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Selected Verse: Proverbs 3:3 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Pr 3:3 |
King James |
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
mercy and truth--God's faithfulness to His promises is often expressed by these terms (Psa 25:10; Psa 57:3). As attributes of men, they express integrity in a wide sense (Pro 16:6; Pro 20:28).
bind . . . write . . . heart--outwardly adorn and inwardly govern motives. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
The two elements of a morally perfect character:
(1) "Mercy," shutting out all forms of selfishness and hate.
(2) "Truth," shutting out all deliberate falsehood, all hypocrisy, conscious or unconscious.
The words that follow possibly refer to the Eastern custom of writing sacred names on pieces of papyrus or parchment, and wearing them around the neck, as charms and talismans against evil. Compare, however, Pe1 3:3-4. |
| Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
With this verse the doctrine begins; אל (not לא) shows the 3a does not continue the promise of Pro 3:2. חסד (R. חם, stringere, afficere) is, according to the prevailing usage of the language, well-affectedness, it may be of God toward men, or of men toward God, or of men toward one another - a loving disposition, of the same meaning as the N.T. ἀγάπη (vid., e.g., Hos 6:6). אמת (from אמנת), continuance, a standing to one's promises, and not falsifying just expectations; thus fidelity, πίστις, in the interrelated sense of fides and fidelitas. These two states of mind and of conduct are here contemplated as moral powers (Psa 61:8; Psa 43:3), which are of excellent service, and bring precious gain; and 4b shows that their ramification on the side of God and of men, the religious and the moral, remains radically inseparable. The suffix ם does not refer to the doctrine and the precepts, but to these two cardinal virtues. If the disciple is admonished to bind them about his neck (vid., Pro 1:9, cf. Pro 3:22), so here reference is made, not to ornament, nor yet to protection against evil influences by means of them, as by an amulet
(Note: Fleischer is here reminded of the giraffe in the Jardin des Plantes, the head of which was adorned by its Arabic keeper with strings and jewels, the object of which was to turn aside the ‛ain [the bad, mischievous look] from the precious beast.)
(for which proofs are wanting), but to the signet which was wont to be constantly carried (Gen 38:18, cf. Sol 8:6) on a string around the neck. The parallel member 3c confirms this; 3b and 3c together put us in mind of the Tephillim (phylacteries), Exo 13:16; Deu 6:8; Deu 11:18, in which what is here a figure is presented in external form, but as the real figure of that which is required in the inward parts. לוּח (from לוּח, Arab. l'ah, to begin to shine, e.g., of a shooting star, gleaming sword; vid., Wetzstein, Deutsch. morgenl. Zeitschr. xxii. 151f.) signifies the tablet prepared for writing by means of polish; to write love and fidelity on the tablet of the heart, is to impress deeply on the heart the duty of both virtues, so that one will be impelled to them from within outward (Jer 31:33). |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Mercy - Mercy denotes all benignity, charity, and readiness to do good to others: truth or faithfulness respects all those duties which we owe to God or man, which we have special obligation from the rules of justice. Bind them - Like a chain, wherewith persons adorn their necks. Table - In thy mind and heart, in which all God's commands are to be received and engraven. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee - Let these be thy constant companions through life.
Bind them about thy neck - Keep them constantly in view. Write them upon the table of thine heart - let them be thy moving principles; feel them as well as see them. |
28 Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.
6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
8 So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.
6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.