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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 My son, if thou have become surety for thy neighbour,–have struck for a stranger thy hands, |
If thou be surety – By endorsing notes or going on a bond, contrary to the instruction of the Lord's Word. R2668:6: F568
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| 2 Thou hast been snared by the sayings of thy mouth,–thou hast been caught by the sayings of thy mouth.
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| 3 Do this then, my son, and deliver thyself, When thou hast come into the hand of thy neighbour, Go, haste thee, and urge thy neighbour; |
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| 4 Do not give sleep to thine eyes, or slumber to thine eyelashes; |
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| 5 Deliver thyself, as a gazelle out of the hand, and as a bird, out of the hand of the fowler. |
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| 6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard, observe her ways, and be wise; |
Consider her ways – "Parents ought to lay up for their children." (2 Cor. 12:14) F577
And be wise – Follow her custom of laying up provision in advance of necessity. R2488:2
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| 7 Which, having no harvest, scribe, or ruler, |
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| 8 Prepareth, in the summer, her food, hath collected, in the harvest, her sustenance. |
Provideth her meat – Probably fewer need advice along this line than need advice against the opposite extreme. F577
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| 9 How long, O sluggard, wilt thou lie? how long ere thou rise from thy sleep? |
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| 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest:– |
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| 11 So shall come in, as a highwayman, thy poverty, and, thy want, as one armed with a shield. |
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| 12 An abandoned man, a man of iniquity, [is he] who–goeth on in perversity of mouth; |
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| 13 Winketh with his eyes, speaketh with his foot, pointeth with his fingers; |
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| 14 [Hath] perverse things in his heart, deviseth mischief on every occasion, strifes, he sendeth forth. |
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| 15 For this cause, suddenly cometh his doom, in a moment, shall he be torn in pieces and there be no mending. |
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| 16 These six things, doth Yahweh hate, yea, seven, are the abomination of his soul:– |
These six things – Elements of character in direct opposition to humility. R3537:3
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| 17 Eyes that are lofty, a tongue that is false, and hands shedding innocent blood; |
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| 18 A heart contriving iniquitous devices, feet hasting to run into mischief; |
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| 19 One that uttereth lies–a false witness, and one sending forth strifes between brethren. |
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| 20 Observe thou, my son, the commandment of thy father, and do not decline from the instruction of thy mother: |
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| 21 Bind them upon thy heart continually, fasten them upon thy neck; |
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| 22 When thou walkest abroad, it shall guide thee, when thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee, when thou wakest, it shall speak to thee: |
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| 23 For, a lamp, is the commandment, and, the instruction, a light, and, the way of life, are the reproofs of correction: |
The law is light – On "the feast of joy for the Law" (Feast of Tabernacles) the Jews took all the books of the Law out of the chest and put a candle into it in allusion to this verse. R2439:1*
Ultimately the Jewish Law was superseded by the true light--the gospel of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. R2439:1
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| 24 To keep thee from the wicked woman, from the flattery of the tongue of her that is a stranger. |
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| 25 Do not covet her beauty, in thy heart, neither let her take thee, by her eyelashes; |
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| 26 Because, for the sake of an impure woman, [a man may be brought] even to a cake of bread,–and, a man's wife, for a precious soul, may hunt! |
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| 27 Can a man snatch up fire in his bosom, and, his clothes, not be burned? |
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| 28 Or can a man walk upon hot coals, and, his feet, not be burned? |
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| 29 So, he that goeth in unto his neighbour's wife, no man shall be guiltless who toucheth her! |
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| 30 Men despise not a thief, when he stealeth, to satisfy his appetite, because he is famished; |
To satisfy his soul – Being, person. R205:1, R276:3
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| 31 Yet, if found, he must pay back sevenfold, All the substance of his house, must he give: |
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| 32 He that committeth adultery with a woman, lacketh sense, A destroyer of his own life, is he that doeth it; |
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| 33 Smiting and shame, shall he find, and, his reproach, shall not be wiped out; |
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| 34 For, jealousy, is the rage of a man, nor will he spare, in the day of avenging; |
Day of vengeance – Transition period following the Gospel age. R247:5
Designed to punish evil-doers and prepare the world for the blessed reign of righteousness. R247:5
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| 35 He will not look, at any ransom, neither will he consent, though thou increase the bribe. |
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