Proverbs 4:18-19

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 4:19

The way of the wicked is as darkness. In contrast with the path of the just is the way of the wicked, which is described as darkness itself: i.e. so deeply enveloped in gloom that the wicked are not able even to see the obstacles and impediments against which they stumble, and which are the cause of their ruin. It is a way dark throughout—a via tenebrosa (Vulgate)—terminating at length in "the blackness of darkness." As light is emblematical of knowledge, holiness, and joy, so darkness... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 4:19

The way of darkness The way of sin is in all respects one of darkness. It is dark in its origin, dark in its course, and dark in its end. I. THE WAY OF SIN STARTS FROM A DARK ORIGIN . 1 . Ignorance. Most criminals are deplorably ignorant. Vicious men are generally men whose mental cultivation has been neglected by others or by themselves. Ignorance of Divine truth leads the way to wickedness. The first preventative of evil is the religious teaching of children. ... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 4:14-19

Proverbs 4:14-19. Enter not into the path of the wicked Avoid their practices and company; and go not in the way of evil men Do not proceed further therein. If thou hast unadvisedly entered into it, do not persist in it, but get thee speedily out of it. Avoid it, pass not by it Keep at a great distance from it. Turn from it, &c. Shun all occasions of sin. For they sleep not They cannot compose themselves to sleep with quietness and satisfaction to their own minds; unless they... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:1-27

Wisdom the inner guide (4:1-27)The writer further instructs his ‘sons’ by passing on teaching that his own ‘father’ once gave him. The main point of that teaching was that, more than anything else, he was to get wisdom and insight (4:1-5). The first step in getting wisdom is the desire for it. Once obtained, wisdom will bring into the life of the possessor a new measure of security, honour and beauty (6-9).By living according to God’s wisdom, people will have true freedom, and at the same time... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Proverbs 4:18

But. Marking the contrast between the growth of wickedness (verses: Proverbs 4:16 , Proverbs 4:17 ), and the growth of wisdom leading in right paths (verses: Proverbs 4:11 , Proverbs 4:12 ). the shining light = the dawning of day: advancing and brightening till noon. perfect = stable part, when the sun seems stationary on the meridian. Illustrations: Jacob (Genesis 49:10 , Genesis 49:18 . Hebrews 11:21 ); Nathanael (John 1:46-51 ); Eunuch (Acts 8:27-39 ). read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Proverbs 4:19

way of the wicked. Illustrations: Korah (Numbers 16:16-19 ); Ahab (1 Kings 16:31 ); Babylon (Isaiah 47:11 ); Jews (Jeremiah 5:19 , Jeremiah 5:25 ; Jeremiah 44:15-23 .Ezekiel 18:29 . Acts 28:25 , Acts 28:26 ). as. Some codices, with one early printed edition, read "in". read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Proverbs 4:18

Proverbs 4:18. But the path of the just is as the shining light— The presence of the just enlightens, instructs, edifies, rejoices: they carry light into every place by their example, and by their instructions. And they grow more and more in knowledge, grace, and consolation, until all be perfected and swallowed up in glory. The wicked, on the contrary, are always in darkness, Proverbs 4:19. The former are the children of light of whom the gospel speaks; the other are the children of darkness,... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Proverbs 4:18

18, 19. As shining light increases from twilight to noonday splendor, so the course of the just increases in purity, but that of the wicked is as thickest darkness, in which one knows not on what he stumbles. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Proverbs 4:10-19

7. The two paths 4:10-19In Proverbs 4:10-19, two paths again lie before the youth: the way of wisdom (Proverbs 4:10-13) and the way of folly (the way of the wicked; Proverbs 4:14-17). [Note: See Norman C. Habel, "The Symbolism of Wisdom in Proverbs 1-9," Interpretation 26:2 (April 1972):131-57, for a study of "the way" as a nuclear symbol in this section of Proverbs; and Daniel P. Bricker, "The Doctrine of the ’Two Ways’ in Proverbs," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 38:4... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 4:1-27

Ancestral Wisdom. The Two PathsIn Proverbs 4:1-9 the teacher lays stress on the fact that his instruction is a repetition of his father’s. No teaching was thought valuable save that which was handed down from one generation to another. The best pupil was the one who was ’a cemented cistern which loses not a drop.’ Proverbs 4:10-19 might be called the doctrine of the two paths, the two ways of life. 20-27 enjoin strict attention to instruction and to conduct.7. Lit. ’The beginning of wisdom is,... read more

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