King James Version
Proverbs 1
33 verses with commentary
The Purpose of Proverbs
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
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KJV Study Commentary
This opening verse establishes Solomon's authorship and divine authority. The Hebrew 'mashal' (proverbs) denotes not mere sayings but wisdom distilled through divine revelation. Solomon's God-given wisdom (1 Kings 3:12) qualifies him to instruct in righteousness, demonstrating that true wisdom flows from God's sovereign gift, not human achievement.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**1.—INTRODUCTION DESCRIBING THE PURPOSE OF THE BOOK** (Proverbs 1:1-6).
(1) **Proverbs.**—For the various senses of the Hebrew *māshāl *thus translated, see Introduction.
**Solomon.—**The absolute quiet and prosperity of the reign of Solomon (the man of peace), as described in 1Kings 4:20, *sqq., *would naturally be conducive to the growth of a sententious philosophy; whereas the constant wars an...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. The person is again changed. The Messiah's conquests are described, though His work and God's are the same. As after a battle, whose field is strewn with corpses, the conqueror ascends the seat of empire, so shall He "judge," or "rule," among many nations, and subdue
**the head--**or (as used collectively for "many") "the heads," over many lands.
**wound--**literally, "smite," or "crush" (c...
Read full commentary →To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
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KJV Study Commentary
The threefold purpose—wisdom, instruction, and understanding—reveals progressive sanctification. The Hebrew 'musar' (instruction) implies discipline and correction, essential for Reformed understanding of growth in grace. Wisdom is not merely intellectual but transformative, reshaping the whole person according to God's design.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **To know.—**That is, they are written that one may know. The writer in this and the following verses heaps up synonyms with which to bring out the wide purpose of the instruction he offers.
**Wisdom **(*chokhmah*)*.—*The original meaning of this word is “firmness,” “solidity,” having an opinion based upon sound reasons; the opposite state of mind to being “carried about with every wind of doc...
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7. As a conqueror, "faint, yet pursuing" [Jud 8:4], He shall be refreshed by the brook in the way, and pursue to completion His divine and glorious triumphs.
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; equity: Heb. equities
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KJV Study Commentary
Justice, judgment, and equity reflect God's moral character and His covenant requirements. The Hebrew terms emphasize both vertical righteousness (toward God) and horizontal justice (toward neighbors), fulfilling the twofold love command anticipated in the OT. Reformed theology sees these virtues as fruits of regeneration, not means to earn favor.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **To receive the instruction of wisdom.—**To take in, or appropriate, the “discipline” which results in “prudence” (*haskēl*) or practical wisdom; so David “behaved himself wisely” (1Samuel 18:5).
**Equity.**—Literally, *what is straight, *so true, honest.
To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. discretion: or, advisement
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse identifies wisdom's intended recipients: the simple (peti - naive, easily seduced) who need prudence (ormah - shrewdness, discretion), and youth who need knowledge and discretion. The 'simple' aren't morally corrupt but lack experience and discernment, making them vulnerable to folly. Wisdom literature aims to equip the inexperienced with practical godliness before life's hard lessons t...
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(4) **Subtilty **(‘*Ormah*)*.*—Used in a bad sense (Exodus 21:14) for “guile.” For the meaning here, comp. Matthew 10:16 : “Be ye wise as serpents;” comp. also the reproof of Luke 16:8, that “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light;” and St. Paul’s advice to “redeem the time “(Ephesians 5:16), *i.e., *seize opportunities for good.
**Simple.**—Literally, ...
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PSALM 111 Psa 111:1-10. The Psalmist celebrates God's gracious dealings with His people, of which a summary statement is given.
**1. Praise ye the Lord--**or, Hallelujah (Psa 104:35). This seems to serve as a title to those of the later Psalms, which, like this, set forth God's gracious government and its blessed fruits. This praise claims the
**whole heart--**(Psa 86:12), and is rendered publi...
Read full commentary →A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
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KJV Study Commentary
True wisdom paradoxically increases the wise person's hunger for more knowledge. This counters both arrogant complacency and despairing ignorance. The 'wise counsel' (Hebrew 'tachbulot') suggests skilled navigation, showing that growth in wisdom enables better life stewardship under God's providence.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **A wise man will hear.—**That is, if he listen to these proverbs. (Comp. Proverbs 9:9.) It is not the young only who will derive profit from them.
