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John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 30:8

Remove far from me vanity and lies ,.... This is the "first" request, to be preserved from sin, in general; which is a vain, lying, and deceitful thing; promising pleasure, profit, liberty, and impunity, which it does not give. Agur desires to have vain thoughts removed out of his mind, vain words from his mouth, and vain actions from his life and conversation; to have his eyes turned from beholding vanity, and his feet from walking in it; and his affections taken off from the vain things of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 30:9

Lest I be full, and deny thee ,.... This is the dangerous consequence of riches, and the temptation they expose men unto; who, being full of the things of this world, are tempted to deny the Lord; not his being and perfections directly, but chiefly his providence; to deny that what they have, they have received of him, but attribute it to their own care, diligence, and industry; and now think they can live without him, without any dependence on his providence, having a large affluence of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 30:10

Accuse not a servant unto his master ,.... Wrongly, rashly, and without any foundation, nor for any trifling thing; unless it be in a case of moment and importance, when his master's business is sadly neglected, or he is injured in his property by him: especially care should be taken not to calumniate a servant, to abuse him with the tongue, as the word F7 אל תלשן "ne crimineris lingua", Montanus. signifies; the circumstance he is in should be considered, as a servant; and how... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 30:1

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh - The words Agur, Jakeh, Ithiel, and Ucal, have been considered by some as proper names: by others, as descriptive characters. With some, Agur is Solomon; and Jakeh, David; and Ithiel and Ural are epithets of Christ. The Vulgate translates, Verba congregantis filii vomentis: visio, quam locutus est sir, cum quo est Deus, et qui Deo secum morante confortatus, ait . "The words of the collector, the son of the vomiter: the vision of the man who has God... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 30:2

Surely I am more brutish - These words can in no sense, nor by any mode of speech, be true of Solomon: for while he was the wisest of men, he could not have said that he was more brutish than any man, and had not the understanding of a man. It is saying nothing to the purpose, to say he was so independently of the Divine teaching. Had he put this in, even by innuendo, it might be legitimate: but he does not; nor is it by fair implication to be understood. Solomon is not supposed to have... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 30:3

I neither learned wisdom - I have never been a scholar in any of those schools of the wise men, nor have the knowledge of the holy, קדשים kedoshim , of the saints or holy persons. The Septuagint give this a different turn: yeov dedidace me sofian, kai gnwsin agiwn egnwka; "God hath taught me wisdom, and the knowledge of the saints I have known." This may refer to the patriarchs, prophets, or holy men, that lived before the days of Solomon. That is, the translators might have had... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 30:4

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? - Calmet paraphrases this passage thus: "Who hath descended, etc. In order to show the truth of what he was about to say, he observes: I have not the science of the saints; for how could I have acquired it? Who is he who could attain to that? Who has ascended to heaven to learn that science, and who has descended in order to publish it? Is the science of salvation one of those things that can be apprehended only by study? Is it not a pure gift... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 30:5

Every word of God is pure - צרופה אלוה אמרת כל col imrath eloah tseruphah , "Every oracle of God is purified." A metaphor taken from the purifying of metals. Every thing that God has pronounced, every inspiration which the prophets have received, is pure, without mixture of error, without dross. Whatever trials it may be exposed to, it is always like gold: it bears the fire, and comes out with the same lustre, the same purity, and the same weight. He is a shield unto them - And this... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 30:6

Add not thou unto his words - You can no more increase their value by any addition, than you can that of gold by adding any other metal to it. Take care that you do not any thing that this word forbids, nor leave undone any thing that it commands: for this is adding and diminishing in Scripture phrase. Lest he reprove thee - Lest he try thy word by fire, as his has been tried; and it appear that, far from abiding the test, the fire shows thine to be reprobate silver; and so thou be found... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 30:7

Two things have I required of thee - These two petitions are mentioned in the next verse; and he wishes to have them answered before he should die. That is, he wishes the answer now, that he may live the rest of his life in the state he describes. read more

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