Proverbs 31:8

F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary - Proverbs 31:1-9

the Worthy Woman Proverbs 31:1-9 In these words of King Lemuel, we notice a mother’s influence in the education of her son. A woman is never more nobly occupied than in warning her son against the seductions of pleasure and in giving him a high sense of that which is right. The sins of the flesh have been the peculiar snare of royal personages, preventing them from pleading the cause of the desolate and ministering judgment to the poor and needy. What a contrast to the glory of the... read more

G. Campbell Morgan

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - Proverbs 31:1-31

This is the second section of the appendix. There have been many conjectures as to who King Lemuel was, but nothing certainly can be said. It is divided into two parts, the first of which consists of his mother's advice to him. This advice urges him against becoming the slave of passion, warns him that while there may be some excuse for the man who is ready to perish if he take strong drink, it must be utterly avoided by kings and princes. And, finally, she sets before him the first duty of... read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 31:1-9

Proverbs 31:1-1 Samuel : . Second Division. Sayings of Lemuel.— A manual of directions for kings. Proverbs 31:1. The title is uncertain. RV is not grammatically correct. Read mg.— Massa ( mg.) , rendered “ oracle” in Proverbs 31:30, and here by RV, is the regular word for the oracles of the earlier prophets, but is strange in this connexion. There is a Mas’ a mentioned in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser IV along with Teima in N. Arabia. This was one of the traditional seats of wisdom,... read more

Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - Proverbs 31:8

Open thy mouth, speak freely and impartially, as becomes a king and judge to do, for the dumb; for such as cannot speak in their own cause, either through ignorance and infirmity, or because of the dread of their more potent adversaries, or of the majesty of the king sitting in judgment. Such as are appointed to destruction; who without such succour from the judge are like to be utterly ruined, whom therefore both justice and charity oblige thee to preserve. read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - Proverbs 31:1-9

CRITICAL NOTES.—Lemuel. This Hebrew word signifies “For God,” or “belonging to God,” and is regarded by most commentators as a proper name. The prophecy. Delitzsch, Stuart, and many other Hebrew scholars render this word as a proper name, and read “The words of Lemuel, king of MASSA, which his mother taught him.” Miller reads the verse, “Words in respect to the Seed-of-God, a king; a prophecy in agreement with which his mother disciplined him,” and, as in the preceding chapter, applies it to... read more

Chuck Smith

Chuck Smith Bible Commentary - Proverbs 31:1-31

Chapter 31Now the thirty-first proverb are,The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him ( Proverbs 31:1 ).So these are really the words of King Lemuel's mother unto him. The advice of a godly mother to her prince son who one day is to reign over the people. There are those who think that Lemuel is indeed Solomon, and that these are the words of Bathsheba unto Solomon. Whether or not that is so is a matter of argument among the theologians, of which I have no desire to enter... read more

Joseph Sutcliffe

Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 31:1-31

Proverbs 31:1 . The words of king Lemuel. Ancient kings had many names and surnames which embarrass history. The first name of Solomon was Jedidiah, or Jedid-jah, beloved of God. 2 Samuel 12:25. Lemuel is analyzed, למו אל Lemo-ail, sacred to God. Solomon’s appointment to the throne was also of God, he being the youngest was preferred before his elder brethren. But if another conjecture should be true, that Lemuel was a prince in a neighbouring kingdom to Israel, and his mother was a... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Proverbs 31:8

Proverbs 31:8Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.The sin of cruelty to the brute creationThere is no necessary reference in this verse to the inferior animals. We use it merely for our accommodation. That there is such cruelty requires neither proof nor argument. What persuasions should urge to guard against this cruelty in every form?1. The affecting consideration that the lower animals have not the power of expressing and complaining of their... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Proverbs 31:8

Pro 31:8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Ver. 8. Open thy mouth for the dumb, ] i.e., Speak wisely and freely for those that either cannot or may not speak for themselves. Thus Nicodemus spoke for our Saviour; Joh 7:21 Paphnutius in the council for the married clergy; Pliny to Trajan for the persecuted Christians; the Elector of Saxony for Luther, &c. Oecolampadius saith a that wise men only open their mouths, for a fool’s mouth is... read more

Samuel Bagster

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge - Proverbs 31:8

Open: Proverbs 24:7, Proverbs 24:11, Proverbs 24:12, 1 Samuel 19:4-Judges :, 1 Samuel 20:32, 1 Samuel 22:14, 1 Samuel 22:15, Esther 4:13-Nehemiah :, Job 29:9, Job 29:17, Psalms 82:3, Psalms 82:4, Jeremiah 26:16-Psalms :, Jeremiah 26:24, Jeremiah 38:7-2 Samuel :, John 7:51 such: etc. Heb. the sons of destruction, Psalms 79:11, *marg. Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 25:1 - General 2 Samuel 17:7 - not good Proverbs 31:26 - openeth Ecclesiastes 3:7 - and a time to speak Isaiah 11:4 - reprove Jeremiah... read more

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