righteousness, done by the wise: and of converting a
sinner from the error of his way, whereby a soul is saved
from death, Dan. xii. 3. Jam. v. 2o. are a proper com-
ment on these words: which, moreover, may be ren-
dered, he that taketh souls h; as a fort or castle is taken,
and which is sometimes'expressed by winning; see
2 Chron. xxxii. 1. ch. xviii. 9. The soul of man is
a hold, and a strong hold, of foul spirits; it is Satan's
palace or castle, which .he keeps and holds against
Christ, but is won and taken by him; which is usually
done by means of the word, and the ministry of it,
which are made effectual to the pulling down of strong
holds, 2 Car. x. 4, 5. Or the allusion is to the taking
or catching of birds in a snare, or fishes in a net. The
souls of men are got into the snare of the devil, and
they are taken out from hence by breaking this snare;
by which means they escape the hands of the fowler,
Satan, and come into better hands: the old serpent laid
a bait for our first parents, by which he gaineel his
point, and that was the fruit of the forbidden tree; but
the bait which wise men lay to catch souls is the fruit
of the tree of life, mentioned in the ibrmer clause, the
blessings of grace in Ch,'ist. Again, Christ's mi-
niste,'s are calledfishers of men, and are said to catch
men, Matt. iv. 19. l. uke v. 10. which they do by
casting and spreading the net of the Gospel; the Gos-
pel is the net; the world is the sea into which it is
cast; where natural men are i,a their tiement, as/ishes
in the sea: the casting of'the net is the preaching of
the Gospel; and by means of this souls are caught and
gathered in to Christ and his churches, Matt. xiii. 47,
48. Once more, the words are by some rendered, he
that allureth soulsi; which is done, not by the terrors
of the law, but by the charming voice of the Gospel;
by which souls are drawn to God and Christ, and
brought among his people: and one that is an instru-
meat of all this had need be wise, anct so he appears to
be; he that teaeheth men the knowledge of divine
and spiritual things had need to be as he is, as a scribe
well instcucted in the kingdom of God; he who is to
be the instrument of converting sinners must have a
mouth and wisdom to address them in a prop.er man-
ner; as he that wills a castle, or takes a tbrt, ought to
have military skill as well as courage; and to east a
net well requires art as well as strength.
Vet. 31. Behold, the righteous shall be recompenced in
the earth, &c.] Which Aben Ezra understands of the
recompense of their good works. There is.a reward
for the righteous, and which they have now in keeping,
though not for keeping, the commandments of God;
they have the promise of this life, as well as of that
which is to come, and which is made good to them;
they have every good thing now which is proper and
convenient tbr them; and they shall be recompenced
in the new earth, in which only righteous petsons will
dwell. But it seems better, with Jarchi, to interpret it
of the recompense of their sins and transgressions;
that is, of their chastisements and afflictions, with
which they are chastised by their heavenly Father,
when thev sin against him; which are all in love and
for their good; and which they have only here on
earth, whilst they are in this world; they will be all
over in another, when there will be no more sin, and
no more chastisement for it, much less condemnation;
see 1 Car. xi. 32. Much more the wicked and the sinner ;
who shall not onlv be punished on earth. as they o','ten
are, but in hell to all eternity. The Septuagint, Syriac,
and Arabic versions, render the whole thus; if the
rihteous be scarcely.t! saved, wltere shall the ungodly and
the sinner appear? 'Which words are used by the
Apostle Peter, to show, that if judgment or chastise-
ment begin at the liouse of' God, or with the righteous,
that the end of the wicked must be very bad; which
entirely agrees with the sense of this passage; see
1 Pet. iv. 17, 18. a behold is prefixed to the whole, as
a note, either of admiration, or rather of atrention to
what is sure and certain, and worthv of regard and con-
sideration. The Targum is, "behold, the righteous
"are strengthened in the earth; but the wicked and
"the sinners shall be consumed out of the earth ?
which seems to agree with Aben Ezra's sense of the
words; see Psal. civ. 35.
Vet. ]. Whose Ioveth i,struction loveth .tcnowledge,
&c.] That loves the instruction of Wisdom, or
Christ, oh. iv. 13. and viii. 10. the means of instruc-
tion, the Scriptures, which are profitable for instruc-
tion in righteousness, and are written for our learning;
the Gospel, which instructs into the person, office, and
grace of Christ; the ministers of the word, who are
so many instructors in Christ; and even the rod of af
fiictions, by which men are taught their duty, and the
will of God: and these are to bc loved; and he that
loves them clearly shews that he loves knowledge;
since the means of instruction, making use of them,
and getting instruction by them, are attendcd with la-
bour, trouble, and difficulty; which a man would not
choose, had he not a love unto and a desire after' know-
ledge, and an increase of it ;. as the knowledge of God,
of Christ, and of his truths. Aben Ezra inverts the
words; "he that loves knowledge loves instruction ;"
but the sense is much the same. But he that hateth
reproof is brutish; or a beast{k}: as the man that is will-
ing to be instructed, in order to gain knowledge, shews
himself to be a wise and understanding man; so he
that hates the reproo{' the word of God gives, or the
ministers of it, or God by them, appears to be no better
than a brute, than the horse or mule that want under-.
standing: so the man of sin hates the Scriptures, the
Gospel, and the ministers of it, and the reproofs and
convictions they give of his idolatry, superstition, and

{h} Capit, Vatablus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator;
capit salutari doctrina, Michaelis.
{i} Allicit, Drusius, Gejerus.
{k} \^reb\^ instar bruti indocilis est, Michaelis.