Proverbs 31:8

Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. OPEN THY MOUTH FOR THE DUMB - i:e., for those who cannot defend themselves in the courts of justice. IN THE CAUSE OF ALL SUCH AS ARE APPOINTED TO DESTRUCTION - literally, 'the sons of passing away.' Maurer, 'the sons of abandonment,' or orphanage - i:e., sons left orphans by their deceased parents; Hebrew, benee chaloph. Imitate God who is peculiarly the Patron of the widow and the orphan....

Verse Proverbs 31:8. _OPEN THY MOUTH FOR THE DUMB_] For such accused persons as have no counsellors, and cannot plead for themselves. _ARE APPOINTED TO DESTRUCTION._] בני חלוף _beney chaloph_, variously translated, _children of passage _- indigent travellers; _children of desolation_ - those who have no possessions, or _orphans_. I believe it either signifies those who are strangers, and are _travelling from place to place_, or those who are _ready to perish_ in consequence of want or oppression....

In contrast with the two besetting sins of Eastern monarchs stands their one great duty, to give help to those who had no other helper. SUCH AS ARE APPOINTED TO DESTRUCTION - literally, “children of bereavement,” with the sense, either, as in the text, of those “destined to be bereaved of life or goods,” or of “bereaved or fatherless children.”...

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 31:1 PART VIII. SECOND APPENDIX TO THE SECOND COLLECTION, containing "the words of Lemuel" on the subjects of impurity and intemperance. PROVERBS 31:1 _The_ _superscription. _THE WORDS OF KING LEMUEL, THE PROPHECY WHICH HIS MOTHER TAUGHT HIM. Who is intended by "Lemuel king" is much disputed. Those who connect the following word _massa _("oracle") with the preceding _melek _("king"), translate "King of Massa," as Proverbs 30:1 (where see note). Of the country, or the ki

OPEN THY MOUTH FOR THE DUMB,.... Not who are naturally so, but who cannot speak in their own behalf, either through want of elocution, or knowledge of the laws; or who are bashful, timorous, and fearful, being overawed by the majesty of a court of judicature, or by their prosecutors; or who, as they have not a tongue, so not a purse, to speak for them, the fatherless and the widow; which latter has her name, in the Hebrew language, from dumbness. Here Lemuel's mother advises him to open his mouth freely, readily, boldly, and intrepidly, and plead for such persons. Even IN THE CAUSE OF ALL SUCH AS ARE APPOINTED TO DESTRUCTION; whose destruction is resolved on by their accusers and prosecutors; and who are in danger of it, being charged with capital crimes; unless some persons of wisdom, power, and authority, interpose on their behalf. It may be rendered, "in the cause of all the children...

VII. THE WORDS OF KING LEMUEL TAUGHT HIM BY HIS MOTHER CHAPTER 31 The Virtuous Woman “The words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him”; this is the superscription of this chapter. Who is King Lemuel? No king by that name is known. We do not hesitate in saying that it is Solomon. It means “unto God” one who is devoted to the Lord. In all probability Solomon's mother called her boy by this name, and here is the record therefore of the instruction given by Solomon's mother. The warning is once more, and that very earnestly (shown by the thrice asked “what?” What shall I say unto you?) against licentiousness, against wine and strong drink. The brief words of the mother's exhortation end with a request to act righteously as king, to stand up for those who are appointed to destruction, to plead the cause of the poor and needy. The final portion of the book of Proverbs is a...

SECOND DIVISION. SAYINGS OF LEMUEL. A manual of directions for kings. Proverbs 31:1. The title is uncertain. RV is not grammatically correct. Read _mg._ MASSA (_mg.),_ rendered oracle in Proverbs 31:30, and here by RV, is the regular word for the oracles of the earlier prophets, but is strange in this connexion. There is a Mas-' a mentioned in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser IV along with Teima in N. Arabia. This was one of the traditional seats of wisdom, like Edom, and possibly the name was adopted in view of this. But of Massa, both here and in Proverbs 30:1, is conjectural (_cf._ Genesis 10:30;...

SUCH AS ARE APPOINTED TO DESTRUCTION. Hebrew. sons of destruction. Genitive of Relation, as in Romans 8:36. App-17 (5)....

VII. The Words of King Lemuel. Chap. Proverbs 31:1-9 We have here another short Appendix. King Lemuel records, as his oracle, or wise teaching, the counsel given him by his mother (Proverbs 31:1). With terms of ardent affection (Proverbs 31:2) she bids him beware of lust (Proverbs 31:3), and excess of wine (Proverbs 31:4), and urges him to befriend the helpless (Proverbs 31:8), and to judge righteously ...

OPEN THY MOUTH FOR THE DUMB— _Open thy mouth for the dumb; give judgment to those who have experienced the vicisstudes of human affairs._ The latter clause may be rendered, _In the cause of all strangers,_ or _all children of change._ REFLECTIONS.—We have here, 1. The address of Bathsheba to her son Solomon: _What, my son?_ Either it intimates the tender concern with which she spoke; or, as if she wanted words to enforce the lesson she was about to deliver; or, as designed to awaken his attention; or as an expostulation, having observed in him a tendency to the evils from which she would dissuade him, and which were so unbecoming a prince: and hereunto the following words seem most suited: _What, the son of my womb?_ have I brought thee forth with sorrow, and educated thee with such parental care? and shall it be fruitless? hear what the tenderest affection dictates; and grant me (it is...