26:24-26. Always distrust when a man speaks fair unless you know him well. Satan, in his temptations, speaks fair, as he did to Eve; but it is madness to give credit to him. 27. What pains men take to do mischief to others! but it is digging a pit, it is rolling a stone, hard work; and they prepare mischief to themselves. 28. There are two sorts of lies equally detestable. A slandering lie, the mischief of this every body sees. A flattering lie, which secretly works ruin. A wise man will be more afraid of a flatterer than of a slanderer.

Verse 24. - He that hateth dissembleth with his lips. This and the next verse form a tetrastich. St. Jerome, Labiis suis intelligitur inimicus. But the verb here used, נכר, bears the meaning "to make one's self unknown," as well as "to make one's self known," and hence "to make one's self unrecognizable" by dress or change of countenance (1 Kings 14:5). This is much more appropriate in the present connection than the other explanation. The man cloaks his hatred with honeyed words. And layeth up deceit within him; meditating all the time treachery in his heart (Jeremiah 9:8). Septuagint, "An enemy weeping promises all things with his lips, but in his heart he contriveth deceits." The tears in this case are hypocritical signs of sorrow, intended to deceive the dupe.

He that hateth dissembleth with his lips,.... He that bears a grudge in his mind, and retains hatred in his heart against any person, hides it all he can, till he has an opportunity of showing it as he would; he pretends a great deal of friendship with his lips, that his hatred might not be known; he would be thought to be a friend, when he is really an enemy; he does not choose as yet to make himself known what he is. Some render it to a sense the reverse, "the enemy", or "he that hateth, is known by his lips" (l); so the Targum, Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions: if you carefully watch him, mark his words, and observe what he says, you will find out the hatred that lies in his heart; he cannot forbear saying something, at one time or another, which betrays the malignity of his mind;

and layeth up deceit within him; or, "though (m) he layeth up", &c. hides it as much as he can, yet it will show itself in some way or another.

(l) "agnoscetur", Montanus, Vatablus; "cognoscetur", Tigurine version; "cognoscitur", Amama, so Luther. (m) "quamvis", Luther. apud Gejerus, Baynus.

24. dissembleth—though an unusual sense of the word (compare Margin), is allowable, and better suits the context, which sets forth hypocrisy.

Proverbs 26:24 Parallel Commentaries

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