Proverbs 16:28(v20)A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.
Proverbs 22:10(v20)Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop.
James 3:6(v20)And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course…
Luke 22:47-48(v23)While he was still speaking, behold, a multitude, and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He came near to Jesus…
Proverbs 15:18(v21)A wrathful man stirs up contention, but one who is slow to anger appeases strife.
Show all 22 cross-references
Proverbs 18:8(v22)The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels: they go down into a person’s innermost parts.
Luke 11:39(v23)The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and…
Proverbs 10:18(v23)He who hides hatred has lying lips. He who utters a slander is a fool.
Proverbs 26:22(v20)The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.
Proverbs 29:22(v21)An angry man stirs up strife, and a wrathful man abounds in sin.
2 Samuel 20:1(v21)There happened to be there a wicked fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet, and said, “We…
Proverbs 25:4(v23)Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the refiner;
Ezekiel 33:31(v23)They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their…
Matthew 23:27(v23)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of…
2 Samuel 20:9-10(v23)Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa took no heed…
1 Kings 12:2-3(v21)When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was yet in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam…
1 Kings 12:20(v21)When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There…
Psalms 120:4(v21)Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
Proverbs 10:12(v21)Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.
Proverbs 20:19(v22)He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets; therefore don’t keep company with him who opens wide his lips.
Proverbs 30:33(v21)For as the churning of milk produces butter, and the wringing of the nose produces blood; so the forcing of wrath produces strife.”
Ezekiel 22:9(v22)Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood. In you they have eaten on the mountains. They have committed lewdness among you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (20 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v23They will soon break out and utter themselves.
They will soon break out and utter themselves.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv20–23Pro 26:20 Where no wood is, [there] the fire…
Pro 26:20 Where no wood is, [there] the fire goeth out: so where [there is] no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
Ver. 20. Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out.] Lignis ignis conservatur. So is strife by evil tongues; these are the devil’s bellows and boutefeaus. "Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble, your breath as fire shall devour you." {Isa 33:11} Such is the breath of tale bearers. A curfew bell would do well for these incendiaries, that else may "set on fire the whole course of nature." {Jas 3:6} {See Trapp on "Pro 16:28"}
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 Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv20–23Tale-bearer, to carry such reports from one to another…
Tale-bearer, to carry such reports from one to another as may provoke them to mutual rage and strife.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn vv20, 23Contention is as a fire; it heats the spirit,…
Contention is as a fire; it heats the spirit, burns up all that is good, and puts families and societies into a flame. Now here we are told how that fire is commonly kindled and kept burning, that we may avoid the occasions of strife and so prevent the mischievous consequences of it. If then we would keep the peace, 1. We must not give ear to talebearers, for they feed the fire of contention with fuel; nay, they spread it with combustible matter; the tales they carry are fireballs. Those who by insinuating base characters, revealing secrets, and misrepresenting words and actions, do what they can to make relations, friends, and neighbours, jealous one of another, to alienate them one from another, and sow discord among them, are to be banished out of families and all societies, and then strife will as surely cease as the fire will go out when it has no fuel; the contenders will better understand one another and come to a better temper; old stories will soon be forgotten when there are no new ones told to keep up the remembrance of them, and both sides will see how they have been imposed upon by a common enemy. Whisperers and backbiters are incendiaries not to be suffered. To illustrate this, he repeats (Pro 26:22) what he had said before (Pro 18:8), that the words of a tale-bearer are as wounds, deep and dangerous wounds, wounds in the vitals. They wound the reputation of him who is belied, and perhaps the wound proves incurable, and even the plaster of a recantation (which yet can seldom be obtained) may not prove wide enough for it. They wound the love and charity which he to whom they are spoken ought to have for his neighbour and give a fatal stab to friendship and Christian fellowship. We must therefore not only not be tale-bearers ourselves at any time, nor ever do any ill offices, but we should not give the least countenance to those that are. 2. We must not associate with peevish passionate people, that are exceptions, and apt to put the worst constructions upon everything, that pick quarrels upon the least occasion, and are quick, and high, and hot, in resenting affronts. These are contentious men, that kindle strife, Pro 26:21. The less we have to do with such the better, for it will be very difficult to avoid quarrelling with those that are quarrelsome.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv20–23Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out,....…
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out,.... Or "woods" (h); where there is a large quantity of wood or fuel, the fire is kept up; but where there is little, scarce any or none at all, it goes out of course;
So where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth; or is silent (i): men cease to quarrel one with another; they hold their peace and are silent, when there are none to bring tales from one to another, or any whisperer or backbiter to suggest evil things of each other; or when such are discouraged on both sides, and their tales are not listened to; or when they are detected and thrust out of doors, as they deserve, then strife subsides, and peace ensues. Contention is like a fire, the flame of which is blown up by talebearers and whisperers, who are as incendiaries, and as such are to be treated.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn v23Burning - With malice or hatred: A slanderous or…
Burning - With malice or hatred: A slanderous or evil tongue. Dross - Such a tongue and heart are of no real worth, although sometimes they make a shew of it, as dross does of silver. 26. Deceit - With false professions of love.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv20, 22, 23Verse 20. Where no wood is, there the fire…
Verse 20. Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out] The tale-receiver and the tale-bearer are the agents of discord. If none received the slander in the first instance, it could not be propagated. Hence our proverb, "The receiver is as bad as the thief." And our laws treat them equally; for the receiver of stolen goods, knowing them to be stolen, is hanged, as well as he who stole them.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv20, 23Pro 26:20-22. Where no wood is, the fire goeth…
Pro 26:20-22. Where no wood is, the fire goeth out: &c. — As the fire will soon be extinguished if you take away the fuel that feeds it; so, where there is no tale-bearer — To carry such reports from one to another as may provoke them to mutual anger, enmity, and contention; the strife ceaseth — Animosity, hatred, and quarrels will die away. As coals to burning coals, &c. — As dead coals laid on burning coals, and wood on fire, increase the heat and flame; so is a contentious man — Hebrew, אישׁ מדונים, a man of contentions, that is, who loveth and giveth himself up to contentions; or, who is hard to please, and apt to find fault with every person and thing; to kindle strife — For unkind tempers and provoking words quickly produce quarrels and enmities, which destroy all peace, unanimity, and concord, and embroil people in endless hostilities against one another. The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds — This was observed before, Pro 18:8, (on which see the note,) and is here repeated, as being a point of great importance to the peace and welfare of all societies, and proper to be often and earnestly pressed upon the consciences of men, because of their great and general proneness to this sin.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv21–23Coals - Charcoal.
