verse of the Israelites in exile and poverty among the
Gentiles for their sins; so Jarchi.
Ver. 7. I have seen servants upon horses, &.c.] Which
being scarce in Judea, were only rode upon by princes
and great personages, or such as were in affluent
circumstances; and therefore it was an unusual and
disagreeable sight to see servants upon them, which
was a token of their being advanced upon the ruin and
destruction of their masters; a reigning servant is not
only uncomely, but one of the things by which the
earth is disquieted, and it cannot bear, Prov. xxx.
21, 22. the Parthians and Persians distinguished their
nobles and the vulgar, freemen and servants, by this;
the servants went on foot, and the freemen rode on
horses {r}. And princes walking as servants upon the
earth; degraded from their honour; banished from
their thrones and palaces, or obliged to leave them,
and reduced to the lowest state and condition: so
David, when his son rebelled against him, and he was
forced to flee from him, and walk on foot, 2 Sam. xv.
30. A!shech thinks it may be a prophecy of the cap-
tivity of Israel, when they walked as servants on the
earth, and the Gentiles rode on horses.
Ver. 8. He that diggcth a pit shall fall into it, &9.]
This and the three following clauses are prove.rJSial
expressions, teaching men to be wise and cautiouS, lest
by their conduct they bring mischief upon themselves;
as it often is, the one that digs a pit for another, falls
into it himself, as the wise man's father before him
had observed, Psal. vii. 15, 16. and ix. 15, 1G. as kings
that lay snares for their people, and subjects that plot
against their sovereign; or courtiers that form schemes
for the rain of those that are in their way; or any man
that devises mischief against another, frequently so it
is, that the same befa!ls them; as Haman, who pre-
pared a gallows for Mordecai, was hanged on it himself.
And whoso breaketh an hedge a serpent shall bite him;
which often lies hid in fences, in old walls, and rotten
hedges {}, Amos v. 19. Acts xxviii. 3. so he that breaks
down the hedges and fencss of kingdoms and common-
wealths, and breaks through the fundamental laws of
a civil constitution, and especially that transgresses
the laws of God, moral or civil, may expect to smart
for it. Jarchi interprets this hedge of the sayings of
their wise men, which those that transgress shall suffer
death by the hand of heaven: but it would be much
better to apply it to the doctrines contained in the word
of God, which are a hedge and fence to the church of
God, and whoever transgress them will suffer for it;
see 2 John 8, 9. The Targum, by the serpent, under-
stands an ungodly king, who bites like a serpent, into
whose hands such transgressors shall be delivered: and
some have thought of the old serpent the devil, as
A1shech, who deceived Adam and Eve.
Ver. 9. Whoso removcth stones shall be hurt therewith,
&c.] That carries them from the quarry, where they
are dug; or takes them from a heap, where they lie;
or that attempts to pull them out of a building, where
they are put; or removes them from places, where they
are set as boundaries and landmarks; all which is
troublesome, and by which men get hurt; the stones
fall upon them, or are too heavy for them, or they do
what they should not do, and so bring themselves into
trouble; as do all such persons who are for removing
the boundaries of commonwealths and communities,
and for changing laws, and altering constitutiofis,
And he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby;
of cutting himself: so he that soweth discord among
brethren, that makes divisions in families, neighbour-
hoods, kingdoms, and churches; see Prov. vi. 16, 19.
Rom. xvi. 18. Jarchi renders it, Shall be warmed or
heated, according to the sense of the word, as he
thinks, in 1 Kings i.2. though he understands it of
being profited by studying in the law and the com-
mandments; of which he interprets the clause; and
Ben Melech observes, that the word so signifies in the
Arabic language; and Mr. Broughton renders it, shall
be heated thereby. The Targum paraphrases it, "shall
"be burnt with fire, by the hand of the Angel of the
"Lord :" or, however, he may be overheated and do
himself hurt, as men, that kindle the flame of coatea-
tion and strife, often do.
Ver. 10. If the iron be blunt, &c.] With which a
man cleaves wood: the axe, made of iron: and he do
not whet the edge; with some proper instrument to
make it sharper, that it may cut the more easily.
Then must he put to more strength; he must give a
greater blow, strike the harder, and use more force;
and yet it may not be sufficient, or; it may be to no
purpose, and he himself may be in the greatel' danger
of being hurt; as such are w.ho push things with all
their might and main, without judgment and discre-
tion. But wisdom is profitable to direct; this is the
excellency of wisdom, that it puts a man in the-right
way of doing things, and of doing them right; it directs
him to take the best methods, and pursue the best ways
and means of doing things, both for his own good and
the good of others; and so it is better than strength,
ch. ix. 16, 18.
Ver. 11. Surely the serpent will bite without enchant-
ment, &c.] See Jer. viii. 17. Or rather, without tt
whiter {}; without hissing, or any noise, giving no
warning at all: so the Vulgate Latin version renders
it, in silence; some serpents bite, others sting, some
both; see Prov. xxiii. 32. some hiss, others not, as
here. And a babbler is no better; a whigpeter, a back-
biter, a busy tattling body, that goes from house to
house, and, in a. private manner, speaks ev:d of civil
governments, of ministers- of the word, and of other
persons; and; in a secret way, defames men, and de-
tracts from theiT characters.: such an one is like a
venomous viper, a poisonous serpent or adder; and
there is.no more guarding aga.inst him than against
such a creature that bites secretly.
Ver. 12. The words of a wise man's mouth are. gra-
cious, &c.] Or grace {u}. He speaks kind and good
things in fayour of the characters of men, and not as
the babbling detractor: he speaks well of civil magis-
trates and rulers. in the state; of the ministers of the
word in the church; and of all his fellow-creatures, as


{r} Justin. e Trogo, l. 41. c. 3. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 5. c. 18.
{s} Nicander apud Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 1. c. 4. col. 26.
{t} \^vxl alb\^ absque susurro, Pagninus; absque sibilo, Tigurine
version.
{u} \^Nx\^ gratia, Montanus, Mercerus, Drusius, Cocceius, Rambachius.