START A CHILD IN THE WAY HE SHOULD GO, AND WHEN HE IS OLD
HE WILL NOT TURN FROM IT: "A statement of general tendencies and not of an
inexorable law. Human beings are neither machines nor plants. They have a power
of choice; they can respond to good influences or they can be rebellious. Some
very good men have had a bad early training and some very bad men were given
every opportunity in the instruction of their early days. One of the surprising
discoveries made by each successive generation is that children differ from the
very cradle" (PrPr).
Pro 22:12
THE EYES OF THE LORD KEEP WATCH OVER KNOWLEDGE: The
Bible, preserved from and through antiquity, for our edification.
HE FRUSTRATES THE WORDS OF THE UNFAITHFUL: See 2Sa
17:14: the counsel of the unfaithful Ahithophel, frustrated by Hushai.
Pro 22:14
MOUTH OF AN ADULTERESS: Prob euphemism for vagina: cp
same idea in Pro 30:20.
THIRTY: This translation is based on LXX. Supposedly 30
sections from here through Pro 24:22 (CPro).
Pro 22:26
DO NOT BE A MAN WHO STRIKES HANDS IN PLEDGE OR PUTS UP
SECURITY FOR DEBTS: Never lend money unless you can afford to lose it. "In
this matter adults often reveal less capacity for learning than children. They
have the advantage of books containing all the accumulated wisdom of mankind,
and beyond all this and permeating a great deal of it, there is the instruction
that has come direct from God, yet the knowledge is very little used. Life is
full of avoidable evils through men ignoring principles or rules of conduct
which are perfectly well known, and which have had their wisdom demonstrated in
every generation.
"Sometimes the individual failure is so obvious that almost
all observers smile at it. I recall two instances of this kind in which the
facts were related by the victim when sufficient time had passed for him to join
in the amusement. The first was of a capable business man who lightheartedly put
his name to paper and became surety for another without even knowing the full
extent of his commitment. As is usual in such cases, the one thus assisted
failed to pay his way, and the guarantor was for some weeks on the verge of
ruin, not knowing when the crushing blow would fall. While in this worried
condition he one day opened the Bible to find a little consolation, and almost
the very first passage he read was one in Proverbs warning men against the very
folly he had committed. 'What a foolish man I am', he thought. 'I have
carelessly brought myself into this trouble, when all the while the whole matter
is explained in the Bible in the most up-to-date manner. If I had read it before
I might have been warned' " (PrPr).
STRIKES HANDS: "It is interesting to note the
expression 'strike hands' in this connection. It suggests that without any
signature, the offering and acceptance of the hand would constitute a bond which
no one would repudiate. We may sometimes see in English cattle markets a custom
which is probably a survival of that to which the wise man refers. Two men will
be haggling over the price of a beast. Finally the vendor, having made a
concession, declares that he will take nothing less. He holds out his right
hand, stating the price, and perhaps with quite a dramatic indication of
finality. The buyer, with no show of enthusiasm, and without saying a word,
strikes the outstretched hand with his own palm and the sale is effected. Surely
a survival from three thousand years or more" (PrPr).
Pro 22:28
ANCIENT BOUNDARY STONE: As the landmarks, or bounds, of
the land when divided amongst tribes and families, etc. Cp Deu 19:14; 27:17; Hos
5:10.