Coals - Charcoal.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges1846 · Public DomainOn vv20, 2320 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth…
20 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. {Where no...: Heb. Without wood} {talebearer: or, whisperer} {ceaseth: Heb. is silent} 21 As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. 22 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. (Pro 18:8 .) {innermost...: Heb. chambers}
The busy tongue makes work, where it does not find it. Such is the despicable trade of the talebearer — employing his time in prying into other people’s business, ferreting out secrets, diving into family histories, intermeddling with their concerns; all this with the view of putting himself forward, as a keen, intelligent, and active man. Thus in every way where he can please himself ’man is naturally his own grand idol. He would be esteemed and honored by any means; and to magnify that idol self, he kills the name and esteem of others in sacrifice to it.’†1 Real virtue revolts from this base selfishness.
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The fire of holy zeal seizes on things nearest home. This is a wildfire scattering its destruction abroad. The talebearer should be looked on as an incendiary. For his "tongue is a fire, itself set on fire of hell."†2 His raking up of old and forgotten tales supplies the fuel, without which the fire of strife, as where no wood is, goeth out. To quench the flame, we must take away the fuel. We must remove the talebearer; stop him in his words; compel him to produce his authority; face him, if possible, with the subject of his tales. This decisive course will prevent a mass of slander, and put him to shame.†3
Near akin is the contentious man. His mischief indeed is more open. His determination to have the last word is as coals to burning coals, and wood to the fire.†4 It keeps up the flame, kindled perhaps by a mere angry word or a contemptuous look; and which, but for this constant succession of fuel, might quickly have been extinguished. Do we never aim at the wit of a sharp answer, that "stirreth up anger," rather than at the wisdom and grace of "a soft answer, that turneth away wrath"? (Pro 15:1 .)
The talebearer’s wounds are however the most dangerous. They go down into the chambers — the vitals of the heart. One noiseless word may be the stab of death. But, if he escape for a while, his secret sins shall "be set before his eyes," and his wanton trifling with his brother’s character be justly recompensed. (Psa 50:20 ; Psa 52:1-5 .)
Are we closely watching against these sins? Do we carefully damp the rising flame of contention?†5 Do we resist the temptation to speak needlessly of the faults of others? Do we dread the character of a polished, well-educated, amusing slanderer? Should we be ready to give up the eclat of telling a good story, from the fear of wounding a good name? We may feel indignant at the charge of talebearing. Yet it requires no ordinary exercise of Christian discipline to maintain the silence of charity, and to regulate both the tongue and the ear within its well-advised limits.
Footnotes:
†1 Leighton on 1Pe 2:17 . Compare Jer 9:4 .
†2 Jas 3:6. Compare Pro 16:27 .
†3 Pro 25:23. Compare Pro 22:10 .
†4 Pro 15:18; Pro 16:28 ; Pro 29:22 . 2Co 12:20 .
†5 Pro 17:14. Gen 13:8-9 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv20, 23Faileth. Hebrew, Symmachus, Calmet, "aboundeth, the fire is bright,…
Faileth. Hebrew, Symmachus, Calmet, "aboundeth, the fire is bright, or flourisheth" (Septuagint) (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv20, 22, 23The talebearers foster (Pro 16:28), and the contentious excite,…
The talebearers foster (Pro 16:28), and the contentious excite, strife.
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. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv20–2320. No wood is — No more wood, that…
20. No wood is — No more wood, that is, when wood fails.
Talebearer — A tattler, whisperer, or garrulous person.
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 Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv20–2320. talebearer] Rather, whisperer, as the word is rendered…
20. talebearer] Rather, whisperer, as the word is rendered in Pro_16:28. The Vulg. has susurro here and in Pro_26:22 below, but verbosus in Pro_16:28, and bilinguis in Pro_18:8. The LXX. have here δίθυμος, a man of strife or discord, but in Pro_26:22, κέρκωψ, a jackanapes.
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 Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv22–23(22) The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds.—See…
(22) The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds.—See above on Pro_18:8.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv20–23Some proverbs follow concerning the slanderer. Where no wood…
Some proverbs follow concerning the slanderer. Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out. Where the wood fails, and that was the only fuel then used, the fire must go out. So where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth; comes to silence. (Pro_22:10) (For nirgan," whisper," see on Pro_16:28) Septuagint, "With much wood fire groweth, but where there is not one discordant (diyumov ), strife is at rest.
The fuel of strife.
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I STRIFE WILL DIE OUT IF IT BE NOT SUPPLIED WITH FRESH FUEL. The fire will not burn after the stock of wood is all exhausted. The quarrel will not continue if the angry feelings that rage in it are not fed by fresh provocations. The unhappy experience of most quarrels is that these provocations are too readily supplied. But if one party to a quarrel really wishes for peace, he can often obtain it by simply abstaining from maintaining his contention. His opponent will tire of a one-sided war. Patience, meekness, and quiet endurance will thus make peace in the end. This was Christ"s method. He brought peace by peaceably submitting to wrong.
