Psalms 119:105(v23)Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.
Psalms 19:8(v23)Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart. Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.
2 Peter 1:19(v23)We have the more sure word of prophecy; and you do well that you heed it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and…
Proverbs 15:31(v23)The ear that listens to reproof lives, and will be at home among the wise.
Proverbs 4:13(v23)Take firm hold of instruction. Don’t let her go. Keep her, for she is your life.
Show all 51 cross-references
Proverbs 4:4(v23)He taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words. Keep my commandments, and live.
Jeremiah 21:8(v23)“You shall say to this people, ‘Yahweh says: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
Matthew 5:28(v25)but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
James 1:14-15(v25)But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when…
2 Kings 9:30(v25)When Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out at the window.
Psalms 119:11(v22)I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Psalms 119:98-100(v23)Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers,…
Psalms 141:5(v23)Let the righteous strike me, it is kindness; let him reprove me, it is like oil on the head; don’t let my head refuse it; Yet my prayer is…
Proverbs 15:24(v23)The path of life leads upward for the wise, to keep him from going downward to Sheol.
Proverbs 29:15(v23)The rod of correction gives wisdom, but a child left to himself causes shame to his mother.
Proverbs 3:18(v23)She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. Happy is everyone who retains her.
Proverbs 3:23-24(v22)Then you shall walk in your way securely. Your foot won’t stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and…
Isaiah 8:20(v23)Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
Revelation 2:5(v23)Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I am coming to you swiftly, and will move your…
Leviticus 19:17(v23)“ ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
Proverbs 2:16(v24)to deliver you from the strange woman, even from the foreigner who flatters with her words,
Proverbs 5:3(v24)For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,
Proverbs 5:12(v23)and say, “How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
Proverbs 7:5(v24)that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.
Ecclesiastes 7:26(v24)I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her;…
Ephesians 6:1(v20)Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Deuteronomy 27:16(v20)‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Psalms 119:24(v22)Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors.
Proverbs 2:11(v22)Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will keep you,
Proverbs 3:3(v21)Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Psalms 43:3(v22)Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill, to your tents.
Psalms 119:97(v22)How I love your law! It is my meditation all day.
Proverbs 7:1-4(v20)My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind…
Proverbs 7:3-4(v21)Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart. Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.” Call understanding your relative,
2 Samuel 11:2-5(v25)At evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was…
Psalms 17:4(v22)As for the deeds of men, by the word of your lips, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
Psalms 119:9(v22)How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
Psalms 119:54(v22)Your statutes have been my songs in the house where I live.
Psalms 119:148(v22)My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word.
Proverbs 1:8-9(v20)My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching: for they will be a garland to grace your head, and…
Proverbs 23:22(v20)Listen to your father who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
2 Corinthians 3:3(v21)being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets…
Exodus 13:16(v21)It shall be for a sign on your hand, and for symbols between your eyes; for by strength of hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt.”
Deuteronomy 6:8(v21)You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
Deuteronomy 21:18(v20)If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and though they chasten…
Proverbs 4:6(v21)Don’t forsake her, and she will preserve you. Love her, and she will keep you.
Proverbs 30:11(v20)There is a generation that curses their father, and doesn’t bless their mother.
Daniel 11:18-21(v22)After this he will turn his face to the islands, and will take many; but a prince will cause the reproach offered by him to cease. Yes,…
Proverbs 4:21(v21)Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the center of your heart.
Song of Solomon 4:9(v25)You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride. You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck.
Isaiah 3:16(v25)Moreover Yahweh said, “Because the daughters of Zion are arrogant, and walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes, walking to trip as…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (21 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv20–25Pro 6:20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and…
Pro 6:20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Ver. 20. My son, keep thy father’s commandment.] The commandments of religious parents are the very commandments of God himself, and are therefore to be as carefully kept "as the apple of a man’s eye." {Pro 7:2} {See Trapp on "Pro 1:8"}
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 vv20–25Keep thy father’s commandment, so far as it is…
Keep thy father’s commandment, so far as it is not contrary to God’s command.
Forsake not the law of thy mother, whom children are too apt to despise. See Pro 1:8.
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 v20Here is, I. A general exhortation faithfully to adhere…
Here is, I. A general exhortation faithfully to adhere to the word of God and to take it for our guide in all our actions.
1. We must look upon the word of God both as a light (Pro 6:23) and as a law, Pro 6:20, Pro 6:23. (1.) By its arguments it is a light, which our understandings must subscribe to; it is a lamp to our eyes for discovery, and so to our feet for direction. The word of God reveals to us truths of eternal certainty, and is built upon the highest reason. Scripture-light is the sure light. (2.) By its authority it is a law, which our wills must submit to. As never such a light shone out of the schools of the philosophers, so never such a law issued from the throne of any prince, so well framed, and so binding. It is such a law as is a lamp and a light, for it carries with it the evidence of its own goodness.
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2. We must receive it as our father's commandment and the law of our mother, Pro 6:20. It is God's commandment and his law. But, (1.) Our parents directed us to it, put it into our hands, trained us up in the knowledge and observance of it, its original and obligation being most sacred. We believe indeed, not for their saying, for we have tried it ourselves and find it to be of God; but we were beholden to them for recommending it to us, and see all the reason in the world to continue in the things we have learned, knowing of whom we have learned them. (2.) The cautions, counsels, and commands which our parents gave us agree with the word of God, and therefore we must hold them fast. Children, when they are grown up, must remember the law of a good mother, as well as the commandment of a good father, Ecclesiasticus 3:2. The Lord has given the father honour over the children and has confirmed the authority of the mother over the sons.
3. We must retain the word of God and the good instructions which our parents gave us out of it. (1.) We must never cast them off, never think it a mighty achievement (as some do) to get clear of the restraints of a good education: "Keep thy father's commandment, keep it still, and never forsake it." (2.) We must never lay them by, no, not for a time (Pro 6:21): Bind them continually, not only upon thy hand (as Moses had directed, Deu 6:8) but upon thy heart. Phylacteries upon the hand were of no value at all, any further than they occasioned pious thoughts and affections in the heart. There the word must be written, there it must be hid, and laid close to the conscience. Tie them about thy neck, as an ornament, a bracelet, or gold chain, - about thy throat (so the word is); let them be a guard upon that pass; tie them about thy throat, that no forbidden fruit may be suffered to go in nor any evil word suffered to go out through the throat; and thus a great deal of sin would be prevented. Let the word of God be always ready to us, and let us feel the impressions of it, as of that which is bound upon our hearts and about our necks.
4. We must make use of the word of God and of the benefit that is designed us by it. If we bind it continually upon our hearts, (1.) It will be our guide, and we must follow its direction. "When thou goest, it shall lead thee (Pro 6:22); it shall lead thee into, and lead thee in, the good and right way, shall lead thee from, and lead thee out of, every sinful dangerous path. It will say unto thee, when thou art ready to turn aside, This is the way; walk in it. It will be that to thee that the pillar of cloud and fire was to Israel in the wilderness. Be led by that, let it be thy rule, and then thou shalt be led by the Spirit; he will be thy monitor and support." (2.) It will be our guard, and we must put ourselves under the protection of it: "When thou sleepest, and liest exposed to the malignant powers of darkness, it shall keep thee; thou shalt be safe, and shalt think thyself so." If we govern ourselves by the precepts of the word all day, and make conscience of the duty God has commanded to us, we may shelter ourselves under the promises of the word at night, and take the comfort of the deliverances God does and will command for us. (3.) It will be our companion, and we must converse with it: "When thou awakest in the night, and knowest not how to pass away thy waking minutes, if thou pleasest, it shall talk with thee, and entertain thee with pleasant meditations in the night-watch; when thou awakest in the morning, and art contriving the work of the day, it shall talk with thee about it, and help thee to contrive for the best," Psa 1:2. The word of God has something to say to us upon all occasions, if we would but enter into discourse with it, would ask it what it has to say, and give it the hearing. And it would contribute to our close and comfortable walking with God all day if we would begin with him in the morning and let his word be the subject of our first thoughts. When I awake I am still with thee; we are so if the word be still with us. (4.) It will be our life; for, as the law is a lamp and a light for the present, so the reproofs of instruction are the way of life. Those reproofs of the word which not only show us our faults, but instruct us how to do better, are the way that leads to life, eternal life. Let not faithful reproofs therefore, which have such a direct tendency to make us happy, ever make us uneasy.
II. Here is a particular caution against the sin of uncleanness.
1. When we consider how much this iniquity abounds, how heinous it is in its own nature, of what pernicious consequence it is, and how certainly destructive to all the seeds of the spiritual life in the soul, we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often repeated and so largely inculcated. (1.) One great kindness God designed men, in giving them his law, was to preserve them from this sin, Pro 6:24. "The reproofs of instruction are therefore the way of life to thee, because they are designed to keep thee from the evil woman, who will be certain death to thee, from being enticed by the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman, who pretends to love thee, but intends to ruin thee." Those that will be wrought upon by flattery make themselves a very easy prey to the tempter; and those who would avoid that snare must take well-instructed reproofs as great kindnesses and be thankful to those that will deal faithfully with them, Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6. (2.) The greatest kindness we can do ourselves is to keep at a distance from this sin, and to look upon it with the utmost dread and detestation (Pro 6:25): "Lust not after her beauty, no, not in thy heart, for, if thou dost, thou hast there already committed adultery with her. Talk not of the charms in her face, neither be thou smitten with her amorous glances; they are all snares and nets; let her not take thee with her eye-lids. Her looks are arrows and fiery darts; they wound, they kill, in another sense than what lovers mean; they call it a pleasing captivity, but it is a destroying one, it is worse than Egyptian slavery."
2. Divers arguments Solomon here urges to enforce this caution against the sin of whoredom.
(1.) It is a sin that impoverishes men, wastes their estates, and reduces them to beggary (Pro 6:26): By means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread; many a man has been so, who has purchased the ruin of his body and soul at the expense of his wealth. The prodigal son spent his living on harlots, so that he brought himself to be fellow-commoner with the swine. And that poverty must needs lie heavily which men bring themselves into by their own folly, Job 31:12.
(2.) It threatens death; it kills men: The adulteress will hunt for the precious life, perhaps designedly, as Delilah for Samson's, at least, eventually, the sin strikes at the life. Adultery was punished by the law of Moses as a capital crime. The adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. Every one knew this. Those therefore who, for the gratifying of a base lust, would lay themselves open to the law, could be reckoned no better than self-murderers.