**A man of understanding.—**Or rather, *of discernment.*
**Wise counsels.**—Literally, *arts of seamanship: i.e., *guiding himself and others aright through the “waves of this troublesome world.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. His works, that is, of providence and grace are
**sought--**or, carefully studied, by all desiring to know them.
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. the interpretation: or, an eloquent speech
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KJV Study Commentary
Understanding proverbs (mashal - comparisons, parables), dark sayings (chidah - riddles, enigmas), and wise men's words requires interpretive skill. This verse acknowledges that wisdom literature demands careful study, not casual reading. The 'dark sayings' aren't deliberately obscure but express profound truth through figurative language requiring meditation and Spirit-illumination. Reformed herm...
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(6) **Interpretation.—**Or an obscure thing which needs interpretation, so corresponding to “dark sayings.”
**Dark sayings.—**Literally *knots, *intricate sayings, like Samson’s riddle (Judges 14:12).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3-4. honourable and glorious--**literally, "honor and majesty," which illustrate His glorious perfections.
**righteousness--**(Psa 7:17; 31:1), which He has made memorable by wonders of love and mercy, in supplying the wants of His people according to covenant engagements.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. the beginning: or, the principal part
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KJV Study Commentary
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. This foundational verse establishes the epistemological principle undergirding all biblical wisdom. The Hebrew 'yir'ah' (יִרְאָה) denotes not terror but reverential awe, worship, and submission to God's authority. 'Beginning' (רֵאשִׁית/re'shit) means not merely the starting point chronologically but the chief principle, the foundation upon which ...
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**2.—FIFTEEN DIDACTIC POEMS, OR DISCOURSES ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS** (Proverbs 1:7 to Proverbs 9:18).
(*a*)* First Discourse:*—*Against Companionship in Robbery *(Proverbs 1:7-19).
(7) **The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.**—The first discourse is prefaced by a distich, which serves as a key-note to all the teaching of the book. This expression, “the fear of the Lord,” occurs thirteen ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3-4. honourable and glorious--**literally, "honor and majesty," which illustrate His glorious perfections.
**righteousness--**(Psa 7:17; 31:1), which He has made memorable by wonders of love and mercy, in supplying the wants of His people according to covenant engagements.
Warning Against Enticement
My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
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KJV Study Commentary
Father and mother both bear responsibility for covenant instruction, reflecting the family's role as primary discipleship context. The Hebrew imperative 'hear' demands active obedience, not passive listening. This anticipates Ephesians 6:1-4, where parental authority is delegated from God and exercised under His lordship.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **My** **son.—**The address as of a master to his pupil. This phrase only occurs twice again in Proverbs, excepting in sections (2) and (4).
**Law.**—Rather, *teaching. *(Comp. Proverbs 3:1.)
For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. an: Heb. an adding
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KJV Study Commentary
The imagery of ornamental grace speaks to wisdom's beautifying effect on character. Just as external adornment was visible, so wisdom creates observable transformation. This prefigures the NT teaching that godliness adorns doctrine (Titus 2:10), making the gospel attractive through sanctified living.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Ornament of grace.—**Given by Wisdom. (Comp. Proverbs 4:9.)
**Chains about thy neck.—**The reward of Joseph (Genesis 41:42) and of Daniel (Daniel 5:29).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-8. His power was shown especially in giving them the promised land, and His faithfulness and justice thus displayed are, like His precepts, reliable and of permanent obligation.
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse addresses the fundamental issue of peer pressure and moral influence. The imperative 'consent thou not' (אַל־תֹּבֵא/al-tove) is emphatic—absolutely refuse. The Hebrew verb 'abah' means to be willing, to consent, to acquiesce. The warning assumes that sinners will indeed 'entice' (יְפַתּוּךָ/yefatucha)—attempt to seduce through persuasive words and attractive promises. The verb 'pathah' ...
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(10) **If sinners entice thee.—**A warning against taking part in brigandage, a crime to which Palestine was at all times peculiarly exposed, from the wild character of its formation, and from its neighbourhood to predatory tribes, who would invade the country whenever the weakness of the government gave them an opening. The insecurity to life and property thus occasioned would provide a tempting ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-8. His power was shown especially in giving them the promised land, and His faithfulness and justice thus displayed are, like His precepts, reliable and of permanent obligation.
If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
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KJV Study Commentary
Wisdom personified quotes the enticement of sinners: 'Come with us, let us lay wait for blood.' This reveals sin's communal nature—evil loves company and recruits accomplices. The graphic 'lay wait for blood' exposes violence underlying greed. Sin presents itself attractively ('come with us') while concealing its murderous reality. The Reformed understanding recognizes total depravity makes humans...
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(11) **Without cause.—**To be taken with “lurk.” Though he has done us no harm.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-8. His power was shown especially in giving them the promised land, and His faithfulness and justice thus displayed are, like His precepts, reliable and of permanent obligation.
Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
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KJV Study Commentary
The enticement continues with vivid imagery: 'swallow them up alive as the grave.' This compares victims to those going down alive into Sheol, emphasizing sudden, complete destruction. The phrase 'whole, as those that go down into the pit' pictures violent death's totality. This exposes greed's insatiable appetite—it consumes victims entirely. The imagery prefigures Hell's eternal destruction, sho...
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(12) **Alive.**—Comp. the death of Dathan and Abiram (Numbers 16:30).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. The deliverance He provided accorded to His established covenant. Thus He manifested Himself in the sum of His perfections (Psa 20:1, 7; 22:3) worthy of reverence.
We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
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KJV Study Commentary
The enticement's promise: 'We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil.' Greed appeals through materialism's false promise—wealth will satisfy and security will follow. The emphasis on 'all' and 'fill' reveals covetousness' illusion of ultimate satisfaction through accumulation. Yet Ecclesiastes declares such pursuits vanity. Only God satisfies the human heart; materi...
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10. And hence love and fear of such a God is the chief element of true wisdom (compare Pr 1:7; 9:10).
Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
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KJV Study Commentary
The final enticement: 'Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse.' This promise of communal sharing and equal distribution appeals to fairness and brotherhood. Yet this 'brotherhood' is founded on violence and theft. The single purse represents socialist equality in distribution of stolen goods. This exposes how evil can co-opt good concepts (sharing, community) for wicked purposes. True...
Read full commentary →My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
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KJV Study Commentary
Separation from evil requires decisive action, not gradual distancing. The Hebrew 'al-telekh' (do not walk) commands complete abstention from the wicked's path. Reformed theology recognizes believers are called to antithesis—living distinctly from the world's wisdom while engaging it missionally. The 'foot' imagery suggests avoiding even the first step toward compromise.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 112 Psa 112:1-10. This Psalm may be regarded as an exposition of Psa 111:10, presenting the happiness of those who fear and obey God, and contrasting the fate of the ungodly.
1. True fear produces obedience and this happiness.
For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse describes sinners' eager rush toward evil - feet running swiftly to shed blood. The imagery emphasizes both enthusiasm and speed in pursuing wickedness. Quoting Isaiah 59:7, Paul applies this to universal human depravity (Rom 3:15). Natural human inclination runs toward evil, not good; only grace reverses this trajectory. The verse exposes sin's active, energetic nature - humans don't m...
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(16) **For their feet **. . .—The first reason against taking part with them: the horrible nature of the crime they are committing.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2-3. Temporal blessings follow the service of God, exceptions occurring only as they are seen by God to be inconsistent with those spiritual blessings which are better.
Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird . in the: Heb. in the eyes of every thing that hath a wing
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KJV Study Commentary
The proverb about spreading nets in birds' sight illustrates the folly of pursuing obvious traps. Birds avoid visible nets; yet sinners rush into evident dangers, blinded by greed and passion. The verse exposes sin's irrational nature - it makes people stupid, ignoring clear warnings of consequences. This demonstrates depravity's intellectual dimension - sin darkens understanding, making people em...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Surely in vain **. . .—The second reason: their folly in so doing, for God will bring punishment upon them; in the “same net which they hid privily will their foot be taken “(Psalm 9:15). Even birds are wiser than they. It is useless to spread a net in the sight of any bird.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2-3. Temporal blessings follow the service of God, exceptions occurring only as they are seen by God to be inconsistent with those spiritual blessings which are better.
And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
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KJV Study Commentary
Solomon's commentary on the enticement: 'And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.' The irony is devastating—sinners think they're hunting victims but are actually destroying themselves. The boomerang of sin returns to the sender. This reflects the lex talionis (law of retaliation) principle: violent sin produces violent judgment. God's moral universe ensures th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **And they lay wait.—**Yet they cannot see that in truth they are laying wait, not for the innocent, but for themselves, as God will deliver him, and bring the mischief they designed for him upon their own head.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. light--**figurative for relief (Psa 27:1; 97:11).
**the upright--**are like God (Lu 6:36; Psa 111:4).
So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
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KJV Study Commentary
The conclusion: greedy gain (betsa - unjust profit, covetousness) takes the life of its possessors. The Hebrew wordplay suggests those who grasp at gain are themselves grasped by death. Greed doesn't merely risk life but actively destroys it - ill-gotten wealth becomes the instrument of the wicked's demise. This principle warns that covetousness is suicidal, contradicting the lie that wealth obtai...
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(19) **So are the ways **. . .—The conclusion of the discourse. The same phrase occurs in Job 8:13.
**Which taketh away **. . .—That is, covetousness takes away the life of him who has this vice in his heart, who is, according to the Hebrew idiom, the “owner” of it. (Comp. similar expressions in Proverbs 22:24; Proverbs 23:2, where an “angry” man and a man “given to appetite” are literally an *own...
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5-9. Generosity, sound judgment in business, and confidence in God, form a character which preserves from fear of evil and ensures success against enemies. While a man thus truly pious is liberal, he increases in substance.
Wisdom's Call in the Streets
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: Wisdom: Heb. Wisdoms, that is, Excellent wisdom
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:</strong> This verse introduces the remarkable personification of Wisdom (<em>chokmah</em>, חָכְמָה) as a woman publicly proclaiming truth in the marketplace. Unlike the ancient Near Eastern mystery religions that concealed knowledge within temples and initiatory rites, biblical wisdom is publicly accessible, calling out in the m...
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(b)* Second Discourse:*—*Wisdom Addresses her Despisers *(Proverbs 1:20-33).
(20) **Wisdom.—**The form of the Hebrew term (*chokhmôth*) has been taken for an abstract singular noun, but probably it is the plural of *chokhmah *(Proverbs 1:2), signifying the multiform excellences of wisdom. It is possible that Solomon may have originally meant in this passage only to describe, in highly poetic langu...
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5-9. Generosity, sound judgment in business, and confidence in God, form a character which preserves from fear of evil and ensures success against enemies. While a man thus truly pious is liberal, he increases in substance.
She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
Wisdom 'crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words.' This personification shows wisdom actively seeking hearers in public spaces—not hidden but proclaimed openly. The marketplace, city gates, and public squares host wisdom's appeal. This demonstrates accessibility—no one can claim ignorance because wisdom wasn't available. God's truth i...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Crieth.**—She cannot bear to see sinners rushing madly on their doom. (Comp. Christ’s weeping over Jerusalem, Luke 19:41; and Romans 9:2, *sqq*; Philippians 3:18, *sqq.*)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-9. Generosity, sound judgment in business, and confidence in God, form a character which preserves from fear of evil and ensures success against enemies. While a man thus truly pious is liberal, he increases in substance.