II STRIFE IS TOO OFTEN MAINTAINED WITH THE FRESH FUEL ADDED BY STRANGERS. If the two principals in a quarrel were left to themselves, they might tire of perpetual disputes. But a third party interferes, not as a peacemaker, but to take one side; or to meddle in pure mischief making, delighting to stir up the embers of strife; or to show his own power and importance. This conduct is the opposite of that of one who serves the Prince of Peace.
III TALE BEARING ADDS FUEL TO STRIFE.
1. It may be true. We may hear something of one party in a quarrel which we know to be correct, and report it to the other, though it was never intended to be repeated. This rouses angry passions and renews the old battle. Immense harm is done by merely inconsiderate gossip. When an element of spite is added and there is a deliberate attempt to aggravate a quarrel, the conduct of the tale bearer is simply diabolical.
2. It is likely to be exaggerated. Most tales, like snowballs, grow as they proceed. Passing from one to another, they are unintentionally exaggerated. Surmise and inference are mixed up with the original narrative as part of the story. Rhetorical point is gained at the expense of accuracy.
a. IT IS THE DUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN TO ALLAY STRIFE. His should be the blessedness of the peacemaker. (Mat_5:9) If we have Christian love we shall desire to do this, for chanty covers a multitude of sins. (1Pe_4:8) Immense harm would he prevented by the merely negative course of refraining from repeating all words that have the slightest tendency to provoke ill will between other people. There is virtue in reticence. Silence here is indeed golden. But sometimes we should go further, and endeavour to make the best of people to one another, and so to heal quarrels.
b. NO TALE BEARER CAN REVIVE THE STRIFE BETWEEN THE SOUL AND GOD. If there be no more fuel, this will vanish. God desires to be reconciled with his children. If they will but lay down their arms, the old quarrel will cease at once.
1. God knows the worst of us. He knows all. Therefore he never makes discoveries that will rouse his wrath against our pardoned past.
2. He cannot be misled by deceivers. Tale bearers may malign our character before men, never before God.
3. The only thing to continue our strife with God is to continue our rebellious lives. While we seek peace, peace is secure.
Vers. 20-28. Spite, cunning, and deceit.
I THE TALE BEARER AND MISCHIEF MAKER. (Vers. 20-22)
1. His inflammatory character. (Vers. 20, 21) He keeps alive quarrels which, but for his vice, would die down for want of fuel. It is easy to fire the imagination with tales of evil, not so easy to quench the flames thus kindled. If the character is odious, let us beware of countenancing it by opening our ears to scandal. Personal gossip has in our day become an offence in the public press. But were there no receivers, there would be no thieves. If we cannot stop the scandalmonger"s month, we can stop our own ears; and "let him see in our face that he has no room in our heart.
2. The pain he causes. (Ver. 22) Slander is deadly it "out venoms all the worms of Nile." "A whispered word may stab a gentle heart." "What weapon can be nearer to nothing than the sting of a wasp? yet what a painful wound may it give! The scarce-visible point how it envenoms and rankles and swells up the flesh! The tenderness of the part adds much to the grief." If God has given us a sting, or turn for satire, may we use it for its proper work to cover evil with contempt, and folly with ridicule, and not at the devilish instigation of envy and spite. Let us dread and discourage the character of the amusing social slanderer.
II THE BAD HEART. (Vers. 23-25)
1. It may be varnished over, but is still the bad heart. It is like the common sherd covered with impure silver, the common wood with veneer. The burning lips seem here to mean glowing professions of friendship. like the kiss of Judas.
2. Duplicity is the sign of the bad heart. The dissembler smiles, and murders while he smiles. The fair face hides what the false heart doth know. "Neither man nor angel can discern Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks Invisible, except to God alone. Oft, though wisdom wakes, suspicion sleeps At wisdom"s gate, and to simplicity Resigns her charge, while goodness thinks no ill Where no ill seems.
3. The need of prudence and reserve. "Trust not him that seems to be a saint." Indeed, it is an error to place perfect trust in anything human or finite. But the special warning here is against suffering flattery to blind us to the real character of one who has once been revealed in his true colours.
III THE EXPOSURE OF WICKEDNESS. (Vers. 26, 27) Vain is the attempt of men to conceal for any length of time their real character. What they say and what they do not say, do and do not do, reveals them sooner or later. And the revelation brings its retribution. The intriguer falls into his own pit, is crushed beneath the stone he set in motion. Curses come home to roost; the biter is bitten; and the villain suffers from the recoil of his own weapon. This appears also to be the sense of ver. 28. Though a lie has no legs, it has wings, and may fly far and wide, but it "hates its own master" (according to one rendering), and flies back to perch on his shoulder and betray him to his ruin. J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v23Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a…
Pro_26:23
Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.
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Putrefaction phosphorescent
The illuminating power of phosphorus appears due to an extremely slow chemical reaction, and it is affirmed that vegetable and animal substances may grow phosphorescent at a certain stage of decomposition, or even without any appearance of putrefaction. Accredited authorities cite a host of examples of fresh or stale meats which have been seen to shine during the night with a more or less vivid clearness. Fish, and especially salt-water fish, when no longer fresh, acquire a phosphorescence which brightens during the first period, of putrefaction. Leave for two or three days dead saltwater fish in non-luminous sea-water; at the end of that time the water will be covered with a thin pellicle of fatty matter, and will soon become phosphorescent. But it is not only in material nature that we thus find brightness in combination with impurity. Genius itself has been found shining amidst moral putrefaction. (Scientific Illustrations.)