(3.) It brings guilt upon the conscience and debauches that. He that touches his neighbour's wife, with an immodest touch, cannot be innocent, Pro 6:29. [1.] He is in imminent danger of adultery, as he that takes fire in his bosom, or goes upon hot coals, is in danger of being burnt. The way of this sin is down-hill, and those that venture upon the temptations to it hardly escape the sin itself. The fly fools away her life by playing the wanton with the flames. It is a deep pit, which it is madness to venture upon the brink of. He that keeps company with those of ill fame, that goes in with them, and touches them, cannot long preserve his innocency; he thrusts himself into temptation and so throws himself out of God's protection. [2.] He that commits adultery is in the high road to destruction. The bold presumptuous sinner says, "I may venture upon the sin and yet escape the punishment; I shall have peace though I go on." He might as well say, I will take fire into my bosom and not burn my clothes, or I will go upon hot coals and not burn my feet. He that goes into his neighbour's wife, however he holds himself, God will not hold him guiltless. The fire of lust kindles the fire of hell.
(4.) It ruins the reputation and entails perpetual infamy upon that. It is a much more scandalous sin than stealing is, Pro 6:30-33. Perhaps it is not so in the account of men, at least not in our day. A thief is sent to the stocks, to the gaol, to Bridewell, to the gallows, while the vile adulterer goes unpunished, nay, with many, unblemished; he dares boast of his villanies, and they are made but a jest of. But, in the account of God and his law, adultery was much the more enormous crime; and, if God is the fountain of honour, his word must be the standard of it. [1.] As for the sin of stealing, if a man were brought to it by extreme necessity, if he stole meat for the satisfying of his soul when he was hungry, though that will not excuse him from guilt, yet it is such an extenuation of his crime that men do not despise him, do not expose him to ignominy, but pity him. Hunger will break through stone-walls, and blame will be laid upon those that brought him to poverty, or that did not relieve him. Nay, though he have not that to say in his excuse, if he be found stealing, and the evidence be ever so plain upon him, yet he shall only make restitution seven-fold. The law of Moses appointed that he who stole a sheep should restore four-fold, and an ox five-fold (Exo 22:1); accordingly David adjudged, Sa2 12:6. But we may suppose in those cases concerning which the law had not made provision the judges afterwards settled the penalties in proportion to the crimes, according to the equity of the law. Now, if he that stole an ox out of a man's field must restore five-fold, it was reasonable that he that stole a man's goods out of his house should restore seven-fold; for there was no law to put him to death, as with us, for burglary and robbery on the highway, and of this worst kind of theft Solomon here speaks; the greatest punishment was that a man might be forced to give all the substance of his house to satisfy the law and his blood was not attainted. But, [2.] Committing adultery is a more heinous crime; Job calls it so, and an iniquity to be punished by the judge, Job 31:11. When Nathan would convict David of the evil of his adultery he did it by a parable concerning the most aggravated theft, which, in David's judgment, deserved to be punished with death (Sa2 12:5), and then showed him that his sin was more exceedingly sinful than that. First, It is a greater reproach to a man's reason, for he cannot excuse it, as a thief may, by saying that it was to satisfy his hunger, but must own that it was to gratify a brutish lust which would break the hedge of God's law, not for want, but for wantonness. Therefore whoso commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding, and deserves to be stigmatized as an arrant fool. Secondly, It is more severely punished by the law of God. A thief suffered only a pecuniary mulct, but the adulterer suffered death. The thief steals to satisfy his soul, but the adulterer destroys his own soul, and falls an unpitied sacrifice to the justice both of God and man. "Sinner, thou hast destroyed thyself." This may be applied to the spiritual and eternal death which is the consequence of sin; he that does it wounds his conscience, corrupts his rational power, extinguishes all the sparks of the spiritual life, and exposes himself to the wrath of God for ever, and thus destroys his own soul. Thirdly, The infamy of it is indelible, Pro 6:33. It will be a wound to his good name, a dishonour to his family, and, though the guilt of it may be done away by repentance, the reproach of it never will, but will stick to his memory when he is gone. David's sin in the matter of Uriah was not only a perpetual blemish upon his own character, but gave occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme his name too.
(5.) It exposes the adulterer to the rage of the jealous husband, whose honour he puts such an affront upon, Pro 6:34, Pro 6:35. He that touches his neighbour's wife, and is familiar with her, gives him occasion for jealousy, much more he that debauches her, which, if kept ever so secret, might then be discovered by the waters of jealousy, Num 5:12. "When discovered, thou hadst better meet a bear robbed of her whelps than the injured husband, who, in the case of adultery, will be as severe an avenger of his own honour as, in the case of manslaughter, of his brother's blood. If thou art not afraid of the wrath of God, yet be afraid of the rage of a man. Such jealousy is; it is strong as death and cruel as the grave. In the day of vengeance, when the adulterer comes to be tried for his life, the prosecutor will not spare any pains or cost in the prosecution, will not relent towards thee, as he would perhaps towards one that had robbed him. He will not accept of any commutation, any composition; he will not regard any ransom. Though thou offer to bribe him, and give him many gifts to pacify him, he will not rest content with any thing less than the execution of the law. Thou must be stoned to death. If a man would give all the substance of his house, it would atone for a theft (Pro 6:31), but not for adultery; in that case it would utterly be contemned. Stand in awe therefore, and sin not; expose not thyself to all this misery for a moment's sordid pleasure, which will be bitterness in the end."
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 vv20–25Bind them continually upon thine heart,.... Not upon the…
Bind them continually upon thine heart,.... Not upon the head or arm, as the words of the law were to be bound, Deu 6:3; to which there seems to be an allusion; and which may confirm the sense of the words given, that this respects the law of God itself, and the precepts of it, instructed in by parents; but they should be bound upon the heart, and have an abiding place in the understanding, affections, memory, and will;
and tie them about thy neck; as an ornament, instead of a necklace of pearl, or chains of gold; they should be so far from being thought burdensome and troublesome, that they should be reckoned comely and graceful; see Pro 1:9.
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 vv20, 21, 22, 25The law - The word of God, which thy…
The law - The word of God, which thy parents delivered to thee.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv20–25Verse 20. Keep thy father's commandment] See on Pr…
Verse 20. Keep thy father's commandment] See on Pr 1:8.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv20, 24Pro 6:20-23. Keep thy father’s commandment — So far…
Pro 6:20-23. Keep thy father’s commandment — So far as it is not contrary to God’s command. And forsake not the law of thy mother — Which children are too apt to despise. Bind them continually upon thy heart — Constantly remember and duly consider them; tie them about thy neck — See on Pro 1:9; Pro 3:3. When thou goest, it shall lead thee — Namely, the law of God, which thy parents have taught thee, and pressed upon thee, shall direct thee how to order all thy steps and actions. It shall talk with thee — It shall give thee counsel and comfort. For the commandment is a lamp — It enlightens the dark mind, and clearly discovers to a man the plain and right way. And reproofs of instruction — Wise and instructive reproofs or admonitions; are the way to life — Both to preserve and prolong this life, and to ensure eternal life to those that obey them.
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, 23, 24, 25The thought of Pro 3:3 is carried step further.…
The thought of Pro 3:3 is carried step further. No outward charm, but the law of obedience, shall give safety to the traveler, when he sleeps or when he wakes.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges1846 · Public DomainOn vv20, 2520 ¶ My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and…
20 ¶ My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. 22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: {lamp: or, candle} 24 To keep thee from the evil woman,†a from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. {of the...: or, of the strange tongue}
The authority of parental instruction is again enforced. (Pro 1:8-9 ; Pro 4:1 .) God never intended young people to be independent of their parents. Instruction from every quarter is valuable. But from parents — always supposing them to be godly parents — it is the ordinance of God. They will bring you God’s word, not their own. Therefore bind it continually about thine heart (Pro 3:3 ; Pro 4:21 ; Pro 7:3 ), as thy rule; about thy neck (Pro 3:3 . Compare Job 31:36 ), as thine adorning. Let the law be thy friend for all times and circumstances — a guide by day (Pro 3:22-23 ; Pro 4:12 ); a solace by night (Pro 3:24 . Psa 63:5 ), yea — a friend for thy waking moments. (Psa 139:17-18 .) Take care that nothing hinders thy early converse with this faithful counselor before the world comes in; as the best means of keeping the world out. ’Happy is the mind to which the word is an undivided companion.’†1 A lamp, so full of light, in this dark world†2 is an inestimable gift. Its reproofs of instruction, the discipline of our wayward will, are to us as the way of life. (Psa 19:11 . 2Ti 3:16-17 . Compare Mat 7:13-14 .
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Specially valuable are this lamp and light in sensual temptation. (Pro 2:10-11, Pro 2:16-19 ; Pro 5:1-8 ; Pro 7:1-5 .) Those who choose their own light fall into a flattering snare. (Pro 2:16 ; Pro 7:21 .) The neglect of parental warning will furnish in the end bitter matter for unavailing repentance. (Pro 5:11-13 .) Oh! let the Father’s instruction be heard betimes — "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." (Psa 19:9 . Compare Pro 5:11 ; Pro 17:4 .)
Footnotes:
†a. Heb. Woman of wickedness -- the woman full of wickedness — wholly given to it. Compare Zec 5:7-8 .
†1 ’Felix mens, cui verbum individuus comes.’ — Bernard, Serm. xxxii. in Cant.
†2 Psa 119:105. See Bishop Patrick’s note quoted in Scott.
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 vv22–24
CHAPTER VI.
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, 23, 24, 25(Compare Pro 1:8; Pro 3:3, &c.).
(Compare Pro 1:8; Pro 3:3, &c.).
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 vv20–25EXHORTATION TO FILIAL OBEDIENCE, AND ADDITIONAL CAUTIONS AGAINST LEWDNESS,…
EXHORTATION TO FILIAL OBEDIENCE, AND ADDITIONAL CAUTIONS AGAINST LEWDNESS, Pro_6:20-35.
20. My son, etc. — See Pro_1:8 for substantially the same formula. Compare, also, Pro_3:3.
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 vv20–25Fourteenth Address. Chap. 6. Pro_6:20-35. The Evil Woman
Fourteenth Address. Chap. 6. Pro_6:20-35. The Evil Woman
The holy memories and sanctions of the family are invoked (Pro_6:20-23) to give weight to another earnest warning against the sin which destroys the purity and saps the foundations of family life (Pro_6:24-35).
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 vv21, 23(21) Bind them continually upon thine heart.—See above on…
(21) Bind them continually upon thine heart.—See above on Pro_3:3.
