into the heart as the leaven into the dough, to diffuse its relish there, and to change it into its own image - then it is likely to do us good. (2.) When we have delight in it, when knowledge becomes pleasant to the soul: "When thou beginnest to relish it as the most agreeable entertainment, and art subject to its rules, of choice, and with satisfaction, - when thou callest the practice of virtue, not a slavery and a task, but liberty and pleasure, and a life of serious godliness the most comfortable life a man can live in this world, - then thou wilt find the benefit of it." Though its restraints should be in some respects unpleasant to the body, yet even those must be pleasant to the soul. When it has come to this, with us, discretion shall preserve us and keep us. God keeps the way of his saints (Pro 2:8), by giving them discretion to keep out of harm's way, to keep themselves that the wicked one touch them not. Note, A principle of grace reigning in the heart will be a powerful preservative both against corruptions within and temptations without, Ecc 9:16, Ecc 9:18.
2. More particularly, wisdom will preserve us,
(1.) From men of corrupt principles, atheistical profane men, who make it their business to debauch young men's judgments, and instil into their minds prejudices against religion and arguments for vice: "It will deliver thee from the way of the evil man (Pro 2:12), and a blessed deliverance it will be, as from the very jaws of death, from the way in which he walks, and in which he would persuade thee to walk." The enemy is spoken of as one (Pro 2:12), an evil man, but afterwards as many (Pro 2:13); there is a club, a gang of them, that are in confederacy against religion, and join hand in hand for the support of the devil's kingdom and the interests of it. [1.] They have a spirit of contradiction to that which is good: They speak froward things; they say all they can against religion, both to show their own enmity to it and to dissuade others from it. They are advocates for Satan; they plead for Baal, and pervert the right ways of the Lord. How peevishly will profane wits argue for sin, and with what frowardness will they carp at the word of God! Wisdom will keep us either from conversing with such men or at least from being ensnared by them. [2.] They are themselves apostates from that which is good, and such are commonly the most malicious and dangerous enemies religion has, witness Julian (Pro 2:13): They leave the paths of uprightness, which they were trained up in and had set out in, shake off the influences of their education, and break off the thread of their hopeful beginnings, to walk in the ways of darkness, in those wicked ways which hate the light, in which men are led blindfold by ignorance and error, and which lead men into utter darkness. The ways of sin are ways of darkness, uncomfortable and unsafe; what fools are those that leave the plain, pleasant, lightsome paths of uprightness, to walk in those ways! Psa 82:5; Jo1 2:11. [3.] They take a pleasure in sin, both in committing it themselves and in seeing others commit it (Pro 2:14): They rejoice in an opportunity to do evil, and in the accomplishment and success of any wicked project. It is sport to fools to do mischief; nor is any sight more grateful to them than to see the frowardness of the wicked, to see those that are hopeful drawn into the ways of sin, and then to see them hardened and confirmed in those ways. They are pleased if they can discern that the devil's kingdom gets ground (see Rom 1:32), such a height of impiety have they arrived at. [4.] They are resolute in sin (Pro 2:15): Their ways are crooked, a great many windings and turnings to escape the pursuit of their convictions and break the force of them; some sly excuse, some subtle evasion or other, their deceitful hearts furnish them with, for the strengthening of their hands in their wickedness; and in the crooked mazes of that labyrinth they secure themselves from the arrests of God's word and their own consciences; for they are froward in their paths, that is, they are resolved to go on in them, whatever is said against it. Every wise man will shun the company of such as these.
