1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| Proverbs 3:1 | My son, forget not my law, and let thy heart keep my commandments. | My son. God speaks, or the master instructs his disciple, ver. 21. (Calmet) --- We must remember and love instruction, and reduce it to practice. (Worthington) |
| Proverbs 3:2 | For they shall add to thee length of days, and years of life, and peace. | Peace. These prefigured more substantial blessings. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 3:3 | Let not mercy and truth leave thee, put them about thy neck, and write them in the tables of thy heart. | Truth. Be kind and faithful to all, Genesis 24:27., and Psalm 24:10. |
| Proverbs 3:4 | And thou shalt find grace, and good understanding before God and men. | Good. Septuagint, "forecast good before the Lord and men." St. Paul seems to allude to this version, Romans 12:17., and 2 Corinthians 8:22. (Haydock) |
| Proverbs 3:5 | Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence. | All. God will have nothing by halves. --- Lean not. By pride, 2 Corinthians 12:13. All must be referred to God. (Calmet) --- In him we may safely trust. (Worthington) |
| Proverbs 3:6 | In all thy ways think on him, and he will direct thy steps. | |
| Proverbs 3:7 | *Be not wise in thy own conceit: fear God, and depart from evil: Romans 12:16. | |
| Proverbs 3:8 | For it shall be health to thy navel, and moistening to thy bones. | Bones. Thou shalt enjoy perfect health. |
| Proverbs 3:9 | *Honour the Lord with thy substance, and give him of the first of all thy fruits; Tobias 4:7.; Luke 14:13. | Fruits. Septuagint add, "of justice;" to intimate that no presents will be acceptable, which have been unjustly acquired. |
| Proverbs 3:10 | And thy barns shall be filled with abundance, and thy presses shall run over with wine. | |
| Proverbs 3:11 | *My son, reject not the correction of the Lord: and do not faint when thou art chastised by him: Hebrews 12:5.; Apocalypse 3:10. | Him. Correction is rather a proof of love than of anger, Psalm 3:19. (Calmet) --- God thus shews that he approves of his servants; and therefore his other promises, which seem of a temporal nature, must be understood with reference to the next life. (Worthington) |
| Proverbs 3:12 | For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth: and as a father in the son he pleaseth himself. | And as. Septuagint, "but he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth," as St. Paul quotes this passage, Hebrews 12:6. The verb is now wanting in Hebrew, or ceab; "as a father" may signify "scourgeth, in piel, (Menochius) with i prefixed. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 3:13 | Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and is rich in prudence: | |
| Proverbs 3:14 | The purchasing thereof is better than the merchandise of silver, and her fruit than the chief and purest gold: | |
| Proverbs 3:15 | She is more precious than all riches: and all the things that are desired, are not to be compared to her. | Riches. Hebrew peninim, (Haydock) "pearls," Job 28:18. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 3:16 | Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and glory. | Glory. Her hands are full, and she grants favours with profusion, (Haydock) as with both hands, promising eternal life. (Worthington) |
| Proverbs 3:17 | Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths are peaceable. | |
| Proverbs 3:18 | She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her: and he that shall retain her is blessed. | Life. Like that planted in paradise, Genesis 2:9. |
| Proverbs 3:19 | The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth, hath established the heavens by prudence. | Wisdom. Hitherto he had spoken of that virtue. Now he treats of the uncreated wisdom, (Calmet) which is God the Son. (Menochius) (Jansenius) (St. Gregory, Mor. 12:4.) |
| Proverbs 3:20 | By his wisdom the depths have broken out, and the clouds grow thick with dew. | Out. The higher and lower waters being divided, (Calmet) or the channels formed to receive the waters. (Piscator) --- It may also speak of the deluge. (Ven. Bede) --- With. Hebrew, "have distilled dew." This is so copious, as to resemble rain in Palestine, Judges 6:37., and 2 Kings 17:12. |
| Proverbs 3:21 | My son, let not these things depart from thy eyes: keep the law and counsel: | |
| Proverbs 3:22 | And there shall be life to thy soul, and grace to thy mouth. | Mouth. There have been wise and virtuous men afflicted, ver. 11. But they have borne all with patience, and have merited a more glorious reward than what this earth could afford. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 3:23 | Then shalt thou walk confidently in thy way, and thy foot shall not stumble: | |
| Proverbs 3:24 | If thou sleep, thou shalt not fear: thou shalt rest, and thy sleep shall be sweet. | |
| Proverbs 3:25 | Be not afraid of sudden fear, nor of the power of the wicked falling upon thee. | |
| Proverbs 3:26 | For the Lord will be at thy side, and will keep thy foot that thou be not taken. | |
| Proverbs 3:27 | Do not withhold him from doing good, who is able: if thou art able, do good thyself also. | Able. Protestants, "withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." Relieve the distressed. (Haydock) --- They have a title to that wealth, since those who possess it are bound to relieve the indigent. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "refrain not from doing good," etc. (Haydock) |
| Proverbs 3:28 | Say not to thy friend: Go, and come again: and to-morrow I will give to thee: when thou canst give at present. | Present. Alms in season are doubly valuable. (Worthington) --- Antigonus acquired the title of Doson, "about to give," as he never gave, (Plutarch) but only promised. |
| Proverbs 3:29 | Practise not evil against thy friend, when he hath confidence in thee. | |
| Proverbs 3:30 | Strive not against a man without cause, when he hath done thee no evil. | Cause. We may defend ourselves; but herein great discretion is necessary. (Calmet) --- Cum pari contendere anceps est: cum superiore furiosum; cum inferiore sordidum. (Seneca, Prov.) |
| Proverbs 3:31 | *Envy not the unjust man, and do not follow his ways. Psalm 36:1. | Ways. Of injustice. Seek not to attain his prosperity by the same means. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 3:32 | For every mocker is an abomination to the Lord, and his communication is with the simple. | |
| Proverbs 3:33 | Want is from the Lord in the house of the wicked: but the habitations of the just shall be blessed. | Want. Hebrew, "a curse." --- Shall be. Hebrew, "he blesseth." (Haydock) |
| Proverbs 3:34 | He shall scorn the scorners, and to the meek he will give grace. | Scorners. Literally, "he will delude the scorners." (Haydock) --- He will treat them as they would treat others, Psalm 17:27. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "the Lord resisteth the proud," etc. So the apostles quote this passage, 1 Peter 5:5., and James 4:6. (Haydock) |
| Proverbs 3:35 | The wise shall possess glory: the promotion of fools is disgrace. | Disgrace. They are seen by more, and their fall is more dangerous. (Calmet) --- "A fool extols what is ignominious." (Pagnin) (Haydock) |