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
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KJV Study Commentary
Wisdom poses three rhetorical questions targeting different categories of fools. The 'simple' (peti) love simplicity, 'scorners' (lets - mockers) delight in scorning, and 'fools' (kesil - dullards) hate knowledge. This taxonomy distinguishes the naive who lack wisdom, the proud who mock it, and the obstinate who actively oppose it. Each represents progressive hardening against truth. The questions...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **How long **. . .—Three classes of persons are here addressed: (1) *simple *ones, open to good influences, but also to evil (Proverbs 1:4); (2) *scorners *(*lētsîm*)*, *men who despised what was holy, priding themselves on their cleverness in so doing (Proverbs 14:6), who avoided the wise, and held themselves above their advice (Proverbs 15:12), proud, arrogant men (Proverbs 21:24). The name...
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5-9. Generosity, sound judgment in business, and confidence in God, form a character which preserves from fear of evil and ensures success against enemies. While a man thus truly pious is liberal, he increases in substance.
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's reproof is an act of grace, offering correction before judgment. The promise to 'pour out my spirit' anticipates the New Covenant's abundant Spirit-gifting (Joel 2:28). The Hebrew 'tokhakhat' (reproof) implies both rebuke and the reasoning that accompanies it, showing God deals with us as rational beings.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **I will pour out my spirit unto you.—**Comp. the prophecy of Joel 2:28, promised by our Lord (John 7:38-39), and fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2:17).
**I will make known my words unto you.—**For a similar promise that God’s will shall be revealed to those who fear and follow Him, comp. Psalm 25:14 : “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him;” and Christ’s promise: “If any man will do...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-9. Generosity, sound judgment in business, and confidence in God, form a character which preserves from fear of evil and ensures success against enemies. While a man thus truly pious is liberal, he increases in substance.
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;</strong> This verse begins Wisdom's pronouncement of judgment on those who reject her invitation (Proverbs 1:24-32). "I have called" uses the Hebrew <em>qara</em> (קָרָא), meaning to call out, proclaim, or summon—indicating clear, public, authoritative invitation. "Ye refused" employs <em>ma'an</em> (...
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(24) **Because I have called.—**Wisdom’s call having been rejected, she now changes her tone from “mercy” to “judgment” (Psalm 101:1). (Comp. Romans 10:21 : “All day long I have stretched forth my hands,” &c.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. Disappointed in their malevolent wishes by the prosperity of the pious, the wicked are punished by the working of their evil passions, and come to naught.
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
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KJV Study Commentary
Wisdom's indictment: 'But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof.' 'Set at nought' (Hebrew: para, reject, ignore) indicates willful disregard. The comprehensive 'all my counsel' shows total rejection, not merely selective listening. 'Would none' emphasizes volitional refusal—they could have received correction but chose not to. This describes the natural man's hostility...
Read full commentary →I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
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KJV Study Commentary
Wisdom's response to rejection: 'I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.' This shocking language describes divine response to persistent rebellion. God's 'laughter' represents judicial contempt for those who scorned His warnings. The 'mock' parallels their mockery of wisdom. This reflects lex talionis: as they treated wisdom, so wisdom treats them. This isn't caprici...
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(26) **I also will laugh . . . I will mock.—**For expressions like this, comp. Psalm 2:4; Psalm 37:13; Psalm 59:8, where the same actions are attributed to God. They are not to be taken literally, of course, for the sight of human folly can give no pleasure to Him. They signify that He will act as if He mocked when He refuses to hear their cry. Similar expressions, imputing human actions to the Al...
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PSALM 113 Psa 113:1-9. God's majesty contrasted with His condescension and gracious dealings towards the humble furnish matter and a call for praise. The Jews, it is said, used this and Psalms 114-118 on their great festivals, and called them the Greater Hallel, or Hymn.
1-3. Earnestness and zeal are denoted by the emphatic repetitions.
**servants of the Lord--**or, all the people of God.
**n...
Read full commentary →When your fear cometh as desolation , and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
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KJV Study Commentary
Wisdom describes the scope of coming judgment: 'When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.' The imagery escalates—desolation (complete waste), whirlwind (unstoppable force), distress and anguish (psychological torment). This comprehensive description shows judgment's totality. The temporal fulfillment warns of eternal...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 113 Psa 113:1-9. God's majesty contrasted with His condescension and gracious dealings towards the humble furnish matter and a call for praise. The Jews, it is said, used this and Psalms 114-118 on their great festivals, and called them the Greater Hallel, or Hymn.