(2.) From women of corrupt practices. The former lead to spiritual wickednesses, the lusts of the unsanctified mind; these lead to fleshly lusts, which defile the body, that living temple, but withal war against the soul. The adulteress is here called the strange woman, because no man that has any wisdom or goodness in him will have any acquaintance with her; she is to be shunned by every Israelite as if she were a heathen, and a stranger to that sacred commonwealth. A strange woman indeed! utterly estranged from all principles of reason, virtue, and honour. It is a great mercy to be delivered from the allurements of the adulteress, considering, [1.] How false she is. Who will have any dealings with those that are made up of treachery? She is a strange woman; for, First, She is false to him whom she entices. She speaks fair, tells him how much she admires him above any man, and what a kindness she has for him; but she flatters with her words; she has no true affection for him, nor any desire of his welfare, any more than Delilah had of Samson's. All she designs is to pick his pocket and gratify a base lust of her own. Secondly, She is false to her husband, and violates the sacred obligation she lies under to him. He was the guide of her youth; by marrying him she chose him to be so, and submitted herself to his guidance, with a promise to attend him only, and forsake all others. But she has forsaken him, and therefore it cannot be thought that she should be faithful to any one else; and whoever entertains her is partaker with her in her falsehood. Thirdly, She is false to God himself: She forgets the covenant of her God, the marriage-covenant (Pro 2:17), to which God is not only a witness, but a party, for, he having instituted the ordinance, both sides vow to him to be true to each other. It is not her husband only that she sins against, but her God, who will judge whoremongers and adulterers because they despise the oath and break the covenant, Eze 17:18; Mal 2:14. [2.] How fatal it will prove to those that fall in league with her, Pro 2:18, Pro 2:19. Let the sufferings of others be our warnings. Take heed of the sin of whoredom; for, First, The ruin of those who are guilty of it is certain and unavoidable, if they do not repent. It is a sin that has a direct tendency to the killing of the soul, the extinguishing of all good affections and dispositions in it, and the exposing of it to the wrath and curse of God and the sword of his justice. Those that live in forbidden pleasures are dead while they live. Let discretion preserve every man, not only from the evil woman, but from the evil house, for the house inclines to death; it is in the road that leads directly to eternal death; and her paths unto Rephaim, to the giants (so some read it), the sinners of the old world, who, living in luxury and excess of riot, were cut down out of time, and their foundation was overthrown with a flood. Our Lord Jesus deters us from sinful pleasures with the consideration of everlasting torments which follow them. Where the worm dies not, nor is the fire quenched. See Mat 5:28, Mat 5:29. Secondly, Their repentance and recovery are extremely hazardous: None, or next to none, that go unto her, return again. It is very rare that any who are caught in this snare of the devil recover themselves, so much is the heart hardened, and the mind blinded, by the deceitfulness of this sin. Having once lost their hold of the paths of life, they know not how to take hold of them again, but are perfectly besotted and bewitched with those base lusts. Many learned interpreters think that this caution against the strange woman, besides the literal sense, is to be understood figuratively, as a caution, 1. Against idolatry, which is spiritual whoredom. Wisdom will keep thee from all familiarity with the worshippers of images, and all inclination to join with them, which had for many ages been of such pernicious consequence to Israel and proved so to Solomon himself. 2. Against the debauching of the intellectual powers and faculties of the soul by the lusts and appetites of the body. Wisdom will keep thee from being captivated by the carnal mind, and from subjecting the spirit to the dominion of the flesh, that notorious adulteress which forsakes its guide, violates the covenant of our God, which inclines to death, and which, when it has got an undisturbed dominion, makes the case of the soul desperate.
II. This wisdom will be of use to guide and direct us in that which is good (Pro 2:20): That thou mayest walk in the way of good men. We must avoid the way of the evil man, and the strange woman, in order that we may walk in good ways; we must cease to do evil, in order that we may learn to do well. Note, 1. There is a way which is peculiarly the way of good men, the way in which good men, as such, and as far as they have really been such, have always walked. 2. It will be our wisdom to walk in that way, to ask for the good old way and walk therein, Jer 6:16; Heb 6:12; Heb 12:1. And we must not only walk in that way awhile, but we must keep it, keep in it, and never turn aside out of it: The paths of the righteous are the paths of life, which all that are wise, having taken hold of, will keep their hold of. "That thou mayest imitate those excellent persons, the patriarchs and prophets (so bishop Patrick paraphrases it), and be preserved in the paths of those righteous men who followed after them." We must not only choose our way in general by the good examples of the saints, but must also take directions from them in the choice of our particular paths; observe the track, and go forth by the footsteps of the flock. Two reasons are here given why we should thus choose: - (1.) Because men's integrity will be their establishment, Pro 2:21. It will be the establishment, [1.] Of their persons: The upright shall dwell in the land, peaceably and quietly, as long as they live; and their uprightness will contribute to it, as it settles their minds, guides their counsels, gains them the good-will of their neighbours, and entitles them to God's special favour. [2.] Of their families: The perfect, in their posterity, shall remain in it. They shall dwell and remain for ever in the heavenly Canaan, of which the earthly one was but a type. (2.) Because men's iniquity will be their destruction, Pro 2:22. See what becomes of the wicked, who choose the way of the evil man; they shall be cut off, not only from heaven hereafter and all hopes of that, but from the earth now, on which they set their affections, and in which they lay up their treasure. They think to take root in it, but they and their families shall be rooted out of it, in judgment to them, but in mercy to the earth. There is a day coming which shall leave them neither root nor branch, Mal 4:1. Let that wisdom then enter into our hearts, and be pleasant to our souls, which will keep us out of a way that will end thus.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain When wisdom entereth into thine heart,.... Either Christ, the…
When wisdom entereth into thine heart,.... Either Christ, the Wisdom of God; who enters there at conversion, and sets up a throne in the heart, and dwells there by faith: or else the Gospel, the wisdom of God in a mystery; which enters not into the head only, as in hypocrites and formal professors; nor into the natural affections, as in the stony ground hearers; but into the heart, opened by the Spirit of God to receive it, so as to have a spiritual understanding of it; which is done when the Gospel comes not in word only, but in the demonstration and power of the Spirit; when a man truly understands it, approves of it, loves it, believes it; and it has a place in his heart, and richly dwells there;
and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; which the Gospel thus entering gives; even the knowledge of God in Christ, as the God of all grace, as gracious and merciful, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the knowledge of Christ, as the only Redeemer and Saviour; and the knowledge of Gospel truths, which lead and relate unto him: all which is pleasant to a gracious soul, and affords unspeakable delight to the mind; and is sweeter, as every truth of the Gospel is, than the honey or the honeycomb; see Pro 16:24.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain When - Thou dost truly love wisdom.