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, 21, 22, 23, 25Vers. 20-35. Twelfth admonitory discourse. In this the teacher…
Vers. 20-35. Twelfth admonitory discourse. In this the teacher returns again to the subject which he has already treated in the eighth discourse. The extreme tendency of men, and especially young men, to sins of impurity is no doubt, as Delitzsch remarks, the reason why this subject is again resumed. The subject is gradually worked up to the preceding admonitions in vers. 20-23, pointing out that the way of life, the way of safety, is to be secured by obedience to the precepts of parents, whose commandment and law illumine the perilous road of life, and whose reproofs are salutary to the soul. The arguments against the sin of adultery are cogent in their dissuasiveness, and none stronger of a purely temporal nature could be devised. It may be objected that the sin is not put forward in the higher light, as an offence before God. and that the appeal is made simply on the lines of self-interest; but who will deny that the scope of the teaching is distinctly moral, or that mankind is not influenced and dissuaded from sin by such a category of evils as includes personal beggary, dishonour, and death?
The first part of this verse is couched in almost the same terms as that of Pro_1:8, except that mitz"rath, "precept," preceptum, is here used instead of musar, eruditio, or "disciplinary instruction," while the latter part of the two verses are identical.
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Vers. 20-22. Parental training.
I SOUND PARENTAL TRAINING IS THE SUREST FOUNDATION FOR A GOOD AFTERLIFE. Both parents are here named. Neither has a right to delegate to the other his or her share of the great responsibility. In early days this rests chiefly with the mother, and throughout life her moral influence is likely to be the more persuasive. Here is woman"s great work. Man fills the world with the noise of his busy doings. But woman has a no less great and useful task in moulding the characters of the toilers of the future. Yet the father has his duty in parental training; and there are often special circumstances in which his knowledge of the world or his firmness of control is essential. Let parents feel that nothing can take the place of home training. The Sunday school cannot do the work of the mother"s counsel. No pressure of public duty should let a man excuse himself for neglecting the religious training of his children. He deludes himself if he thinks he can do it by proxy, be the substitute ever so efficient a teacher. Nothing can take the place of the anxious watchfulness of parental love.
II SOUND PARENTAL TRAINING IS OF LITTLE USE UNLESS IT IS RIGHTLY RECEIVED BY THE CHILDREN. The child has his duty in regard to it as well as the parent. His will is free. The best seed may be wasted on bad soil. It is his duty to treasure up wholesome home lessons as the most valuable portion divided to him. How mad is the desire of some to escape from the control of the home to the fascinating liberty of the world, of the perils and deceits of which they are so ignorant? Why should the young man be so anxious to take a journey into a far country out of the sight of those who have his interest most at heart? Perhaps there have been unwise restraints in the home. But escape from them is no excuse for rushing to the utmost bounds of licence.
III SOUND PARENTAL TRAINING, WELL RECEIVED AND FOLLOWED, IS A GREAT BOON FOR THE WHOLE OF LIFE.
1. It is a source of quiet restfulness. It keeps one while sleeping. After the feverish tumult of the day, to retire to rest with hallowed memories lovingly recalled, what a help it is to peace of heart!
2. It is a guide in duty and in danger. "When thou goest, it shall lead thee...When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." These old memories rise up to cheer in dismal tasks or to warn from deceitful temptations. And if they have become doubly sacred because the voice that spake the words of counsel is hushed in death, shall they not also be more reverently cherished? Who knows but what those patient, gentle eyes that followed the child in his nursery griefs and joys may be looking down from the heights of heaven to watch him still as he bends to the hard toil of life?
Vers. 20-24. Exhortation to chastity.
I PREFACE. (Ver. 20; see on Pro_5:1, 2 Pro_1:8)
II EXHORTATION TO MINDFULNESS OF EARLY LESSONS. (Ver. 21; see on
Pro_2:3) It is in oblivious moments that we sin. We may forget
much that we have learned, having outgrown its need. We can never outgrow the simple, early lessons of piety. The chain that links our days each to each in moral progress is the memory of those lessons.
III VITAL VIRTUE IN THOSE REMEMBERED LESSONS. They have a true vis vitalis. They guide in action, protect in passive hours. (see on Pro_3:23, Pro_3:24) In wakeful hours of the night they seem to talk to the heart, as it "holds communion with the past." "Spirits from high hover o"er us, and comfort sure they bring." The truth becomes as a guardian angel. There is a junction of light and life in religion (ver. 23). What is seen in the intelligence as true translates itself into health in the habits.
IV THEY ARE SPECIALLY PRESERVATIVE AGAINST THE WICKED WOMAN AND HER WILES. (Ver. 24; see on Pro_2:16 Pro_5:20) Nothing is said directly of the reflex effect of vice upon the mind. It is always the danger externally considered that is pointed out. But this is due to the objective presentative form of the biblical thought and speech. We must learn to render the objective into the subjective form, to note how every outward drama has its reflex in the spirit itself; and thus we draw a double benefit from Bible lore. The pictures must be taken first in their proper meaning, then be converted into figures of the inner life. J.
Vers. 20-35. Sin and safety.
These verses may teach us
I THAT MAN LIES OPEN TO STRONG AND SAD TEMPTATIONS. The reference of the text is to the sin of sensuality; the wise man is warning against the wiles of "the evil woman," "the strange woman" (ver. 24). This sin of sensuality may consist in irregularities, or in things decidedly forbidden, or in gross and shameful violations of law and decency; it may be secret and hidden from every eye, or it may be unblushing and may flaunt itself before high heaven. The words of the text may, in part, apply to other sins; e.g. to intemperance, and also to gambling. To all of these the strong passions of youth often urge the soul; it finds itself drawn or driven by a powerful impulse which it is difficult to overcome. But the truth must be faced
II THAT VICE LEADS DOWN BY A SURE AND SHORT ROAD TO THE WORST INFLICTIONS. It leads to:
1. Self-reproach. The sinner "shall not be innocent" (ver. 29), and will carry the miserable consciousness of guilt with him into every place.
2. Corruption of character such a one "lacketh heart" (marginal reading), "destroyeth his own soul" (ver. 32); losing all self-respect, his character is as a substance that is smitten, cracked through, ready to fall to pieces, worthless; "a wound" (ver. 33), a deep wound, it has gotten.
3. Shame. Men do not despise a thief who steals to allay the gnawing pangs of hunger; they may compel him to restore sevenfold, but they pity him as much as they despise him (vers. 30, 31). But the adulterer, or the confirmed drunkard, or the man who is impoverishing his family to gratify his lust for gambling, him men do despise in their hearts; they dishonour him in their soul, they cry "shame" upon him (ver. 33).
4. Impoverishment. Loss of money, of occupation, beggary, the humiliation of borrowing, pledging, etc. (ver. 26).
5. Penalty from those who have been wronged (vers. 34, 35). Those who outrage the honour of their feller"s may expect the bitterest revenge. To steal the love of a wife from her husband, or of a husband from his wife, is to make one enemy whose wrath nothing will appease. It is an evil thing, even if it be not a dangerous thing, to go through life bearing the malice, exposed to the intense and inextinguishable hatred of a human soul.
III THAT THERE IS ONE PATH OF SAFETY. It is that which is suggested in vers. 27, 28, "Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" etc. The way to escape the evil is not to touch it, to steer clear of it altogether, to keep well out of harm"s way to avoid the house and company of the flippant woman, to leave the sparkling cup untasted, to refuse to stake a farthing in any kind, of lottery whatever. This is the only secure ground to take. Once begin to talk with the seductive woman, or to taste the pleasure of exhilaration from intoxicants, or to enjoy the sweets of appropriating money gained by nothing but a guess, and who shall say what the end. will be? Do not touch the fire, and you will not be burnt.
IV THAT THE YOUNG SHOULD BEAR THE GUIDING LAMP OF TRUTH ABOUT THEM ALONG THE WHOLE PATH OF LIFE. (Vers. 20-23) In order to sustain the resolution to keep away from the destroying fires, consult the Word of God.
1. Have it in continual remembrance (ver. 21).
2. Illustrate it in every way open (ver. 20).
3. Find it a steady light, accompanying the steps everywhere (vers.22, 23). C.
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 vv20, 22, 23, 24My son, keep thy fathers commandment, and forsake not…
Pro_6:20
My son, keep thy fathers commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother.
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Words of counsel to schoolboys
While your recollections of home are fresh I am anxious to direct your thoughts to one or two matters to which those recollections may possibly give a weight and a force which they might not otherwise possess.
I. Cherish home ties as among your most sacred possessions. One of the dangers of public school-life is learning to disparage feelings of affection for the home. It is not manly to scorn those boys who are at times home-sick. The truest manliness is not, and cannot be, divorced from tenderness; and while I would enforce with all my heart the necessity for courage in facing the first trouble of a schoolboys life, I would remind all who listen to me that the boy who retains most strongly his affection for his home will grow up a truer man and a truer gentleman than the youth who casts those affections on one side as something to be ashamed of.
II. Do not suppose that school life is in any way intended to supersede your home life. Most of you have come from homes in which you have been the objects of Christian thoughtfulness, and the subjects of religious training. The higher branches of what is called secular knowledge are but branches of the teaching that was begun at home. Secular is not opposed to sacred. Is not all learning sacred? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and there is no true knowledge which may not be said to have its spring there. In the text Solomon means by the fathers commandment those principles of godliness and virtue which are inculcated in every Christian home. Not one of you has come here to begin, and not one of you will here complete, his education. When God sends us into the world it is that we may be educated for Him--trained for Him. That training--with all its defects and failings--begins in the home, and, wherever we may afterwards go, and under whatever circumstances we may afterwards be placed, our after-life is only a continuation of what our home life has been. When you leave school, carry your home life--those affections and feelings which have been wakened in you in the midst of those whom you love--carry these into your after-life, for without them life will be incomplete,
III. Never be ashamed of your religion. John Angell James attributed his position as a Christian man to the courage of a fellow-apprentice, who kneeled by his bedside to pray, when James was neglecting to do so through feelings of shame. That apprentice dared to do right. He was not ashamed to have it known that he prayed to God. It was said of an old naval officer, two or three hundred years ago, that as he feared God, he knew no other fear.
IV. Give your hearts wholly to the God of your fathers. Youth is the fittest time for religion, as it is the best time for learning anything. While your hearts are still fresh, and still susceptible of good impressions, yield them up to the Saviour. (F. Wagstaff.)
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 vv20, 24Pro_6:21. Continually, “for evermore.”
CRITICAL NOTES,—
Pro_6:21. Continually, “for evermore.”
