Albert Barnes Commentary Proverbs 20
Albert Barnes Commentary
Proverbs 20
Albert Barnes Commentary
Proverbs 20
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler; And whosoever erreth thereby is not wise." — Proverbs 20:1 (ASV)
“Wine” and “strong drink” are personified as themselves doing what they make men do. The latter (see Leviticus 10:9 note) is here, probably, the “palm-wine” of Syria.
"The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion: He that provoketh him to anger sinneth [against] his own life." — Proverbs 20:2 (ASV)
Sinneth against his own soul - that is, against his own life .
"It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife; But every fool will be quarrelling." — Proverbs 20:3 (ASV)
Meddling - See Proverbs 17:14 note.
"The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter; Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing." — Proverbs 20:4 (ASV)
Plowing time in Palestine is in November and December, when the wind blows commonly from the North.
"Counsel in the heart of man is [like] deep water; But a man of understanding will draw it out." — Proverbs 20:5 (ASV)
The contest between reticence on one side and pertinacity in search on the other is represented as by a parable. The well may be very deep (compare the marginal reference), but the man of understanding has enough skill to draw up the water even to the last drop. Every question is, as it were, a turning of the windlass.
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