When - Thou dost truly love wisdom.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 2:10-15. When wisdom entereth into thy heart —…
Pro 2:10-15. When wisdom entereth into thy heart — When thou dost truly love it, and hide its precepts in thy heart; Discretion shall preserve thee — From wicked courses, and the mischiefs which attend upon them; from the way of the evil man — From following his counsel or example; the man that speaketh froward things — With a design to corrupt thy mind, and entice thee to evil principles or practices. Who leave the paths of righteousness — The way of God’s precepts; to walk in the ways of darkness — Of sin, which is often called darkness, because it proceeds from ignorance and error, hates the light of knowledge and truth, and leads to the eternal darkness of misery and despair. Who rejoice to do evil — Seeking and embracing occasions of sin, with diligence and greediness, and pleasing themselves both in the practice and remembrance of it: and delight in the frowardness of the wicked — Not only in their own sins, but in the sins of other wicked men, which shows a great malignity of mind and love to sin, Rom 1:32 : whose ways are crooked — Hebrew, who in, or with respect to, their ways, are perverse; acting contrary to the straight rules of piety and virtue.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Another picture of the results of living in the…
Another picture of the results of living in the fear of the Lord. Not that to which it leads a man, but that from which it saves him, is brought into view. Notice also that it is one thing for wisdom to find entrance into the soul, another to be welcomed as a “pleasant” guest.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain We have seen the good that wisdom brings to…
We have seen the good that wisdom brings to us. (Pro 2:5 .) Now see the evil, from which it preserves us. But observe its place — in the heart. Here only has it any light, life, or power. (Pro 4:23 .) Clear knowledge floating in the head is deep ignorance. While it only glitters in the understanding, it is dry, speculative, and barren. When it entereth into the heart, light beams out, all the affections are engaged; and how pleasant is it to the soul! (Pro 24:13-14 . Job 23:12 . Psa 119:103 . Jer 15:16 .) Religion now is no lifeless notion. It is handled, tasted, enjoyed. It gives a discreet and understanding direction to the whole conduct. It becomes not only an external rule, but a preserving, keeping principle (Pro 4:6 ; Pro 6:22-24 . Psa 17:4 ; Psa 119:9-11, Psa 119:104 ); like the military guard for the safety of the royal person. (1Sa 26:16 . 2Ki 11:11 .) Before, it was the object of our search. Now, having found it, it is our pleasure. Until it is so, it can have no practical influence. It is "the man, whose delight is in the law of the LORD," who is preserved from "walking in the counsel of the ungodly." (Psa 1:1-2 ; Compare Pro 7:4-5 .) Education, conviction, high moral principle, are at best only partially operative. The reclaimed drunkard may be true to his Temperance-pledge; but, if the "root of bitterness" be untouched, he may be a Socialist or a Chartist, or revel in some other equally ruinous course. External wickedness may be exchanged for decent formality. Vagrant affections may be turned from some object of vanity; yet not fixed upon the Divine centre of attraction. The mind may be disciplined from utter unprofitableness, only to indulge in the idolatry of talent, or the fascinations of poisoned literature. The folly of the pride of life may be resisted; yet pride in other of its multiform fruits tenderly cherished. In all these cases, the principle is unsubdued. The forsaken sin only makes way for some more plausible, but not less deadly passion. The heart, cast into the mold of the Gospel, is the only cover from those snares within and without (Rom 6:17-18 . 2Co 3:18 ), which so imperceptibly, yet so fatally, estrange us from God. Never, till the vital principle is implanted, is their mischief discerned. Never, till then, does the heart find its proper object, its true resting-place.
