926 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not,.... The danger the person was in; or the innocency of his cause; or what method to take to deliver him; or that it was in our power to do anything for him; so the Vulgate Latin version, "if thou sayest, strength is not sufficient": or "we knew him not" (k), who he was or what he was; had no knowledge of him,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
My son, eat thou honey, because [it is] good,.... It is good for food; there was plenty of it in Palestine, and it was eaten for food, not only by children, but grown persons; and was very nourishing, strengthening, and refreshing to them, as Samson, Jonathan, John the Baptist, and others; and is good for medicine, is healthful and salutary, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So [shall] the knowledge of wisdom [be] unto thy soul,.... Or let it be taken in as greedily and with as good an appetite; as pleasant, useful, delightful, and profitable; even the knowledge of Christ, the Wisdom of God, which is preferable to all things else, and more desirable than the most pleasant and profitable things in the world; and of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Lay not wait, O wicked [man], against the dwelling of the righteous,.... The church of God, which is the righteous man's dwelling place, and where he desires and delights to dwell; or his own dwelling house; it may be rendered, "at the dwelling of the righteous" (p); lay not wait at his door to observe who goes in and out, and what is done there;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For a just [man] falleth seven times, and riseth up [again],.... This is to be understood of a truly just man; not of one that is only outwardly and seemingly so, or of temporary believers and nominal professors; but of such who are thoroughly convinced of their own unrighteousness, and believe in Christ for righteousness, and have it applied and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth,.... These words are spoken not to the wicked man, Proverbs 24:15; but to the just man, or Solomon's son, or the children of Wisdom; for by the "enemy" is meant such who are at enmity with the people of God, as the seed of the serpent, and those after the flesh, are: and when these "fall", saints should not...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Lest the Lord see [it], and it displease him,.... Who sees all things, not only external actions, but the heart, and the inward motions of it; and though men may hide the pleasure they feel at the misery of an enemy from others, they cannot hide it from the Lord; nor is this said by way of doubt, but as a certain thing; and which the Lord not...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Fret not thyself because of evil [men],.... Because of their outward prosperity and worldly happiness, any more than rejoice at their adversity; neither do the one nor the other; where the one prevails, the other does also; by the frequent repetition of this advice, it looks as if this evil is what good men are prone to, and which was very common...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For there shall be no reward to the evil [man],.... No reward of good things, such as is for the righteous in a way of grace; but he shall have a reward of evil things, a just recompence of reward for his sins: of "no end" (r); there will be an end of his life in this world, and there will be an end of his prosperity; but, as the Targum is, there...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
My son, fear thou the Lord, and the king,.... First the Lord, and then the king; and such as fear the Lord are generally loyal to their king; the fear of God includes love to him, reverence of him, faith in him, submission to him, and the whole worship of him, inward and outward, attended with holiness of life and conversation: and the king, who...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For their calamity shall rise suddenly,.... And come upon those that fear not God, and rebel against the king and the state, and innovate in matters of religion; and especially that bring in damnable heresies, and, while they cry Peace, peace, and are pleasing themselves with their new schemes and prosperous success, swift and sudden destruction...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
These [things] also [belong] to the wise,.... Both what is said before concerning fearing God and the king; these belong to the wise and unwise, rich and poor, great and small; particularly judges and civil magistrates, and all subordinate governors, who have, or ought to have, a competency of wisdom; these ought to fear God and the king, as well...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
He that saith unto the wicked, Thou [art] righteous,.... Not in a private way, or as giving his opinion or character of a man that is wicked, whom either through ignorance or flattery another may call righteous; which may be done and not resented by people and nations; but in an open court of judicature pronounced by the judge, justifying the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But to them that rebuke [him] shall be delight,.... That is, such that rebuke in the gate, or openly, in a court of judicature; that reprove delinquents, such as are found guilty of malpractices, and punish them as they ought to be, according to the laws of God and man; they shall have delight in themselves, peace and pleasure in their own minds;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
[Every man] shall kiss [his] lips that giveth a right answer. Either as a witness to a question put to him in court, to which he answers aptly and uprightly; or rather as a judge, who, having heard a cause, answers and gives his opinion of it faithfully, and pronounces a righteous sentence; everyone will love and respect him, and hearken to him...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Prepare thy work without,.... As Solomon did for the building of the temple; timber and stones were prepared, hewed, squared, and fitted for the building before brought thither, 1 Kings 5:18; or diligently attend to thy business without doors, whatever it is, that thou mayest provide for thyself and family the necessaries and conveniences of life,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause,.... Unless forced unto it, except there is some urgent reason for it; not upon any trivial account, or in any frivolous matter; never appear forward and eager to bear witness against him, and, whenever obliged to it, be not a false witness, but speak truth, whether thy neighbour be a friend or...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me,.... He has falsely accused and reproached me, and bore a false testimony, or suborned false witnesses against me, and I will do the same to him, now an opportunity serves; but as private revenge itself is sinful, so especially when it is pursued in a wicked way; I will render to the man according...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I went by the field of the slothful,.... This very probably was a real matter of fact; King Solomon's way lay at a certain time by the field of a slothful man, who never went into it himself, there being a lion in the way; and which he took no care of to manure and till, to plough and sow, but let it lie waste and uncultivated; an emblem of a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns,.... Or "thistles" (y); which grow up of themselves, are the fruit of the curse, and the effect of slothfulness; [and] nettles had covered the face thereof; so that nothing was to be seen but thorns and thistles, nettles and weeds; and such is the case of the souls of men when neglected, and no concern is...