926 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then shall thou walk in thy way safely,.... In the way of thy duty and business, without fear of any enemy; having in sight the Captain of salvation gone before, and walking in such ways of pleasantness and peace as Wisdom's are; and having such a lamp to the feet, and such a light unto the paths, as the Gospel and its doctrines be; and thy foot...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
When thou liest down thou shalt not be afraid,.... That is, when thou liest down on thy bed at night in order to take sleep, having committed thyself into the hands of a faithful Creator and covenant God and Father, and of Christ the Redeemer and Wisdom of God; thou shalt not be afraid of thieves breaking in to hurt thy person or rob thee of thy...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Be not afraid of sudden fear,.... Of anything terrible that comes unawares, unthought of, by any of the above things mentioned in the preceding note; or by any rumours and reports of danger being near at hand; always think thyself safe in the arms of Wisdom, and under the care of Israel's keeper, who neither slumbers nor sleeps; neither of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For the Lord shall be thy confidence,.... The object of it, in whom thou shall put thy confidence, and be safe and secure from all fear and danger: or "the Lord shall be in thy confidence" (g); shall support thee in it, and maintain that, so that thou shalt not cast it away; the word used has sometimes the notion off oily in it, and Jarchi, from...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,.... Honour, reverence, and tribute, to civil magistrates, Romans 13:7; just payment of debts to creditors, and alms to the poor, which, by what follows, seems to be chiefly intended; and the Septuagint render it, "do not abstain to do well to the needy;'' and Aben Ezra interprets it of the poor; to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Say not unto thy neighbour,.... Either to whom thou art indebted, and who comes for the payment of a just debt; or to any poor and indigent person that applies for alms: go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; go home, and come tomorrow, and I will pay thee what I owe thee; or do not trouble me now, come another time, and perhaps I may...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Devise not evil against thy neighbour,.... Or, "plough not evil" (i); turn not up thy heart to find evil against thy neighbour, as the earth is turned up by the plough; see Hosea 10:13. Do not contrive and form schemes in thy mind and thoughts to do him any injury, in his name and character, in his person, property, or family: a good man should...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Strive not with a man without cause, Either by words, in a wrangling, quarrelsome, and contentious way, for mere trifles; when there is no foundation for it, no just reason given to form a complaint, or pick a quarrel upon; or by deeds, by lawsuits, when there is nothing to proceed upon; or it is so trifling, that it is not worth while to litigate...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Envy thou not the oppressor,.... The man that gets wealth and riches by acts of injustice, by oppressing the poor, by rapine and violence; do not envy his prosperity, and the substance he is possessed of; do not wish to be in his place and circumstances, to enjoy his affluence and ease; do not look upon his happiness with an envious eye and a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For the froward [is] abomination to the Lord,.... The perverse man, that pleases not God, and is contrary to all men, as the Jews were; one froward in his words and actions: "who transgresses the law", as the Arabic version renders it; one that acts contrary to the nature, will, and word of God; and such an one is not only abominable in his sight,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked,.... The wicked man, being a transgressor of the law, is under the curse of it; and all that he has, his house, his substance, his very blessings are curses; see Malachi 2:2; he is accursed amidst his greatest affluence, and sometimes from a plentiful estate is reduced to penury and want: and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Surely he scorneth the scorners,.... That make a mock at sin, a jest of religion, that scoff at the doctrines of the Gospel and the professors of it; these the Lord looks upon, laughs at, and has them in derision. The Greek version and two apostles render it, "he resisteth the proud", 1 Peter 5:5. Such who are haughty and arrogant, that exalt...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The wise shall inherit glory,.... The wise are the same with the just and lowly before mentioned, to whom God gives grace, and to these he gives glory. The "wise" are such who are so, not in a natural, civil, or notional sense, or that are wise in the things of nature, in civil affairs and in speculative matters of religion; but in a spiritual...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Proverbs 4 In this chapter Solomon advises to seek after wisdom, to avoid bad company, and to continue in the right paths of goodness and truth: he excites attention to what he had to say, from the relation he stood in to the persons addressed; from the nature of his instructions, which were good and profitable; and from his own...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father,.... Either of God their father, as Gersom interprets it; or rather of Solomon their father: and so he recommends his instruction from the relation he stood in to them; for, since he was their father, he would give them no bad instruction; and, since they were his children, they ought to receive it:...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For I give you good doctrine,.... Whose author, matter, use, and tendency, are good, and therefore should be received; so the Gospel is called, 1 Timothy 4:6; and no other is here meant: it is the doctrine concerning Wisdom or Christ, as the following verses show; which serves to exalt him, and makes for the good and welfare of immortal souls; and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For I was my father's son,.... Or, "a son to my father" (p); so Solomon was to God, his heavenly Father, 2 Samuel 7:14; which Jarchi observes, and gives as the sense of this place: but his father David is meant, whose son he was; though he was not his only one, he had others besides him. But the sense is, that he was his darling, his beloved son,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
He taught me also, and said unto me,.... The Targum is, "they taught me,'' his father and his mother; and so the Septuagint version, "who said and taught me;'' and the Arabic version, "they both taught me, and said unto me;'' but in the Hebrew it is singular, and is restrained to the father. He taught him when he was very young, and also gave him...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Get wisdom, get understanding,.... Not only moral and political wisdom and understanding, but that which is spiritual and evangelical; Christ, and the knowledge of him; he being the only happy man that has an interest in him, and is possessed of him by faith, which is the meaning of getting him; [See comments on Proverbs 3:13]; by which it...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee,.... That is, Wisdom, or Christ. Men may be said to forsake Christ when they forsake the assembly of his church and people, which are his other self; when they forsake his ministers, his ambassadors, and representatives; when they forsake his word and ordinances; when they drop the doctrines of the...