We have seen the good that wisdom brings to us. (Pro 2:5 .) Now see the evil, from which it preserves us. But observe its place — in the heart. Here only has it any light, life, or power. (Pro 4:23 .) Clear knowledge floating in the head is deep ignorance. While it only glitters in the understanding, it is dry, speculative, and barren. When it entereth into the heart, light beams out, all the affections are engaged; and how pleasant is it to the soul! (Pro 24:13-14 . Job 23:12 . Psa 119:103 . Jer 15:16 .) Religion now is no lifeless notion. It is handled, tasted, enjoyed. It gives a discreet and understanding direction to the whole conduct. It becomes not only an external rule, but a preserving, keeping principle (Pro 4:6 ; Pro 6:22-24 . Psa 17:4 ; Psa 119:9-11, Psa 119:104 ); like the military guard for the safety of the royal person. (1Sa 26:16 . 2Ki 11:11 .) Before, it was the object of our search. Now, having found it, it is our pleasure. Until it is so, it can have no practical influence. It is "the man, whose delight is in the law of the LORD," who is preserved from "walking in the counsel of the ungodly." (Psa 1:1-2 ; Compare Pro 7:4-5 .) Education, conviction, high moral principle, are at best only partially operative. The reclaimed drunkard may be true to his Temperance-pledge; but, if the "root of bitterness" be untouched, he may be a Socialist or a Chartist, or revel in some other equally ruinous course. External wickedness may be exchanged for decent formality. Vagrant affections may be turned from some object of vanity; yet not fixed upon the Divine centre of attraction. The mind may be disciplined from utter unprofitableness, only to indulge in the idolatry of talent, or the fascinations of poisoned literature. The folly of the pride of life may be resisted; yet pride in other of its multiform fruits tenderly cherished. In all these cases, the principle is unsubdued. The forsaken sin only makes way for some more plausible, but not less deadly passion. The heart, cast into the mold of the Gospel, is the only cover from those snares within and without (Rom 6:17-18 . 2Co 3:18 ), which so imperceptibly, yet so fatally, estrange us from God. Never, till the vital principle is implanted, is their mischief discerned. Never, till then, does the heart find its proper object, its true resting-place.
Read full note →
Footnotes
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Idea of Pro 2:9, amplified; on terms, compare Pro…
Idea of Pro 2:9, amplified; on terms, compare Pro 2:2 and Pro 2:4.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain BENEFITS OF WISDOM IN PRESERVING FROM EVIL ASSOCIATIONS, Pro_2:10-22.
BENEFITS OF WISDOM IN PRESERVING FROM EVIL ASSOCIATIONS, Pro_2:10-22.
10, 11. When wisdom entereth — Here the instructor starts out again, in a different train of thought, to show the effects of a sanctified education in preserving his pupil from the malign influence, first, of bad men, Pro_2:12-15, and, secondly, of bad women, Pro_2:16-20. Hence he repeats in Pro_2:10-11 what he had before advanced, but with a pleasing variety of expression, about the beneficent effects of wisdom, when once attained, in preserving from evil in general. Here, in Pro_2:11, he personifies discretion (intelligence) and understanding, (discernment,) and represents them as faithful guardians, watching over and keeping in safety the interests of their votaries. But for the sake of greater force and vividness he soon descends to particulars. In Pro_2:10, for the expressions heart, soul, compare Pro_24:12; Psa_13:2; Jer_4:9; Deu_6:5; Mat_22:37; Act_4:32. The first word of Pro_2:10, when, Miller renders because.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. When wisdom entereth … knowledge is pleasant] Rather:…
10. When wisdom entereth … knowledge is pleasant] Rather: For wisdom shall enter … knowledge shall be pleasant, R.V. The address flows on continuously and describes how wisdom as a shield preserves from the evil man (Pro_2:12-15), and from the evil woman (Pro_2:16-19).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) When wisdom . . .—Rather to be taken…
(10) When wisdom . . .—Rather to be taken as an explanation of the preceding, For wisdom will enter, &c
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 10-19. Statement of the advantages which result from…
Vers. 10-19. Statement of the advantages which result from the possession of Wisdom, and specially as a safeguard against evil men (vers. 12-15) and evil women (vers 16-19).
