Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging Wine deceives a man; it not only overcomes him before he is aware, but it promises him a pleasure which it does not give; but, on the contrary, excessive drinking gives him pain, and so mocks him; yea, it exposes him to reproach and disgrace, and to the…

The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion The wrath and displeasure of a king, which causes fear; see ; kings should be terrors to evil works and workers, though not to good ones, .

It is an honour for a man to cease from strife As Abraham did, (Gen. 13:7, Gen. 13:8) ; when engaged in a quarrel with his neighbour, or in a lawsuit, or in a religious controversy, especially when he finds he is in the wrong; and indeed, if he is in the right, when he perceives it is like to issue…

The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold Or, “in the cold”; in the time of cold, as Aben Ezra; in the time of autumn, which is the time of ploughing, when it begins to be cold weather, and winter is drawing on: and this is discouraging to the sluggard, who does not care to take his hands…

Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water Pure and undisturbed, but secret, hidden, and hard to be come at: such are the things of the spirit of a man, the thoughts of his mind, the devices of his heart; which, though easily known by the searcher of hearts, are not easily penetrated into by…

Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness As the Pharisee did, in (Luke 18:11, Luke 18:12) ; and as the Pharisees in common did; who did all their works to be seen of men, and made clean the outside of the cup and platter; and were very careful to appear outwardly righteous to men, (Matt.

The just man walketh in his integrity This is the faithful and upright man, who is made righteous by the obedience of Christ; and walks by faith in him, and according to the truth of the Gospel; his children are blessed after him; with temporal blessings; and, walking in the same integrity as he…

A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment That executes judgment himself, as David and Solomon did; who ascends the throne, and sits personally there, and hears and tries causes himself, and not by his servants: scattereth away all evil with his eyes; all evil men, as the Targum; everyone that…

Who can say, I have made my heart clean The heart of than is naturally unclean, the mind, conscience, understanding, will, and affections; there is no part clean, all are defiled with sin; and though there is such a thing as a pure or clean heart, yet not as made so by men; it is God that has made…

Divers weights, and divers measures Or, “a stone and a stone, and an ephah and an ephah” [[3]]. Stones being in old time used in weighing, and an “ephah” was a common measure among the Jews; and these ought not to be different; one stone or weight for buying, and another for selling; and one…

Even a child is known by his doings As well as a man; “ye shall know them by their fruits”, ; professors and profane. So a child soon discovers its genius by its actions; it soon shows its inclination and disposition; and some shrewd guesses may be made how it will turn out, a wise man or a fool, a…

The hearing ear, and the seeing eye There may be an ear that hears not, and an eye that seeth not, and which men may make; the painter can paint an ear and an eye, and a carver can carve both; but they are ears that hear not, and eyes that see not, (Ps. 115:5, Ps.

Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty Sleep is a very great natural blessing; it is a gift of God, what nature requires, and is desirable; it is to be loved, though not immoderately; it is sweet to a man, and what he should be thankful for; yet should not indulge himself in to the neglect of…

It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer When he comes to the shop of the seller, or to market to buy goods, he undervalues them, says they are not so good as they should be, nor so cheap as he can buy them at; but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth; after he has brought the seller to as…

There is gold, and a multitude of rubies A man may have a large quantity of either, or of both of thorn, as some men have; for there is much of them in the world, not only in mines and quarries, but in the houses and cabinets of men; but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel; knowledge even of…

Take his garment that is surety for a stranger Which a man is cautioned against, ; but if a man will be so weak and foolish, others ought to take care of him, and be cautious how they trust him; for he is in danger of being ruined by his suretyship, and therefore nothing should be lent him without…

Bread of deceit is sweet to a man Which may be understood of sin in general, which is bread to the sinner, he eats it: it is called “the bread of wickedness”, ; but it is but poor bread, no other than ashes ; it is “bread of deceit”; there is a deceitfulness in all sin; it is in appearance fair and…

Every purpose is established by counsel Or “the thought” [[5]] of a man, everyone of them, what he has thought to do, formed a scheme of in his mind, and resolved upon, by taking advice of his friends, and especially by asking counsel of God, who gives, wisdom liberally, and upbraids not; he is…

He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets Or, “he that revealeth secrets goeth about as a talebearer”; a man that has really got the secrets of others out of them respecting themselves and families, and the affairs of them, or however pretends he master of them; goes about telling his…

Whoso curseth his father or his mother This is dreadful indeed! a person must be got to a great pitch of wickedness to do this; to curse his parents, one or other of them, that have been the instruments of his being, and by whom he has been brought up and put out into the world; to slight them,…

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning Of a man’s setting out in the world in trade and business; and which sometimes is got lawfully, and this must be excepted from this proverb; but generally what is got hastily and in a short time is got unlawfully, and so does not prosper.

Say not thou, I will recompense evil With evil; do an injury to one that has done one to you; private revenge is not to be taken, but should be left to God, to whom vengeance belongs, (Deut. 32:35, Deut.

Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord (See Gill on Prov. 20:10); which is here repeated for the further confirmation of it, and that it might be taken notice of and avoided; and perhaps this sin of using false weights and measures was common with the Jews; and a false balance is not good;…

Man’s goings are of the Lord In a natural and literal sense, the instruments of going are of the Lord; the act of motion from place to place is not without the concourse of his providence; as in him we live, and move, and have our being, so “in and by him we move”; he preserves our going out and…

It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy Which is separated to sacred uses, is devoted to the Lord, as firstfruits, tithes, offerings which if a man converts to his own use is sacrilege, and this is a sin and a snare, and brings ruin on him; see (Mal. 3:8, Mal.

A wise king scattereth the wicked Or “fans them away” [[8]]; separates them from his good counsellors, courtiers, and subjects; scatters them from his presence and court, and breaks their counsels and confederacies one with another; he discovers, discountenances, and discourages them; (See Gill on…

The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord The rational soul of man is a light set up in him; this is what is commonly called the light of nature; it was a bright and burning light at first, but through sin is become a very feeble one; by which men have only a glimmering view of divine things, of…

Mercy and truth preserve the king Which are two good qualifications in a prince; not ruling his subjects with rigour and cruelty, but with tenderness and clemency; easing them as much as he can of burdens and pressures; showing compassion to the distressed, and pardoning delinquents when the case…

The glory of young men is their strength That is the excellent thing in them, and it is to their honour when it is employed in the service of their king and country, and especially in the service of God and religion; though it does not become them to glory in it, ; and the beauty of old men is the…

The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil Rubs it off and scours it away, as the word [[11]] signifies, or is a clearing and rubbing it off; some men must be beaten black and blue, or must have very sore correction, before they can be reclaimed and reformed from their evil ways; so some interpret…