A wicked heart disguising itself
This may be meant either--
1. Of a wicked heart showing itself in burning lips, furious, passionate, outrageous words, burning in malice, and presenting those to whom, or of whom, they are spoken. Ill-words and ill-will agree together as well as a potsherd and the dross of silver, which, now that the pot is broken, and the dross separated from the silver, are fit to be thrown together to the dunghill
2. Or of a wicked heart disguising itself, with burning lips, burning with the professions of love and friendship, and even persecuting a man with flatteries; this is like a potsherd covered with the scum or dross of silver, with which one that is weak may be imposed upon, as if it were of some value, but a wise man is soon aware of the cheat. This sense agrees with the following verses. (Matthew Henry.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v23Pro_26:23. Burning lips—i.e., “lips whence come ardent expressions of…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_26:23. Burning lips—i.e., “lips whence come ardent expressions of friendship.” Silver dross. Impure silver not freed from the dross.
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Pro_26:24. Layeth up, rather, “prepareth,” or “meditateth.”
Pro_26:26. Congregation—i.e., “before the people assembled for judgment.” (Zöckler.)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH—Pro_26:23-28
COUNTERFEIT FRIENDSHIP
I. Because there are true friends in the world false men sometimes put on the garb of friendship. Because there is an abundance of genuine coin in the country men take the trouble to make counterfeit imitations of it; the existence of the good money is the cause of the existence of the bad, and the great preponderance of the good over the bad is the reason why men sometimes get imposed upon and take the bad for the good. So there is much real and true friendship in human life, and there is therefore an opportunity given to wicked men to imitate its outward expression—there are many “burning words” uttered from the depths of a sincere heart, and therefore a wicked man will sometimes utter such words for the purposes of deception. The vessel of clay covered with silver may be taken for silver, because its shape and external appearance are close imitations of the genuine article, and the fair words of the false man may effectually deceive the listener, but it is because some things are what they seem, that other things are made to seem what they are not.
II. The words of true friendship are used to reveal, and those of the false friend are employed only for concealment. There were many silver vessels in Solomon’s palace, and their bright splendour was a true revelation of their intrinsic worth and genuineness; the shining surface reflecting the light was an indication of the preciousness of the entire article. But when a clay vessel is covered with silver, the external coating is used only to cover what is beneath, and perhaps to deceive those who look on it. So when the friendship is real the ardent expressions of affection which are uttered are only a revelation of the emotions which are experienced, but when it is only a counterfeit the words are like the silver which hides instead of revealing what is beneath it. Solomon’s father thus records his experience of the language of a counterfeit friend: “His words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords” (Psa_55:21).
III. Because counterfeit friendship is opposed to human happiness it shall be publicly arrested and condemned. Every counterfeit has arrayed against it the force of human interest. It is to the interest of the general community that the forger should be brought to justice, and that the coiner of bad money should be severely punished. It is only by rigidly enforcing the law against such criminals that they are kept in check, and the safety of the public made tolerably secure. When such offenders are discovered their wickedness is condemned by the united voice of the commercial world. But the man who betrays another by false words is quite as great an enemy to his brother man, and ought to be as severely dealt with and as publicly and universally condemned. But it can hardly be affirmed that such is the case. If every such betrayer were dealt with by human laws we should need a large increase of judges and gaolers and prison-cells, and should find within the walls of the latter many men who are now living in mansions. And if they were only punished by being shut out from the favourable notice of their fellow-men, many would be missed from their present positions in commercial and fashionable circles. Although they are shunned, and their wickedness is abhorred by all lovers of truth and honesty, they are far from meeting at the hands of man with the contempt and condemnation which they deserve. But the forces arrayed against such men are nevertheless in operation, and though they often work secretly and slowly they are most certain to find their object, and to make him conscious of their existence. There are other agencies at work in the universe beside human agencies, and a Divine lawgiver as well as human lawgivers. And although the latter may fail to discover those who break their laws, no offender against the law of God will be able to escape public arrest and condemnation, if not before a human congregation, before a higher and more august assembly.
IV. A special form of punishment which will be the special portion of such offenders. The great principle proclaimed by Christ, “With what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again” (Mat_7:2), is here uttered by Solomon. Every deceiver will be deceived, and one false man will become the prey of another false man. This is a law which is always and now in operation, although the punishment may not always be discernible to onlookers. But it is a work which the Almighty Judge has taken into His own hands, and many a one who is now suffering from a pitfall laid by another, knows very well in his secret soul that he is only passing through the same experience which he once prepared for another—that if what he took for a silver vessel is only clay, he has himself palmed off the counterfeit article for a genuine one.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_26:28. It is not easy for us to forgive the injuries we receive; but it is far more difficult to forgive the injuries we do.—Lawson.
1. There is the inward self-reproach, arising from the workings of conscience, from which arises a secret irritability and fretfulness and unhappiness; and this produces dislike of the innocent occasion of it, instead of terminating (as it always ought to do) on self. This of course is only more injustice. True; but it is in human nature to hate with a bitter hatred the object of our own crime; as if it were a fault in that object to exist, and so to be the object on which our sin terminates.
2. The evil passions, like the good, are strengthened and increased by their exercise. If the utterance of the feelings of love serves further to inflame love, the utterance, in like manner, of the feelings of hatred tend to inflame hatred. The passion gives birth to the word and the action; and, reciprocally, the word and the action strengthen the passion.
