Proverbs 27:13-27

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpeneth iron. The proverb deals with the influence which men have upon one another. So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. So the Vulgate, Homo exacuit faciem amici sui . The action of the file is probably meant ( 1 Samuel 13:21 ); and the writer names iron as the sharpener rather than the whetstone, because he wishes to denote that one man is of the same nature as another, and that this identity is that which makes mutual action possible and advantageous. Some... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:17

The advantages of society I. OBSERVE IN WHAT THE ADVANTAGES OF SOCIETY CONSIST . We have ancient authority for the idea that it is not good for man to be alone ( Genesis 2:18 ). Man is naturally a gregarious being. Though some people are more sociable than others, no one can be healthy in perpetual solitude. The isolation of the hermit engendered the wildest hallucinations of fanaticism together with the narrowest conception of the world. Prisoners of the Bastille, in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:17-22

Wisdom for self and for others I. THE BENEFIT OF INTELLIGENT SOCIETY . ( Proverbs 27:17 , Proverbs 27:19 .) 1 . The collision of mind with mind elicits truth , strikes out flashes of new perception . A man may grow wiser by an hour's discourse than by a day's meditation. "Speech is like embroidered cloth opened and put abroad," said the mistochs to the King of Persia. In the collision of minds the man brings his own thoughts to light, and whets his wits against a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:18

Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof. He who watches, tends, and cultivates the fig tree will in due time have the reward of his labour in eating its fruit. The abundance of the produce of this tree makes it a good figure of the reward of faithful service. Septuagint, "He that planteth a fig tree shall eat the fruits thereof" ( 2 Timothy 2:6 ). So he that waiteth on his maser shall be honoured. He who pays attention, has loving regard to his master, shall meet with honour... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:18

This reward of faithful service This is a question which very intimately and importantly concerns us; for— I. SERVICE CONSTITUTES THE GREATER PART OF HUMAN LIFE . We have to consider how large a proportion of our race is formally and regularly engaged in service as the occupation of their life . When we have counted domestic servants, agricultural labourers, and all orders of "workmen;" and when we have included all those who, in the press, or the pulpit, or the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:19

As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man; Vulgate, Quomodo in aquis resplendent vultus prospicientium, sic corda hominum manifesta sunt prudentibus . As in clear water the face of the gazer is reflected, so man finds in his fellow man the same feelings, sentiments, passions, which he has himself. He sees in others the likeness of himself; whatever he knows himself to be, he will see others presenting the same character. Self-knowledge, too, leads to insight into... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:20

Hell and destruction are never full. "Hell" is sheol, the under-world, Hades, the place of the departed; "destruction" is the great depth, the second death, personified (see on Proverbs 15:11 , where the terms also occur). These "are never satisfied," they are insatiable, all-devouring (comp. Proverbs 30:16 ; Isaiah 5:14 ; Habakkuk 2:5 ). So the eyes of man are never satisfied. The verb is the same in both clauses, and ought to have been so translated. The eye is taken as the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:21

Fining pot , etc. (see on Proverbs 17:3 ; comp. also Proverbs 25:4 ). So is a man to his praise. The Hebrew is literally, The crucible for silver , and the furnace for gold , and a man according , to his praise; i . e . as the processes of metallurgy test the precious metals, so a man's public reputation shows what he is really worth, as is stated in Proverbs 12:8 . As the crucible brings all impurities to the surface, so public opinion drags forth all that is bad in a man,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:22

Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle. "To bray" is to pound or beat small. "Wheat," רִיפוֹת , riphoth (only in 2 Samuel 17:19 ), "bruised corn." Vulgate, In pila quasi ptisanas (barley groats) feriente ; Aquila and Theodotion, ἐν μέσῳ ἐμπτισσομένων "In the midst of grains of corn being pounded." The LXX ; reading, differently, has, "Though thou scourge a fool, disgracing him ( ἐν μεσῳ συνεδρίου ) in the midst of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 27:23

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks. "State;" פנִים ( panim ) ; vultum , Vulgate; the face, look, appearance. The LXX . has ψυχάς , which may perhaps mean "the number"—a necessary precaution when the sheep wandered on the downs and mountains, and had to be collected in the evening and folded. These precepts are naturally applied to all rulers, and especially to Christian pastors who have the oversight of the flock of Christ ( 1 Peter 5:2-4 ). Ecclesiastes 7:22 ... read more

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