When wisdom entereth into thine heart. There is practically little difference as to the sense, whether we render the Hebrew yKi by the conditional "if" or by the temporal "when" as in the Authorized Version. The conditional force is adopted by the LXX ean and the Vulgate si. In the previous section of this address, the teacher has shown that the search after Wisdom will result in possession.; now he points out, when Wisdom is secured, certain advantageous consequences follow. The transition is easy and natural. The form of construction is very similar to that adopted previously. There is first the hypothesis, if we give this force to yKi, though much shorter; and secondly the climax, also shorter and branching off into the statement of two special cases. Entereth; or, shall enter (awObj, thavo) in the sense of permanent residence in the heart. Wisdom is not only to come in, but to rest there. (cf. Pro_14:33) The expression is illustrated by Joh_14:23. The imagery of the verse is taken from the reception and entertainment of a guest. As we receive a welcome guest, and find pleasure in his company, so is Wisdom to be dear to the heart and soul. Into thine heart ( blibecha). The heart (ble) "concentrates in it. self the personal life of man in all its relations, the conscious and the unconscious, the voluntary and the involuntary, the physical and the spiritual impulses, the emotions and states" (Cremer, "Bib. Theol. Lex.," sub voce kardia ). It is that in which the vpn (nephesh),"soul," manifests itself. It is the centre of the life of will and desire, of the emotions, and of the moral life. Rudloff ("Lehre von Menscher," p. 59, sqq., apud Zockler) remarks that everywhere in the Scriptures the heart appears to belong more to the life of desire and feeling than to the intellectual activity of the soul. But at the same time, it is to be noted that intelligent conception is attributed to the heart (ble); Pro_14:10 Pro_8:5 Pro_16:9. The expression seems to be put here for the moral side of man"s nature; and in the Hellenistic sense, kardia , the proper equivalent of ble "heart," involves all that stands for nouv logov suneidhsiv , and yumov ; i.e. it includes, besides other things, the intellectual faculty. The word "soul" (vp,n, nephesh) is here found in combination with "heart." The other passages where they are mentioned together are Deu_6:5 Psa_13:2 Jer_4:19 Pro_24:12. The soul is primarily the vital principle, but according to the usus loquendi of Holy Scripture, it frequently denotes the entire inward nature of man; it is that part which is the object of the work of redemption. The homo of the soul is the heart, as appears from Pro_14:10, "The heart knoweth his own bitterness or, "the bitterness of his soul," Hebrew." While the "heart" (ble) is rendered by kardia and quch , the only Greek equivalent to "soul" (vpw) is quch . The two expressions, "heart," and "soul," in the passage before us may be taken as designating both the moral and spiritual sides of man"s nature. Wisdom is to be acceptable and pleasant to man in these respects. It may be remarked that an intellectual colouring is given to the word "heart" by the LXX, who render it by dianoia , as also in Deu_6:5 and other passages, evidently from the idea that prominence is given to the reflective faculty. Classically, dianoia is equivalent to "thought," "faculty of thought," "intellect." Knowledge (Hebrew, td); literally, to know, as in Pro_8:10 and Pro_14:6; here used synonymously with "wisdom." Knowledge, not merely as cognition, but perception; i.e. not merely knowing a thing with respect to its existence and being, but as to its excellence and truth. Equivalent to the LXX aisshsiv , "perception," and the Vulgate Scientia. is pleasant (Hebrew, yinam); literally, shall be pleasant; i.e. sweet, lovely, beautiful. The same word is used impersonally in Jacob"s blessing of Issachar, (Gen_49:15, "And he saw the land that it was pleasant and also in Pro_24:25, "To those that punish i.e. the judges there shall be delight." And this usage has led Dunn to take knowledge as an accusative of reference, and to translate, "There is pleasure to thy soul in respect of knowledge;" but the Authorized Version may be accepted as correct. "Knowledge" is masculine, as in Pro_8:10 and Pro_14:6, and agrees with the masculine verb "is pleasant." Knowledge will be pleasant from the enjoyment and rest which it yields. The Arabic presents the idea of this enjoyment under a different aspect: "And prudence shall be in thy soul the most beautiful glory.
Read full note →
Vers. 10, 11. The antidote to temptation.
