Proverbs 4:16

For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. FOR THEY SLEEP NOT, EXCEPT THEY HAVE DONE MISCHIEF; AND THEIR SLEEP IS TAKEN AWAY, UNLESS THEY CAUSE (SOME) TO FALL. So the Hebrew margin (Qeri') reads, which Proverbs 4:17 supports [ yakshiyluw (H3782)]. But the Hebrew text (Kethibh) reads, 'unless they have fallen' - i:e., done wicked deeds [yakshowluw]: the more difficult reading, and, so far, the lees likely to be a later correction. But the Chaldaic and other old versions, as well as the sense, favour the English version reading (Psalms 36:4). It is the sinner's sport, food ...

14-27 The way of evil men may seem pleasant, and the nearest way to compass some end; but it is an evil way, and will end ill; if thou love thy God and thy soul, avoid it. It is not said, Keep at a due distance, but at a great distance; never think you can get far enough from it. The way of the righteous is light; Christ is their Way, and he is the Light. The saints will not be perfect till they reach heaven, but there they shall shine as the sun in his strength. The way of sin is as darkness. The way of the wicked is dark, therefore dangerous; they fall into sin, but know not how to avoid it. They fall into trouble, but never seek to know wherefore God contends with them, nor what will be in the end of it. This is the way we are bid to shun. Attentive hearing the word of God, is a good sign of a work of grace begun in the heart, and a good means of carrying it on. There is in the word...

Verse Proverbs 4:16. _EXCEPT THEY HAVE DONE MISCHIEF_] The _night_ is their time for spoil and depredation. And they must gain some _booty_, before they _go to rest_. This I believe to be the meaning of the passage. I grant, also, that there may be some of so malevolent a disposition that they cannot be easy unless they can injure others, and are put to excessive pain when they perceive any man in _prosperity_, or receiving a kindness. The address in _Virgil_, to an ill-natured shepherd is well known: - Et cum vidisti puero donata, dolebas: Et si non aliqua nocuisses, mortuus esses. ECLOG. iii. 14. "When thou sawest the gifts given to the lad, thou wast distressed; and hadst thou not foun

The counsel which has come to him, in substance, from his father. Compare it with 2 Samuel 23:2 etc.; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Chronicles 29:17; Psalms 15:1; Psalms 24:1; Psalms 37. Proverbs 4:7 Or, “The beginning of wisdom is - get wisdom.” To seek is to find, to desire is to obtain....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 4:1 7. _Seventh admonitory discourse. _We here enter upon the second group of admonitory discourses, as is indicated by the opening address, "my children," and which occurs again in Proverbs 5:7 and Proverbs 7:24. This group extends to the end of Proverbs 7:1. Its prevailing tone is that of warning rather than of positive exhortations, which have been the rule hitherto. The general aim of the discourse before us, as of those preceding, is to exalt Wisdom, to exhibit her as a subject worthy of all earnest endeavour and sacrifice, but it is noticeable that the teacher introd

FOR THEY SLEEP NOT, EXCEPT THEY HAVE DONE MISCHIEF,.... Or they cannot sleep, as Jarchi and Gersom interpret it. Oftentimes they cannot sleep on their beds for devising mischief, their thoughts are so intensely set on contriving wicked schemes; and when they have so done, they cannot sleep until they have executed them; they are continually restless and uneasy day and night, like the troubled sea, constantly casting up mire and dirt. Who would keep such company as these? AND THEIR SLEEP IS TAKEN AWAY, UNLESS THEY CAUSE [SOME] TO FALL; into the snares and traps they lay for them, or into sin and calamity by it; the former of which they endeavour by all means to draw men into, and the latter is the unavoidable consequence of it. They imitate their father the devil, both delight in sin, and in the ruin of their fellow creatures; it is a sport to thereto do mischief, and they have no pleasu...

CHAPTER 4 _ 1. Solomon's training (Proverbs 4:1)_ 2. Hear, O my son: Receive my sayings (Proverbs 4:10) 3. My son, attend to my words. (Proverbs 4:20) Proverbs 4:1. This passage shows the early training which Solomon received and he passeth on the instructions. It is said that these verses formed a model for many Puritan homes in England and the Scotland of the covenant. He was the beloved one, his father's true son. Note the different exhortation, about wisdom: Forget it not; forsake her not; love her; exalt her. Then the promises: She shall preserve thee; she shall keep thee; she shall promote thee

FOR. Hebrew. _im l'o_. because; i.e. the reason why they sleep not is because they mean mischief, and because they intend an occasion of stumbling....

_their sleep is taken away_ Comp.: "Ergo non aliter poterit dormire; quibusdam Somnum rixa facit." Juv. _Sat_. III. 281, 2....

TEXT Proverbs 4:10-19 10. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many. 11. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness. 12. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life. 14. Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men. 15. Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on. 16. For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17. For they eat of the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence. 18. But the path of the righteous is as