4. If thou seekest her as silver,] If thou seekest her with as much earnestness as covetous men search for money. Perhaps it is a proverbial expression, taken from those who dig in mines. Bp. Patrick. 5. He keepeth the paths of judgment,] He preserves pious men in their integrity, encouraging them not to swerve from the rules of justice, or to cease to exercise mercy and kindness, being their Keeper and Defender in all their proceedings. Bp. Patrick. 7. The fear of the Lord &c.] The first lesson he gives, as being worthy of the first consideration, is, that all saving knowledge, including a practice answerable to that knowledge, an uniform persevering obedience to the commands of God, is founded in humble and pious reverence towards God, in the tender fear of displeasing Him, and the readiness to receive, embrace, and lay up, in an honest heart, his word and his grace, whenever it shall be revealed and afforded to us. Dr. Hammond. "The fear of the Lord" is not only now and then, but almost every where, in Scripture, put for the whole duty of man, for godliness in general; and the reason is, that the true fear of God always qualifies and tempers the mind so, that a man dares not do otherwise than please and obey God to the utmost of his knowledge and power. Bp. Beveridge. 8. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, &c.] Listen to the instructions, that is, follow the lessons of piety and virtue, which thy father and mother give thee. 9. For they shall be an ornament &c.] Meaning that a child well brought up is adorned by the wisdom, and virtues, and graces, which he wears; they are like a crown covering his head, and a chain embellishing his neck. Calmet. 10—16. My son, if sinners entice thee, &c.] The next and most important advice is, to avoid ill company. "The whole world lieth in wickedness," saith an Apostle, 1 John v. 19; and nothing can be more proper or seasonable than for instructors of youth to caution their inexperience against bad examples. The wise man here instances in one particular vice, the love of money, as being the most predominant and common of all others; and shews how it leads to the most enormous crimes, and is indeed the very "root of all evil." Wogan. blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. 12. — from the man that speaketh froward things;] Not to suffer thee to be perverted by the mouth of him, who would subtly insinuate his evil principles into thee. Bp. Patrick. 13. — to walk in the ways of darkness;] In the melancholy gloomy crooked path that leads to eternal misery. Dr. Hammond. 16. — the strange woman,] The proper meaning of the Hebrew word is, one who is estranged or alienated in her affections from her husband or her God. Dr. Durell. The practice here alluded to was chiefly and more openly carried on by women who came from neighbouring and heathen countries; and these being of another religion, if they were of any religion, would probably seduce those who frequented them into the additional Before CHRIST about 1000. b Jam. 1. 8. 17. Surely in vain the net is spread &c.] The general sense seems to be, Surely a bird has sense enough to fly from the net when he sees it: but these persons are by their wicked deeds laying snares for their own lives. 18. And they lay wait for their own blood;] These men are setting a trap for themselves, when they lie in wait to take away the lives of others: for they shall not always escape the hand of justice. Bp. Patrick. 19. — which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.] Which (evil gain) bringeth destruction on those who pursue it. Bp. Hall. 20. Wisdom crieth without; &c.] Men cannot fail to be as well acquainted with the excellent instructions of wisdom, as they are with that which is proclaimed in the streets. Bp. Patrick. Wisdom is opposed to folly, and folly in the sacred style is all impiety; so by wisdom is meant universal piety, or obedience of all sorts due unto God; and so the precepts of universal righteousness are those things which wisdom proclaims. Dr. Hammond. 20, 21. — in the streets: — in the chief place of concourse, &c.] Here seems to be an enumeration of all the publick places where proclamations were made; the highways, the streets, the tops of houses, the gates where all go in and out, and particularly the chief city Jerusalem, from which all laws were proclaimed and dispersed to the lesser cities and regions. Dr. Hammond. 22. — the scorners] Profane persons, who mock at religion and piety. 27. When your fear cometh as desolation, &c.] When calamities and dangers come upon you, which, the less they are before expected, will the more frightfully, tumultuously, and dismally seize you. The Hebrew word translated "a desolation" seems to Before CHRIST about 1000. Wisdom, that is, executed wisdom. c Chap. 8. 1. d Isa. 65. 12. b 66. 4. Jer. 7. 13. Ezek. 8. 18. Wisdom threateneth her contemners; but PROVERBS. promiseth godliness to her children, Before CHRIST about 1000. c Job 27. 9. Isaiah 1. 15. Jeremiah 11. 11. &11. 12. Micah 3. 4. as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28. Then shall they call upon me, &c.] This awful menace of God's judgment upon impenitent and hardened sinners is incorporated by the Church into the solemn and impressive exhortation contained in her Commination Service. 31. — be filled with their own devices.] Be glutted with that which they have chosen, receive the just rewards of their own ways and works. Dr. Hammond. 32. — the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.] Foolish sinners are hardened in their wicked courses by the sense of their continuing prosperity, and are therefore hurried on to their own destruction. Bp. Hall. Chap. II. ver. 1—6. Solomon in this passage teaches us, that God is the only fountain of all true wisdom; and that the only way by which we can draw wisdom out of this fountain is, by studying and practising the sacred law of God. Reading 3. — if thou criest after knowledge, If thou expressest such a desire of it, as men do of that for which they have the most ardent affection. Bp. Patrick. The Chaldee version expresses "criest" by a word which signifies the impatient crying of a child to its and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 18. — her house inclineth unto death, &c.] Various plagues and miseries of this world attend upon this sin, which promises pleasure at a distance, but in reality ensnares men into an abyss of endless evils. Dr. Hammond. 22. But the wicked &c.] The proper portion of the wicked is, to be cut off and extirpated, either by the hand of human justice, or by the curse of God, which invisibly pursues them till they be rooted out. Dr. Hammond. The happiness of good and bad men in this world has this signal and important difference: that of the righteous is chiefly internal; less visible, perhaps, but more perfect: the other is only external; more dazzling and conspicuous, but never lasting nor sincere. When the good man dies, he passes to a state of most consummate felicity: when the wicked man departs, all his prosperity dies with him; he exchanges a mere empty shew of happiness for real and eternal misery. So that his end, whenever it comes, is indeed "a cutting off from the earth," earth being the only ground in which his happiness can grow; his end is indeed a "rooting out." Wogan. Chap. III. ver. 2. For length of days, &c.] I can give thee all assurance from God, Solomon says, that, besides the endless advantage of another world, thou shalt thus obtain the blessings of this life, the prolonging of thy days here in peace and prosperity: not that the pious faithful servant of God will be exempt from afflictions in this world; but that, in the general course of things, such a person will, by God's special blessing, and by the very temper of Christian virtues, have a security of much greater real worldly happiness, than those who use unlawful arts to obtain the riches and honours of the world. Dr. Hammond. 3. — bind them about thy neck.] Alluding to the custom of wearing on their foreheads and wrists the precepts of the Lord, written on slips of parchment. Dr. Isham. 5. — lean not unto thine own understanding.] Rely not on thy wisdom, contrivances, or artifices, to compass thy designs in this world, but keep thyself to the ways and means which God affords thee, and approves: and this, beyond all worldly policy, will secure to thee a happy and easy passage through the dangers of this life. Dr. Hammond. 7. Be not wise in thine own eyes.] That is, Do not follow the dictates of worldly prudence in opposition to the commands of God. — fear the Lord, and depart from evil.] We find these expressions frequently put together in Scripture, as having nearly the same import, differing only as cause and effect; the proper fear of the Lord producing a departure from evil. Abp. Tillotson. 8. It shall be health to thy navel, &c.] This is the means of preserving a good habit both of body and soul, and of remaining, under all circumstances, cheerful, happy, and without dejection. These peculiar expressions seem to be merely a metaphorical representation of that firmness, and vigorous health, and cheerfulness of mind, which virtue imparts. Bp. Patrick. In the East, it is usual, for the most part, to apply medicines externally, and especially to the stomach. The expression "health to thy navel" seems to bear allusion to this custom. Harner. 9. Honour the Lord with thy substance.] Honour the Lord in his ministers, by paying them their dues, and bringing oblations to his house at the three solemn feasts, (Exod. xxii. 14, 15.) together with the firstfruits of all that thy estate produces, (Exod. xxii. 29, 30.) in The happy gain of wisdom. An exhortation to charitableness, &c. Before CHRIST about 1000. g Deuteronomy 28. 8. h Job 5. 17. Hebr. 12. 5. Rev. 3. 19. man that draweth out understanding. i Job 28. 15. &c. Ps. 19. 10. ch. 3. 11. 19. &16. 16. prepared. 15. — than rubies:] The meaning of the Hebrew word is not well ascertained; there are reasons for thinking that pearls are meant by it, as they were esteemed at a very high rate, not only by the Jews, but by the Romans, and even by the Medes, Persians, and Indians. Bochart. 16. Length of days is in her right hand:] Wisdom is here represented figuratively as a queen, holding in one hand length of days, and in the other, riches and honours. 17. Her ways are ways of pleasantness.] Thus it is most true that religion gives us the greatest delights and advantages in this life, even if there were no life hereafter; and hence is most apparent the extreme folly of Atheists, who, besides running a most desperate hazard after death, deprive themselves here of that very pleasure and tranquillity, for which they so anxiously 18. She is a tree of life] This seems an allusion to the tree of life which God planted at first in paradise, and which was to give to man life, health, and immortality. Such is wisdom to those who possess it; it preserves to them a long and happy life in this world, and a blessed immortality in the next. Calmet. 