Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 6:2

Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Or, If thou art snared … if thou art taken, etc.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Thy freedom is lost, and thou art now in bondage to another.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,…. Got into a snare out of which an escape is not easy; art no longer free, and thine own man, but under obligation to pay the debt if required; by the verbal agreement made and confirmed by striking hands, and this before witnesses;

thou art taken with the words of thy mouth; as in a net, and held fast therein and thereby, and cannot get loose without paying the debt, if the debtor does not, or without the leave of the creditor.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Pro 6:2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Ver. 2. Thou art snared, ] i. e., Endangered to slavery or poverty, or both. Hence the proverb, Sponde, noxa praesto est; Give thy word, and thou art not far from a mischief. Shun, therefore, suretyship, if fairly thou canst, or if not, propound the worst, and undertake for no more than thou canst well perform without thy very great prejudice: ne, ut leo cassibus irretitus dixeris, Si praescivissem? lest thou, being got into the hamble trambles, come in too late with thy fool’s “Had I wist.”

Thou art taken. ] For a bargain binds a man by the law of nature, and of nations. Judah, though in a shameful business, would make good his engagement to the harlot. Gen 38:23 Every godly man will do so, though it be to his own hindrance. Psa 15:4 The Romans had a great care always to perform their word, insomuch that the first temple built in Rome was dedicated to the goddess Fidelity. The Athenians were so careful this way, that Atticus testis is used for one that keeps touch, and Attica fides is sure hold; as, contrarily, Punica fides, there was no hold to be taken of Carthaginian promises. Of a certain pope and his nephew, it is said that the one never spoke as he thought, the other never performed what he spoke. This was small to their commendation. Debt is a burden to every well-minded man; neither can he be at rest till he come to “owe nothing to any man but this, that ye love one another.” Rom 13:8 When Archbishop Cranmer discerned the storm which afterwards fell upon him in Queen Mary’s days, he took express order for the payment of all his debts and engagements, which when it was once done, a most joyful man was he, saith Master Foxe in his life. a For bills and obligations do mancipate the most free and ingenuous spirit, and so put a man out of aim that he can neither serve God without distraction nor do good to others, nor set his own state in any good order, but lives and dies entangled and puzzled with cares and snares; and, after a tedious and laborious life passed in a circle of fretting thoughts, he leaves at last, instead of better patrimony, a world of intricate troubles to his posterity, who are also “taken with the words of his mouth.”

a Acts and Mon ., vol. ii. p. 1541.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

words = sayings. Hebrew. ‘imrah. App-73.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Pro 12:13, Pro 18:7

Reciprocal: 2Sa 1:16 – mouth Psa 9:16 – wicked Psa 59:12 – taken Dan 6:9 – signed Mar 6:23 – Whatsoever

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

A CHAPTER OF WARNINGS

Snared.

Pro 6:2

Wisdom directs us not only what to do but what to avoid. The hidden rocks upon which we may strike are all marked. Obedience to the Word of God, whole-hearted and continuous, is our only safety. If we stray, it is not for want of clear direction, but of care in following it.

I. Suretyship (15).All suretyship is not forbidden; such, for example, as that of Reuben and Judah for Benjamin (Gen 42:37; Gen 43:9); and still more, that of Jesus for His people. He became answerable for our liabilities, with the full intention of having to meet them for us. Without this suretyship we should be in despair. But the warning is against rash engagements involving responsibilities which cannot honestly be met.

II. Indolence (611).A wise man will readily receive instruction even from ants. Their industry and providence powerfully reprove the indolent man. Guides are parents, teachers, ministers, the Bible. God is the constant Overseer. Thou God seest me. And He is the Ruler and Judge before Whom our account must be given.

III. Mischievous wickedness (1219).The poverty of the sluggard comes because of his slothfulness, that of the naughty person because of his unwearied activity in evil. All the members of his bodymouth, eyes, feet, fingersare used as instruments of unrighteousness, because the heart is wrong. With a slight addition all these features reappear in the description of the seven abominations. The sower of discord is put in strange company. The God of Peace hates strife and division.

Illustration

How important to heed the warning of the next paragraphagainst sloth! The secret of life is to leave no moment unemployed. Every hour should receive some seeds that will fruit in harvests by and by. We cannot continue doing the same thing, but we may turn from it to others. Happy the man who has several interests in his life, so that, when one set of faculties is wearied, he may turn the nervous energy into other channels. Recreation should be a means to an end, driving the red blood through heart and lung, that it may presently return oxygenated to the brain.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

6:2 Thou art {a} snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

(a) He forbids us not to become surety one for another, according to the rule of charity, but that we consider for whom and after what sort, so that the creditor may not be defrauded.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes