Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 15:19
The way of the slothful [man is] as a hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous [is] made plain.
19. a hedge of thorns ] which may be either of his own making (Pro 24:30-31), or of his own imagining (Pro 22:13).
made plain ] “Heb. raised up as a causey ” (archaic form of causeway), A.V. marg.; made a high way, R.V. Comp. Isa 57:14; Isa 62:10, where the same Heb. word occurs.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The slothful goes on his journey, and for him the path is thick set with thorns, briars, fences, through which he cannot force his way. For the righteous (better, upright), the same path is as the broad raised causeway of the kings highway. Compare Isa 40:3.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. The way of the slothful man is as a hedge of thorns] Because he is slothful, he imagines ten thousand difficulties in the way which cannot be surmounted; but they are all the creatures of his own imagination, and that imagination is formed by his sloth.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The way of the slothful man, the way in which he doth or ought to walk, any good work which he pretends or desires to undertake,
is as an hedge of thorns; as a way hedged up with thorns, as it is expressed, Hos 2:6, troublesome and perplexed, and full, of such difficulties as he despaireth, and therefore never striveth, to overcome.
The way of the righteous, who is always diligent in his calling, which is one branch of righteousness, and therefore is fitly opposed to the slothful, who is joined with the wicked, Mat 25:26, and censured as such both in Scripture and heathen authors, because idleness is both in itself a sin, and it leads the way to many other wickednesses.
Is made plain; is easy and pleasant to him, notwithstanding all his discouragements and difficulties.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. The difficulties of theslothful result from want of energy; the righteous find a
plain [and open]wayliterally, “a highway,” by diligence (1Sa 10:7;Psa 1:3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The way of the slothful [man is] as an hedge of thorns,…. Or, “strewed with thorns”, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions; the Targum is,
“the ways of the slothful are briers and thorns.”
Either really being made so by his own conduct; who, by his slothfulness, has implicated and entangled himself in such difficulties, that he cannot extricate himself; his way is not passable, at least not very easily; it is as it were hedged up with thorns; see Ho 2:6; or in his own apprehensions; who raises such difficulties about doing business, which to him seem insurmountable; at least which discourage him from attempting it, it being like breaking through thorns and briers; hence he will not plough because of the cold, nor go abroad because there is a lion in the streets,
Pr 20:4; or the way of his duty, especially of virtue and religion, is as troublesome and disagreeable to him as breaking through a thorn hedge, or treading upon briers and thorns; to attend the duties of public worship, prayer, and hearing the word, is very irksome to him; to be present at family worship, at prayer, and hearing the Scriptures or religious discourses read, is like sitting upon thorns unto him. This, as Aben Ezra observes, is to be understood of a wicked man, as the opposition in the next clause shows;
but the way of the righteous [is] made plain: it is a castup way, as the word p signifies; a causeway, a highway, and a plain one, in which a truly righteous and good man finds no difficulty; yea, it is so plain, that men, though fools in other respects, shall not err therein,
Isa 35:8; nor is it grievous and troublesome, but, on the contrary, very delightful, as the ways of Christ and wisdom are; his commandments are not grievous, his yoke is easy, and his paths pleasant; and the righteous man walks at liberty and with pleasure in them; and without offence or stumbling, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it.
p “aggestum”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “eleveta”, Mercerus, Gejerus; “strata”, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
19 The way of the slothful is as hedged with thorns;
But the path of the righteous is paved.
Hitzig misses the contrast between (slothful) and (upright), and instead of the slothful reads , the tyrannical. But is then the slothful ? The contrast is indeed not that of contradiction, but the slothful is one who does not act uprightly, a man who fails to fulfil the duty of labour common to man, and of his own special calling. The way of such an one is , like a fencing with thorns (from , R. , to be pointed, sharp, distinguished from Arab. hadk , to surround, and in the meaning to fix with the look, denom. of khadakt , the apple of the eye), so that he goes not forwards, and sees hindrances and difficulties everywhere, which frighten him back, excusing his shunning his work, his remissness of will, and his doing nothing; on the contrary, the path of those who wait truly and honestly on their calling, and prosecute their aim, is raised up like a skilfully made street, so that unhindered and quickly they go forward ( , R. , aggerare , cf. Jer 18:15 with Isa 49:11 and Isa 49:4:8, , which was still in use in the common language of Palestine in the second cent., Rosch haschana, 26b).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
