Proverbs 25:14 - Exposition

The Hebrew is, Clouds and wind without rain—he that boasteth himself in a gift of falsehood (see on Proverbs 25:11 ). The proverb is concerned with promises disappointed. Clouds and wind are generally in the East the precursors of heavy rain, as we read in 1 Kings 18:45 , "In a little while the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain." After such phenomena, which, according to current meteorological observation, gave every hope of a refreshing shower in the time of summer drought, to see the clouds pass away without affording a single drop of rain is a grievous disappointment. The metaphor is found in the New Testament. St. Jude ( Jude 1:12 ) calls false teachers "clouds without water, carried along by winds." "A gift of falsehood," equivalent to "a false gift," one that deceives, because it is only promised and never given. A man makes a great parade of going to bestow a handsome present, and then sneaks out of it, and gives nothing. Such a one is, as St. Jerome renders, Vir gloriosus, et promissa non complens . The old commentators quote Ovid, 'Heroid.,' 6.509—

" Mobilis AE sonide, vernaque incertior aura,

Cur tua pollicito pondere verba carent? "

"Deeds are fruits," says the proverb, "words are but leaves;" and "Vainglory blossoms, but never bears fruit." Concerning the folly of making stupid beasts, the Bengalee proverb speaks of a pedlar in ginger getting tidings of his ship. The Septuagint is incorrect, "As winds, and clouds, and rains are most evident ( ἐπιφανέστατα ), so is he who boasts of a false gift."