Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Proverbs 17:1-28
2. Peacemakers and troublemakers ch. 17 read more
2. Peacemakers and troublemakers ch. 17 read more
"Raising the door" does not mean opening it, but building a higher, more splendid door for the sake of impressing others. Just as a person who loves transgression thereby sets himself up for strife, so the person who loves to display his wealth is setting himself up for destruction. His door publicizes his wealth and attracts the interest of burglars. Some interpreters take the gate figuratively.". . . the gate is the mouth, and so to make it high is to say lofty things-he brags too much (see 1... read more
1. Lit. ’the sacrifices of strife.’ There would be no pleasure in the festal meal which followed a sacrifice (Proverbs 7:14) if it was accompanied with a quarrel. ’A little with quiet is the only diet.’2. The Israelite slave was a member of the family (Genesis 24:12; Deuteronomy 5:14, etc.), might become the heir (Genesis 15:2-3) or marry the daughter (1 Chronicles 2:34-35). 4. Naughty] injurious. 7. The proverb writers show no hope of redeeming the lost. Their verdict is, ’He that is filthy... read more
(18) In the presence of his friend.—Or, With his neighbour. (For the same warning, comp. Proverbs 6:1, sqq.) read more
(19) He that exalteth his gate.—Builds himself a sumptuous house. read more
The Nearness of the Essential in Life's Discipline Proverbs 17:24 The fool is he who despises the actual and possible, and longs for what is not; he is never where his eyes are. The text is, then, a warning against vain conceits and regrets, against frittering away life sighing for impossible conditions, whilst missing the glory before our eyes, the treasures at our feet, the prizes within our grasp. I. Do not despise the familiar. The elements of happiness, sources of improvement, and... read more
CHAPTER 18FRIENDSHIP"A friend loveth at all times, and as a brother is born for adversity."- Proverbs 17:17 {This rendering, based upon the margin of the R.V, yields a much better sense than the loosely connected, "And a brother is born for adversity."}ONE of the most striking contrasts between the ancient and the modern world is in the place which is given to friendship by moralists and religious teachers. In Aristotle’s famous treatise on ethics two books out of nine are devoted to the moral... read more
CHAPTER 17 Diverse Proverbs Of the twenty-eight proverbs found in this chapter we point out but a few. “The fining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold; but the LORD trieth the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3 ). Man may try silver and gold, but God only the hearts. And He tries the hearts by the refining process, trials and afflictions, the process which rests in His own hands. (See Psalms 66:10-12 ; Malachi 3:3-18 ; 1 Peter 1:7 .) “He that covereth a transgression seeketh love, but he that... read more
17:18 A man void of understanding {i} striketh hands, [and] becometh surety in the presence of his friend.(i) Read Proverbs 6:1. read more
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Proverbs 17:19
19. strife—contention is, and leads to, sin. he that exalteth his gate—gratifies a vain love of costly building. seeketh—or, "findeth," as if he sought (compare "loveth death," :-). read more