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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 27:23-27

Here is, I. A command given us to be diligent in our callings. It is directed to husbandmen and shepherds, and those that deal in cattle, but it is to be extended to all other lawful callings; whatever our business is, within doors or without, we must apply our minds to it. This command intimates, 1. That we ought to have some business to do in this world and not to live in idleness. 2. We ought rightly and fully to understand our busine 1522 ss, and know what we have to do, and not meddle... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 27:25

The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself ,.... Some think this is mentioned to illustrate the uncertainty of riches, which soon vanish away; as the tender grass shows itself, and is presently cut down and quickly appears hay, and that soon consumed; but rather this contains an argument to take to the pastoral life and calling, since it may be performed with so much ease; for the earth, the valleys and hills, are covered with grass for the cattle; so that there is no further... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 27:26

The lambs are for thy clothing ,.... This is another argument, exciting to diligence in the pastoral calling, taken from the profit arising from it: the wool of the lambs, or rather "sheep", as many versions render it; of it cloth is made, and of that garments to be worn, to keep decent, warm, and comfortable; see Job 31:20 ; and the goats are the price of thy field : these, being brought up and sold, furnish the husbandman with money to purchase more fields to feed his cattle on.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 27:27

And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food ,.... The word for "goats", in Proverbs 27:26 , signifies he goats, which were sold to buy fields, pay servants or rent, or purchase the necessaries of life; and this here signifies she goats, which were kept for their milk; and which was daily used for food in some countries, and is still in use for the same purpose in some parts of our kingdoms; and in medicine it has been preferred by some physicians above others, next to the milk of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 27:25

The hay appeareth - Take care that this be timeously mown, carefully dried and safely ricked or housed. And when the tender grass and the proper herbs appear in the mountains in the spring, then send forth the lambs, the young of the flock, that they may get suitable pasturage, without too much impoverishing the home fields; for by the sale of the lambs and goats, the price of the field is paid - all the landlord's demands are discharged. Either a certain number of lambs, goats, and other... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 27:26

The lambs are for thy clothing - So many fleeces are given in some places as rent to the landlord. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 27:27

Goats' milk enough for thy food - ללחמך lelachmecha , "to thy bread;" for they ate the bread and supped the milk to assist mastication, and help deglutition. And it seems that bread, with goats' milk, was the general article of food for the master and his family; and for the servant maids who assisted in the household work, and performed the operations required in the dairy. The reader who wishes to see these maxims detailed and illustrated at large, may consult the writers De Re... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:23-27

A mashal ode in praise of a pastoral and agricultural life. The moralist evidently desires to recall his countrymen from the luxury of cities and the temptations of money making to the simple ways of the patriarchs and the pleasures of country pursuits—which are the best foundation of enduring prosperity. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:23-27

The man diligent in his business I. ECONOMY AND FORESIGHT . ( Proverbs 27:23-25 .) He looks after the outgoings of his farm, well aware that there is in all things constant waste, that even the royal crown is a perishable thing. All knowledge is useful, and prudence applies through the whole scale of our being. Let the man, "if he have hands, handle; if eyes, measure and discriminate; let him accept and hive every fact of chemistry, natural history, and economy; the more he has,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:23-27

(and Proverbs 27:8 ) A commendation of diligence It is likely enough that Solomon, oppressed with the burdens and vexations, with the difficulties and dangers, of the throne, looked longingly toward those pastoral scenes which he here describes. But, keen and shrewd man that he was, he must have known that contentment does not always find a home in the homestead, and that there may be as much disquietude of heart in the fields of the beautiful country as there is in the streets of the... read more

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