3. The fretful uneasiness produced by the unceasing apprehension of detection and exposure, already alluded to, and of the weight of his vengeance who is the object of the lying tongue’s assaults, gives rise also to the same feeling of rankling dislike to him who is the source of it. Thus the slanderer, instead of feeling pity for the man whom his slander wounds, hates him still the more. This appears to have had a very striking exemplification in the case of our blessed Lord and His Jewish unbelieving adversaries. They “hated Him without a cause.”—Wardlaw.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv20, 22a person who gossips a lot
gossiper
a person who gossips a lot
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As charcoal is to burning coals and wood is to fire
What charcoal does to coals and what wood does to fire can be stated clearly. AT: "As charcoal helps coals burn and as wood helps fire burn" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
kindling strife
To kindle something means to set it on fire. Setting strife on fire is a metaphor for causing people to fight or argue. AT: "causing people to fight" or "causing people to argue" (See: Metaphor)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v23 They will soon break out and utter themselves.
They will soon break out and utter themselves.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv20–23 Pro 26:20 Where no wood is, [there] the fire…
Pro 26:20 Where no wood is, [there] the fire goeth out: so where [there is] no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
Ver. 20. Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out.] Lignis ignis conservatur. So is strife by evil tongues; these are the devil’s bellows and boutefeaus. "Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble, your breath as fire shall devour you." {Isa 33:11} Such is the breath of tale bearers. A curfew bell would do well for these incendiaries, that else may "set on fire the whole course of nature." {Jas 3:6} {See Trapp on "Pro 16:28"}
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 On vv20–23 Tale-bearer, to carry such reports from one to another…
Tale-bearer, to carry such reports from one to another as may provoke them to mutual rage and strife.
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 On vv20, 23 Contention is as a fire; it heats the spirit,…
Contention is as a fire; it heats the spirit, burns up all that is good, and puts families and societies into a flame. Now here we are told how that fire is commonly kindled and kept burning, that we may avoid the occasions of strife and so prevent the mischievous consequences of it. If then we would keep the peace, 1. We must not give ear to talebearers, for they feed the fire of contention with fuel; nay, they spread it with combustible matter; the tales they carry are fireballs. Those who by insinuating base characters, revealing secrets, and misrepresenting words and actions, do what they can to make relations, friends, and neighbours, jealous one of another, to alienate them one from another, and sow discord among them, are to be banished out of families and all societies, and then strife will as surely cease as the fire will go out when it has no fuel; the contenders will better understand one another and come to a better temper; old stories will soon be forgotten when there are no new ones told to keep up the remembrance of them, and both sides will see how they have been imposed upon by a common enemy. Whisperers and backbiters are incendiaries not to be suffered. To illustrate this, he repeats (Pro 26:22) what he had said before (Pro 18:8), that the words of a tale-bearer are as wounds, deep and dangerous wounds, wounds in the vitals. They wound the reputation of him who is belied, and perhaps the wound proves incurable, and even the plaster of a recantation (which yet can seldom be obtained) may not prove wide enough for it. They wound the love and charity which he to whom they are spoken ought to have for his neighbour and give a fatal stab to friendship and Christian fellowship. We must therefore not only not be tale-bearers ourselves at any time, nor ever do any ill offices, but we should not give the least countenance to those that are. 2. We must not associate with peevish passionate people, that are exceptions, and apt to put the worst constructions upon everything, that pick quarrels upon the least occasion, and are quick, and high, and hot, in resenting affronts. These are contentious men, that kindle strife, Pro 26:21. The less we have to do with such the better, for it will be very difficult to avoid quarrelling with those that are quarrelsome.
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 On vv20–23 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out,....…
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out,.... Or "woods" (h); where there is a large quantity of wood or fuel, the fire is kept up; but where there is little, scarce any or none at all, it goes out of course;
So where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth; or is silent (i): men cease to quarrel one with another; they hold their peace and are silent, when there are none to bring tales from one to another, or any whisperer or backbiter to suggest evil things of each other; or when such are discouraged on both sides, and their tales are not listened to; or when they are detected and thrust out of doors, as they deserve, then strife subsides, and peace ensues. Contention is like a fire, the flame of which is blown up by talebearers and whisperers, who are as incendiaries, and as such are to be treated.
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(h) "deficientibus lignis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "in deficientia lignorum", Michaelis; "quum expirarunt ligna", Schultens. (i) "silebit", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus; "silet", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "consilescit", Cocceius, Schultens.
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 On v23 Burning - With malice or hatred: A slanderous or…
Burning - With malice or hatred: A slanderous or evil tongue. Dross - Such a tongue and heart are of no real worth, although sometimes they make a shew of it, as dross does of silver. 26. Deceit - With false professions of love.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23 Verse 20. Where no wood is, there the fire…
Verse 20. Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out] The tale-receiver and the tale-bearer are the agents of discord. If none received the slander in the first instance, it could not be propagated. Hence our proverb, "The receiver is as bad as the thief." And our laws treat them equally; for the receiver of stolen goods, knowing them to be stolen, is hanged, as well as he who stole them.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv20, 23 Pro 26:20-22. Where no wood is, the fire goeth…
Pro 26:20-22. Where no wood is, the fire goeth out: &c. — As the fire will soon be extinguished if you take away the fuel that feeds it; so, where there is no tale-bearer — To carry such reports from one to another as may provoke them to mutual anger, enmity, and contention; the strife ceaseth — Animosity, hatred, and quarrels will die away. As coals to burning coals, &c. — As dead coals laid on burning coals, and wood on fire, increase the heat and flame; so is a contentious man — Hebrew, אישׁ מדונים, a man of contentions, that is, who loveth and giveth himself up to contentions; or, who is hard to please, and apt to find fault with every person and thing; to kindle strife — For unkind tempers and provoking words quickly produce quarrels and enmities, which destroy all peace, unanimity, and concord, and embroil people in endless hostilities against one another. The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds — This was observed before, Pro 18:8, (on which see the note,) and is here repeated, as being a point of great importance to the peace and welfare of all societies, and proper to be often and earnestly pressed upon the consciences of men, because of their great and general proneness to this sin.
