Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 25:20
[As] he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, [and as] vinegar upon niter, so [is] he that singeth songs to a heavy heart.
20. taketh away ] Better, taketh off.
nitre ] The Heb. word nether, occurs only here and in Jer 2:22, where see note in this Series. The substance meant is not saltpetre, which is now what we understand by nitre, but native carbonate of soda, which was found, as Pliny tells us, in the Soda Lakes of Egypt (Smith’s Dict. of Bible, Art. nitre). The untimeliness of singing songs to a heavy heart is illustrated by the first comparison. It is doing exactly the opposite of that which the circumstances demand. It is like taking off a garment just when one ought to put it on. The second comparison teaches vividly that the action which is thus untimely is also irritating when it ought to be soothing, and hurtful when it ought to be helpful. It is like “vinegar on nitre,” like acid on soda, which produces effervescence, calling into active exercise the natural antipathies of the substances, and destroying the virtue of the soda.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Examples of unwisdom and incongruity sharpen the point of the proverb. Pouring vinegar upon nitre or potash utterly spoils it. The effervescence caused by the mixture is perhaps taken as a type of the irritation produced by the songs sung out of season to a heavy heart.
The verb rendered taketh away may have the sense (as in Eze 16:11) of adorning oneself, and the illustration would then be, as to put on a fine garment in time of cold is unseasonable, so is singing to a heavy heart.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 20. As vinegar upon nitre] The original word nather is what is known among chemists as the natron of the ancients and of the Scriptures, and carbonate of soda. It is found native in Syria and India, and occurs as an efflorescence on the soil. In Tripoli it is found in crystalline incrustations of from one third to half an inch thick. It is found also in solution in the water of some lakes in Egypt and Hungary. The borders of these lakes are covered with crystalline masses, of a grayish white or light brown colour; and in some specimens the natron is nearly pure carbonate of soda, and the carbonate is easily discovered by effervescing with an acid. It appears to have its Hebrew name from nathar, to dissolve or loosen: because a solution of it in water is abstersive, taking out spots, c. It is used in the East for the purposes of washing. If vinegar be poured on it, Dr. Shaw says a strong fermentation immediately takes place, which illustrates what Solomon says here: “The singing of songs to a heavy heart is like vinegar upon natron:” that is, “there is no affinity between them and opposition, colluctation, and strife, are occasioned by any attempt to unite them.”
And poureth vyneger upon chalke. – COVERDALE. This also will occasion an effervescence. See Jer 2:22.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In cold weather, when it is most seasonable and necessary.
As vinegar upon nitre, which dissolves the nitre, and makes it useless and ineffectual.
So is he, he is no less absurd and impertinent,
that singeth songs to an heavy heart; whose grief is not relieved, but increased by it, as common experience showeth, and divers learned authors have observed.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. Not only is the incongruityof songs (that is, joyful) and sadness meant, but an accession ofsadness, by want of sympathy, is implied.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[As] he that taketh away a garment in cold weather,…. Either takes it off of himself, or another person, when it would be rather more proper to put another garment on, and so is exposed to the injury of cold weather;
[and as] vinegar upon nitre: nitre was found in Egypt, beyond Memphis, as Strabo says p; there were two mines of nitre, which produced much, and thence it was called the Nitriotic Nome: others say, nitre has its name from Nitria, a town in Egypt q, which gives name to the Nitrian desert, where there is a lake called Latron; from the bottom of which, that sort of nitre, called Natron, arises to the top, as is apprehended, and there, by the heat of the sun, condenses into this kind of substance r, which will react with an acid; and so vinegar poured upon it will irritate and disturb it, cause it to react, and make a noise and a hissing. This must be understood only of this sort of nitre, of the nitre of the ancients; not of the moderns, which is no other than saltpetre; for though this will ferment with vinegar, saltpetre will not s: nitre is dissolved by a liquid, but not any, only that which is cold, as Aristotle observes t, as is vinegar; and therefore, with great propriety, this is joined to what goes before;
so [is] he that singeth songs to a heavy heart; rather distresses and afflicts him the more; as he cannot sing himself, he cannot bear to hear others sing; such rather should be condoled and wept with than to have songs sung to them. Some understand the words in a sense the reverse; the word rendered taketh away, in the first clause, has the signification of adorning with a garment; hence they render it, “as he that putteth on a garment u for ornament in cold weather, and as vinegar to nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart”; that is, as an additional garment drives away cold, and vinegar dissolves nitre, so singing songs to a heavy hearted man drives away sorrow; as in the case of Saul, such an effect had music on him, 1Sa 16:21; or rather, to put on a thin garment for ornament in cold weather is as absurd and unseasonable as to put vinegar to nitre, or to a wound, as Schultens, and to sing songs to a heavy heart; all absurd.
