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Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - Proverbs 12:9

That is despised; that liveth in a mean and obscure condition in the world, for such are commonly despised by men of a higher rank. Hath a servant; hath but one servant. Or rather, is servant to himself; hath none to wait upon him or work for him but himself, that getteth bread by his own labours. Is better, is happier, than he that honoureth himself, that glorieth in his high birth or gay attire, and lacketh bread, wants necessaries for his own sustenance. read more

Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - Proverbs 12:10

Regardeth the life of his beast, which is employed in his service; he will not destroy it either by labours beyond its strength, or by denying to it necessary food or rest, or by any other way; and much more will he be pitiful to his own servants, and to poor men. The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel; there is much cruelty mixed even with their most merciful actions, when they pretend or intend to show mercy. Heb. the bowels of the, &c.; those very bowels, which in others are the seat... read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - Proverbs 12:3

MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 12:3A RIGHT DESIRE AND THE MEANS OF ITS ATTAINMENTI. There has always been a desire in men for establishment—for fixedness. 1. It is a good and God-given aspiration, and manifests itself in many ways. Men rightly desire to have a settled home—a spot on earth to which they may attach themselves and from which they cannot be driven. This is a desire especially strong in the western and northern nations, and has been a powerful element in their development. Men desire a... read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - Proverbs 12:4

CRITICAL NOTES.—Proverbs 12:4. Virtuous, literally “strenuous,” “capable” (used in Ruth 3:11). MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 12:4A HUSBAND’S CROWNI. A woman possessed of a quality which time will not destroy or impair. Virtue is not a mere negative good—it is not simply an absence of evil. A virtuous person is one who has overcome evil—one who is prevented from being a worker of evil by being a worker of good. Virtue is a thing of growth—human nature has to struggle to acquire moral excellence—to... read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - Proverbs 12:5-8

CRITICAL NOTES.—Proverbs 12:5. Thoughts, or “purposes.” Right, “judgment,” “justice.” Proverbs 12:7. Wordsworth here reads, “When the wicked turn themselves,” etc., i.e., on any reverse of their fortunes, however slight, they perish. MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPHS—Proverbs 12:5-8THOUGHTS AND WORDS AND THEIR RESULTI. The thoughts of the righteous or godly man are right. 1. Because he has the best material out of which to build his thoughts. The kind of building which is reared will depend... read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - Proverbs 12:9

CRITICAL NOTES.—Proverbs 12:9. This verse is read in two ways. Zockler reads, “Better is the lowly that serveth himself than he that boasteth and lacketh bread.” Wordsworth agrees with this view. Delitzsch and Stuart render as the authorised version (see comments on the verse). MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 12:9Whichever rendering we adopt of this verse the subject is the same—that of one man’s allowing his vanity, his love for appearances, to rob him of all real comfort, and that of his wiser... read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - Proverbs 12:10

CRITICAL NOTES.—Proverbs 12:10. Regardeth, literally “knoweth.” Delitzsch reads, “knoweth how his cattle feed.” “Cruel is singular, denoting that each one of his mercies are cruel” (Fausset). MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 12:10CARE FOR ANIMALS AND CRUELTY TO MENEven the animal is benefited by being related to a righteous man.I. The righteous man regardeth the life of his beast. 1. Because of the entire dependence of the creature upon him. Animals which are the property of man are entirely at his... read more

Chuck Smith

Chuck Smith Bible Commentary - Proverbs 12:1-28

Chapter 12Whoso loves instruction loves knowledge: but he who hates reproof is brutish ( Proverbs 12:1 ).And there's a lot in the Proverbs about instructing a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a fool and he will hate you. And a fool hateth instruction, and so forth. And the value of loving instruction, receiving instruction.A good man obtains favor of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will be condemned by God. A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous... read more

Joseph Sutcliffe

Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 12:1-28

Proverbs 12:4 . A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband, as illustrated at large in chap. 31. Proverbs 12:9 . He that is despised, and hath a servant. There are various comments here. He that is despised, as a plebeian, and hath a servant; others say, and hath many servants, is better than the baron lost in poverty and debts. In the east, the rank of a man is known, not so much by the splendour of his carriage, as by the number of footmen which attend him. Absalom had fifty men to... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Proverbs 12:4

Proverbs 12:4A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones False affectionDelilah’s character, though but briefly drawn, is not without terrible significance.In her we see a violation of the ties of life and properly-poised affection which makes us start; and yet by many among us this fault is committed and scarcely considered to be a fault. We hardly know a case of more affecting and heartless treachery than that of Delilah. Under the... read more

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