Proverbs 22:21

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.

That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth,.... Such are the doctrines of the Gospel; they are "the words of truth"; are written in the Scriptures of truth; come from the God of truth; the subject matter of which is Christ, who is the truth, and which the Spirit of truth leads into: there is a "certainty" in these; they are in the sure word of prophecy; are contained in the inspired and infallible word of God, and are no other than the Gospel of God; nothing is more sure than that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and truly and properly God; and that salvation is alone by him; and that whoever believes in him shall be saved; with many other things, which ministers of the word should affirm with boldness and assurance; and which others may come to a certain knowledge of, even to the riches of a full assurance of understanding; and which is the end of their being written in the word, and made known in the ministry of it; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee; or, "return" (e) them to those that send to know what are the words of truth; that inquire concerning them with meekness and fear, and to whom a reason of the hope is to be given; as such are capable of, who have had the certainty of these words made known unto them, or who have been assured of the truth of them: and so Jarchi interprets it, to them that ask of thee instruction; as if it was written, as Lyra says it should, "to them that inquire of thee"

. It may be rendered, "to them that send thee" (f); to search for those things, and get the knowledge of them, in order to communicate them, which, when obtained, may be done. Unless God, Father, Son, and Spirit, should be intended, who are concerned in the sending of ministers to preach the Gospel to men; to whom they are to return an account of the words of truth, and of their dispensation of them to the souls of men; which when faithfully done, and success, they give up their account with joy, and not with grief. (e) (f) "qui miserunt te", V. L. "mittentibus te", Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis, so Aben Ezra; "missoribus tui", Schultens.

(21) That thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?— This rendering is somewhat doubtful, but seems to give the best sense to the passage. The scholar is to be instructed not for his own profit alone, but in order that he may be able to teach others also. (Comp. 1Peter 3:15 .)

21 . send unto thee ] Rather, send thee , with A.V. marg. and R.V. The verse is well rendered in the Rel. Tract. Society’s Annotated Bible: “To teach thee truth, even words of faithfulness; That thou mayest bring back faithful words to them that send thee”; i.e. to train thee in truthfulness, that thou mayest be faithful and trustworthy in whatever business thou art employed.

That I may make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that I may teach thee, not false, or vain, or uncertain things, as the teachers of the heathen nations do, but the true and infallible oracles of God. That thou mightest answer the words of truth; that being instructed by me, thou mayst be able to give true, and solid, and satisfactory answers. To them that send unto thee, to wit, for thine advice in great and difficult matters. Or, to those that send thee , i.e. that employ the in any business of moment, whereof they expect an account from thee.

Verse 21. - That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth. The object intended is to teach the disciple the fixed rule ( firmitatem , Vulgate) by which truthful words are guided (see Luke 1:4 ). Septuagint, "I therefore teach thee a true word and knowledge good to learn." That thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee. This implies that the pupil will be enabled to teach others who apply to him for instruction; "will be ready." as St. Peter says, "always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you" ( 1 Peter 3:15 ). But the last expression is better translated, "them that send thee;" illis qui miserunt te , Vulgate (see Proverbs 25:13 ); and we must conceive of these as being parents or tutors who send a youth to a school or wise man to be educated. The moralist expresses his desire that the disciple will carry home such wholesome, truthful doctrines as will prove that the pains expended upon him have not been useless. Septuagint, "That thou mayest answer words of truth to those who put questions to thee ( τοῖς προβαλλομένοις σοι )" The Syriac adds, "That I may make known unto thee counsel and wisdom." Bickell's version (quoted by Cheyne) is, "That thou mayest know the rightness of these words, that thou mayest answer in true words to them that ask thee." Proverbs 22:21

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.