p Geograph. l. 17. p. 552. q Isidor. Origin. l. 16. c. 2. r Philosoph. Transact. abridged, vol. 2. p. 530. s Ibid. p. 532. Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. p. 1009, 1010. t Meteorolog. l. 4. c. 6. u “ornans vestem suam”, Gussetins, p. 880. “ornata veste instruens”; Schultens.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
20 As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
1. The absurdity here censured is singing songs to a heavy heart. Those that are in great sorrow are to be comforted by sympathizing with them, condoling with them, and concurring in their lamentation. If we take that method, the moving of our lips may assuage their grief (Job xvi. 5); but we take a wrong course with them if we think to relieve them by being merry with them, and endeavouring to make them merry; for it adds to their grief to see their friends so little concerned for them; it puts them upon ripping up the causes of their grief, and aggravating them, and makes them harden themselves in sorrow against the assaults of mirth. 2. The absurdities this is compared to are, taking away a garment from a man in cold weather, which makes him colder, and pouring vinegar upon nitre, which, like water upon lime, puts it into a ferment; so improper, so incongruous, is it to sing pleasant songs to one that is of a sorrowful spirit. Some read it in a contrary sense: As he that puts on a garment in cold weather warms the body, or as vinegar upon nitre dissolves it, so he that sings songs of comfort to a person in sorrow refreshes him and dispels his grief.
| Forgiveness of Enemies. | |
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Inappropriate Merriment
Verse 20 affirms the incongruity or absurdity of attempting to comfort the sorrowing by singing songs designed for merry occasions Such is as foolish and heartless as taking away a coat in cold weather, or putting vinegar in nitre, a raising agent in bread-making which would be made useless by the vinegar, Pro 27:14; Dan 6:18; Rom 12:15.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
TEXT Pro. 25:20-28
20.
As one that taketh off a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon soda,
So is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart,
21.
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat;
And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
22.
For thou wilt heap coals of fire upon his head,
And Jehovah will reward thee.
23.
The north wind bringeth, forth rain;
So doth a backbiting tongue an angry countenance.
24.
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,
Than with a contentious woman in a wide house.
25.
As cold waters to a thirsty soul,
So is good news from a far country.
26.
As a troubled fountain, and a corrupted spring,
So is a righteous man that giveth way before the wicked.
27.
It is not good to eat much honey;
So for men to search out their own glory is grievous.
28.
He whose spirit is without restraint
Is like a city that is broken down and without walls.
STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 25:20-28
1.
Comment on the comparisons in Pro. 25:20.
2.
Where in the New Testament is Pro. 25:21 quoted?
3.
What is the meaning of Pro. 25:22?
4.
What is a backsliding tongue (Pro. 25:23)?
5.
What other verses in Proverbs are similar to Pro. 25:24?
6.
What kind of news would they look forward to from a far country (Pro. 25:25)?
7.
What is a troubled fountain (Pro. 25:26)?
8.
Give an example of one searching out his own glory (Pro. 25:27)?
9.
What virtue is lacking in one whose spirit is without restraint (Pro. 25:28)?
PARAPHRASE OF 25:20-28
20.
Being happy-go-lucky around a person whose heart is heavy is as bad as stealing his jacket in cold weather, or rubbing salt in his wounds.
21, 22.
If your enemy is hungry, give him food! If he is thirsty, give him something to drink! This will make him feel ashamed of himself, and God will reward you.
23.
As surely as a wind from the north brings cold, just as surely a retort causes anger!
24.
It is better to live in a corner of an attic than in a beautiful home with a cranky, quarrelsome woman.
25.
Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.
26.
If a godly man compromises with the wicked, it is like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.
27.
Just as it is harmful to eat too much honey, so also it is bad for men to think about all the honors they deserve!
28.
A man without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls.
COMMENTS ON 25:20-28
Pro. 25:20. In case of light sorrow of disappointments, we may sing with such a one to cheer him up and pep him up, but in case of extreme sorrow (.such as from death; we do not say to such a one, Come on, lets all gather around the piano and sing and have a good time. Festive singing would be as out of order under those conditions as taking away a needed garment in cold weather and would meet with emotional resistance similar to what happens when you pour vinegar upon soda, and the two boil up. Pulpit Commentary: The proverb gives three instances of what is wrong, incongruous, or unwise, the first two leading up to the third, which is the pith of the maxim.