19 The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.
See here, 1. Whence those difficulties arise which men pretend to meet with in the way of their duty, and to be insuperable; they arise not from any thing in the nature of the duty, but from the slothfulness of those that have really no mind to it. Those that have no heart to their work pretend that their way is hedged up with thorns, and they cannot do their work at all (as if God were a hard Master, reaping where he had not sown), at least that their way is strewed with thorns, that they cannot do their work without a great deal of hardship and danger; and therefore they go about it with as much reluctance as if they were to go barefoot through a thorny hedge. 2. How these imaginary difficulties may be conquered. An honest desire and endeavour to do our duty will, by the grace of God, make it easy, and we shall find it strewed with roses: The way of the righteous is made plain; it is easy to be trodden and not rough, easy to be found, and not intricate.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Way of Sluggard and Upright Contrasted
Verse 19 suggests that because of his laziness and effort to avoid committing himself, the sluggard’s path is as twisted and difficult as a path obstructed by a thorn hedge, Pro 10:5; Pro 19:24; Pro 22:5; Pro 22:13; Pro 24:30-31; but the way of the upright who follow instructions is straight and the easiest, Pro 4:24-26. (Margin for second line of Pro 4:26 is “all thy ways shall be established.”)
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 15:19. Made plain, is paved, or is a highway.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 15:19
THE WAY OF THE SLOTHFUL AND THE RIGHTEOUS
I. The one thing common to these opposite charactersa way. The eagle and the snail have both a way of motion, although the one swiftly cleaves the air, and the other drags itself slowly along the ground. Unlike as they are in form and in habit, they are both impelled to some kind of motion. So with the sluggard and the man who complies willingly with Gods ordinance of labourthey are both compelled to some exercise of their bodily and mental organs, but there is as great a contrast in the way in which they exercise them as there is between the way of the snail and the eagle.
II. The contrast between the ways of these opposite characters.
1. That of the sluggard is a way of self-prevention. He lessens his power by neglecting to use it. The man who has power to pull against a rapid at a certain point of the stream and will not use it, but allows his boat to drift on until he comes into a current against which he can make no headway, has thrown away his power, and is his own destroyer. The effort which he neglected to put forth at a time when it would have been effectual, is of no avail now that the time has passed. Every man in health of body and mind has physical, and mental, and moral powers which at a certain period in his life are equal to the overcoming of all ordinary obstacles to his moral and physical well-being. But if he neglects to use them the tide against him will grow stronger, because his power will decrease, and his neglect and inertness, whether in material or in spiritual things, will raise around him a hedge of thorns, which will require much extraordinary and painful effort to break through. A thorn-hedge in its beginnings may be easily stepped over, or it may be almost as easily uprooted; but if it is allowed to grow and strengthen itself for several years it makes an almost impassable barrierat least, a barrier which cannot be overcome without a great and painful effort. So with the sluggard, temptations to indolenceto neglect of powers which God has given him to be usedmight once have been easily overcome, and have been so completely conquered as to cease to be temptations. But yielded to until they have become habits, they form around him as impassable a barrier, or one which can be broken through only by as great and as painful exertion as a hedge of thorns. Often we hear him complaining of the difficulties in the way, and truly they are there, but they are mainly of his own creation, the hedge is about him, but it is of his own plantingthe lion is there (chap. Pro. 26:13), but the lion was placed there by the man who is afraid to face him.
2. The way of the righteousof him who is willing to strive after his moral and physical well-beingis a way in which it is easier to walk the longer it is pursued. It is made plain, or it is a paved way. (a) God helps to smooth his way, because it is a Divinely ordained way. He who rules the world has ordained that many material gifts and all the most [precious mental and moral gifts shall be the reward of those only who earnestly strive after them. The way of diligent continuance in well-doing is as old as God Himself, and it is the way in which He requires His creatures to walk. This being so, those who tread it may rely upon His help to exalt the valleys, to level the mountains, and to make the rough places plain which lie in their road, (b) The way is made plain by the man himself. The continued repetition of acts makes habit, and he who pushes boldly and fearlessly forward in the way of righteous exertion finds the hard become easier and the stony places smoother by the very constitution of his nature. He makes his way plain by his resolution to walk in it, he leaps the hedge while his slothful neighbour is counting the number of feet it is from the ground. It is well to look before we leap, but some look so long that they never take the leap, and the slothful man looks so long at the difficulties in his way that he never finds courage enough to grapple with them. But the very resolve to try brings strength for action, and the power grows by use until what is a hedge of thorns to an indolent man is a level road to his righteous neighbour. The word righteous being here placed in antithesis to slothful shows how great a sin it is to neglect to use the opportunities which God has given to men to ensure their real and highest interests. (See also on chap. Pro. 13:4, page 296.)