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Pro_6:22. Lange’s Commentary translates into the imperative form, “let it lead thee,” etc.
Pro_6:22. Last clause, literally “Whoso will destroy his life, he does it.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Pro_6:20-23
On Pro_6:20-21, see Homiletics on chap. Pro_1:8, and Pro_4:1
THE LAW OF GOD’S WORD
I. The Divine law as a lamp.
1. It is like a lamp because it is portable. A light that cannot be carried from place to place will be useless to a man who has to find his way home in the dark on an uneven road. Life is such a journey, and the commandment of the Lord can be carried in man’s memory and heart: “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psa_119:11).
2. Its existence declares that men need light from a source outside themselves. A man’s eyes on a dark night are not sufficient to enable him to find the right road. If he depends simply upon them he will find that the “light within him is darkness” (Luk_11:35). He must have external help. The existence of God’s revelation in the world proves that man has not enough light within him to guide his feet into the way of peace. His own spiritual perception will not enable him to find his way through the night to eternal day.
3. It is in constant requisition. The position and relation of our globe to the sun makes it certain that night will constantly succeed the day. And while night continues to follow day the lamp will be needed to illumine the darkness. The Divine lamp will never be out of use while temptation, and doubt, and sin, and ignorance beset the path of man, as certainly as the revolution of the globe brings the night.
II. The commandment as a guide. “When thou goest, it shall lead thee” (Pro_6:22). Where leading is promised ignorance is implied. The man who trusts to another to guide him acknowledges by the act that the guide knows more than he does. Scripture takes for granted that man is ignorant. Its existence implies that man needs information and direction concerning his life.
III. The commandment as a guard. “When thou sleepest, it shall keep thee.” A keeper, or guard, implies danger in general, and in this instance in particular. There is a general danger in times of pestilence, and there is a special danger in some places and under some circumstances. There is a danger common to all vessels when sailing the ocean, but there are some parts which are especially dangerous. So is it with men in relation to sin. There is the general liability to fall into sin common to all men, but there are dangers which more especially beset youth and inexperience, and there is one sin above all others which is terrible in its effects and ruinous to the whole man. The text applies to a general keeping from the common danger and to a special keeping from this special danger (Pro_6:24).
IV. The commandment is a keeper, a guide, and a lamp to those only who keep it. A man binds his sandal upon his foot and it keeps his foot, because it has itself been kept in its right place. There is a mutual keeping. There can be no keeping by the word unless there is a keeping of the word. A greater than Solomon has told us this truth. Our Lord, in His parable of the sower, reminds us of those wayside hearers who, not keeping the word, were not kept by it, and of those who, like the rocky and thorny ground, kept it only for a while and were only kept by it until the time of temptation scorched them, and their profession withered away (Mat_13:1-7). And our Lord Himself used the commandment in the hour of His temptation to keep Him. To all the advances of the tempter he replied, “It is written.”
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_6:20. The first feature that arrests attention in this picture is, that effects are attributed to the law of a mother which only God’s law can produce. The inference is obvious and sure. It is assumed that the law which a mother instils is the Word of God dwelling richly in her own heart, and that she acts as a channel to convey that Word to the heart of her children. To assume it as actually done is the most impressive method of enjoining it. Parents are, by the constitution of things, in an important sense mediators between God and their children for a time.… Your children are, by grace, let into you, so as to drink in what you contain. The only safety is, that you be by grace let into Christ, so that what they get from you shall be, not what springs within you, but what flows into you from the Springhead of holiness. To the children it is the law of their mother, and therefore they receive it; but in substance it is the truth from Jesus, and to receive it is life.—Arnot.
We have already noticed (ch. Pro_1:8) the fifth commandment as comprehending the first five; just as the tenth commandment comprehends the latter five. They ought to be painted so in churches. Handed down so, we verily believe, to Moses, each table must have carried five commandments. Honouring our father, in all the broad meaning of that term, is the first commandment “in,” not “with” (as in Eng. version), “promise” (Eph_6:2).—Miller.
Pro_6:21. “Bind them continually” signifieth such a care of firm binding as when one, to be sure of binding strong, doth as it were always hold the strings in his hands, and is continually pulling them. And surely we had need so to bind continually God’s commandments and law to our hearts and necks, for they are but loose knots which the best of us make, and they are ever and anon slipping back, unless our diligence be still pulling hard to keep them close. To bind that to our hearts which bindeth us to godliness, is to loose ourselves; to tie that about our necks which ties us to religion, is to free ourselves. A good father’s commandment, a good mother’s law, doth tie us in observance unto God’s law; if, therefore, we shall bind the one upon our hearts continually, if we shall tie the other about our necks, this will give us the freedom of true sons, both with God and man. This hearty binding, and willing tying of ourselves, taketh away all burdensome feeling of any tie or binding from us.—Jermin.
Bind them upon thine heart “for ever,” because through all eternity these commandments will be the very highest objects of affection. Holiness will be the greatest treasure of the blessed. And, second, “tie them about thy neck” for a still higher reason. Holiness is a bright ornament. It is precious on its own account. It is worthy, not on account of what it does, or of what it seems, but of what it is. That is, if we neither had joy in it nor won profit by it, it would be glorious like a necklace upon the blind, intrinsically, and on its own account.—Miller.
Pro_6:22. No such guide to God as the Word, which, while a man holds to, he may safely say, “Lord, if I be deceived, Thou hast deceived me; if I be out of the way, Thy Word has misled me.” If thou sleep with some good meditation in thy mind it shall keep thee from foolish and sinful dreams and fancies, and set thy heart in a holy frame when thou awakest. He that raketh up his fire at night shall find fire in the morning. “How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God” (Psa_139:17). What follows? “When I awake, I am still with Thee” (Pro_6:18).—Trapp.
I. The thing to be done. The Word of God is to talk with us. A man’s character is obviously much influenced by his habitual talk. Sentiments received in conversation powerfully affect the mind.… The idea of dealing with the Holy Scripture as a conversible companion is implied in the very name, “The Word of God,” and in the statement that “God, who in sundry times, and in divers manners, spoke to the Fathers, by the prophets, has spoken to us by His son” (Heb_1:1).
1. The word of God will talk to us instructively. No part is addressed to mere speculation or curiosity. It has always in view the object of furnishing the mind with that which shall be useful in the highest sense, and for the longest duration.
2. It will talk without flattery. Our best friends seldom dare to tell us all that is thought of us. But the Word of God tells us what we actually are, and where our faults and danger lie.
3. It will talk with us affectionately. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend,” yet they may be “wounds” after all, to minds too susceptible. But there is a depth of love even in the sternest rebukes of the Word of God.
II. The particular time when the Word of God may talk with us. “When thou wakest.”
1. To forewarn us. Every day is a little life, and who can say what the coming hour may bring forth.
2. To fore-arm us. There is not an hour in which some temptation may not present itself, or some principle be severely tried. A spiritual armour is therefore necessary, while a part of that armour, which is indispensable, is “the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God” (Eph_6:17).
3. To pre-occupy us. “How is it,” said a friend to a learned physician, “that amidst much employment and continual exercise of mind you preserve such unruffled tranquillity?” “It is,” said he, “because I give the first hour of every morning to the Holy Scriptures and to prayer.” Much benefit may well be expected from a pre-occupation of the mind and heart, so entirely consonant to the whole tenor of man’s relations to his Maker and perpetual benefactor.—Bullar.
Observe three benefits of keeping instruction, and in each the fit time and the act. A man walking, needs a guide; sleeping, needs a watchman; awaking, needs a friend to talk with him.—Francis Taylor.
Pro_6:23.—The reproofs of the law may alarm and terrify, but they are not to be less valued on that account. The threatenings of hell guard the way to heaven, and strongly urge us to keep the King’s highway, the only way of safety.—Lawson.
The parallelism with Psa_119:105, deserves special notice. The alliteration, “the law is light,” like the vulgate, “lex, lux,” reproduces a corresponding paronomasia in the Hebrew.—Plumptre.
He that hath the word of Christ richly dwelling in him, may lay his hand upon his heart and say, as dying Ecolampadius did: “Here is plenty of light.” Under the law all was in riddles; Moses was veiled; and yet that saying was then verified. There was light enough to lead men to Christ “the end of the law” (Rom_10:4). “Reproofs of instruction,” or “corrections of instruction.” A lesson set on with a whipping is best remembered.—Trapp.
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.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v20Warning Depicting the Consequences of Unchastity
Warning Depicting the Consequences of Unchastity
v. 20. My son, keep thy father’s commandment, the function of parents consisting also in this, that they guide and guard their growing children with reference to the dangers here described, and forsake not the law, the instruction and the precepts, of thy mother.
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v. 21. Bind them continually upon thine heart, keeping them in loving remembrance, and tie them about thy neck, like a string of precious jewels. The fundamental idea is this, that the entrance of evil thoughts should be prevented by supplying good material for contemplation always, since an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.
v. 22. When thou goest, it shall lead thee, that is, the instruction of the parents would be the guide of the growing children; when thou sleepest, even in dreams, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee, the instruction of true wisdom filling the thoughts with proper material and directing all the conduct of a person.
v. 23. For the commandment is a lamp, and the Law is light, its instruction serving not only to enlighten the heart and mind of man, but also to guide him on his way, Psa 119:105; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life, because they serve for discipline and correction, bidding a person do the right and forsake the wrong, thereby urging him onward on the way of sanctification;
v. 24. to keep thee from the evil woman, the woman of vileness and wantonness, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman, the speech of the harlot being smooth and oily in its allurement.
v. 25. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart, for the inward unchastity is also sinful and has evil consequences; neither let her take thee with her eyelids, with the wanton and captivating glances with which she tries to ensnare her victims.
v. 26. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread, brought to utter poverty as a result of satisfying her demands, and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life, lying in wait to destroy a man’s soul, since her victim loses liberty, purity, honor, and dignity by submitting to her advances. It is a most serious matter which is here broached, and therefore the prophet tries to bring home his lesson with proper emphasis.
v. 27. Can a man take fire in his bosom, attempt to carry it in that manner, and his clothes not be burned?
v. 28. Can one go upon hot coals, upon fiery, glowing coals or cinders, and his feet not be burned? The answer, of course, will be a most emphatic no.
v. 29. So he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife, in adulterous intimacy; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent, that is, he shall most assuredly be guilty.
v. 30. Men do not despise a thief, literally, "heap contempt and shame upon him," although they do insist upon his punishment, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry, that is, when only the greatest extremity of hunger causes him to steal in order to get something to eat;
v. 31. but if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house, be held responsible for his theft with all that he possesses, even beyond the ordinary four- and fivefold restoration, Exo 21:36; Exo 22:1; Luk 19:8.