Pro. 25:21. Both Old and New Testaments teach that we should treat one who has not been good to us as we would a friend. Old Testament: If thou meet thine enemys ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again (Exo. 23:4); New Testament: Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you (Mat. 5:44). Our verse and the one following are quoted in Rom. 12:20. If you, a godly person, are seeking to win an enemy through kindness, you may get nowhere by socially inviting him over for a meal. The matter may be different if he is hungry (without food) or if he is thirsty (without drink); help offered him in dire circumstances when he might well expect you to disregard his condition or inwardly rejoice over his plight will not be refused (a drowning man will grasp a rope thrown to him regardless of who is on the other end). By such means, Rom. 12:21 shows, you may be able to overcome his evil done to you by your good done to him. How worthwhile! How both of you will rejoice!
Pro. 25:22. Counseling a woman about her difficult husband, a preacher asked her if she had tried heaping colds of fire upon his head; she said, No, but Ive tried boiling water, and that didnt work. The woman missed the point of this statement. Clarke rightfully observes: Thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his headnot to consume, but to melt him into kindness, a metaphor taken from smelting metallic ores: So artists melt the sullen ore of lead By heaping coals of fire upon its head. God has promised to reward such actions.
Pro. 25:23. Rainfall in the north of Palestine is heavier than in the south, so a wind from that direction would bring moisture (or from the west, where the sea is, Luk. 12:54) while one from the south (which is desert) would only bring parching weather (Luk. 12:55). Just as surely will a tongue that bites a person behind his back arouse an angry countenance in the one so spoken of/against. Backbiting is serious: it is mentioned in Rom. 1:30 among the awful sins of that chapters long list; it is mentioned in 2Co. 12:20 as a part of church-trouble; Psa. 15:1-3 shows one must be free from it to dwell in Gods tabernacle on His holy hill; and Psa. 101:5 says God will destroy one guilty of it.
Pro. 25:24. The same is found, word for word, in Pro. 21:9. Pro. 21:19 agrees with the conclusion when it says, It is better to dwell in a desert land, Than with a contentious and fretful woman. Pro. 19:13 says, The contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. If there is anything that will get a man or that is obnoxious to a man, it is the nagging and continual harpings of a woman. Moral: Women, dont do it! Girls, dont develop it! Boys, dont marry it! Married men, you have a problem!
Pro. 25:25. In Bible days one received very little news from distant places (not like we do today). The welcomeness of a drink of cold water when thirsty and the refreshing relief it brings suggest that ones heart is refreshed or relieved (or both) from good news from relatives afar off, or in the case of kings good news from his army fighting afar off.
Pro. 25:26. A drinking fountain whose waters have been riled up or a spring that has had something dead or putrid fall into it to corrupt it are examples of something once good and usable now hindered and hurt and no longer good. So is a righteous man who gets corrupted by wicked people. This can happen to men who go into politics, to men who become judges, to men who go into business pursuits, to young people who go to college, to preachers who go to work with certain congregations; in fact, to almost anybody.
Pro. 25:27. Anything good to eat (like honey) can be overindulged in. The same warning with reference to honey, a delicacy to the ancients, was mentioned in Pro. 25:16. And anything natural, like searching into ones ancestry if it was prominent or gloating over ones accomplishments, is not good but grievous. Nobody likes to see another stuck on himself. Rom. 12:16 says, Be not wise in your own conceits. And Pro. 27:2 says, Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips. An old saying: Self-brag stinks.
Pro. 25:28. Another great verse on the need of self-control. A city broken down by some greater power and left without walls is weakened to the point of being defenseless against attack, and when a person has lost his sense of personal restraint or self-control, he/she is open to temptations attack. You are responsible for saying, Yes, to God and, No, to Satan; God built this responsibility into you when He created you with the right of choice. Restrain yourself! We put bits in horses mouths to restrain them; we build fences around livestock to restrain them; and God has commanded each of us to exercise self-control over selves. Paul said, I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected (1Co. 9:27). James wrote, Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil (Jas. 4:7). And Pro. 16:32 praises self-control: He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.
TEST QUESTIONS OVER 25:20-28
1.
What does Pro. 25:20 mean, seeing that we sing songs at funerals?
2.
Is the setting of Pro. 25:21 that of forcing ourselves socially upon one who does not like us, or what?
3.
Give an example of heaping coals of fire upon an enemys head (Pro. 25:22).
4.
Why did a north wind bring Palestinians rain (Pro. 25:23)?
5.
What does the Bible say about a backbiting tongue (Pro. 25:23)?
6.
What terrible situation is Pro. 25:24 dealing with?
7.
How did good news from family or army from afar affect the recipient (Pro. 25:25)?
8.
What kind of person is Pro. 25:27 picturing?
9.
How is one without self-control like a city without walls (Pro. 25:28)?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(20) As vinegar upon nitre, by which the nitre is rendered useless.