29. Devise not evil—seeing he dwelleth securely] Let not the quietness of any man's temper, much less the confidence he has in thy honesty and goodness, tempt thee to contrive any mischief against him; for the more securely he relies on thy virtue, and the less mistrust he has of any harm from thee, the greater wickedness will it be to entertain even the thought of doing him an injury. Bp. Patrick. 32. — the froward] He that perversely departs from all the rules of truth and justice. Bp. Patrick. — his secret is with the righteous.] Rather, "His counsel is with the righteous," as the Hebrew words Before CHRIST about 1000. k Ps. 37. 24. &91. 11. owners thereof. Practise no evil. 35. — shall inherit glory.] The glory here mentioned as the inheritance of the wise is threefold; the approbation of their own minds, of their fellow-creatures, and of the Supreme Being, the great Searcher of hearts. Dr. J. Balguy. — shame shall be the promotion of fools.] "The branding of infamy ennobles or distinguishes fools." Schultens. Chap. IV. ver. 1. Hear, ye children, &c.] So great are the sluggishness and forgetfulness of mankind in their principal concernments, that we need not wonder the wise man repeats nearly the same things, and quickens our attention to them in the beginning of this chapter. The very first step to wisdom is to have a mind to be wise. Bp. Patrick. 3. — and only beloved] According to some readings of the Hebrew Bible, the expression is, "only beloved among the sons of my mother." Dr. Hammond. 8. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: Whatever value or love thou expressest for this sort of wisdom, shall be abundantly repaid to thee by her. Dr. Hammond. VOL. II. ornament of grace: || a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. 5. Her feet go down to death;] She leads those that follow her steps to certain and inevitable destruction, not only here, but in another world. Bp. Patrick. — her steps take hold on hell.] Rather, "her steps lead on to the tomb." By the English term "hell," is commonly understood the place of torment: whereas here is meant the grave, the place where the body is consumed. Dr. Hodgson. 6. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life.] The Hebrew words admit of being translated in the third person, "She ponders not the path of life;" and this seems a preferable construction. Dr. Durell. "Her paths are always moveable," "wandering," "dangerous," "unstable," according to different versions. Dr. Hammond. She gives herself up to pleasure without reflection: her ways are inconstant, she has no fixed attachments, has neither knowledge, wisdom, or discernment, and follows no rule but her passion. Calmet. 9. Lest thou give thine honour unto others, &c.] Lest thou put thy reputation in the power of others, and even thy life; that is, of those who may divulge or revenge thy adultery, Chap. vi. 34. 11. And thou mourn] "Mourn" is too feeble a word to convey the meaning of the original. It signifies more properly, "and thou roar" with pain. Dr. Hodgson. 12. When thou goest, &c.] If thy actions and designs have no other rule than this which I give thee, thou shalt be at ease and free from those straits and difficulties with which others meet: if thy business should require haste, this will be the safest, as well as the most inoffensive way to accomplish thy ends. Bp. Patrick. 12. — How have I hated &c.] How stupidly foolish have I been, in not considering all this sooner; how senselessly bent on my own ruin! I am amazed to think 17. — they eat the bread of wickedness.] They live by robbery and spoil; having no other meat and drink but that which is the fruit of their rapine and violence, and not of their honest labours. Bp. Patrick. 18. — the shining light, that shineth more and more &c.] The whole course of righteous men, the beginning, progress, and consummation, is all imitable and exemplary, fit to attract all others to it, whether in respect to its inward lustre and excellency, or the present satisfaction and peace which attends it. In all these respects it cannot better be represented than by the light of the sun, when it is come above the horizon, continually increasing till it come to perfect noon, the day continually arraying and adorning itself, and putting on new lustre, till the whole face of nature is fully illuminated, no degree of shade or darkness any where remaining. Dr. Hammond. 21. — keep them in the midst of thine heart.] Preserve them studiously, and lay them up as a most precious L. Before CHRIST about 1000. ¶ Or, she shall compass thee with a crown of glory. Solomon exhorteth to sanctification. The mischiefs of whoredom and riot. Before CHRIST about 1000. medicines. not keeping. frowardness of mouth, and perverseness of lips. ways shall be ordered aright. 