v. 32. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding, he is deficient both in moral principle and prudence, he risks more than any reasonable man would chance; he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul, it is only the self-destroyer, closely related to the suicide, who would be so foolish, since men judge the adulterer much more harshly.
v. 33. A wound and dishonor shall he get, namely, from the enraged husband and his relatives; and his reproach shall not be wiped away, it is an extreme case of self-defamation.
v. 34. For jealousy is the rage of a man, in this way the wrath of the injured husband burns, with fierce raging; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance, when the facts of the crime become known and have been proved.
v. 35. He will not regard any ransom, with which the guilty man might seek to placate him and keep him from demanding the limit of punishment; neither will he rest content though thou givest many gifts, he will not be found willing to forego his strict right of revenge. Such is the warning held before the adulterer, the force of which is by no means spent in our days.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv20, 22, 24obey the command of your father ... do not…
obey the command of your father ... do not forsake the teaching of your mother
These two phrases on the one hand mean the same thing. On the other hand, the repeated emphasis on both "father" and "mother" explicitly includes women in the whole teaching-learning process. (See: Parallelism)
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do not forsake the teaching of your mother
This figure of speech is using the negative "forsake" to mean the positive "obey." AT: "obey the teaching of your mother" (See: Litotes)
bind them on your heart; tie them about your neck
These two phrases mean basically the same thing. They describe the commands and instructions as if they are written down so that you can put it in or on your body to remind yourself. (See: Metaphor)
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv21, 23, 25 Read Prov. 3:3.
Read Prov. 3:3.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv20–25 Pro 6:20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and…
Pro 6:20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Ver. 20. My son, keep thy father’s commandment.] The commandments of religious parents are the very commandments of God himself, and are therefore to be as carefully kept "as the apple of a man’s eye." {Pro 7:2} {See Trapp on "Pro 1:8"}
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 vv20–25 Keep thy father’s commandment, so far as it is…
Keep thy father’s commandment, so far as it is not contrary to God’s command.
Forsake not the law of thy mother, whom children are too apt to despise. See Pro 1:8.
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 v20 Here is, I. A general exhortation faithfully to adhere…
Here is, I. A general exhortation faithfully to adhere to the word of God and to take it for our guide in all our actions.
1. We must look upon the word of God both as a light (Pro 6:23) and as a law, Pro 6:20, Pro 6:23. (1.) By its arguments it is a light, which our understandings must subscribe to; it is a lamp to our eyes for discovery, and so to our feet for direction. The word of God reveals to us truths of eternal certainty, and is built upon the highest reason. Scripture-light is the sure light. (2.) By its authority it is a law, which our wills must submit to. As never such a light shone out of the schools of the philosophers, so never such a law issued from the throne of any prince, so well framed, and so binding. It is such a law as is a lamp and a light, for it carries with it the evidence of its own goodness.
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2. We must receive it as our father's commandment and the law of our mother, Pro 6:20. It is God's commandment and his law. But, (1.) Our parents directed us to it, put it into our hands, trained us up in the knowledge and observance of it, its original and obligation being most sacred. We believe indeed, not for their saying, for we have tried it ourselves and find it to be of God; but we were beholden to them for recommending it to us, and see all the reason in the world to continue in the things we have learned, knowing of whom we have learned them. (2.) The cautions, counsels, and commands which our parents gave us agree with the word of God, and therefore we must hold them fast. Children, when they are grown up, must remember the law of a good mother, as well as the commandment of a good father, Ecclesiasticus 3:2. The Lord has given the father honour over the children and has confirmed the authority of the mother over the sons.
3. We must retain the word of God and the good instructions which our parents gave us out of it. (1.) We must never cast them off, never think it a mighty achievement (as some do) to get clear of the restraints of a good education: "Keep thy father's commandment, keep it still, and never forsake it." (2.) We must never lay them by, no, not for a time (Pro 6:21): Bind them continually, not only upon thy hand (as Moses had directed, Deu 6:8) but upon thy heart. Phylacteries upon the hand were of no value at all, any further than they occasioned pious thoughts and affections in the heart. There the word must be written, there it must be hid, and laid close to the conscience. Tie them about thy neck, as an ornament, a bracelet, or gold chain, - about thy throat (so the word is); let them be a guard upon that pass; tie them about thy throat, that no forbidden fruit may be suffered to go in nor any evil word suffered to go out through the throat; and thus a great deal of sin would be prevented. Let the word of God be always ready to us, and let us feel the impressions of it, as of that which is bound upon our hearts and about our necks.
4. We must make use of the word of God and of the benefit that is designed us by it. If we bind it continually upon our hearts, (1.) It will be our guide, and we must follow its direction. "When thou goest, it shall lead thee (Pro 6:22); it shall lead thee into, and lead thee in, the good and right way, shall lead thee from, and lead thee out of, every sinful dangerous path. It will say unto thee, when thou art ready to turn aside, This is the way; walk in it. It will be that to thee that the pillar of cloud and fire was to Israel in the wilderness. Be led by that, let it be thy rule, and then thou shalt be led by the Spirit; he will be thy monitor and support." (2.) It will be our guard, and we must put ourselves under the protection of it: "When thou sleepest, and liest exposed to the malignant powers of darkness, it shall keep thee; thou shalt be safe, and shalt think thyself so." If we govern ourselves by the precepts of the word all day, and make conscience of the duty God has commanded to us, we may shelter ourselves under the promises of the word at night, and take the comfort of the deliverances God does and will command for us. (3.) It will be our companion, and we must converse with it: "When thou awakest in the night, and knowest not how to pass away thy waking minutes, if thou pleasest, it shall talk with thee, and entertain thee with pleasant meditations in the night-watch; when thou awakest in the morning, and art contriving the work of the day, it shall talk with thee about it, and help thee to contrive for the best," Psa 1:2. The word of God has something to say to us upon all occasions, if we would but enter into discourse with it, would ask it what it has to say, and give it the hearing. And it would contribute to our close and comfortable walking with God all day if we would begin with him in the morning and let his word be the subject of our first thoughts. When I awake I am still with thee; we are so if the word be still with us. (4.) It will be our life; for, as the law is a lamp and a light for the present, so the reproofs of instruction are the way of life. Those reproofs of the word which not only show us our faults, but instruct us how to do better, are the way that leads to life, eternal life. Let not faithful reproofs therefore, which have such a direct tendency to make us happy, ever make us uneasy.
II. Here is a particular caution against the sin of uncleanness.
1. When we consider how much this iniquity abounds, how heinous it is in its own nature, of what pernicious consequence it is, and how certainly destructive to all the seeds of the spiritual life in the soul, we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often repeated and so largely inculcated. (1.) One great kindness God designed men, in giving them his law, was to preserve them from this sin, Pro 6:24. "The reproofs of instruction are therefore the way of life to thee, because they are designed to keep thee from the evil woman, who will be certain death to thee, from being enticed by the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman, who pretends to love thee, but intends to ruin thee." Those that will be wrought upon by flattery make themselves a very easy prey to the tempter; and those who would avoid that snare must take well-instructed reproofs as great kindnesses and be thankful to those that will deal faithfully with them, Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6. (2.) The greatest kindness we can do ourselves is to keep at a distance from this sin, and to look upon it with the utmost dread and detestation (Pro 6:25): "Lust not after her beauty, no, not in thy heart, for, if thou dost, thou hast there already committed adultery with her. Talk not of the charms in her face, neither be thou smitten with her amorous glances; they are all snares and nets; let her not take thee with her eye-lids. Her looks are arrows and fiery darts; they wound, they kill, in another sense than what lovers mean; they call it a pleasing captivity, but it is a destroying one, it is worse than Egyptian slavery."
2. Divers arguments Solomon here urges to enforce this caution against the sin of whoredom.
(1.) It is a sin that impoverishes men, wastes their estates, and reduces them to beggary (Pro 6:26): By means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread; many a man has been so, who has purchased the ruin of his body and soul at the expense of his wealth. The prodigal son spent his living on harlots, so that he brought himself to be fellow-commoner with the swine. And that poverty must needs lie heavily which men bring themselves into by their own folly, Job 31:12.
(2.) It threatens death; it kills men: The adulteress will hunt for the precious life, perhaps designedly, as Delilah for Samson's, at least, eventually, the sin strikes at the life. Adultery was punished by the law of Moses as a capital crime. The adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. Every one knew this. Those therefore who, for the gratifying of a base lust, would lay themselves open to the law, could be reckoned no better than self-murderers.
(3.) It brings guilt upon the conscience and debauches that. He that touches his neighbour's wife, with an immodest touch, cannot be innocent, Pro 6:29. [1.] He is in imminent danger of adultery, as he that takes fire in his bosom, or goes upon hot coals, is in danger of being burnt. The way of this sin is down-hill, and those that venture upon the temptations to it hardly escape the sin itself. The fly fools away her life by playing the wanton with the flames. It is a deep pit, which it is madness to venture upon the brink of. He that keeps company with those of ill fame, that goes in with them, and touches them, cannot long preserve his innocency; he thrusts himself into temptation and so throws himself out of God's protection. [2.] He that commits adultery is in the high road to destruction. The bold presumptuous sinner says, "I may venture upon the sin and yet escape the punishment; I shall have peace though I go on." He might as well say, I will take fire into my bosom and not burn my clothes, or I will go upon hot coals and not burn my feet. He that goes into his neighbour's wife, however he holds himself, God will not hold him guiltless. The fire of lust kindles the fire of hell.
