Proverbs 29:11 Komentář

Here, 1. The obstinacy of many wicked people in a wicked way is to be greatly lamented. They are often reproved by parents and friends, by magistrates and ministers, by the providence of God and by their own consciences, have had their sins set in order before them and fair warning given them of the consequences of them, but all in vain; they harden their necks. Perhaps they fling away, and will not so much as give the reproof a patient hearing; or, if they do, yet they go on in the sins for which they are reproved; they will not bow their necks to the yoke, but are children of Belial; they refuse reproof (Pro 10:17), despise it (Pro 5:12), hate it, Pro 12:1. 2. The issue of this obstinacy is to be greatly dreaded: Those that go on in sin, in spite of admonition, shall be destroyed; those that will not be reformed must expect to be ruined; if the rods answer not the end, expect the axes. They shall be suddenly destroyed, in the midst of their security, and without remedy; they have sinned against the preventing remedy, and therefore let them not expect any recovering remedy. Hell is remediless destruction. They shall be destroyed, and no healing, so the word is. If God wounds, who can heal?

Note, 1. It is a piece of weakness to be very open: He is a fool who utters all his mind, - who tells every thing he knows, and has in his mouth instantly whatever he has in his thoughts, and can keep no counsel, - who, whatever is started in discourse, quickly shoots his bolt, - who, when he is provoked, will say any thing that comes uppermost, whoever is reflected upon by it, - who, when he is to speak of any business, will say all he thinks, and yet never thinks he says enough, whether choice or refuse, corn or chaff, pertinent or impertinent, you shall have it all. 2. It is a piece of wisdom to be upon the reserve: A wise man will not utter all his mind at once, but will take time for a second thought, or reserve the present thought for a fitter time, when it will be more pertinent and likely to answer his intention; he will not deliver himself in a continued speech, or starched discourse, but with pauses, that he may hear what is to be objected and answer it. Non minus interdum oratorium est tacere quam dicere - True oratory requires an occasional pause. Plin. Ep. 7.6.

He that being often reported hardeneth his neck,.... Or "a man of reproofs" (d); either a man that takes upon him to be a censurer and reprover of others, and is often at that work, and yet does those things himself which he censures and reproves in others; and therefore must have an impudent face and a hard heart a seared conscience and a stiff neck; his neck must be an iron sinew and his brow brass: or rather a man that is often reproved by others by parents by ministers of the Gospel, by the Lord himself, by the admonitions of his word and Spirit and by the correcting dispensations of his providence; and yet despises and rejects all counsel and admonition, instruction and reproofs of every kind, and hardens himself against them and shows no manner of regard unto them. The metaphor is taken from oxen, which kick and toss about and will not suffer the yoke to be put upon their necks. Such an one shall suddenly be destroyed; or "broken" (e); as a potter's vessel is broken to pieces with an iron rod, and can never he put together again; so such persons shall be punished with everlasting destruction, which shall come upon them suddenly, when they are crying Peace to themselves notwithstanding the reproofs of God and men; and that without remedy; or, "and there is no healing" (f); no cure of their disease, which is obstinate; no pardon of their sins; no recovery of them out of their miserable and undone state and condition; they are irretrievably lost; there is no help for them, having despised advice and instruction; see Pro 5:12. (d) "vir increpationum", Vatablus, Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus; "vir correptionum", Piscator, Michaelis; "vir redargutionum", Schultens. (e) "conteretur", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, &c. "confringetur", Schultens; so Baynus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius. (f) "et non (erit) sanitas", Pagninus, Montanus, Baynus; "non sit curatio", Junius & Tremellius; "medicina", Piscator.

A fool uttereth all his mind,.... At once; tells all he knows, all that is in his breast; whatever he thinks, and all that he intends to do; what or whom he loves or hates. Or, "a fool brings out all his wrath"; so the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions: he cannot restrain it, nor hide it; it breaks out at once, even all of it, and is soon known, as in Pro 12:16; but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards; reserves his mind, and thoughts, and designs, to himself; and does not discover them until a proper opportunity offers, when to disclose them is most to advantage; or he restrains his wrath and anger, defers showing it to a proper time, when it may answer a better purpose, and he may do it without sin.

