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Proverbs 31:6
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St. John ChrysostomSummary
Commentary
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
6 Give strong drink to him that is perishing, And wine to those whose soul is in bitter woe; 7 Let him drink and forget his poverty, And let him think of his misery no more. The preparation of a potion for malefactors who were condemned to death was, on the ground of these words of the proverb, cared for by noble women in Jerusalem (נשׁים יקרות שׁבירושׁלים), Sanhedrin 43a; Jesus rejected it, because He wished, without becoming insensible to His sorrow, to pass away from the earthly life freely and in full consciousness, Mar 15:23. The transition from the plur. to the sing. of the subject is in Pro 31:7 less violent than in Pro 31:5, since in Pro 31:6 singular and plur. already interchange. We write תּנוּ־שׁכר with the counter-tone Metheg and Mercha. אובד designates, as at Job 29:13; Job 31:19, one who goes to meet destruction: it combines the present signification interiens, the fut. signif. interiturus, and the perf. perditus (hopelessly lost). מרי נפשׁ (those whose minds are filled with sorrow) is also supported from the Book of Job; Job 3:20, cf. Pro 21:25, the language and thought and mode of writing of which notably rests on the Proverbs of Agur and Lemuel (vid., Mhlau, pp. 64-66). The Venet. τοῖς πικροῖς (not ψυξροῖς) τὴν ψυχήν. רישׁ (poverty) is not, however, found there, but only in the Book of Proverbs, in which this word-stem is more at home than elsewhere. Wine rejoices the heart of man, Psa 104:15, and at the same time raises it for the time above oppression and want, and out of anxious sorrow, wherefore it is soonest granted to them, and in sympathizing love ought to be presented to them by whom this its beneficent influence is to be wished for. The ruined man forgets his poverty, the deeply perplexed his burden of sorrow; the king, on the contrary, is in danger from this cause of forgetting what the law required at his hands, viz., in relation to those who need help, to whom especially his duty as a ruler refers.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
The proper use of such drinks is to restore tone to feeble bodies and depressed minds (compare Psa 104:15).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,.... Thou, O Lemuel, and other kings and judges, rather than drink strong drink yourselves, least to excess; give it out of your great abundance and liberality to poor persons in starving circumstances, who must perish, unless relieved; it will do them good, moderately used; and should they drink too freely, which they ought not, yet it would not be attended with such bad consequences as if kings and princes should; and wine to those that be of heavy heart; of melancholy dispositions, under gloomy apprehensions of things; pressed with the weight of their affliction and poverty: or, "bitter in soul" (i); such as God has dealt bitterly with, as Naomi says was her case, and therefore called her own name Marah, which signifies bitter; of such a sorrowful spirit, and one thus bitter in soul, was Hannah; and so Job, and others; persons in great affliction and distress, to whom life itself is bitter; see Rut 1:20; now wine to such is very exhilarating and cheering; see Jdg 9:13. (i) "his qui amaro sunt animo", V. L. Pagninus, Tigurine version: "amaris animo", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius; "amaris animus", Vatablus, Piscator.
Proverbs 31:6
The Sayings for King Lemuel
5lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice. 6Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. 7Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
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The Damnation Army, Its Victims and Its Sponsors
By George Kulp0EST 1:8PRO 20:1PRO 31:6ISA 5:11HAB 2:15MAT 11:28ROM 13:131CO 6:10GAL 5:21EPH 5:18George Kulp passionately preaches about the irreconcilable hostility between the Church and the saloon, emphasizing the need for Christians to take a stand against the liquor traffic by aligning themselves with God's position. He highlights the responsibility of the Church to lead the moral reform movement against the saloon, drawing parallels to historical movements like the anti-slavery agitation. Kulp urges Christians to save the youth from the dangers of the liquor traffic, emphasizing the devastating impact on families and society. He challenges the sponsors of the liquor traffic, pointing out the complicity of society in allowing the spread of this destructive industry.
Homily 19 on Ephesians
By St. John Chrysostom0PRO 31:6ISA 49:15MAT 7:9MAT 10:16ROM 13:71CO 12:18EPH 5:15PHP 4:6John Chrysostom preaches on the importance of walking wisely in a world filled with evil, emphasizing the need to understand the will of the Lord and to redeem the time. He highlights the dangers of anger, the significance of being filled with the Spirit, and the necessity of giving thanks in all circumstances. Chrysostom urges believers to subject themselves to one another in the fear of Christ, promoting humility and mutual service as the path to true freedom and love.
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
6 Give strong drink to him that is perishing, And wine to those whose soul is in bitter woe; 7 Let him drink and forget his poverty, And let him think of his misery no more. The preparation of a potion for malefactors who were condemned to death was, on the ground of these words of the proverb, cared for by noble women in Jerusalem (נשׁים יקרות שׁבירושׁלים), Sanhedrin 43a; Jesus rejected it, because He wished, without becoming insensible to His sorrow, to pass away from the earthly life freely and in full consciousness, Mar 15:23. The transition from the plur. to the sing. of the subject is in Pro 31:7 less violent than in Pro 31:5, since in Pro 31:6 singular and plur. already interchange. We write תּנוּ־שׁכר with the counter-tone Metheg and Mercha. אובד designates, as at Job 29:13; Job 31:19, one who goes to meet destruction: it combines the present signification interiens, the fut. signif. interiturus, and the perf. perditus (hopelessly lost). מרי נפשׁ (those whose minds are filled with sorrow) is also supported from the Book of Job; Job 3:20, cf. Pro 21:25, the language and thought and mode of writing of which notably rests on the Proverbs of Agur and Lemuel (vid., Mhlau, pp. 64-66). The Venet. τοῖς πικροῖς (not ψυξροῖς) τὴν ψυχήν. רישׁ (poverty) is not, however, found there, but only in the Book of Proverbs, in which this word-stem is more at home than elsewhere. Wine rejoices the heart of man, Psa 104:15, and at the same time raises it for the time above oppression and want, and out of anxious sorrow, wherefore it is soonest granted to them, and in sympathizing love ought to be presented to them by whom this its beneficent influence is to be wished for. The ruined man forgets his poverty, the deeply perplexed his burden of sorrow; the king, on the contrary, is in danger from this cause of forgetting what the law required at his hands, viz., in relation to those who need help, to whom especially his duty as a ruler refers.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
The proper use of such drinks is to restore tone to feeble bodies and depressed minds (compare Psa 104:15).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,.... Thou, O Lemuel, and other kings and judges, rather than drink strong drink yourselves, least to excess; give it out of your great abundance and liberality to poor persons in starving circumstances, who must perish, unless relieved; it will do them good, moderately used; and should they drink too freely, which they ought not, yet it would not be attended with such bad consequences as if kings and princes should; and wine to those that be of heavy heart; of melancholy dispositions, under gloomy apprehensions of things; pressed with the weight of their affliction and poverty: or, "bitter in soul" (i); such as God has dealt bitterly with, as Naomi says was her case, and therefore called her own name Marah, which signifies bitter; of such a sorrowful spirit, and one thus bitter in soul, was Hannah; and so Job, and others; persons in great affliction and distress, to whom life itself is bitter; see Rut 1:20; now wine to such is very exhilarating and cheering; see Jdg 9:13. (i) "his qui amaro sunt animo", V. L. Pagninus, Tigurine version: "amaris animo", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius; "amaris animus", Vatablus, Piscator.