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27:1 [Propter inopiam multi deliquerunt : et qui quaerit locupletari avertit oculum suum.
*H Through poverty many have sinned: and he that seeketh to be enriched, turneth away his eye.


Ver. 1. Poverty. Gr. "the indifferent thing," as the Stoics represented money. C. vii. 20. — Sinned. Hence proceeds the danger to which little merchants are exposed. Involuntary povery is very miserable. Prov. xxx. 9

27:2 Sicut in medio compaginis lapidum palus figitur, sic et inter medium venditionis et emptionis angustiabitur peccatum :
*H As a stake sticketh fast in the midst of the joining of stones, so also in the midst of selling and buying, sin shall stick fast.


Ver. 2. Fast. Anacharsis styled "the market-place the receptacle of mutual cheating." Laert. 1. — The seller praises his goods to get them off: (Hor.) the buyer says it is bad. Prov. xx. 14. The next verse is a gloss omitted in Gr. C.

27:3 conteretur cum delinquente delictum.
Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner.
27:4 Si non in timore Domini tenueris te instanter, cito subvertetur domus tua.]
*H Unless thou hold thyself diligently in the fear of the Lord, thy house shall quickly be overthrown.


Ver. 4. Fear. By this the soul is preserved in a good state. W.

27:5 [Sicut in percussura cribri remanebit pulvis, sic aporia hominis in cogitatu illius.
*H As when one sifteth with a sieve, the dust will remain: so will the perplexity of a man in his thoughts.


Ver. 5. Thoughts. The more he thinks on some things, the more is he perplexed. C. — After sin is purged away, there remains some defects like dust. Ps. l. 4. W.

27:6 Vasa figuli probat fornax, et homines justos tentatio tribulationis.
*H The furnace trieth the potter's vessels, and the trial of affliction just men.


Ver. 6. Affliction. Gr. "thought," (H.) or speech. C. — A young man being brought to Socrates, that he might pass judgment on his dispositions, the philosopher ordered him to "speak." Cic.

27:7 Sicut rusticatio de ligno ostendit fructum illius, sic verbum ex cogitatu cordis hominis.
*H As the dressing of a tree sheweth the fruit thereof, so a word out of the thought of the heart of man.


Ver. 7. As. Gr. "the fruit shews the dressing," &c.

27:8 Ante sermonem non laudes virum : haec enim tentatio est hominum.
Praise not a man before he speaketh, for this is the trial of men.
27:9 Si sequaris justitiam, apprehendes illam, et indues quasi poderem honoris : et inhabitabis cum ea, et proteget te in sempiternum, et in die agnitionis invenies firmamentum.
*H If thou followest justice, thou shalt obtain her: and shalt put her on as a long robe of honour, and thou shalt dwell with her: and she shall protect thee for ever, and in the day of acknowledgment thou shalt find a strong foundation.


Ver. 9. Honour. The desire of justice is the sure method to obtain it. The rest is not in Gr. H.

27:10 Volatilia ad sibi similia conveniunt : et veritas ad eos qui operantur illam revertetur.
Birds resort unto their like: so truth will return to them that practise her.
27:11 Leo venationi insidiatur semper : sic peccata operantibus iniquitates.
*H The lion always lieth in wait for prey: so do sins for them that work iniquities.


Ver. 11. Iniquities. They fall deeper, or sin entails punishment. C.

27:12 Homo sanctus in sapientia manet sicut sol : nam stultus sicut luna mutatur.
*H A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon.


Ver. 12. A. Gr. "the speech of the wise man is wisdom throughout: but," &c. H. — The fool always mixes something improper with what good he speaks. C. — Sun. The wise man preserves his virtue, whether it appear or not. W.

27:13 In medio insensatorum serva verbum tempori : in medio autem cogitantium assiduus esto.
*H In the midst of the unwise keep in the word till its time: but be continually among men that think.


Ver. 13. Keep. Gr. "wait an opportunity." H. — Go but seldom. Their discourse tends to promote iniquity, (v. 14.) and blasphemous oaths, (v. 15.) and bloodshed. v. 16. C.

27:14 Narratio peccantium odiosa, et risus illorum in deliciis peccati.
The discourse of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is at the pleasures of sin.
27:15 Loquela multum jurans horripilationem capiti statuet, et irreverentia ipsius obturatio aurium.
*H The speech that sweareth much shall make the hair of the head stand upright: and its irreverence shall make one stop his ears.


Ver. 15. Ears. The Jews did so, when they heard blasphemy. Acts vii. 56. M.