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 On vv21–23 Coals - Charcoal.
Coals - Charcoal.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain On vv20, 23 20 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth…
20 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. {Where no...: Heb. Without wood} {talebearer: or, whisperer} {ceaseth: Heb. is silent} 21 As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. 22 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. (Pro 18:8 .) {innermost...: Heb. chambers}
The busy tongue makes work, where it does not find it. Such is the despicable trade of the talebearer — employing his time in prying into other people’s business, ferreting out secrets, diving into family histories, intermeddling with their concerns; all this with the view of putting himself forward, as a keen, intelligent, and active man. Thus in every way where he can please himself ’man is naturally his own grand idol. He would be esteemed and honored by any means; and to magnify that idol self, he kills the name and esteem of others in sacrifice to it.’†1 Real virtue revolts from this base selfishness.
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The fire of holy zeal seizes on things nearest home. This is a wildfire scattering its destruction abroad. The talebearer should be looked on as an incendiary. For his "tongue is a fire, itself set on fire of hell."†2 His raking up of old and forgotten tales supplies the fuel, without which the fire of strife, as where no wood is, goeth out. To quench the flame, we must take away the fuel. We must remove the talebearer; stop him in his words; compel him to produce his authority; face him, if possible, with the subject of his tales. This decisive course will prevent a mass of slander, and put him to shame.†3
Near akin is the contentious man. His mischief indeed is more open. His determination to have the last word is as coals to burning coals, and wood to the fire.†4 It keeps up the flame, kindled perhaps by a mere angry word or a contemptuous look; and which, but for this constant succession of fuel, might quickly have been extinguished. Do we never aim at the wit of a sharp answer, that "stirreth up anger," rather than at the wisdom and grace of "a soft answer, that turneth away wrath"? (Pro 15:1 .)
The talebearer’s wounds are however the most dangerous. They go down into the chambers — the vitals of the heart. One noiseless word may be the stab of death. But, if he escape for a while, his secret sins shall "be set before his eyes," and his wanton trifling with his brother’s character be justly recompensed. (Psa 50:20 ; Psa 52:1-5 .)
Are we closely watching against these sins? Do we carefully damp the rising flame of contention?†5 Do we resist the temptation to speak needlessly of the faults of others? Do we dread the character of a polished, well-educated, amusing slanderer? Should we be ready to give up the eclat of telling a good story, from the fear of wounding a good name? We may feel indignant at the charge of talebearing. Yet it requires no ordinary exercise of Christian discipline to maintain the silence of charity, and to regulate both the tongue and the ear within its well-advised limits.
Footnotes:
†1 Leighton on 1Pe 2:17 . Compare Jer 9:4 .
†2 Jas 3:6. Compare Pro 16:27 .
†3 Pro 25:23. Compare Pro 22:10 .
†4 Pro 15:18; Pro 16:28 ; Pro 29:22 . 2Co 12:20 .
†5 Pro 17:14. Gen 13:8-9 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv20, 23 Faileth. Hebrew, Symmachus, Calmet, "aboundeth, the fire is bright,…
Faileth. Hebrew, Symmachus, Calmet, "aboundeth, the fire is bright, or flourisheth" (Septuagint) (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23 The talebearers foster (Pro 16:28), and the contentious excite,…
The talebearers foster (Pro 16:28), and the contentious excite, strife.
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 On vv20–23 20. No wood is — No more wood, that…
20. No wood is — No more wood, that is, when wood fails.
Talebearer — A tattler, whisperer, or garrulous person.
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 On vv20–23 20. talebearer] Rather, whisperer, as the word is rendered…
20. talebearer] Rather, whisperer, as the word is rendered in Pro_16:28. The Vulg. has susurro here and in Pro_26:22 below, but verbosus in Pro_16:28, and bilinguis in Pro_18:8. The LXX. have here δίθυμος, a man of strife or discord, but in Pro_26:22, κέρκωψ, a jackanapes.
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 On vv22–23 (22) The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds.—See…
(22) The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds.—See above on Pro_18:8.
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 On vv20–23 Some proverbs follow concerning the slanderer. Where no wood…
Some proverbs follow concerning the slanderer. Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out. Where the wood fails, and that was the only fuel then used, the fire must go out. So where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth; comes to silence. (Pro_22:10) (For nirgan," whisper," see on Pro_16:28) Septuagint, "With much wood fire groweth, but where there is not one discordant (diyumov ), strife is at rest.
The fuel of strife.
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I STRIFE WILL DIE OUT IF IT BE NOT SUPPLIED WITH FRESH FUEL. The fire will not burn after the stock of wood is all exhausted. The quarrel will not continue if the angry feelings that rage in it are not fed by fresh provocations. The unhappy experience of most quarrels is that these provocations are too readily supplied. But if one party to a quarrel really wishes for peace, he can often obtain it by simply abstaining from maintaining his contention. His opponent will tire of a one-sided war. Patience, meekness, and quiet endurance will thus make peace in the end. This was Christ"s method. He brought peace by peaceably submitting to wrong.
II STRIFE IS TOO OFTEN MAINTAINED WITH THE FRESH FUEL ADDED BY STRANGERS. If the two principals in a quarrel were left to themselves, they might tire of perpetual disputes. But a third party interferes, not as a peacemaker, but to take one side; or to meddle in pure mischief making, delighting to stir up the embers of strife; or to show his own power and importance. This conduct is the opposite of that of one who serves the Prince of Peace.
III TALE BEARING ADDS FUEL TO STRIFE.