(4.) It ruins the reputation and entails perpetual infamy upon that. It is a much more scandalous sin than stealing is, Pro 6:30-33. Perhaps it is not so in the account of men, at least not in our day. A thief is sent to the stocks, to the gaol, to Bridewell, to the gallows, while the vile adulterer goes unpunished, nay, with many, unblemished; he dares boast of his villanies, and they are made but a jest of. But, in the account of God and his law, adultery was much the more enormous crime; and, if God is the fountain of honour, his word must be the standard of it. [1.] As for the sin of stealing, if a man were brought to it by extreme necessity, if he stole meat for the satisfying of his soul when he was hungry, though that will not excuse him from guilt, yet it is such an extenuation of his crime that men do not despise him, do not expose him to ignominy, but pity him. Hunger will break through stone-walls, and blame will be laid upon those that brought him to poverty, or that did not relieve him. Nay, though he have not that to say in his excuse, if he be found stealing, and the evidence be ever so plain upon him, yet he shall only make restitution seven-fold. The law of Moses appointed that he who stole a sheep should restore four-fold, and an ox five-fold (Exo 22:1); accordingly David adjudged, Sa2 12:6. But we may suppose in those cases concerning which the law had not made provision the judges afterwards settled the penalties in proportion to the crimes, according to the equity of the law. Now, if he that stole an ox out of a man's field must restore five-fold, it was reasonable that he that stole a man's goods out of his house should restore seven-fold; for there was no law to put him to death, as with us, for burglary and robbery on the highway, and of this worst kind of theft Solomon here speaks; the greatest punishment was that a man might be forced to give all the substance of his house to satisfy the law and his blood was not attainted. But, [2.] Committing adultery is a more heinous crime; Job calls it so, and an iniquity to be punished by the judge, Job 31:11. When Nathan would convict David of the evil of his adultery he did it by a parable concerning the most aggravated theft, which, in David's judgment, deserved to be punished with death (Sa2 12:5), and then showed him that his sin was more exceedingly sinful than that. First, It is a greater reproach to a man's reason, for he cannot excuse it, as a thief may, by saying that it was to satisfy his hunger, but must own that it was to gratify a brutish lust which would break the hedge of God's law, not for want, but for wantonness. Therefore whoso commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding, and deserves to be stigmatized as an arrant fool. Secondly, It is more severely punished by the law of God. A thief suffered only a pecuniary mulct, but the adulterer suffered death. The thief steals to satisfy his soul, but the adulterer destroys his own soul, and falls an unpitied sacrifice to the justice both of God and man. "Sinner, thou hast destroyed thyself." This may be applied to the spiritual and eternal death which is the consequence of sin; he that does it wounds his conscience, corrupts his rational power, extinguishes all the sparks of the spiritual life, and exposes himself to the wrath of God for ever, and thus destroys his own soul. Thirdly, The infamy of it is indelible, Pro 6:33. It will be a wound to his good name, a dishonour to his family, and, though the guilt of it may be done away by repentance, the reproach of it never will, but will stick to his memory when he is gone. David's sin in the matter of Uriah was not only a perpetual blemish upon his own character, but gave occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme his name too.
(5.) It exposes the adulterer to the rage of the jealous husband, whose honour he puts such an affront upon, Pro 6:34, Pro 6:35. He that touches his neighbour's wife, and is familiar with her, gives him occasion for jealousy, much more he that debauches her, which, if kept ever so secret, might then be discovered by the waters of jealousy, Num 5:12. "When discovered, thou hadst better meet a bear robbed of her whelps than the injured husband, who, in the case of adultery, will be as severe an avenger of his own honour as, in the case of manslaughter, of his brother's blood. If thou art not afraid of the wrath of God, yet be afraid of the rage of a man. Such jealousy is; it is strong as death and cruel as the grave. In the day of vengeance, when the adulterer comes to be tried for his life, the prosecutor will not spare any pains or cost in the prosecution, will not relent towards thee, as he would perhaps towards one that had robbed him. He will not accept of any commutation, any composition; he will not regard any ransom. Though thou offer to bribe him, and give him many gifts to pacify him, he will not rest content with any thing less than the execution of the law. Thou must be stoned to death. If a man would give all the substance of his house, it would atone for a theft (Pro 6:31), but not for adultery; in that case it would utterly be contemned. Stand in awe therefore, and sin not; expose not thyself to all this misery for a moment's sordid pleasure, which will be bitterness in the end."
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 vv20–25 Bind them continually upon thine heart,.... Not upon the…
Bind them continually upon thine heart,.... Not upon the head or arm, as the words of the law were to be bound, Deu 6:3; to which there seems to be an allusion; and which may confirm the sense of the words given, that this respects the law of God itself, and the precepts of it, instructed in by parents; but they should be bound upon the heart, and have an abiding place in the understanding, affections, memory, and will;
and tie them about thy neck; as an ornament, instead of a necklace of pearl, or chains of gold; they should be so far from being thought burdensome and troublesome, that they should be reckoned comely and graceful; see Pro 1:9.
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 vv20, 21, 22, 25 The law - The word of God, which thy…
The law - The word of God, which thy parents delivered to thee.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv20–25 Verse 20. Keep thy father's commandment] See on Pr…
Verse 20. Keep thy father's commandment] See on Pr 1:8.
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, 24 Pro 6:20-23. Keep thy father’s commandment — So far…
Pro 6:20-23. Keep thy father’s commandment — So far as it is not contrary to God’s command. And forsake not the law of thy mother — Which children are too apt to despise. Bind them continually upon thy heart — Constantly remember and duly consider them; tie them about thy neck — See on Pro 1:9; Pro 3:3. When thou goest, it shall lead thee — Namely, the law of God, which thy parents have taught thee, and pressed upon thee, shall direct thee how to order all thy steps and actions. It shall talk with thee — It shall give thee counsel and comfort. For the commandment is a lamp — It enlightens the dark mind, and clearly discovers to a man the plain and right way. And reproofs of instruction — Wise and instructive reproofs or admonitions; are the way to life — Both to preserve and prolong this life, and to ensure eternal life to those that obey them.
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, 24, 25 The thought of Pro 3:3 is carried step further.…
The thought of Pro 3:3 is carried step further. No outward charm, but the law of obedience, shall give safety to the traveler, when he sleeps or when he wakes.
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, 25 20 ¶ My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and…
20 ¶ My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. 22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: {lamp: or, candle} 24 To keep thee from the evil woman,†a from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. {of the...: or, of the strange tongue}
The authority of parental instruction is again enforced. (Pro 1:8-9 ; Pro 4:1 .) God never intended young people to be independent of their parents. Instruction from every quarter is valuable. But from parents — always supposing them to be godly parents — it is the ordinance of God. They will bring you God’s word, not their own. Therefore bind it continually about thine heart (Pro 3:3 ; Pro 4:21 ; Pro 7:3 ), as thy rule; about thy neck (Pro 3:3 . Compare Job 31:36 ), as thine adorning. Let the law be thy friend for all times and circumstances — a guide by day (Pro 3:22-23 ; Pro 4:12 ); a solace by night (Pro 3:24 . Psa 63:5 ), yea — a friend for thy waking moments. (Psa 139:17-18 .) Take care that nothing hinders thy early converse with this faithful counselor before the world comes in; as the best means of keeping the world out. ’Happy is the mind to which the word is an undivided companion.’†1 A lamp, so full of light, in this dark world†2 is an inestimable gift. Its reproofs of instruction, the discipline of our wayward will, are to us as the way of life. (Psa 19:11 . 2Ti 3:16-17 . Compare Mat 7:13-14 .
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Specially valuable are this lamp and light in sensual temptation. (Pro 2:10-11, Pro 2:16-19 ; Pro 5:1-8 ; Pro 7:1-5 .) Those who choose their own light fall into a flattering snare. (Pro 2:16 ; Pro 7:21 .) The neglect of parental warning will furnish in the end bitter matter for unavailing repentance. (Pro 5:11-13 .) Oh! let the Father’s instruction be heard betimes — "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." (Psa 19:9 . Compare Pro 5:11 ; Pro 17:4 .)
Footnotes:
†a. Heb. Woman of wickedness -- the woman full of wickedness — wholly given to it. Compare Zec 5:7-8 .
†1 ’Felix mens, cui verbum individuus comes.’ — Bernard, Serm. xxxii. in Cant.
†2 Psa 119:105. See Bishop Patrick’s note quoted in Scott.
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 vv22–24
CHAPTER VI.
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, 24, 25 (Compare Pro 1:8; Pro 3:3, &c.).
(Compare Pro 1:8; Pro 3:3, &c.).
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 vv20–25 EXHORTATION TO FILIAL OBEDIENCE, AND ADDITIONAL CAUTIONS AGAINST LEWDNESS,…
EXHORTATION TO FILIAL OBEDIENCE, AND ADDITIONAL CAUTIONS AGAINST LEWDNESS, Pro_6:20-35.
20. My son, etc. — See Pro_1:8 for substantially the same formula. Compare, also, Pro_3:3.
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 vv20–25 Fourteenth Address. Chap. 6. Pro_6:20-35. The Evil Woman
Fourteenth Address. Chap. 6. Pro_6:20-35. The Evil Woman
The holy memories and sanctions of the family are invoked (Pro_6:20-23) to give weight to another earnest warning against the sin which destroys the purity and saps the foundations of family life (Pro_6:24-35).
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 vv21, 23 (21) Bind them continually upon thine heart.—See above on…
(21) Bind them continually upon thine heart.—See above on Pro_3:3.
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, 21, 22, 23, 25 Vers. 20-35. Twelfth admonitory discourse. In this the teacher…
Vers. 20-35. Twelfth admonitory discourse. In this the teacher returns again to the subject which he has already treated in the eighth discourse. The extreme tendency of men, and especially young men, to sins of impurity is no doubt, as Delitzsch remarks, the reason why this subject is again resumed. The subject is gradually worked up to the preceding admonitions in vers. 20-23, pointing out that the way of life, the way of safety, is to be secured by obedience to the precepts of parents, whose commandment and law illumine the perilous road of life, and whose reproofs are salutary to the soul. The arguments against the sin of adultery are cogent in their dissuasiveness, and none stronger of a purely temporal nature could be devised. It may be objected that the sin is not put forward in the higher light, as an offence before God. and that the appeal is made simply on the lines of self-interest; but who will deny that the scope of the teaching is distinctly moral, or that mankind is not influenced and dissuaded from sin by such a category of evils as includes personal beggary, dishonour, and death?
The first part of this verse is couched in almost the same terms as that of Pro_1:8, except that mitz"rath, "precept," preceptum, is here used instead of musar, eruditio, or "disciplinary instruction," while the latter part of the two verses are identical.
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Vers. 20-22. Parental training.
I SOUND PARENTAL TRAINING IS THE SUREST FOUNDATION FOR A GOOD AFTERLIFE. Both parents are here named. Neither has a right to delegate to the other his or her share of the great responsibility. In early days this rests chiefly with the mother, and throughout life her moral influence is likely to be the more persuasive. Here is woman"s great work. Man fills the world with the noise of his busy doings. But woman has a no less great and useful task in moulding the characters of the toilers of the future. Yet the father has his duty in parental training; and there are often special circumstances in which his knowledge of the world or his firmness of control is essential. Let parents feel that nothing can take the place of home training. The Sunday school cannot do the work of the mother"s counsel. No pressure of public duty should let a man excuse himself for neglecting the religious training of his children. He deludes himself if he thinks he can do it by proxy, be the substitute ever so efficient a teacher. Nothing can take the place of the anxious watchfulness of parental love.
