1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| Proverbs 20:1 | Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness riotous: whosoever is delighted therewith, shall not be wise. | A luxurious thing. Hebrew, "a scoffer." Chaldean, "renders one a scoffer." --- Drunkenness. Hebrew ssocor, any strong drink, particularly palm-wine. Intemperance places the strongest obstacles in the way of wisdom. It causes a person to mock at all sacred things, and to be quarrelsome, Proverbs 23:29., and Ephesians 5:18. |
| Proverbs 20:2 | As the roaring of a lion, so also is the dread of a king: he that provoketh him, sinneth against his own soul. | |
| Proverbs 20:3 | It is an honour for a man, to separate himself from quarrels: but all fools are meddling with reproaches. | Reproaches. It is better not to commence a lawsuit, even when we are in the right, Proverbs 17:11. (Calmet) --- Plena victoria est ad clamantem tacere. (Val. Max.) |
| Proverbs 20:4 | Because of the cold the sluggard would not plough: he shall beg therefore in the summer, and it shall not be given him. | |
| Proverbs 20:5 | *Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water: but a wise man will draw it out. Proverbs 18:4. | Out. So David discovered the meaning of the Thecuite, 2 Kings 14:18. A wise politician carefully examines everything in a foreign court. |
| Proverbs 20:6 | Many men are called merciful: but who shall find a faithful man? | Faithful. Few continue steady to their engagements or friends, whom they will assist to a certain point. In God these two virtues always go together, Psalm 84:11. But they are rarely found in men. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 20:7 | The just that walketh in his simplicity, shall leave behind him blessed children. | |
| Proverbs 20:8 | The king, that sitteth on the throne of judgment, scattereth away all evil with his look. | Look. It is the duty of kings to administer justice. |
| Proverbs 20:9 | *Who can say: My heart is clean, I am pure from sin? 3 Kings 8:46.; 2 Paralipomenon 6:36.; Ecclesiastes 7:21.; 1 John 1:8. | Sin. Protestants, "my sin?" We know not when it is remitted. (Haydock) --- Without a special revelation, no one can be secure, 1 John 1:8., and Ecclesiastes 9:1. (Bayn.) (St. Augustine in Psalm cxlix.) |
| Proverbs 20:10 | *Diverse weights and diverse measures, both are abominable before God. Proverbs 11:1.; Proverbs 20:23. | Measures. In commerce, (Calmet) as well as in judging. (St. Gregory in Ezechiel iv.) |
| Proverbs 20:11 | By his inclinations a child is known, if his works be clean and right. | Right. We may form some judgment of his future conduct, from the inclinations which he manifests in his infancy. Naturam expellas furca, tamen ipsa recurret, Et mala perrumpet furtim fastidia victrix. (Horace) |
| Proverbs 20:12 | The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made them both. | Both. Consequently he will know all our actions, Psalm 93:9. We must refer all to him, as he gives us the means of learning. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 20:13 | Love not sleep, lest poverty oppress thee: open thy eyes, and be filled with bread. | Sleep. Septuagint, "back-biting, that thou mayst not be taken off." (Haydock) |
| Proverbs 20:14 | It is naught, it is naught, saith every buyer: and when he is gone away, then he will boast. | Buyer. This is the common practice; yet it is not without exceptions. St. Augustine (Trin. 13:3.) observes, that the mountebank having promised to tell what every person had in his heart, many came to the theatre, when he told them that they all wished to buy cheap, and to sell dear. They all applauded the remark. (Calmet) --- Septuagint is here defective. (Haydock) |
| Proverbs 20:15 | There is gold and a multitude of jewels: but the lips of knowledge are a precious vessel. | |
| Proverbs 20:16 | *Take away the garment of him that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge from him for strangers. Proverbs 27:13. | Strangers. For whom he has bound himself foolishly, Proverbs 6:1. All who have the care of others, must answer for them. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 20:17 | The bread of lying is sweet to a man: but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel. | Lying. Deceit, and unlawful pleasures, Proverbs 9:17. But God mingles disgust with them, and will punish the guilty, at least hereafter. Worldly enjoyments seem sweet, but they are full of gravel, and hurtful. |
| Proverbs 20:18 | Designs are strengthened by counsels: and wars are to be managed by governments. | Governments. Or prudence, else the best designs may prove abortive. |
| Proverbs 20:19 | Meddle not with him that revealeth secrets, and walketh deceitfully, and openeth wide his lips. | Lips. And speaketh much. These people are unworthy of our friendship. |
| Proverbs 20:20 | *He that curseth his father, and mother, his lamp shall be put out in the midst of darkness. Exodus 21:17.; Leviticus 20:9.; Matthew 15:4. | Lamp. Prosperity, or children. |
| Proverbs 20:21 | The inheritance gotten hastily in the beginning, in the end shall be without a blessing. | Blessing. It is morally impossible that they should have been acquired justly, Proverbs 13:11., and 21:5. |
| Proverbs 20:22 | *Say not: I will return evil: wait for the Lord, and he will deliver thee. Romans 12:17.; 1 Thessalonians 5:15.; 1 Peter 3:9. | Evil. And revenge myself. This belongs to the Lord, Deuteronomy 32:35. Man would be too favourable to himself, and would also pronounce his own condemnation, as he is also a sinner. |
| Proverbs 20:23 | *Diverse weights are an abomination before the Lord: a deceitful balance is not good. Proverbs 20:10. | |
| Proverbs 20:24 | *The steps of man are guided by the Lord: but who is the man that can understand his own way? Proverbs 16:2. | Way? Jeremias 10:23. Independently of God, who can do any good? (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 20:25 | It is ruin to a man to devour holy ones, and after vows to retract. | Ones. Hebrew, "the saint or holy thing." (Haydock) --- Chaldean, "to make a vow for the sanctuary, and afterwards repent;" having acted inconsiderately at first. To attack the persons or relics of the saints, or to plunder what is consecrated to pious uses, will bring on destruction; so also to make vows, and then seek to evade them, will not pass unpunished. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 20:26 | A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth over them the wheel. | Wheel. Or triumphal arch, fornicem. (Ven. Bede; Jansenius) --- He will make his enemies lie prostrate under his chariot-wheels, 2 Kings 12:31. |
| Proverbs 20:27 | The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, which searcheth all the hidden things of the bowels. | Lamp. The breath of life, (Genesis 2:7.) and the light of man, 1 Corinthians 2:11. |
| Proverbs 20:28 | Mercy and truth preserve the king, and his throne is strengthened by clemency. | Clemency. Such a king need not fear rebellion. (Calmet) |
| Proverbs 20:29 | The joy of young men, is their strength: and the dignity of old men, their grey hairs. | Hairs, and experience. They have a greater contempt of death and pleasures. (St. Ambrose, Hex. 1:8.) |
| Proverbs 20:30 | The blueness of a wound shall wipe away evils: and stripes in the more inward parts of the belly. | Evils. The wicked shall derive benefit from correction. --- Belly. They shall feel the remorse of conscience, as Chaldean seems to indicate. (Calmet) --- A serious illness often causes people to repent. (Menochius) |