1. It may be true. We may hear something of one party in a quarrel which we know to be correct, and report it to the other, though it was never intended to be repeated. This rouses angry passions and renews the old battle. Immense harm is done by merely inconsiderate gossip. When an element of spite is added and there is a deliberate attempt to aggravate a quarrel, the conduct of the tale bearer is simply diabolical.
2. It is likely to be exaggerated. Most tales, like snowballs, grow as they proceed. Passing from one to another, they are unintentionally exaggerated. Surmise and inference are mixed up with the original narrative as part of the story. Rhetorical point is gained at the expense of accuracy.
a. IT IS THE DUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN TO ALLAY STRIFE. His should be the blessedness of the peacemaker. (Mat_5:9) If we have Christian love we shall desire to do this, for chanty covers a multitude of sins. (1Pe_4:8) Immense harm would he prevented by the merely negative course of refraining from repeating all words that have the slightest tendency to provoke ill will between other people. There is virtue in reticence. Silence here is indeed golden. But sometimes we should go further, and endeavour to make the best of people to one another, and so to heal quarrels.
b. NO TALE BEARER CAN REVIVE THE STRIFE BETWEEN THE SOUL AND GOD. If there be no more fuel, this will vanish. God desires to be reconciled with his children. If they will but lay down their arms, the old quarrel will cease at once.
1. God knows the worst of us. He knows all. Therefore he never makes discoveries that will rouse his wrath against our pardoned past.
2. He cannot be misled by deceivers. Tale bearers may malign our character before men, never before God.
3. The only thing to continue our strife with God is to continue our rebellious lives. While we seek peace, peace is secure.
Vers. 20-28. Spite, cunning, and deceit.
I THE TALE BEARER AND MISCHIEF MAKER. (Vers. 20-22)
1. His inflammatory character. (Vers. 20, 21) He keeps alive quarrels which, but for his vice, would die down for want of fuel. It is easy to fire the imagination with tales of evil, not so easy to quench the flames thus kindled. If the character is odious, let us beware of countenancing it by opening our ears to scandal. Personal gossip has in our day become an offence in the public press. But were there no receivers, there would be no thieves. If we cannot stop the scandalmonger"s month, we can stop our own ears; and "let him see in our face that he has no room in our heart.
2. The pain he causes. (Ver. 22) Slander is deadly it "out venoms all the worms of Nile." "A whispered word may stab a gentle heart." "What weapon can be nearer to nothing than the sting of a wasp? yet what a painful wound may it give! The scarce-visible point how it envenoms and rankles and swells up the flesh! The tenderness of the part adds much to the grief." If God has given us a sting, or turn for satire, may we use it for its proper work to cover evil with contempt, and folly with ridicule, and not at the devilish instigation of envy and spite. Let us dread and discourage the character of the amusing social slanderer.
II THE BAD HEART. (Vers. 23-25)
1. It may be varnished over, but is still the bad heart. It is like the common sherd covered with impure silver, the common wood with veneer. The burning lips seem here to mean glowing professions of friendship. like the kiss of Judas.
2. Duplicity is the sign of the bad heart. The dissembler smiles, and murders while he smiles. The fair face hides what the false heart doth know. "Neither man nor angel can discern Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks Invisible, except to God alone. Oft, though wisdom wakes, suspicion sleeps At wisdom"s gate, and to simplicity Resigns her charge, while goodness thinks no ill Where no ill seems.
3. The need of prudence and reserve. "Trust not him that seems to be a saint." Indeed, it is an error to place perfect trust in anything human or finite. But the special warning here is against suffering flattery to blind us to the real character of one who has once been revealed in his true colours.
III THE EXPOSURE OF WICKEDNESS. (Vers. 26, 27) Vain is the attempt of men to conceal for any length of time their real character. What they say and what they do not say, do and do not do, reveals them sooner or later. And the revelation brings its retribution. The intriguer falls into his own pit, is crushed beneath the stone he set in motion. Curses come home to roost; the biter is bitten; and the villain suffers from the recoil of his own weapon. This appears also to be the sense of ver. 28. Though a lie has no legs, it has wings, and may fly far and wide, but it "hates its own master" (according to one rendering), and flies back to perch on his shoulder and betray him to his ruin. J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v23 Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a…
Pro_26:23
Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.
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Putrefaction phosphorescent
The illuminating power of phosphorus appears due to an extremely slow chemical reaction, and it is affirmed that vegetable and animal substances may grow phosphorescent at a certain stage of decomposition, or even without any appearance of putrefaction. Accredited authorities cite a host of examples of fresh or stale meats which have been seen to shine during the night with a more or less vivid clearness. Fish, and especially salt-water fish, when no longer fresh, acquire a phosphorescence which brightens during the first period, of putrefaction. Leave for two or three days dead saltwater fish in non-luminous sea-water; at the end of that time the water will be covered with a thin pellicle of fatty matter, and will soon become phosphorescent. But it is not only in material nature that we thus find brightness in combination with impurity. Genius itself has been found shining amidst moral putrefaction. (Scientific Illustrations.)
A wicked heart disguising itself
This may be meant either--
1. Of a wicked heart showing itself in burning lips, furious, passionate, outrageous words, burning in malice, and presenting those to whom, or of whom, they are spoken. Ill-words and ill-will agree together as well as a potsherd and the dross of silver, which, now that the pot is broken, and the dross separated from the silver, are fit to be thrown together to the dunghill
2. Or of a wicked heart disguising itself, with burning lips, burning with the professions of love and friendship, and even persecuting a man with flatteries; this is like a potsherd covered with the scum or dross of silver, with which one that is weak may be imposed upon, as if it were of some value, but a wise man is soon aware of the cheat. This sense agrees with the following verses. (Matthew Henry.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v23 Pro_26:23. Burning lips—i.e., “lips whence come ardent expressions of…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_26:23. Burning lips—i.e., “lips whence come ardent expressions of friendship.” Silver dross. Impure silver not freed from the dross.
