Proverbs 18:24

A man [that hath] friends must show himself friendly,.... Friendship ought to be mutual and reciprocal, as between David and Jonathan; a man that receives friendship ought to return it, or otherwise

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

A man that hath friends, Heb. a man of friends; either, 1. Who desires the friendship of others. Or, 2. Who professeth friendship to others. That sticketh closer to him that desires and needs his help; who is more hearty in the performance of all friendly offices.

Proverbs 18:24 A man [that hath] friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend [that] sticketh closer than a brother.Ver. 24. A man that hath friends, &c.] For Cos amoris amor, Love is the whetstone, or loadstone rather, of love. Marce, ut ameris, ama. Love is a coin that must be returned in kind. And there is a friend, &c.] Such a friend is as one’ s own soul, a piece so just cut for him, as answers him rightly in every joint. This is a rare happiness. Martial.

(24) A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly.—Rather, a man of many friends will suffer loss, for he will impoverish himself by constant hospitality, and in trouble they will desert him (Psalms 41:9); but “there is a friend,” one in a thousand, “that sticketh closer than a brother.” (Comp. Proverbs 17:17.)

Verse 24. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly] Love begets love; and love requires love as its recompense. If a man do not maintain a friendly carriage, he cannot expect to retain his friends. Friendship is a good plant; but it requires cultivation to make it grow. There is a kind of factitious friendship in the world, that, to show one's self friendly in it, is very expensive, and in every way utterly unprofitable: it is maintained by expensive parties, feasts, c., where the table groans with dainties, and where the conversation is either jejune and insipid, or calumnious backbiting, talebearing, and scandal, being the general topics of the different squads in company. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.] In many cases the genuine friend has shown more attachment, and rendered greater benefits, than the natural brother. Some apply this to God; others to Christ; but the text has no such meaning. But critics and commentators are not agreed on the translation of this verse. The original is condensed and obscure. אוש רעים להתרועע ish reim lehithroea, or lehithroeang, as some would read, who translate: A man of friends may ring again; i.e., he may boast and mightily exult: but there is a friend, אהב oheb, a lover, that sticketh closer, דבק dabek, is glued or cemented, מאח meach, beyond, or more than, a brother. The former will continue during prosperity, but the latter continues closely united to his friend, even in the most disastrous circumstances. Hence that maxim of Cicero, so often repeated, and so well known: - Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur. "In doubtful times the genuine friend is known." A late commentator has translated the verse thus: - The man that hath many friends is ready to be ruined: But there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. HOLDEN. "A frende that delyteth in love, doth a man more frendship, and sticketh faster unto him, than a brother." - Coverdale. "A man that hath friends ought to show himself friendly, for a friend is nearer than a brother." - BARKER'S Bible, 1615. "A man amyable to felowschip, more a freend schal ben thanne a brother." - Old MS. Bible. The two last verses in this chapter, and the two first of the next, are wanting in the Septuagint and Arabic. These are the principal varieties; out of them the reader may choose. I have already given my opinion.

24. A man that hath friends] Lit. a man of friends, i.e. one who makes many friends, R.V.; makes them too easily and indiscriminately. must shew himself friendly] Rather, doeth it to his own destruction, R.V. He will be ruined by extravagance and “evil communications.” and] Rather, but, in contrast to the many lightly-made friends. a friend] Heb. a lover. It is a stronger word than that translated “friends” in the first clause of the verse; and is used of Abraham when he is called, “the friend of God” (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; comp. 1 Samuel 18:1; 2 Samuel 1:26). See Proverbs 17:17. Here again is a proverb which only reaches its goal in Him, who says to His disciples, “I have called you friends.” John 15:15.

Better, “A man of many companions is so to his own destruction, but there is a friend (the true, loving friend) etc.” It is not the multitude of so called friends that helps us. They may only embarrass and perplex.

24. A man that hath friends… friendly — This is a good proverb as it stands, taken in a duly qualified sense, but it is very doubtful whether our Authorized Version gives the sense of the first clause.