II SOUND PARENTAL TRAINING IS OF LITTLE USE UNLESS IT IS RIGHTLY RECEIVED BY THE CHILDREN. The child has his duty in regard to it as well as the parent. His will is free. The best seed may be wasted on bad soil. It is his duty to treasure up wholesome home lessons as the most valuable portion divided to him. How mad is the desire of some to escape from the control of the home to the fascinating liberty of the world, of the perils and deceits of which they are so ignorant? Why should the young man be so anxious to take a journey into a far country out of the sight of those who have his interest most at heart? Perhaps there have been unwise restraints in the home. But escape from them is no excuse for rushing to the utmost bounds of licence.
III SOUND PARENTAL TRAINING, WELL RECEIVED AND FOLLOWED, IS A GREAT BOON FOR THE WHOLE OF LIFE.
1. It is a source of quiet restfulness. It keeps one while sleeping. After the feverish tumult of the day, to retire to rest with hallowed memories lovingly recalled, what a help it is to peace of heart!
2. It is a guide in duty and in danger. "When thou goest, it shall lead thee...When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." These old memories rise up to cheer in dismal tasks or to warn from deceitful temptations. And if they have become doubly sacred because the voice that spake the words of counsel is hushed in death, shall they not also be more reverently cherished? Who knows but what those patient, gentle eyes that followed the child in his nursery griefs and joys may be looking down from the heights of heaven to watch him still as he bends to the hard toil of life?
Vers. 20-24. Exhortation to chastity.
I PREFACE. (Ver. 20; see on Pro_5:1, 2 Pro_1:8)
II EXHORTATION TO MINDFULNESS OF EARLY LESSONS. (Ver. 21; see on
Pro_2:3) It is in oblivious moments that we sin. We may forget
much that we have learned, having outgrown its need. We can never outgrow the simple, early lessons of piety. The chain that links our days each to each in moral progress is the memory of those lessons.
III VITAL VIRTUE IN THOSE REMEMBERED LESSONS. They have a true vis vitalis. They guide in action, protect in passive hours. (see on Pro_3:23, Pro_3:24) In wakeful hours of the night they seem to talk to the heart, as it "holds communion with the past." "Spirits from high hover o"er us, and comfort sure they bring." The truth becomes as a guardian angel. There is a junction of light and life in religion (ver. 23). What is seen in the intelligence as true translates itself into health in the habits.
IV THEY ARE SPECIALLY PRESERVATIVE AGAINST THE WICKED WOMAN AND HER WILES. (Ver. 24; see on Pro_2:16 Pro_5:20) Nothing is said directly of the reflex effect of vice upon the mind. It is always the danger externally considered that is pointed out. But this is due to the objective presentative form of the biblical thought and speech. We must learn to render the objective into the subjective form, to note how every outward drama has its reflex in the spirit itself; and thus we draw a double benefit from Bible lore. The pictures must be taken first in their proper meaning, then be converted into figures of the inner life. J.
Vers. 20-35. Sin and safety.
These verses may teach us
I THAT MAN LIES OPEN TO STRONG AND SAD TEMPTATIONS. The reference of the text is to the sin of sensuality; the wise man is warning against the wiles of "the evil woman," "the strange woman" (ver. 24). This sin of sensuality may consist in irregularities, or in things decidedly forbidden, or in gross and shameful violations of law and decency; it may be secret and hidden from every eye, or it may be unblushing and may flaunt itself before high heaven. The words of the text may, in part, apply to other sins; e.g. to intemperance, and also to gambling. To all of these the strong passions of youth often urge the soul; it finds itself drawn or driven by a powerful impulse which it is difficult to overcome. But the truth must be faced
II THAT VICE LEADS DOWN BY A SURE AND SHORT ROAD TO THE WORST INFLICTIONS. It leads to:
1. Self-reproach. The sinner "shall not be innocent" (ver. 29), and will carry the miserable consciousness of guilt with him into every place.
2. Corruption of character such a one "lacketh heart" (marginal reading), "destroyeth his own soul" (ver. 32); losing all self-respect, his character is as a substance that is smitten, cracked through, ready to fall to pieces, worthless; "a wound" (ver. 33), a deep wound, it has gotten.
3. Shame. Men do not despise a thief who steals to allay the gnawing pangs of hunger; they may compel him to restore sevenfold, but they pity him as much as they despise him (vers. 30, 31). But the adulterer, or the confirmed drunkard, or the man who is impoverishing his family to gratify his lust for gambling, him men do despise in their hearts; they dishonour him in their soul, they cry "shame" upon him (ver. 33).
4. Impoverishment. Loss of money, of occupation, beggary, the humiliation of borrowing, pledging, etc. (ver. 26).
5. Penalty from those who have been wronged (vers. 34, 35). Those who outrage the honour of their feller"s may expect the bitterest revenge. To steal the love of a wife from her husband, or of a husband from his wife, is to make one enemy whose wrath nothing will appease. It is an evil thing, even if it be not a dangerous thing, to go through life bearing the malice, exposed to the intense and inextinguishable hatred of a human soul.
III THAT THERE IS ONE PATH OF SAFETY. It is that which is suggested in vers. 27, 28, "Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" etc. The way to escape the evil is not to touch it, to steer clear of it altogether, to keep well out of harm"s way to avoid the house and company of the flippant woman, to leave the sparkling cup untasted, to refuse to stake a farthing in any kind, of lottery whatever. This is the only secure ground to take. Once begin to talk with the seductive woman, or to taste the pleasure of exhilaration from intoxicants, or to enjoy the sweets of appropriating money gained by nothing but a guess, and who shall say what the end. will be? Do not touch the fire, and you will not be burnt.
IV THAT THE YOUNG SHOULD BEAR THE GUIDING LAMP OF TRUTH ABOUT THEM ALONG THE WHOLE PATH OF LIFE. (Vers. 20-23) In order to sustain the resolution to keep away from the destroying fires, consult the Word of God.
1. Have it in continual remembrance (ver. 21).
2. Illustrate it in every way open (ver. 20).
3. Find it a steady light, accompanying the steps everywhere (vers.22, 23). C.
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 vv20, 22, 23, 24 My son, keep thy fathers commandment, and forsake not…
Pro_6:20
My son, keep thy fathers commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother.
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Words of counsel to schoolboys
While your recollections of home are fresh I am anxious to direct your thoughts to one or two matters to which those recollections may possibly give a weight and a force which they might not otherwise possess.
I. Cherish home ties as among your most sacred possessions. One of the dangers of public school-life is learning to disparage feelings of affection for the home. It is not manly to scorn those boys who are at times home-sick. The truest manliness is not, and cannot be, divorced from tenderness; and while I would enforce with all my heart the necessity for courage in facing the first trouble of a schoolboys life, I would remind all who listen to me that the boy who retains most strongly his affection for his home will grow up a truer man and a truer gentleman than the youth who casts those affections on one side as something to be ashamed of.
II. Do not suppose that school life is in any way intended to supersede your home life. Most of you have come from homes in which you have been the objects of Christian thoughtfulness, and the subjects of religious training. The higher branches of what is called secular knowledge are but branches of the teaching that was begun at home. Secular is not opposed to sacred. Is not all learning sacred? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and there is no true knowledge which may not be said to have its spring there. In the text Solomon means by the fathers commandment those principles of godliness and virtue which are inculcated in every Christian home. Not one of you has come here to begin, and not one of you will here complete, his education. When God sends us into the world it is that we may be educated for Him--trained for Him. That training--with all its defects and failings--begins in the home, and, wherever we may afterwards go, and under whatever circumstances we may afterwards be placed, our after-life is only a continuation of what our home life has been. When you leave school, carry your home life--those affections and feelings which have been wakened in you in the midst of those whom you love--carry these into your after-life, for without them life will be incomplete,
III. Never be ashamed of your religion. John Angell James attributed his position as a Christian man to the courage of a fellow-apprentice, who kneeled by his bedside to pray, when James was neglecting to do so through feelings of shame. That apprentice dared to do right. He was not ashamed to have it known that he prayed to God. It was said of an old naval officer, two or three hundred years ago, that as he feared God, he knew no other fear.
IV. Give your hearts wholly to the God of your fathers. Youth is the fittest time for religion, as it is the best time for learning anything. While your hearts are still fresh, and still susceptible of good impressions, yield them up to the Saviour. (F. Wagstaff.)
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 vv20, 24 Pro_6:21. Continually, “for evermore.”
CRITICAL NOTES,—
Pro_6:21. Continually, “for evermore.”
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Pro_6:22. Lange’s Commentary translates into the imperative form, “let it lead thee,” etc.
Pro_6:22. Last clause, literally “Whoso will destroy his life, he does it.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Pro_6:20-23
On Pro_6:20-21, see Homiletics on chap. Pro_1:8, and Pro_4:1
THE LAW OF GOD’S WORD
I. The Divine law as a lamp.
1. It is like a lamp because it is portable. A light that cannot be carried from place to place will be useless to a man who has to find his way home in the dark on an uneven road. Life is such a journey, and the commandment of the Lord can be carried in man’s memory and heart: “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psa_119:11).
2. Its existence declares that men need light from a source outside themselves. A man’s eyes on a dark night are not sufficient to enable him to find the right road. If he depends simply upon them he will find that the “light within him is darkness” (Luk_11:35). He must have external help. The existence of God’s revelation in the world proves that man has not enough light within him to guide his feet into the way of peace. His own spiritual perception will not enable him to find his way through the night to eternal day.
3. It is in constant requisition. The position and relation of our globe to the sun makes it certain that night will constantly succeed the day. And while night continues to follow day the lamp will be needed to illumine the darkness. The Divine lamp will never be out of use while temptation, and doubt, and sin, and ignorance beset the path of man, as certainly as the revolution of the globe brings the night.
II. The commandment as a guide. “When thou goest, it shall lead thee” (Pro_6:22). Where leading is promised ignorance is implied. The man who trusts to another to guide him acknowledges by the act that the guide knows more than he does. Scripture takes for granted that man is ignorant. Its existence implies that man needs information and direction concerning his life.
III. The commandment as a guard. “When thou sleepest, it shall keep thee.” A keeper, or guard, implies danger in general, and in this instance in particular. There is a general danger in times of pestilence, and there is a special danger in some places and under some circumstances. There is a danger common to all vessels when sailing the ocean, but there are some parts which are especially dangerous. So is it with men in relation to sin. There is the general liability to fall into sin common to all men, but there are dangers which more especially beset youth and inexperience, and there is one sin above all others which is terrible in its effects and ruinous to the whole man. The text applies to a general keeping from the common danger and to a special keeping from this special danger (Pro_6:24).