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Pro_26:24. Layeth up, rather, “prepareth,” or “meditateth.”
Pro_26:26. Congregation—i.e., “before the people assembled for judgment.” (Zöckler.)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH—Pro_26:23-28
COUNTERFEIT FRIENDSHIP
I. Because there are true friends in the world false men sometimes put on the garb of friendship. Because there is an abundance of genuine coin in the country men take the trouble to make counterfeit imitations of it; the existence of the good money is the cause of the existence of the bad, and the great preponderance of the good over the bad is the reason why men sometimes get imposed upon and take the bad for the good. So there is much real and true friendship in human life, and there is therefore an opportunity given to wicked men to imitate its outward expression—there are many “burning words” uttered from the depths of a sincere heart, and therefore a wicked man will sometimes utter such words for the purposes of deception. The vessel of clay covered with silver may be taken for silver, because its shape and external appearance are close imitations of the genuine article, and the fair words of the false man may effectually deceive the listener, but it is because some things are what they seem, that other things are made to seem what they are not.
II. The words of true friendship are used to reveal, and those of the false friend are employed only for concealment. There were many silver vessels in Solomon’s palace, and their bright splendour was a true revelation of their intrinsic worth and genuineness; the shining surface reflecting the light was an indication of the preciousness of the entire article. But when a clay vessel is covered with silver, the external coating is used only to cover what is beneath, and perhaps to deceive those who look on it. So when the friendship is real the ardent expressions of affection which are uttered are only a revelation of the emotions which are experienced, but when it is only a counterfeit the words are like the silver which hides instead of revealing what is beneath it. Solomon’s father thus records his experience of the language of a counterfeit friend: “His words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords” (Psa_55:21).
III. Because counterfeit friendship is opposed to human happiness it shall be publicly arrested and condemned. Every counterfeit has arrayed against it the force of human interest. It is to the interest of the general community that the forger should be brought to justice, and that the coiner of bad money should be severely punished. It is only by rigidly enforcing the law against such criminals that they are kept in check, and the safety of the public made tolerably secure. When such offenders are discovered their wickedness is condemned by the united voice of the commercial world. But the man who betrays another by false words is quite as great an enemy to his brother man, and ought to be as severely dealt with and as publicly and universally condemned. But it can hardly be affirmed that such is the case. If every such betrayer were dealt with by human laws we should need a large increase of judges and gaolers and prison-cells, and should find within the walls of the latter many men who are now living in mansions. And if they were only punished by being shut out from the favourable notice of their fellow-men, many would be missed from their present positions in commercial and fashionable circles. Although they are shunned, and their wickedness is abhorred by all lovers of truth and honesty, they are far from meeting at the hands of man with the contempt and condemnation which they deserve. But the forces arrayed against such men are nevertheless in operation, and though they often work secretly and slowly they are most certain to find their object, and to make him conscious of their existence. There are other agencies at work in the universe beside human agencies, and a Divine lawgiver as well as human lawgivers. And although the latter may fail to discover those who break their laws, no offender against the law of God will be able to escape public arrest and condemnation, if not before a human congregation, before a higher and more august assembly.
IV. A special form of punishment which will be the special portion of such offenders. The great principle proclaimed by Christ, “With what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again” (Mat_7:2), is here uttered by Solomon. Every deceiver will be deceived, and one false man will become the prey of another false man. This is a law which is always and now in operation, although the punishment may not always be discernible to onlookers. But it is a work which the Almighty Judge has taken into His own hands, and many a one who is now suffering from a pitfall laid by another, knows very well in his secret soul that he is only passing through the same experience which he once prepared for another—that if what he took for a silver vessel is only clay, he has himself palmed off the counterfeit article for a genuine one.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_26:28. It is not easy for us to forgive the injuries we receive; but it is far more difficult to forgive the injuries we do.—Lawson.
1. There is the inward self-reproach, arising from the workings of conscience, from which arises a secret irritability and fretfulness and unhappiness; and this produces dislike of the innocent occasion of it, instead of terminating (as it always ought to do) on self. This of course is only more injustice. True; but it is in human nature to hate with a bitter hatred the object of our own crime; as if it were a fault in that object to exist, and so to be the object on which our sin terminates.
2. The evil passions, like the good, are strengthened and increased by their exercise. If the utterance of the feelings of love serves further to inflame love, the utterance, in like manner, of the feelings of hatred tend to inflame hatred. The passion gives birth to the word and the action; and, reciprocally, the word and the action strengthen the passion.
3. The fretful uneasiness produced by the unceasing apprehension of detection and exposure, already alluded to, and of the weight of his vengeance who is the object of the lying tongue’s assaults, gives rise also to the same feeling of rankling dislike to him who is the source of it. Thus the slanderer, instead of feeling pity for the man whom his slander wounds, hates him still the more. This appears to have had a very striking exemplification in the case of our blessed Lord and His Jewish unbelieving adversaries. They “hated Him without a cause.”—Wardlaw.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv20, 22 a person who gossips a lot
gossiper
a person who gossips a lot
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As charcoal is to burning coals and wood is to fire
What charcoal does to coals and what wood does to fire can be stated clearly. AT: "As charcoal helps coals burn and as wood helps fire burn" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
kindling strife
To kindle something means to set it on fire. Setting strife on fire is a metaphor for causing people to fight or argue. AT: "causing people to fight" or "causing people to argue" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
fire
gossip
strife
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv20, 22, 23 26:20-21 A gossip and a quarrelsome person are both…
26:20-21 A gossip and a quarrelsome person are both like fuel to the fire of trouble and discord.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.