I WE NEED AN ANTIDOTE TO TEMPTATION. It is not enough to trust to our own spiritual health to throw off the poison. We are already diseased with sin, and have a predisposition to yield to temptation in the corruption of our own hearts. But if we were immaculate, we should still be liable to fall; the power of temptation is so fearful that the purest, strongest soul would be in danger of succumbing. The tempter can choose the moment of his attack. When we are most off our guard, when we are faint and weary, when we are suffering from spiritual depression, the mine may be suddenly sprung, and we may be lost before we have fully realized the situation. Like the dragon in Sponsor"s "Faery Queene," which would have stifled the Red Cross Knight with the fiery fumes it belched forth unless he had fallen into the healing fountain, the tempter would destroy our spiritual life with an atmosphere of foul thoughts after more tangible attacks have failed, were it not that we have a supply of grace outside ourselves, equal to our need. Even Christ, when tempted, did not rest on his own purity and power, but appealed for support to the sacred wisdom of Scripture.
II THE ANTIDOTE TO TEMPTATION MUST BE SOME FORM OF POSITIVE GOOD. Fire is quenched by water, not by opposing flames. Evil must be overcome with good. The way to keep sin out of the heart is to fill the heart with pure thoughts and affections till there is no room for anything else. The citadel entered most easily by the tempter is an empty heart.
III TRUE WISDOM IS THE SUREST ANTIDOTE TO TEMPTATION. All knowledge tends in some degree to preserve from evil. Light makes for goodness. Both are from God, and therefore they must harmonize. Secular knowledge is morally useful. A very large proportion of the criminals in our jails can neither read nor write. Ignorant of wiser courses, they are led aside to the lowest pursuits. Sound intelligence and good information introduce men at least to the social conscience. But the schoolmaster is not the saviour of the world. Higher wisdom is needed to be the successful antidote to sin that wisdom which, in the Book of Proverbs, is almost synonymous with religion the knowledge of God and his laws, and the practical discernment of the application of this knowledge to conduct. We must know God"s will and the way of the Christian life, the beauty of holiness and how to attain it, if we are to have a good safeguard against sin. Christ, the Wisdom of God, dwelling in our hearts, is the great security against temptation.
IV TO BE EFFECTUAL AS AN ANTIDOTE TO TEMPTATION, WISDOM MUST BE RECEIVED WITH DELIGHT. Knowledge must be "pleasant." We are most influenced by that which we love most. There is a strength in the Divine joy. So long as religious truths are accepted in cold intellectual conviction, or submitted to through hard compulsions of duty, they will have little power over us. But happily God has joined the highest truth to the purest gladness. Wisdom is a pleasure to those who welcome it to their hearts. The acquisition of all knowledge is pleasurable, The knowledge of God is joined with peculiar spiritual delights. In rejoicing in this and in love to the incarnation of this wisdom in Christ, we have the strongest safeguard against temptation.
Vers. 10-22. The profit of religious knowledge.
It is preservative amidst the influences of evil example and of sensuous solicitation.
I THE WAY IN WHICH IT ACTS AS A PRESERVATIVE.
1. By taking up a central place in the consciousness. "When wisdom enters thy heart, and knowledge is dear to thy soul." Not as a stranger or mere guest, but a beloved and confidential intimate. The heart denotes here, as elsewhere, "the centre and organic basis of the collective life of the soul, the seat of sentiment, the starting point of personal self-determination." The soul, as used by Hebrew writers, denotes the entire assemblage of the passive and active principles of the inner life. Delitzsch terms the heart, as used in the Bible, "the birthplace of thought;" and thin is true, because thought springs out of the dim chaos of feeling as the defined crystals from the chemical mixture.
2. By counteractive force. If the inmost thing we know and feel be a sense of right and a sense of God, a pure sentiment and a lofty idea, this must exclude the baser feelings, and displace the images of pleasure and objects of desire which are unlawful and undivine. Them is watch and ward in the fortress of Man-soul against the enemy and the intruder. The "expulsive force of a new affection" operates. It is the occupied heart that alone is temptation proof. "Discretion shall watch over thee, prudence guard thee." The mind, directed to what is without, and feeling for its course among uncertainties, thus appears forearmed against dangers.
II THE DANGERS FROM WHICH IT PRESERVES. Social dangers. In society lies our field of full moral development, both in sympathy with the good and in antipathy to the evil. Two dangers are particularized.
1. The influence of the bad man. We know men by their talk and by their actions their habit in both; their "style," their "form," in the expressive language of the day.