IV. The commandment is a keeper, a guide, and a lamp to those only who keep it. A man binds his sandal upon his foot and it keeps his foot, because it has itself been kept in its right place. There is a mutual keeping. There can be no keeping by the word unless there is a keeping of the word. A greater than Solomon has told us this truth. Our Lord, in His parable of the sower, reminds us of those wayside hearers who, not keeping the word, were not kept by it, and of those who, like the rocky and thorny ground, kept it only for a while and were only kept by it until the time of temptation scorched them, and their profession withered away (Mat_13:1-7). And our Lord Himself used the commandment in the hour of His temptation to keep Him. To all the advances of the tempter he replied, “It is written.”
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_6:20. The first feature that arrests attention in this picture is, that effects are attributed to the law of a mother which only God’s law can produce. The inference is obvious and sure. It is assumed that the law which a mother instils is the Word of God dwelling richly in her own heart, and that she acts as a channel to convey that Word to the heart of her children. To assume it as actually done is the most impressive method of enjoining it. Parents are, by the constitution of things, in an important sense mediators between God and their children for a time.… Your children are, by grace, let into you, so as to drink in what you contain. The only safety is, that you be by grace let into Christ, so that what they get from you shall be, not what springs within you, but what flows into you from the Springhead of holiness. To the children it is the law of their mother, and therefore they receive it; but in substance it is the truth from Jesus, and to receive it is life.—Arnot.
We have already noticed (ch. Pro_1:8) the fifth commandment as comprehending the first five; just as the tenth commandment comprehends the latter five. They ought to be painted so in churches. Handed down so, we verily believe, to Moses, each table must have carried five commandments. Honouring our father, in all the broad meaning of that term, is the first commandment “in,” not “with” (as in Eng. version), “promise” (Eph_6:2).—Miller.
Pro_6:21. “Bind them continually” signifieth such a care of firm binding as when one, to be sure of binding strong, doth as it were always hold the strings in his hands, and is continually pulling them. And surely we had need so to bind continually God’s commandments and law to our hearts and necks, for they are but loose knots which the best of us make, and they are ever and anon slipping back, unless our diligence be still pulling hard to keep them close. To bind that to our hearts which bindeth us to godliness, is to loose ourselves; to tie that about our necks which ties us to religion, is to free ourselves. A good father’s commandment, a good mother’s law, doth tie us in observance unto God’s law; if, therefore, we shall bind the one upon our hearts continually, if we shall tie the other about our necks, this will give us the freedom of true sons, both with God and man. This hearty binding, and willing tying of ourselves, taketh away all burdensome feeling of any tie or binding from us.—Jermin.
Bind them upon thine heart “for ever,” because through all eternity these commandments will be the very highest objects of affection. Holiness will be the greatest treasure of the blessed. And, second, “tie them about thy neck” for a still higher reason. Holiness is a bright ornament. It is precious on its own account. It is worthy, not on account of what it does, or of what it seems, but of what it is. That is, if we neither had joy in it nor won profit by it, it would be glorious like a necklace upon the blind, intrinsically, and on its own account.—Miller.
Pro_6:22. No such guide to God as the Word, which, while a man holds to, he may safely say, “Lord, if I be deceived, Thou hast deceived me; if I be out of the way, Thy Word has misled me.” If thou sleep with some good meditation in thy mind it shall keep thee from foolish and sinful dreams and fancies, and set thy heart in a holy frame when thou awakest. He that raketh up his fire at night shall find fire in the morning. “How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God” (Psa_139:17). What follows? “When I awake, I am still with Thee” (Pro_6:18).—Trapp.
I. The thing to be done. The Word of God is to talk with us. A man’s character is obviously much influenced by his habitual talk. Sentiments received in conversation powerfully affect the mind.… The idea of dealing with the Holy Scripture as a conversible companion is implied in the very name, “The Word of God,” and in the statement that “God, who in sundry times, and in divers manners, spoke to the Fathers, by the prophets, has spoken to us by His son” (Heb_1:1).
1. The word of God will talk to us instructively. No part is addressed to mere speculation or curiosity. It has always in view the object of furnishing the mind with that which shall be useful in the highest sense, and for the longest duration.
2. It will talk without flattery. Our best friends seldom dare to tell us all that is thought of us. But the Word of God tells us what we actually are, and where our faults and danger lie.
3. It will talk with us affectionately. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend,” yet they may be “wounds” after all, to minds too susceptible. But there is a depth of love even in the sternest rebukes of the Word of God.
II. The particular time when the Word of God may talk with us. “When thou wakest.”
1. To forewarn us. Every day is a little life, and who can say what the coming hour may bring forth.
2. To fore-arm us. There is not an hour in which some temptation may not present itself, or some principle be severely tried. A spiritual armour is therefore necessary, while a part of that armour, which is indispensable, is “the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God” (Eph_6:17).
3. To pre-occupy us. “How is it,” said a friend to a learned physician, “that amidst much employment and continual exercise of mind you preserve such unruffled tranquillity?” “It is,” said he, “because I give the first hour of every morning to the Holy Scriptures and to prayer.” Much benefit may well be expected from a pre-occupation of the mind and heart, so entirely consonant to the whole tenor of man’s relations to his Maker and perpetual benefactor.—Bullar.
Observe three benefits of keeping instruction, and in each the fit time and the act. A man walking, needs a guide; sleeping, needs a watchman; awaking, needs a friend to talk with him.—Francis Taylor.
Pro_6:23.—The reproofs of the law may alarm and terrify, but they are not to be less valued on that account. The threatenings of hell guard the way to heaven, and strongly urge us to keep the King’s highway, the only way of safety.—Lawson.
The parallelism with Psa_119:105, deserves special notice. The alliteration, “the law is light,” like the vulgate, “lex, lux,” reproduces a corresponding paronomasia in the Hebrew.—Plumptre.
He that hath the word of Christ richly dwelling in him, may lay his hand upon his heart and say, as dying Ecolampadius did: “Here is plenty of light.” Under the law all was in riddles; Moses was veiled; and yet that saying was then verified. There was light enough to lead men to Christ “the end of the law” (Rom_10:4). “Reproofs of instruction,” or “corrections of instruction.” A lesson set on with a whipping is best remembered.—Trapp.
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.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v20 Warning Depicting the Consequences of Unchastity
Warning Depicting the Consequences of Unchastity
v. 20. My son, keep thy father’s commandment, the function of parents consisting also in this, that they guide and guard their growing children with reference to the dangers here described, and forsake not the law, the instruction and the precepts, of thy mother.
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v. 21. Bind them continually upon thine heart, keeping them in loving remembrance, and tie them about thy neck, like a string of precious jewels. The fundamental idea is this, that the entrance of evil thoughts should be prevented by supplying good material for contemplation always, since an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.
v. 22. When thou goest, it shall lead thee, that is, the instruction of the parents would be the guide of the growing children; when thou sleepest, even in dreams, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee, the instruction of true wisdom filling the thoughts with proper material and directing all the conduct of a person.
v. 23. For the commandment is a lamp, and the Law is light, its instruction serving not only to enlighten the heart and mind of man, but also to guide him on his way, Psa 119:105; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life, because they serve for discipline and correction, bidding a person do the right and forsake the wrong, thereby urging him onward on the way of sanctification;
v. 24. to keep thee from the evil woman, the woman of vileness and wantonness, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman, the speech of the harlot being smooth and oily in its allurement.
v. 25. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart, for the inward unchastity is also sinful and has evil consequences; neither let her take thee with her eyelids, with the wanton and captivating glances with which she tries to ensnare her victims.
v. 26. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread, brought to utter poverty as a result of satisfying her demands, and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life, lying in wait to destroy a man’s soul, since her victim loses liberty, purity, honor, and dignity by submitting to her advances. It is a most serious matter which is here broached, and therefore the prophet tries to bring home his lesson with proper emphasis.
v. 27. Can a man take fire in his bosom, attempt to carry it in that manner, and his clothes not be burned?
v. 28. Can one go upon hot coals, upon fiery, glowing coals or cinders, and his feet not be burned? The answer, of course, will be a most emphatic no.
v. 29. So he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife, in adulterous intimacy; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent, that is, he shall most assuredly be guilty.
v. 30. Men do not despise a thief, literally, "heap contempt and shame upon him," although they do insist upon his punishment, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry, that is, when only the greatest extremity of hunger causes him to steal in order to get something to eat;
v. 31. but if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house, be held responsible for his theft with all that he possesses, even beyond the ordinary four- and fivefold restoration, Exo 21:36; Exo 22:1; Luk 19:8.
v. 32. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding, he is deficient both in moral principle and prudence, he risks more than any reasonable man would chance; he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul, it is only the self-destroyer, closely related to the suicide, who would be so foolish, since men judge the adulterer much more harshly.
v. 33. A wound and dishonor shall he get, namely, from the enraged husband and his relatives; and his reproach shall not be wiped away, it is an extreme case of self-defamation.
v. 34. For jealousy is the rage of a man, in this way the wrath of the injured husband burns, with fierce raging; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance, when the facts of the crime become known and have been proved.
v. 35. He will not regard any ransom, with which the guilty man might seek to placate him and keep him from demanding the limit of punishment; neither will he rest content though thou givest many gifts, he will not be found willing to forego his strict right of revenge. Such is the warning held before the adulterer, the force of which is by no means spent in our days.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv20, 22, 24 obey the command of your father ... do not…
obey the command of your father ... do not forsake the teaching of your mother
These two phrases on the one hand mean the same thing. On the other hand, the repeated emphasis on both "father" and "mother" explicitly includes women in the whole teaching-learning process. (See: Parallelism)
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do not forsake the teaching of your mother
This figure of speech is using the negative "forsake" to mean the positive "obey." AT: "obey the teaching of your mother" (See: Litotes)
bind them on your heart; tie them about your neck
These two phrases mean basically the same thing. They describe the commands and instructions as if they are written down so that you can put it in or on your body to remind yourself. (See: Metaphor)
bind them on your heart
"love them" or "think about them"
translationWords
obey
command
forsake
heart
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, 24 6:20-35 This passage emphasizes the life-threatening risk of sleeping…
6:20-35 This passage emphasizes the life-threatening risk of sleeping with another man’s wife (see also 1:8, 23; 2:16-22; 5:1-23; 7:1-27).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.