27:16 Effusio sanguinis in rixa superborum, et maledictio illorum auditus gravis.
In the quarrels of the road is the shedding of blood: and their cursing is a grievous hearing.
27:17 Qui denudat arcana amici fidem perdit, et non inveniet amicum ad animum suum.
*H He that discloseth the secret of a friend loseth his credit, and shall never find a friend to his mind.


Ver. 17. Mind. In Egypt, those who disclosed a secret to the enemy, were condemned to have their tongues cut out. Diod. ii. 2.

27:18 Dilige proximum, et conjungere fide cum illo.
Love thy neighbour, and be joined to him with fidelity.
27:19 Quod si denudaveris absconsa illius, non persequeris post eum.
*H But if thou discover his secrets, follow no more after him.


Ver. 19. Him. He will never trust thee more. v. 22.

27:20 Sicut enim homo qui perdit amicum suum, sic et qui perdit amicitiam proximi sui.
*H For as a man that destroyeth his friend, so is he that destroyeth the friendship of his neighbour.


Ver. 20. Friend. Sept. Rom. and Alex. "enemy." H. — This crime is like murder. The Romans sometimes solemnly renounced the friendship of those who had offended them, as Germanicus and Caius did that of Piso. Tacit. An. 2. Suet. 3.

27:21 Et sicut qui dimittit avem de manu sua, sic dereliquisti proximum tuum, et non eum capies.
And as one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou let thy neighbour go, and thou shalt not get him again.
27:22 Non illum sequaris, quoniam longe abest : effugit enim quasi caprea de laqueo, quoniam vulnerata est anima ejus :
*H Follow after him no more, for he is gone afar off, he is fled, as a roe escaped out of the snare because his soul is wounded.


Ver. 22. Because. Gr. "for one may bind up a wound, and an insult may be pardoned. But he who hath revealed secrets, hath lost all hope," (H.) or "confidence." v. 24. c. xxii. 27.

27:23 ultra eum non poteris colligare. Et maledicti est concordatio :
Thou canst no more bind him up. And of a curse there is reconciliation:
27:24 denudare autem amici mysteria, desperatio est animae infelicis.]
But to disclose the secrets of a friend, leaveth no hope to an unhappy soul.
27:25 [Annuens oculo fabricat iniqua, et nemo eum abjiciet.
*H He that winketh with the eye forgeth wicked things, and no man will cast him off:


Ver. 25. Off. Some Gr. copies have, "he who knows him will depart from him." It is difficult to guard against a false friend, who winks as if he desired to please us, (C.) while he really seeks our ruin. v. 26.

27:26 In conspectu oculorum tuorum condulcabit os suum, et super sermones tuos admirabitur : novissime autem pervertet os suum, et in verbis tuis dabit scandalum.
In the sight of thy eyes he will sweeten his mouth, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and on thy words he will lay a stumblingblock.
27:27 Multa odivi, et non coaequavi ei, et Dominus odiet illum.
I have hated many things but not like him, and the Lord will hate him.
27:28 Qui in altum mittit lapidem, super caput ejus cadet : et plaga dolosa dolosi dividet vulnera.
*H If one cast a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head: and the deceitful stroke will wound the deceitful.


Ver. 28. Wound. Gr. "deal wounds. He," &c. H. — Traitors, in the dark, often wound their fellows, (C.) or themselves. M.

27:29 Et qui foveam fodit incidet in eam : et qui statuit lapidem proximo offendet in eo : et qui laqueum alii ponit, peribit in illo.
*H He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that setteth a stone for his neighbour, shall stumble upon it: and he that layeth a snare for another, shall perish in it.


Ver. 29. Setteth. Gr. "layeth a snare, shall perish in it."

27:30 Facienti nequissimum consilium, super ipsum devolvetur, et non agnoscet unde adveniat illi.
*H A mischievous counsel shall be rolled back upon the author, and he shall not know from whence it cometh to him.


Ver. 30. Him. God will punish, when the sinner has perhaps forgotten his offence. C. — Such are often chastised here, and always hereafter. W.

27:31 Illusio et improperium superborum, et vindicta sicut leo insidiabitur illi.
Mockery and reproach are of the proud, and vengeance as a lion shall lie in wait for him.
27:32 Laqueo peribunt qui oblectantur casu justorum, dolor autem consumet illos antequam moriantur.]
They shall perish in a snare that are delighted with the fall of the just: and sorrow shall consume them before they die.
27:33 [Ira et furor utraque execrabilia sunt, et vir peccator continens erit illorum.]
*H Anger and fury are both of them abominable, and the sinful man shall be subject to them.


Ver. 33. Them. He shall feel the indignation of God, (C.) and shall repine. H.

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