29 The evil-doer makes his face hard, but as for the upright, he gives thought to his way.
The righteousness of the good man will make his way straight, but the sin of the evil-doer will be the cause of his fall.
If only my ways were ordered so that I might keep your rules!
Happy is the man in whom is the fear of the Lord at all times; but he whose heart is hard will come into trouble.
A man hating sharp words and making his heart hard, will suddenly be broken and will not be made well again.
Let your eyes be lifted up to the open hilltops, and see; where have you not been taken by your lovers? You have been seated waiting for them by the wayside like an Arabian in the waste land; you have made the land unclean with your loose ways and your evil-doing. So the showers have been kept back, and there has been no spring rain; still your brow is the brow of a loose woman, you will not let yourself be shamed.
O Lord, do not your eyes see good faith? you have given them punishment, but they were not troubled; you have sent destruction on them, but they did not take your teaching to heart: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they would not come back.
Let them be put to shame because they have done disgusting things. They had no shame, they were not able to become red with shame: so they will come down with those who are falling: in the time of their punishment they will be made low, says the Lord.
As for the word which you have said to us in the name of the Lord, we will not give ear to you. But we will certainly do every word which has gone out of our mouths, burning perfumes to the queen of heaven and draining out drink offerings to her as we did, we and our fathers and our kings and our rulers, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then we had food enough and did well and saw no evil.
Because he had fear and was turned away from all the wrong which he had done, life will certainly be his, death will not be his fate.
For this cause the Lord of armies has said, Give thought to your ways.
And now, give thought, looking back from this day to the time before one stone was put on another in the Temple of the Lord:
And now, give thought; looking on from this day, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the time when the base of the Lord's house was put in its place, give thought to it. Is the seed still in the store-house? have the vine and the fig-tree, the pomegranate and the olive-tree, still not given their fruit? from this day I will send my blessing on you.
But when he came to his senses, he said, What numbers of my father's servants have bread enough, and more, while I am near to death here through need of food! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have done wrong, against heaven and in your eyes:
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Proverbs 21
Commentary on Proverbs 21 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 21
Pro 21:1
Note,
Pro 21:2
Note,
Pro 21:3
Here,
Pro 21:4
This may be taken as showing us,
Pro 21:5
Here is,
Pro 21:6
This shows the folly of those that hope to enrich themselves by dishonest practices, by oppressing and over-reaching those with whom they deal, by false-witness-bearing, or by fraudulent contracts, of those that make no scruples of lying when there is any thing to be got by it. They may perhaps heap up treasures by these means, that which they make their treasure; but,
Pro 21:7
See here,
Pro 21:8
This shows that as men are so is their way.
Pro 21:9
See here,
Pro 21:10
See here the character of a very wicked man.
Pro 21:11
This we had before (ch. 19:25), and it shows that there are two ways by which the simple may be made wise:-
Pro 21:12
Pro 21:13
Here we have the description and doom of an uncharitable man.
Pro 21:14
Here is,
Pro 21:15
Note,
Pro 21:16
Here is,
Pro 21:17
Here is an argument against a voluptuous luxurious life, taken from the ruin it brings upon men's temporal interests. Here is
Pro 21:18
This intimates,
Pro 21:19
Note,
Pro 21:20
Note,
Pro 21:21
See here,
Pro 21:22
Note,
Pro 21:23
Note,
Pro 21:24
See here the mischief of pride and haughtiness.
Pro 21:25-26
Here we have,
Pro 21:27
Sacrifices were of divine institution; and when they were offered in faith, and with repentance and reformation, God was greatly honoured by them and well-pleased in them. But they were often not only unacceptable, but an abomination, to God, and he declared so, which was an indication both that they were not required for their own sakes and that there were better things, and for effectual, in reserve, when sacrifice and offering should be done away. They were an abomination,
Pro 21:28
Here is,
Pro 21:29
Here is,
Pro 21:30-31
The designing busy part of mankind are directed, in all their counsels and undertakings, to have their eye to God, and to believe,