(1) His talk is of "froward things," or "perversities cunning, crafty, malicious in spirit (ver. 12). Literally it is crooked talk, which is a relative term the direct opposite of the "straightness" of ver. 9 being meant. Our moral intuitions appear in the mind under the analogy of relations in space, and are thus designated probably in all languages. The right line and the curve or zigzag represent what we feel about good and evil in conduct. The speech of evil insinuation, covert suggestion, bad tone, generally may be meant; or perhaps, rather, guilty topics of conversation. The East is more leisurely in its habits than are we; and the warning has peculiar adaptation to the unfilled hours of an easy life, and which bad talk so often wastes and corrupts.
(2) His habit of life. He forsakes the "straight paths" to walk in "dark ways," such as those alluded to by St. Paul. (Rom_13:13 Eph_5:11 1Th_5:5) In the like sense that darkness is antipathetic to us, is moral evil (hence its appropriateness as an emblem); we may overcome the feeling partially, but only by doing ourselves a violence. It is a step further in self-perversion to "take pleasure in the execution of evil, and to make merry over wickedness." Human nature demands sympathy; the most depraved cannot do without it or the semblance of it. We are always craving the sight of that which reflects us; hence the sight of evil gives joy to the bad man, the sight of good enrages him. For he is a deformity. His ways are crooked, twisted all his mode of mind and life; a moral deformity. The conscience, armed with the healthy perception of the true, beautiful, and good, sees all this in the bad man, recognizes him for what he is, and so is proof against him. One great lesson of Goethe"s "Faust" is that the tempted man does not see the devil in human shape, because his moral temper has been first unstrung, and so his vision vitiated.
2. The solicitations of the bad woman. The expressions, "strange, foreign" (ver. 16), appear to designate her as the wife of another, an adulteress. (comp. Pro_6:26; but the sense is disputed) To allegorize the passage is to weaken its force; for the actual dangers of youth are clearly indicated. She is depicted in the strongest light of reality. This is what she is in the view of the inspired conscience.
(1) Her infidelity to her husband and her God (ver. 17). For marriage is a bond, not only between two human beings, but between each and God. Affiance is the glory of womanhood; to break her plighted troth is to wreck all her true charm and beauty. "Companion of her youth" is a beautiful designation of the husband. (Jer_3:4 Psa_55:14)
(2) Her dangerous arts. Oh, what can replace a youth defiled? or what more dangerous influence can there be than that of her whose "hatred is goaded by shame hatred against the virtue which confronts to reproach her? Her smooth tongue, flattering her victim with simulated admiration, and with the "hypocrisy of passion," is more deadly than the sword.
(3) Her deadly seductions. Death, the kingdom of the shades, the ghosts who lead, according to the view of the ancient world, a faint and bloodless existence below, is the end of her and the partakers of her sins. To Sheol, to Hades, the bourne whence no traveller returns, the steps of all her visitors tend. Her house seems ever to be tottering over the dark abyss. The truth held in this tragic picture is too obvious to need further illustration. Fatal to health of body, to peace of soul, to the very life itself, is the zymotic disease of lust. To the religious conscience thus the harlot appears; stripped of her paint and finery, her hypocrisy exposed, the poison of her being detected. It is the shadow of a life, and ends in emptiness, darkness, and ghostly gibbering. J.
Vers. 10-15. The course of sin and the strength of righteousness.
We have here portrayed for us
I THE SHOCKING COURSE OF SIN.
1. It begins in departure from rectitude. Evil men first manifest their error by "leaving the paths of uprightness." They were once under the wholesome restraints of righteousness. Parental control, the influences of the sanctuary and of virtuous society, held them in check, but these are thrown off; they have become irksome, and they are rebelled against and abandoned. The old and wise principles which were received and cherished are one by one discarded, and they stand unshielded, unguided, ready to wander in forbidden paths.
2. It continues in the practice of evil. Having thrown off old restraints, they "walk in the ways of darkness" (ver. 13); they proceed to do, habitually, those things which the unenlightened do those things which shun the light and love the darkness; deeds of error and of shame.
3. It resorts to despicable shifts. "Whose ways are crooked" (ver. 15). Sin cannot walk straight on; it would be soon overtaken by penalty, or fall over the precipice. It is like men pursued of justice, who have to turn and double that they may elude those who are behind. The course of sin is twisted and tortuous; it resorts to cunning and craftiness. All manliness is eaten out of it; it has the spirit and habit of a slave. (see Rom_6:16)
4. It hardens into utter perversity. They "are froward in their paths" (ver. 15); they "speak froward things" (ver. 12), i.e. they sink down into complete hardihood and spiritual stubbornness; their hearts are turned aside from all that is devout, pure, wise, and they have gone utterly after that which is profane and base.