It behooves us, therefore, to contain every movement of wrath and to temper it with discretion as our guide lest, overcome with rage, we be swept up into what is condemned by Solomon: “The wicked person expends his anger all at once, but the wise person dispenses it gradually.” That is to say, in the heat of his anger the fool is inflamed to revenge himself, but by mature deliberation and moderation the wise person slowly diminishes and releases his. .

We ought then to restrain every movement of anger and moderate it under the direction of discretion, that we may not by blind rage be hurried into that which is condemned by Solomon: “The wicked man expends all his anger, but the wise man dispenses it bit by bit.” That is to say, a fool is inflamed by the passion of his anger to avenge himself; but a wise man, by the maturity of his reflection and moderation, diminishes it little by little and gets rid of it.

Let the impatient hear what is said again through Solomon; A fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man putteth it off, and reserves it until afterwards. For one is so driven by the impulse of impatience as to utter forth the whole mind, which the perturbation within throws out the more quickly for this reason, that no discipline of wisdom fences it round. But the wise man puts it off, and reserves it till afterwards. For, when injured, he desires not to avenge himself at the present time, because in his tolerance he even wishes that men should be spared; but yet he is not ignorant that all things are righteously avenged at the last judgment.

The fool utters all his spirit. Driven by impatience, the whole spirit is uttered outwardly. It is thus more quickly expelled by disturbance because no inner discipline of wisdom restrains it.

But the wise man defers and reserves it for the future. For when harmed, he does not desire to avenge himself at present, because even while suffering, he chooses to endure, yet he does not ignore that everything will be avenged in the final judgment. The ancient translation has this passage thus: The impious man utters all his anger, but the wise man measures it out by parts, because surely the fool is inflamed by disturbance for his own vengeance; the wise man, however, gradually diminishes and expels it with the maturity of advice and moderation.

(Pro. 29:1-27) hardeneth . . . neck--obstinately refuses counsel (Kg2 17:14; Neh 9:16). destroyed--literally, "shivered" or "utterly broken to pieces." without remedy--literally, "without healing" or repairing.

(Compare Pro 12:16; Pro 16:32). mind--or, "spirit," for anger or any ill passion which the righteous restrain.

11 All his wrath the fool poureth out; But the wise man husheth it up in the background. That רוּחו is not meant here of his spirit (Luther) in the sense of quaecunque in mente habet (thus e.g., Fleischer) the contrast shows, for ישׁבּחנּה does not signify cohibet, for which יחשׁכנּה (lxx ταμιεύεται) would be the proper word: רוּח thus is not here used of passionate emotion, such as at Pro 16:31; Isa 25:4; Isa 33:11. שׁבּח is not here equivalent to Arab. sabbah, αἰνεῖν (Imman., Venet., and Heidenheim), which does not supply an admissible sense, but is equivalent to Arab. sabbakh, to quiet (Ahron b. Josef: קטפיאון = καταπαύειν), the former going back to the root-idea of extending (amplificare), the latter to that of going to a distance, putting away: sabbakh, procul recessit, distitit, hence שׁבּח, Psa 89:10, and here properly to drive off into the background, synon. השׁיב (Fleischer). But בּאחור (only here with ב) is ambiguous. One might with Rashi explain: but the wise man finally, or afterwards (Symmachus, ἐπ ̓ ἐσχάτων; Venet. κατόπιν = κατόπισθε), appeaseth the anger which the fool lets loose; i.e., if the latter gives vent to his anger, the former appeases, subdues, mitigates it (cf. בּאחרנה, לאחור, Isa 42:23). But it lies still nearer to refer the antithesis to the anger of the wise man himself; he does not give to it unbridled course, but husheth it in the background, viz., in his heart. Thus Syr. and Targ. reading בּרעינא, the former, besides יחשּׁבנּה (reputat eam), so also Aben Ezra: in the heart as the background of the organ of speech. Others explain: in the background, afterward, retrorsum, e.g., Nolde, but to which compescit would be more appropriate than sedat. Hitzig's objection, that in other cases the expression would be בּקרבּו, is answered by this, that with באחור the idea of pressing back (of אחוּר) is connected. The order of the words also is in favour of the meaning in recessu (cordis). Irae dilatio mentis pacatio (according to an old proverb).