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Gods Word recognises the universal law of work. By frequent precept and cheering promises, it consecrates our daily labour. Mindful of the old Latin maxim, Laborare est orare, toil is prayer, the Christian learns from the record of Gods will that honest, faithful, diligent, God-fearing, and God-honouring work is itself a worship acceptable to the great All-worker. Toil, hard toil, is duty. Even the heathen world confessed that the gods gave nothing to men without it had been earned by severe exertion God enjoins diligence upon us by precept and by example. About us, all things perform their allotment of work, and of it promptly and without a thought of delay. The winds sweep over the face of the earth, attent alone on the fulfilment of their appointed mission. Here they come on silent pinions, to bear away the rising exhalation of death from the lowlands or the pest-house; there they carpet the earth with the sere and yellow leaves of autumn, covering the earth with russet and gold. Now their task is the flushing of some sick ones pale cheek, as they rustle through the spring blossoms, laden with sweet health. There they hinder and destroy the else invincible Armada, creeping forth on its purpose of spreading far and wide destruction and death. Thus, too, the never-resting sea. Lashing its worn and rugged shore, the incoming tides bear on their bosom the wealth of trade; or else, lifting its waves in its fury, it engulfs those who go down into the sea to do business in the deep waters. Thus, too, the hidden fires of earth, ever smouldering within, ever restless in their workingsnow tossing the foam and spray of the geysers in their play, or now opening in wide fissures of molten death, to scorch the surface of the earth with the poisonous sulphur smoke, or bury for centuries in dust and ashes, and under the lava tide, the homes and haunts of the men of the past. Thus God teaches men by His own ceaseless workings through ten thousand ever busy forces. And revelation utters the same bidding to unremitting toil. Diligent hands are speedily rendered expert. Long use gives practice and perfection, until that which was at first the toilsome labour of hours becomes the easily attained result of a few moments application. And the diligent hand teaches and trains the wary and observant eye.Life Lessons from the Book of Proverbs, by Dr. Perry, Bishop of Iowa.
The wise man mentions righteousness in this place rather than diligence, because the latter is included in the former, and is not sufficient without it to make a mans way plain.Lawson.
Observe Gods estimate of the slothful man. He contrasts with him not the diligent, but the righteous, marking him as a wicked, because a slothful, servant (Mat. 25:26). The difficulties are far more in the mind than in the path. For while the slothful man sits down by his hedge-side in despair, the way of the righteous (in itself not more easy) is made plain. He does not expect God to work for him in an indolent habit. But he finds that God helps those that help themselves. Following His commands, feeding upon His promises, continuing in prayer, in waiting and watching for an answer to prayer, his way is raised up before him. He believes what is written, and acts upon it without delay. As soon as ever the light comes into his mind, at the very first dawn, this determines the direction of his steps, and the order of his proceedings. Thus his stumbling-blocks are removed (Num. 13:30; Num. 14:6-9; Isa. 57:14).Bridges.
Grace has not only a brighter (Pro. 15:15) but an easier time. We see the like in worldly matters. Nothing is more striking than the ease with which a prompt man works. His tackle is all right, so is his ground, it has been made smooth by his last years toil. His hands are not blistered. His lazy neighbour admires, and longs after his chance. Laziness begets labour. In the round year, the sluggard fevers himself more than the diligent; while, in the spiritual world, the proverb is more signal still. Just where the upright stands there is a smooth pathand let it be observed the upright means the smooth, the level. Just where the sinner stands is a thorn hedge. He cannot enter into life; so he imagines. And yet he is a sluggard, for he will not do the plainest duties. The proverb is right, therefore, that it is the principle of sluggardism to create a hedge of thorns; and that it is far smoother to take hold of the faith by the right handle, and at once, than to be eternally kicking against the pricks of the Gospel.Miller.
Because the latter part of the verse speaketh of the righteous, we may by the slothful understand the wicked; for it is slothfulness in not using the graces of God offered that maketh to be wicked. God giveth the righteous pleasure, even in the troubles of serving Him. In their conversation, by the lightsomeness and leap, as it were, of eternal hope and internal contemplation, they do pass over the impediments of temporal adversity.Jermin.
The way of a slothful man is perplexed and letsome, so that he gets no ground, makes no riddance; he goes as if he were shackled when he is to go upon any good course, so many perils he casts and so many excuses he makesthis he wants, and that he wants, when in truth it is a heart only that he wants, being wofully hampered and enthralled in the invisible chains of the kingdom of darkness, and driven about by the devil at his pleasure. Never any came to hell, saith one, but had some pretence for their coming hither.Trapp.
Every good service is hard or easy, according as mens wills are inclined unto it. He that hath his mind pressed and ready to the practice of any duty, either of piety, justice, or mercy, will observe all the inducements that may lead him to the same: and he that is averse and backward, will look to all the impediments that may discourage him from it. That Israel should root out the Canaanites, the unfaithful spies thought it no less impossible, than for grasshoppers to overcome giants; but Caleb and Joshua knew it to be no more unlikely than for armed soldiers to vanquish naked people, or for hungry persons to eat up meat. First, the one is fortified by the force of love, which is unresistable and strong as death, that nothing can withstand it: and the other being destitute of all love to any goodness, is likewise void of all power to proceed in, and go through with any work that is good. Secondly, faith showeth to the one what help God will minister, and what reward He will render to all them that apply themselves to His service. And infidelity persuadeth the other that well-doing is needless and fruitless, or chargeable and troublesome.Dod.