5. It culminates in a hateful and hurtful propagandism. They "rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked" (ver. 14). Sin can go no further in enormity, no deeper in abasement, than when, rejoicing in iniquity, it seeks to lead others into the same guilt and vileness with itself. What a pitiful zealotry is this the anxiety and pertinacity of sin in winning from the paths of rectitude the children of innocence and truth! What a saddening thought that thousands of our fellow men are actively occupied in this diabolical pursuit!
II THE PERIL OF PIETY AND VIRTUE. Here, on earth, the purest virtue must walk side by side with the worst depravity. Sin sits down at the same hearth with goodness; profanity with piety. And thus brought into close contact, it is open to one to win or to seduce the other. We rejoice that godliness is seeking to gain impiety for God, but we mourn and tremble as we see sin seeking to pervert purity and goodness from "the right ways of the Lord." We are all open to human influence. The heart of man is responsive to human entreaty and example. But especially so is the heart of youth: that is tender, impressionable, plastic. Perhaps never a day passes but the sun looks down, in every land, on some young heart detached from truth, led into the path of evil, stained with sin, through the snares and wiles of guilty men. Who does not sigh with some feeling of solicitude as he sees the young man go forth from the shelter of the godly home into the world where the wicked wait, "rejoicing to do evil," and taking pride in the destruction they produce?
III THE STRENGTH AND SECURITY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. When wisdom enters the heart and knowledge is pleasant to the soul, then discretion will preserve, and understanding will keep us (vers. 10, 11). In other words, the cordial acceptance of the truth of God is the one security against sin. Delighting to do God"s will, his Law being in the heart as well as in the understanding, (Psa_40:8) this will prove an effectual breakwater against the tides of evil. He that can say," O Lord, how love I thy Law!" (Psalm 119) will never have to utter words of bitter remorse and black despair. Would youth know the certain path of victory, and pursue that way which leads, not down to shame, but on and up to heavenly glory?
1. Let it regard with earnest gaze him who is the Wisdom of God in fullest revelation to the sons of men.
2. Yield to him its early, unbounded love.
3. Then will it find unfading joy in the Divine truth which flowed from his lilts, and which shone in his holy life. Whoso believes in him shall never be confounded. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Wisdom Preserves from Folly
Wisdom Preserves from Folly
v. 10. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, not as a transient guest, but for the purpose of making it a permanent residence, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, affording the only genuine pleasure and satisfaction,
Read full note →
v. 11. discretion shall preserve thee, that is, proper reflection, a careful consideration, will serve to keep the prudent from foolish steps, understanding shall keep thee, enabling one to judge rightly in any given situation,
v. 12. to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from wicked conduct, from the man that speaketh froward things, uttering perverse and malicious speeches;
v. 13. who, that is, such people in general, leave the paths of uprightness, where their conduct was in agreement with the Word and will of God, to walk In the ways of darkness, being habitually active in the pursuit of wickedness;
v. 14. who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness, the maliciousness and deceitfulness, of the wicked;
v. 15. whose ways are crooked, literally, "who with respect to their ways are crooked," and they froward, full of malice and deceit, in their paths;
v. 16. to deliver thee from the strange woman, the unknown, foreign, unattached, her existence and way of conduct being full of dangers to youth, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words, making use of wanton speeches,
v. 17. which forsaketh the guide of her youth, her lawful husband, and forgetteth the covenant of her God, which demands purity and chastity from every woman.
v. 18. For her house inclineth unto death, sinking down to destruction, and her paths unto the dead, the shadowy forms of those who dwell in the kingdom of the dead, said, in this case, of everlasting damnation.
v. 19. None that go unto her return again, being swallowed up by the destruction which is her punishment, neither take they hold of the paths of life, they forfeit their chance to reach the ways of life once more. Over against the temptation from such wicked men and wanton women is placed the companionship of godly people.
v. 20. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, following their conduct, and keep the paths of the righteous, that being the object of this admonition.
v. 21. For the upright shall dwell in the land, enjoying earthly prosperity, as the blessing of the Lord, and the perfect shall remain in it.
v. 22. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, utterly destroyed, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it, this punishment being all the greater in the case of the Israelites because their land was the Land of Promise and a removal from it was equivalent to total rejection by the Lord. But the same facts, in substance, apply to men at this time, and therefore the warning of wisdom should be heeded most carefully.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:10 Wisdom will enter your heart, becoming an integral…
2:10 Wisdom will enter your heart, becoming an integral part of life. Rather than occasionally doing wise things, the wise person consistently makes wise choices. • Knowledge brings joy because it helps people live successfully.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.