Proverbs 24:10

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 24:10

Note, 1. In the day of adversity we are apt to faint, to droop and be discouraged, to desist from our work, and to despair of relief. Our spirits sink, and then our hands hang down and our knees grow feeble, and we become unfit for anything. And often those that are most cheerful when they are well droop most, and are most dejected, when any thing ails them. 2. This is an evidence that our strength is small, and is a means of weakening it more. ?It is a sign that thou art not a man of any... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 24:10

If thou faint in the day of adversity ,.... When under bodily afflictions, stripping providences, reduced to great straits and wants; or under the violent persecutions of men, which is sometimes the case of the people of God; whose times are in his hands, times of adversity, as well as prosperity; and which are appointed by him, when they shall come, and how long they shall last; which is but for a short time, it is but a "day", and yet they are apt to "faint" under them, through the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 24:10

If thou faint - If thou give way to discouragement and despair in the day of adversity - time of trial or temptation. Thy strength is small - כחכה צר tsar cochachah , thy strength is contracted. So the old MS. Bible excellently: Gif sliden thou dispeire, in the dai of anguyfs, schal be made litil thy strengthe. In times of trial we should endeavor to be doubly courageous; when a man loses his courage, his strength avails him nothing. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:7-10

Some distichs now follow, concerned with wisdom and its opposite. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:7-10

Some traits of folly and sin I. THE GROVELLING MIND . ( Proverbs 24:7 .) Wisdom is too high for the indolent to climb to, for the sensual and earthly to admire and love. They are like Muck-rake, in Bunyan's parable. From such no good counsel ever comes. They are dumb "in the gate," on every important occasion, when help, light, sympathy, are needed. The base prudence which inspires many popular proverbs—the prudence "which adores the rule of three, which never subscribes, never... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:10

If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. The gnome seems to be unconnected with the preceding. There is a paronomasia between צָרָה ( tsarah ), "adversity," and צַר ( tsar ), "small," narrow, which is retained by Fleischer: "Si segnis fueris die angustiae, angustae sunt vires tuae." So we may say in English, "If thou faint in time of straitness, straitened is thy strength." If you fail, and succumb to anxiety or danger, instead of rising to meet the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:10

Fainting in the day of adversity I. STRENGTH IS TESTED BY THE DAY OF ADVERSITY . 1 . The day of adversity will come . All have not an equally painful lot. It is only the pessimist who refuses to admit that God sends a happy life to some; and if the lines have fallen in pleasant places, nothing but ingratitude or sentimentality will deny the fact. Nevertheless, the dark day of adversity will rise on every soul of man. It cannot be eluded, though in youth and health... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:10-15

The test of adversity We have all of us to expect— I. THE TESTING TIME THAT COMES TO ALL MEN . It is true that prosperity has its own perils, and makes its own demands on the human spirit. But when the sky is clear above us, when loving friends stand round us with protecting care, when privileges abound on every side, it is comparatively easy to maintain an equable and obedient mind. We can all row with the stream and sail with the favouring wind. But the hour must come... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 24:10

Proverbs 24:10. If thou faint in the day of adversity If thou art impatient and unable to bear sufferings; if thy resolution flag, and thou give way to despondency or dejection of mind; thy strength is small Hebrew, is narrow, it lies in a little compass; it is strait, as thy condition is; for there is an elegant allusion in the word rendered small, or narrow, in this clause, to that rendered adversity in the former. The sense is, This is a sign that thou hast but little Christian... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Proverbs 24:1-34

Godly and ungodly citizens (24:1-34)In contrast to the destructive schemes of the wicked are the constructive acts of the wise. A life built by wisdom is likened to a strongly built and richly furnished house (24:1-4). Wisdom gives people real strength and success, but folly gives them nothing worthwhile, not even sensible words that can benefit their fellow citizens (5-7). (In ancient times the place where citizens liked to gather was the open area just inside the city gate; v. 7. There they... read more

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