wise being received by the Lord, more than the cla-
mour of' the wicked.
Ver. 18. Wisdom is Setter than weaponsof war, &c.]
And does what they cannot do; of which the wisdom
of the poor wise man is.a full proof, which delivered
the city from a potent prince, when weapons of war
could not: see ch. vii. 1.0. But one sinner destroyeth
much good: his own soul by his sins, and the souls of
othersby hiscounsels,example, and conversation, which
corrupt good manners; so does .one sinner in a family,

neighbourhood, and town; as one poor wise man does
much good, one sinner mars much ;. one Achan in a
camp or army, one bad counsel ior in a cabinet, one
false teacher in the church, will do a great deal of
mischief, .as well as one debauchee in a town or city.
The Vuigate Latin version is, who sins inone; offends
or sins in one, as in Jam. if. 10. so the Syriac version,
one sin destroys much good, or many good things; and to
the same purpose the Arabic version, he that committeth
one sin.

THIS chapter treats of the difference between wis-
dom and folly; and of the preferableness of the one,to
the other, especially in civil government: folly is com-
pared to a dead or deadly fly; a little of' which as
much hurts a wise man's reputation, as that does the
most precious ointment, ver. 1. A wise man and a fool
differ in the situation of their heart; which is in the
one on the right hand, in the other on the left, ver..2.
the folly of the latter lies not only in his heart, but be-
trays itself throughout the whole of his conver.sa'tion,
ver. 3. And it is one part of wisdom in a subject to
bear patiently the anger of his prince, and not in a nas-
sion and at once leave his service, vet. 4. And, am'ong
the follies of princes, this is a great one; to bestow
their honours and favours on improper persons, to
the neglect of such as are deserving, ver. 5--7. And
several proverbial expressions are used, as cautions to
a wise man against plotting mischief to others; break-
ing in upon the constitution and laws of a common-
wealth; weakening the strength of the state by an
methods, and making discord in it, and carrying thin
by mere strength and force; when, if wisdom
used, it would direct to proper ways and means, by
which things would be managed to the best advantage,
yet. 8--10. Then the babbling of fools against a govern-
ment is exposed, which is like the secret bite of a ser-
pent, yet. 11. and the difference between the words of
wise men, which express grace and kindness, and are
amiable and acceptable to men; and those of fools,
which destroy themselves, begin in folly, and end iu
mischief; are noisy, and without meaning; do not
direct to things most plain. and easy, but wearisome
and fatiguing to themselves and others, yet. lc2--15.
Next the unhappiness of a land is observed, when the
governors of it are childish, intemperate, slothful, and
prodigal; the happiness of a country when it is the re-
verse, ver. 16---.19. and the chapter is concluded with
advice not to curse a king, or any great personage;
no, not in the most private and secret manner; since,
by one means or another, it will be discovered
ver.
Ver. 1..Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary
to send forth a stinlcing sayour, &c.] Such, as. Jarchi ob-
serves, are in the winter-season, which are weak and
near to death, and get into precious ointment, prepared
after the best manner, where they die, and corrupt
and spoil it: or, .fiies of deaths"; deadly ones, which
h.av.e something in their nature poisonous and per-
nicious; which, when they light upon the most sweet
and savoury ointment, give it an ill smell. So doth a
little .folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and
honour; a good name is like precious ointment, valu-
able and fragrant; sin, which is folly, is like a dead
fly; not only light and mean, and base and worthless,
but hurtful and pernicious, deadly, and the cause of
death; and what may seem little, a.peccadillo, or, how-
ever, one single act of sin, may injure the character of
a wise and honourable man, and greatly expose him to
shame and contempt, and. cause him to stink in the
nostrils of men, Gen. xxxvi. o.0. and to be reproached
by men, and religion and government to be reproached
for his sake. Thus the affair of Bath-sheba and Uriah,
what a slur did it bring on the character of l)avid, so
famous for wisdom and honour, for religion and piety?
and the idolatry of Solomon, the wisest of men; Jeho-
shaphat, that good king, entering into affinity with
Ahab; and pious Josiah going to war with the king
of Egypt, contrary to the word of the Lord; with many
other instances. This teaches how careful men emi-
nent for gifts and grace should be of their words and
actions; since the least thing amiss in them is easily
discerned, and soon taken notice of, as the least speck
in a diamond, or spot in fine linen, clean and white;
and there are wicked and envious persons enough
watching for their halting, glad to have an occasion
against them, and improve every thing to the utter-
most: this is a caution to wise magistrates, honourable
ministers of the word, and eminent professors more
especially. The Targum is, "evil concupiscence,
"which dwells at the gates of the heart, is as a
"fly, and is the cause of death in the world; and
"corrupts a good name, which was before like to
"anointing oil, perfumed with spices:" and to the
same purpose the Midrash. One of the names of
Satan is Beelzebub, the 1ord of a fly; who, by his
temptations, solicits to sin and folly, which produce
the effect here mentioned, and therefore to be shunned
as a deadly fly in the ointment, Matt. xii. 24. Gusse-
tius {} renders it, "that which is precious and Worthy
"of honour proceeds from wisdom; and folly come$
"from glory, worldly glory, in a little time."
Ver. 2. A wise man' s heart is at his right hand, &c.]

{m} \^twm ybwbz\^ museae mortis, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Amama,
Cocceius, Rambachius.
{n} Ebr. Comment. p. 344.