1-3. Earnestness and zeal are denoted by the emphatic repetitions.
**servants of the Lord--**or, all the people of God.
**n...
Read full commentary →Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
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KJV Study Commentary
The consequence of rejection: 'Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.' This describes the terrifying reversal—when judgment comes, prayers go unanswered. The 'then' indicates too late; the time for mercy has passed. 'Seek me early' (diligently) shows desperate seeking, yet futile. This reflects Hebrews 12:17—Esau found no place fo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Then shall they call upon me.—**They did not call upon Him in an “acceptable time,” in “a day of salvation” (Isaiah 49:8), while He was “near” (Isaiah 55:6); so at last the master of the house has “risen up, and shut-to the door” (Luke 13:25), and will not listen to their cries.
**They shall seek me early.—**As God had done, “daily rising up early,” and sending the prophets unto them (Jerem...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 113 Psa 113:1-9. God's majesty contrasted with His condescension and gracious dealings towards the humble furnish matter and a call for praise. The Jews, it is said, used this and Psalms 114-118 on their great festivals, and called them the Greater Hallel, or Hymn.
1-3. Earnestness and zeal are denoted by the emphatic repetitions.
**servants of the Lord--**or, all the people of God.
**n...
Read full commentary →For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
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KJV Study Commentary
The rejected generation hated knowledge and refused to choose fear of YHWH. The language of 'choosing' emphasizes volitional rebellion - they could have chosen rightly but refused. This refutes deterministic fatalism while affirming human moral agency within divine sovereignty. Hating knowledge and rejecting God's fear aren't passive ignorance but active rebellion. Their destruction is just becaus...
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4-6. God's exaltation enhances His condescension;
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
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KJV Study Commentary
Wisdom explains why prayers won't be answered: 'They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.' The repetition from v. 25 emphasizes the cause-effect relationship. Their comprehensive rejection ('none... all') produced comprehensive abandonment. 'Despised' (Hebrew: na'ats, reject with contempt) shows active scorn, not mere neglect. God's judicial abandonment matches their volitional ...
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4-6. God's exaltation enhances His condescension;
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
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KJV Study Commentary
The harvest of rejection: 'Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.' The agricultural metaphor shows that choices produce corresponding consequences. 'Eat... fruit' pictures consuming the results of one's actions. 'Filled' suggests inescapable saturation in consequences. 'Their own' emphasizes self-inflicted nature of judgment. This reflects Gal...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-6. God's exaltation enhances His condescension;
For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. turning: or, ease of the simple
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KJV Study Commentary
The turning away (meshuvah - apostasy, backsliding) of the simple slays them, and the prosperity (shalvah - ease, carelessness) of fools destroys them. Success without wisdom proves fatal - prosperity breeds complacency, which breeds destruction. This paradox warns that worldly success can be spiritually lethal, producing false security that prevents seeking God. Reformed theology recognizes prosp...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **The turning away of the simple **. . .—*i.e., *from God. (Comp. Jeremiah 2:19.)
**Prosperity of fools**—*i.e., *the security, apathy of dull, stupid people (*khesîlîm*)*, *who cannot believe that God will fulfil His threatenings. (Comp. Psalms 73 throughout.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7-8. which condescension is illustrated as often in raising the worthy poor and needy to honor (compare 1Sa 2:8; Psa 44:25).
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Security rests not in circumstances but in covenant relationship with God. The one who heeds wisdom 'shall dwell safely' (Hebrew 'betach'), the same word used for trusting God. This security encompasses both temporal protection and eternal salvation, both gifts of sovereign grace, not earned rewards.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **Shall dwell safely **. . .—Comp. Psalms 37 throughout for similar promises.
**Shall be quiet from fear of evil—**Comp. Ps. cxii 7: “He shall not be afraid of any evil tidings,” &c
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7-8. which condescension is illustrated as often in raising the worthy poor and needy to honor (compare 1Sa 2:8; Psa 44:25).