Proverbs 22:18

22:17-21. To these words, to this knowledge, the ear must be bowed down, and the heart applied by faith and love. To live a life of delight in God and dependence on him, is the foundation of all practical religion. The way to know the certainty of the word of truth, is to make conscience of our duty. 22,23. He that robs and oppresses the poor, does so at his peril. And if men will not appear for them, God will. 24,25. Our corrupt hearts have so much tinder in them, that it is dangerous to have to do with those that throw about the sparks of their passion.

For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee,.... Or, "in thy belly" (a). That is, in thine heart, in the inmost recesses of it; where the words or doctrines of the wise should be received in the love of them, and carefully laid up and retained; which will upon reflection yield much pleasure, like Ezekiel's roll, which was in his belly as honey for sweetness; and which also is very profitable as an antidote against sin, Psalm 119:11 ; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips; become them, and be suitable and graceful to them: or, "shall be ordered and disposed in" or "by thy lips" (b); being received into the heart, and digested there, they shall easily and freely go off the tongue, which shall be as the pen of a ready writer; they shall be delivered in a regular manner, with great liberty and facility; by a good digestion of Gospel truths, and a comfortable experience of them, persons become apt to teach others. (a) "in ventre tuo", V. L. Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Mercerus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis, Schultens. (b) "disponantur", Vatablus.

(18) They shall withal be fitted in thy lips.— Rather, if they be established ( dwell constantly ) upon thy lips. They are to be as a watch, and “keep the door of his lips” against sin ( Psalm 141:3 ), to teach him what to say in difficulty ( Mark 13:11 ), how to speak without fear even before kings ( Psalm 119:46 ); by them the “praises of God” will ever be in his mouth ( Psalm 149:6 ).

If thou keep them, the words of the wise, within thee, Heb. in thy belly . i.e. in thine heart, which implies receiving them in love, and retaining them in mind and memory. Be fitted; be fitly expressed; or, be disposed or ordered . The sense is, When thou hast got them into thine heart, thou wilt be able and ready to discourse pertinently and profitably of them.

Verse 18. - This verse gives the reason for the previous exhortation. It is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; in thy mind and memory (comp. Proverbs 18:8 ; Proverbs 20:27 ). Thus Psalm 147:1 , "It is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely." They shall withal be fitted in thy lips. This rendering hardly suits the hortatory nature of the introduction. It is better to take the clause in the optative, as Delitzsch, Ewald, Nowack, and ethers: "Let them abide altogether upon thy lips;" i.e. be not ashamed to profess them openly, let them regulate thy words, teach thee wisdom and discretion. Septuagint, "And if thou admit them to thy heart, they shall likewise gladden thee on thy lips." Proverbs 22:18

Proverbs 22:17-21 , forming the introduction to this appendix, are these Words of the Wise: 17 Incline thine ear and hear the words of the wise, And direct thine heart to my knowledge! 18 For it is pleasant if thou keep them in thine heart; Let them abide together on thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be placed in Jahve, I have taught thee to-day, even thee! 20 Have not I written unto thee choice proverbs, Containing counsels and knowledge, 21 To make thee to know the rule of the words of truth, That thou mightest bring back words which are truth to them that send thee? From Proverbs 10:1 to Proverbs 22:16 are the "Proverbs of Solomon," and not "The Words of the Wise;" thus the above παραίνεσις is not an epilogue, but a prologue to the following proverbs. The perfects הודעתּיך and כתבתּי refer, not to the Solomonic proverbial discourses, but to the appendix following them; the preface commends the worth and intention of this appendix, and uses perfects because it was written after the forming of the collection. The author of this preface (vid., pp. 23, 36, vol. i.) is no other than the author of chap. 1-9. The הט (with Mehuppach, after Thorath Emeth, p. 27) reminds us of Proverbs 4:20; Proverbs 5:1.

The phrase שׁית לב, animum advertere, occurs again in the second appendix, Proverbs 24:32. נעים is repeated at Proverbs 23:8; Proverbs 24:4; but נעם with נעם is common in the preface, chap. 1-9. כּי־נעים contains, as at Psalm 135:3; Psalm 147:1, its subject in itself. כּי־תּשׁמרם is not this subject: this that thou preservest them, which would have required rather the infin. שׁמרם (Psalm 133:1) or לשׁמרם; but it supposes the case in which appears that which is amiable and praiseworthy: if thou preservest them in thy heart, i.e., makest them thoughtfully become thy mental possession. The suffix ēm refers to the Words of the Wise, and mediately also to לדעתּי, for the author designates his practical wisdom דעתי, which is laid down in the following proverbs, which, although not composed by him, are yet penetrated by his subjectivity. Regarding בּטן, which, from meaning the inner parts of the body, is transferred to the inner parts of the mind, vid., under Proverbs 20:27. The clause 18b, if not dependent on כי, would begin with ויכּנוּ. The absence of the copula and the antecedence of the verb bring the optative rendering nearer. Different is the syntactical relation of Proverbs 5:2, where the infin. is continued in the fin. The fut. Niph. יכּנוּ, which, Proverbs 4:27, meant to be rightly placed, rightly directed, here means: to stand erect, to have continuance, stabilem esse.