Proverbs 17:23-24

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 17:23

See here, 1. What an evil thing bribery is: He is a wicked man that will take a gift to engage him to give a false testimony, verdict, or judgment; when he does it he is ashamed of it, for he takes it, with all the secresy imaginable, out of the bosom where he knows it is laid ready for him; it is industriously concealed, and so slyly that, if h 1a08 e could, he would hide it from his own conscience. A gift is taken out of the bosom of a wicked man (so some read it); for he is a bad man that... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 17:24

Note, 1. He is to be reckoned an intelligent man that not only has wisdom, but has it ready when he has occasion for it. He lays his wisdom before him, as his card and compass which he steers by, has his eye always upon it, as he that writes has on his copy; and then he has it before him; it is not to seek, but still at hand. 2. He that has a giddy head, a roving rambling fancy, will never be fit for any solid business. He is a fool, and good for nothing, whose eyes are in the ends of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 17:23

A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom ,.... Of another, of a rich man, who takes it out from thence, and offers it to him as a bribe. This he takes in the most secret manner, that it might not be seen by others; though the Arabic version renders it, "he that receives a gift in his own bosom commits iniquity"; it is true of both the giver and the receiver; the one gives out of his bosom, and the other takes if from thence, and puts it into his own, and both are wicked. And the words... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 17:24

Wisdom is before him that hath understanding ,.... Is near him, to direct and assist him; it is before him as a rule to walk by, and it is the mark he aims at. A man of spiritual understanding has the book of wisdom before him, the Scriptures of truth, which are able to make a man wise to salvation; and he steers his course according to them; he sets Christ, the Wisdom of God, always before him; and keeps his eye on the mark for the prize, all the while he is running his Christian race:... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 17:23

A gift out of the bosom - Out of his purse; as in their bosoms, above their girdles, the Asiatics carry their purses. I have often observed this. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 17:24

Are in the ends of the earth - Wisdom is within the sight and reach at every man: but he whose desires are scattered abroad, who is always aiming at impossible things, or is of an unsteady disposition, is not likely to find it. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:6-25

Fatherhood and sonship Certainly, some of our very greatest mercies are those that come to us in our domestic relationships. I. THE JOY AND CROWN OF FATHERHOOD AND OF GRANDFATHERHOOD . Our Lord speaks of the mother forgetting her anguish "for joy that a man is born into the world" ( John 16:21 ). The joy of parentage is keen , and it is common; it may, indeed, be said to be universal. And it is pure and good; it elevates and enlarges the soul, taking thought... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:16-24

Use and neglect "There is everything in use," we say. And certainly a man's position at any time depends far less upon his bestowments and advantages than upon the use he has made of them. The wise man, in these verses, laments the fact that the price of wisdom should so often be in the hand of a man who fails to turn it to account ( Proverbs 17:16 ), and that the foolish man wastes his capacities by directing them to things at a distance instead of giving his attention to that which is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:21-25

(See homily on Proverbs 10:1 .)—C. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:21-28

Varied experiences of good and evil in life We may divide them into the sorrowful, the joyous, and the mixed experiences. I. SAD EXPERIENCES . The sorrow of thankless children . ( Proverbs 17:21 , Proverbs 17:25 .) To name it is enough for thereto who have known it. It has its analogue in Divine places. How pathetically does the Bible speak of the grief of God over the rebellious children he has nourished and brought up! and of Christ's lamentation as of a mother over... read more

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