Proverbs xiii.
Notes & Commentary:
Ver. 1. Doctrine.
Or he gives proof of his good education, (Calmet) and excites even his father to advance in piety. (Ven. Bede) --- Septuagint,
"is obedient to his father; but the disobedient son is in destruction." (Haydock)
Ver. 2. Mouth.
In reward of his good speeches. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "of justice the good man eateth; but the souls of the lawless perish
before the time," chap. xii. 13.
Ver. 3. Hath.
Hebrew, "who openeth his lips inconsiderately, is lost, Judges xi. 35. (Haydock)
Ver. 4. Willeth
not. Hebrew, "hath not." He only desires riches, or to be converted, and will not labour, chap. xxi. 25., and Ecclesiasticus
v. 8.
Ver. 5. Confounded.
The detractor is like swine, stirring up dirt. (St. Chrysostom, 32. ad Pop.) --- The liar is not believed, even when he speaks
the truth. (Aristotle)
Ver. 6. Sinner.
Symmachus, "draweth on sin." Virtue is the best safeguard.
Ver. 7. Riches.
Such was St. Paul, 2 Corinthians vi. 10. Some affect to be rich, while others are never satisfied. Semper avarus eget.
Lazarus was very rich in God's sight.
Ver. 8. Reprehension.
Or is not able to defend himself, like the rich. (Calmet) --- He is not exposed so much to great revolutions. (Bayn.)
Ver. 9. Out.
They are hated as well as their offspring. (Calmet)
Ver. 10. Contentions.
As none will yield. (Menochius) --- Hebrew, "only by pride cometh contention." (Protestants) --- "Pride is the mother of all
sects." (St. Augustine)
Ver. 11. Haste.
Hebrew, "by vanity," and injustice. Those who become rich on a sudden fall under suspicion, as a Roman objected to Sylla,
who had inherited nothing. (Plut.[Plutarch?]) --- By little. Hebrew, "he that gathereth by labour, (Septuagint, piety)
shall increase." (Protestants) (Haydock)
Ver. 12. Hope.
Septuagint, "(the just shews mercy and lends) better is he who begins heartily to assist, than he who promises and leads to
hope. For a bad (Grabe substitutes good) desire is a tree of life." --- Soul. Protestants, "maketh the heart sick."
(Haydock) --- The pain increases in proportion to our eager desire. Calvin maintains, that the souls of the blessed are not
yet in heaven, but hope: and of course he would establish a sort of purgatory for them. (Haydock)
Ver. 13. Come.
To defend what he has asserted, or to pass for a liar. Hebrew, "shall be destroyed by it." (Mont.[Montanus?]) (Haydock) ---
Those who despise God's order shall perish. --- Deceitful, &c. This is not in Hebrew, nor in some of the Latin
editions. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "to the deceitful son nothing shall be good. But the ways of the wise servant shall prosper,
and his paths shall be made straight," chap. xiv. 15. (Haydock)
Ver. 14. That.
Septuagint, "but the fool is slain in the snare." (Haydock)
Ver. 15. Grace.
God assists those who strive to be well instructed. (Calmet)
Ver. 17. Of
the. Hebrew, "a wicked ambassador." A king generally chooses people like himself. (Menochius) --- Septuagint have read
melec. "A rash king shall," &c.
Ver. 18. To
him. Hebrew, "destroy discipline," so that the most wretched are often noted for immorality. Septuagint, "instruction
takes away poverty," as "the whole earth supports the man that has a trade," technion, according to the
Greek proverb. (Calmet)
Ver. 19. That
is. Septuagint, "of the pious, but the works of the impious are far from knowledge." (Haydock)
Ver. 20. Become.
Septuagint, "be known." A person's disposition may be seen by the company which he frequents.
Ver. 22. Heirs.
This was more observable under the old law: yet we often see the distress to which the unjust are exposed. De male quæsitis
non gaudet tertius hæres. (Calmet)
Ver. 23. Fathers.
Heirs often lose their property by their misconduct. Hebrew and (Haydock) Chaldean read, "of the poor," who till their land
better than those who have too large farms. (Menochius) --- Nature requires but little. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "the just
shall spend many years in affluence: but the unjust are cut off at once." (Haydock)
Ver. 24. Betimes.
God has always treated his friends in this manner, to preserve them from sin, or to increase their reward. (Calmet)