Is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.Not the true sympathy advised by St. Paul. (Rom. 12:15.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. As he that taketh away Rather, putteth off.
In cold weather Literally, in a day of cold.
Vinegar nitre , ( nether,) the natron or natrum of the ancients, and wholly different in its qualities from our nitre or saltpetre. It is an alkali, native in India, Syria, Tripoli, Egypt, Hungary, and other parts of the world. It is found in abundance in many parts of Asia, where the natives sweep it up from the ground, and call it soap earth. It was used in washing clothes and in baths. Compare Jer 2:22. It was made into soap by mixing it with oil. It readily dissolves in water, but produces a strong fermentation with acids. It is known in our modern chemistry (or a similar alkali produced by art) as the carbonate of soda. “Vinegar” here, as elsewhere in the Bible, means sour wine. Its Hebrew form is , ( hhomets,) from the root , ( hhamats,) to be sharp, sour, or to ferment.
A heavy heart Might be rendered a bad heart, which, according to a high authority, has no relish for music:
The man that hath no music in himself
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
So Melanchthon and others interpret the words, and make the meaning, “pertinacious sinners” are made more furious by admonitions. But the words are generally understood, as in our translation, of a heart affected with grief. Mirth, from its incongruity with his feelings, makes a sad man’s heart more sad. The Septuagint reads: “As vinegar is bad for a sore, so trouble befalling the body afflicts the heart;” and adds another: “As a moth in a garment and a worm in wood, so the grief of a man hurts the heart.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Pro 25:20 [As] he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, [and as] vinegar upon nitre, so [is] he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
Ver. 20. As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather. ] Music in mourning is held most unseasonable; that was a heathenish custom that the Jews had taken up Mat 9:23 Cantabat moestis tibia faneribus, saith Ovid, a We should rejoice with those that rejoice, and weep with those that weep. Nabla et lyra lugentibus ingrata, saith Plutarch. Music and mourning agree like harp and harrow; like thin clothing and cold weather; or like nitre and vinegar, saith Solomon. There are those who read the words otherwise, and accordingly sense them thus, As he that putteth on a garment in the cold season, or vinegar on nitre; so is he that singeth songs to a sad heart – that is, Tristitiam dissolvit cantus, ut vestes discutiunt frigus, et acetum dissolvit nitrum. b As a garment warmeth the body, and vinegar dissolveth nitre, so a sweet singer, by his delightsome ditty, cheereth up the pensive soul and driveth sorrow out of it. See 1Sa 16:23 2Ki 3:15 Dan 6:18 .
a Fast., lib. iv.
b Junius.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
takethaway, &c. = decketh himself out in. Hebrew. ‘adah. See Job 40:10. Eze 16:11, Eze 16:13; Eze 23:40. Hos 2:13, i.e. he that thinks more of his appearance than his comfort and health.
nitre = natron. Now called soda. With any acid it causes strong effervescence.
So is he. The point is in the incongruity of the three things named.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 25:20
Pro 25:20
“As one that taketh off a garment in cold weather and as vinegar upon soda, So is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart.”
“Singing gay songs to a heavy heart is like disrobing a man on a cold day, or adding sour wine to soda. Again, this deals with something that is not appropriate and that will not be appreciated.
Deane noted that the soda mentioned here was `nitrate of potash’ or saltpeter. “”It effervesces with an acid such as vinegar and becomes useless. This is indeed a valid illustration of the uselessness of singing gay songs to the disconsolate.
Pro 25:20. In case of light sorrow of disappointments, we may sing with such a one to cheer him up and pep him up, but in case of extreme sorrow (.such as from death; we do not say to such a one, Come on, lets all gather around the piano and sing and have a good time. Festive singing would be as out of order under those conditions as taking away a needed garment in cold weather and would meet with emotional resistance similar to what happens when you pour vinegar upon soda, and the two boil up. Pulpit Commentary: The proverb gives three instances of what is wrong, incongruous, or unwise, the first two leading up to the third, which is the pith of the maxim.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
that taketh: Deu 24:12-17, Job 24:7-10, Isa 58:7, Jam 2:15, Jam 2:16
vinegar: Pro 10:26
so: Psa 137:3, Psa 137:4, Ecc 3:4, Dan 6:18, Rom 12:15, Jam 5:15
Reciprocal: 1Sa 28:23 – I will Pro 31:21 – afraid
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 25:20. As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather When it is most necessary; and as vinegar upon nitre Producing an effervescence through the contrariety of their qualities; so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart Such unseasonable mirth does not relieve, but increase a mans grief, and makes his heart far more heavy and sorrowful than it was before.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
25:20 [As] he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, [and as] vinegar upon {o} soda, so [is] he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
(o) Which melts it, and consumes it.