For Homiletics on Pro. 15:20, see on Chapter Pro. 10:1, page 136.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
One particular in which children show themselves wise or else foolish and so can gladden or else sadden their parents is by giving or withholding due honour. A foolish man. No age or state exempts children from honouring their parents. Grown young men are sometimes apt to look with some contempt on their mothers, because of the weakness of the feminine mind.Fausset.
As for him that despiseth his motherand who doth not so that despiseth her careful admonition?he is not a son, the spirit of God doth not here style him to be so: he is a foolish man. For how can he be otherwise, who knoweth his own mother so little as that he doth despise her?Jermin.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(19) As a hedge of thorns.Every difficulty in his path serves as an excuse for inaction (comp. Pro. 22:13); while the upright man, who does his duty as in the sight of God, goes from strength to strength (Psa. 84:7), along the path of life smoothed for him (Isa. 26:7), performing the just works appointed for him to do.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. The way of the slothful man is as a hedge of thorns That is, seems so to him; a barrier that he cannot get over.
Made plain Rather, is cast up; a plain highway. Culpable indolence sees an insurmountable obstacle where honest effort finds only a highway. Compare Pro 6:10; Pro 10:26; Pro 10:28; Isa 40:3.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 19. The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 15:19 The way of the slothful [man is] as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous [is] made plain.
Ver. 19. The way of a slothful man is as a hedge of thorns. ] Perplexed and letsome, so that he gets no ground, makes no riddance; he goes as if he were shackled when he is to go upon any good course; so many perils he casts, and so many excuses he makes; this he wants, and that he wants, when in truth it is a heart only that he wants, being woefully hampered and enthralled in the invisible chains of the kingdom of darkness, and driven about by the devil at his pleasure. This will be a bodkin at these men’s hearts one day, to think I had a price in my hand, but no heart to make use of it; I foolishly held that a little with ease was best, and so “neglected so great salvation,” shifting off him that “spake to me from heaven,” Heb 12:25 and pretending some “lion in the way,” some ‘goose at the gate,’ a When I was to do anything for my soul’s health. Never any came to hell, saith one, but had some pretence for their coming thither.
But the way of the righteous is made plain.
a Germani dicunt, Anser est in porta.
b Via strata.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the righteous = upright ones.
made plain = a raised road. Illustration: Eleazar (Gen 24:12, Gen 24:26, Gen 24:27, Gen 24:52. Psa 37:23).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 15:19
Pro 15:19
“The way of the sluggard is a hedge of thorns; But the path of the upright is made a highway.”
There is an unusual interpretation of this proverb in this: “The path of the lazy man, (he says), is blocked with thorns, whereas to the upright his road is a highway. We accept this interpretation as correct because of Pro 26:13.
Pro 15:19. Try to walk down an old road that has gotten grown over with thorn bushes. Progress is slow and difficult. Such is the way of the sluggard of lazy person (Pro 22:5). In contrast the path of the upright is clear and open (like a highway). Pro 4:18 also speaks of the path of the righteous.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
way of the slothful: Pro 22:5, Pro 22:13, Pro 26:13, Num 14:1-3, Num 14:7-9
the way of the righteous: Pro 3:6, Pro 8:9, Psa 5:8, Psa 25:8, Psa 25:9, Psa 25:12, Psa 27:11, Isa 30:21, Isa 35:8
made plain: Heb. raised up as a causey, Isa 57:14
Reciprocal: Jos 18:3 – How long are Pro 6:6 – thou Pro 19:24 – General Pro 21:25 – General Luk 16:3 – I cannot Heb 6:12 – ye
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 15:19. The way of the slothful man The way in which he does or ought to walk; any good work which he pretends or desires to undertake; is as a hedge of thorns As a way hedged up with thorns, (see Hos 2:6,) troublesome, perplexed, and full of such difficulties as he despairs, and therefore never strives to overcome; but the way of the righteous Who is always diligent in his calling, (this being one branch of his righteousness,) and, therefore, is fitly opposed to the slothful, who is joined with the wicked, Mat 25:26, and censured as wicked both in the Scriptures and in heathen authors, idleness being both in itself a sin, and leading the way to many other sins; is made plain Is easy and pleasant to him, notwithstanding all its difficulties.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
15:19 The way of the slothful [man is] as an hedge of {e} thorns: but the way of the righteous [is] made plain.
(e) That is, he always finds some hinderance or stay, and dares not go forward.