23. Keep thy heart with all diligence;] The heart is here used to denote the seat of the affections, passions, and desires; and by the precept "to keep our hearts," is meant, that we should diligently preserve our good dispositions, and correct our bad ones; for which two things principally are necessary, a frequent examination of our own heart, and a constant endeavour to wean our affections from this world, and to fix them on another. Dr. Waterland. — for out of it are the issues of life.] The genuine and natural sense of this is, that all the actions of a man's life issue and proceed from the heart; which is the fountain, not only of our natural life, but of our moral too; so that, as a man's heart is, so will his life be: if his heart be kept clear and pure, his life cannot be wicked and vicious; and if his heart be wicked and vicious, his life cannot be kept clean and pure from sin; as our Saviour Himself teaches, Matt. vi. 16 - 20. Bp. Beveridge. 24. Put away from thee a froward mouth.] Never speak any thing thyself contrary to truth, honesty, and religion, nor listen to, or associate with, those that do so. Bp. Patrick. 25. Let thine eyes look right on, &c.] Let neither thine eyes, nor thy other senses, be drawn aside to the right hand or to the left, but let them be directed aright, according to the law of thy God. Bp. Hall. 27. Turn not to the right hand &c.] Let no temptation either of hope or fear, passion or interest, be able to seduce or divert thee from the straight and even path of virtue, but exactly and carefully preserve thyself from every thing that is evil. Dr. Hammond. Chap. V. ver. 3. For the lips of a strange woman] The wise man here gives a new caution against those impure desires, which he had before noticed, chap. ii. 16, 17, as great obstructions to religious wisdom; and he describes their miserable effects by several apt resemblances, ver. 4, 5, which shew how by these vices men lose their honour, their time, their health, and estates, and at last lie down in sorrow, and end their days in an unprofitable repentance. Bp. Patrick. — drop as an honeycomb.] Are full of sweet enticements. Bp. Hall. 14. I was almost in all evil &c.] Better, perhaps, "I was in almost all evil." I have plunged myself into all sort of evil, in the midst of my people, being too well known for my vices, and obtaining no compassion. Calmet. 15. Drink waters &c.] The wise man, having thus represented the dangers and wasting miseries of incontinence, gives the seasonable and necessary advice, that every man should strictly abstain from wandering lusts, and remain in the society of his own wife. Dr. Hammond. 16. Let thy fountains be dispersed &c.] Besides many other blessings, thou wilt hence derive the comforts of a numerous flourishing offspring, which, as streams or rivers from a fountain, will flow from a chaste conjugal bed. Dr. Hammond. 17. Let them be only thine own.] Thou wilt thus have the assurance, that the children thou ownest are truly thine. Dr. Hammond. 19. — as the loving hind and pleasant roe;] Rather, "as the beloved hind and the favourite roe." The comparison is here very appropriate, for it is well known that all the males of the deer-kind are remarkably fond of the females which they have selected for their partners; and, although timid animals in general, will, on their account, encounter any danger to the hazard of their lives. Dr. Durell. 22. — he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.] The wicked man engages in these shameful and illicit pursuits, without foreseeing their mournful consequences; he thinks he will be able to disengage himself from them whenever he pleases, but he is forging chains for himself which he will not be able to break; the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his † sins. 23. He shall die without instruction;] He shall die for want of instruction. Dr. Waterland. Chap. VI. ver. 1. — if thou be surety for thy friend.] My son, be advised by me not to pass thy word rashly for the money which thy neighbour or friend borroweth of another, much less stand bound to a stranger, of whose honesty or ability thou art not assured; for if thou hast been so incautious as to be drawn into such engagements, "thou art snared with the words of thy mouth," look upon thyself no longer as a free man, but hampered and enslaved by dangerous obligations. Bp. Patrick. — if thou hast stricken thy hand &c.] To strike hands with another person was a general emblem of agreement, bargaining, or suretiship. Thus the ancient poets often represent it. Burder. Solomon frequently exhorts to the avoiding of suretiship, as a most dangerous indiscretion; by which he seems to mean, that we should never be bound in behalf of another for more than we can afford to lose, without any considerable detriment to our fortunes or families. Dr. Jortin. 3. — go, humble thyself, &c.] These words may rather be rendered "Go, stir up thyself, and prevail with thy compassion;" "give not sleep to thine eyes," ver. 4; that is, without the least delay take this course to disentangle thyself. Dr. Hammond. 6. Go to the ant, thou sluggard; &c.] As in the matter just mentioned, the least delay is pernicious, so, in all things else, sluggishness or negligence of those things which concern us most nearly, should ever be avoided; and if we need any instructor on this head, we may go to one of the least and meanest of creatures. Dr. Hammond. L 2 Seven things hateful to God. The mischiefs of whoredom. Before CHRIST about 1000. a Chap. 24. 33. b Chap. 13. 4. &20. 4. casteh forth. son. Houghty eyes. c Rom. 3. 15. 8. Provideth her meat in the summer.] The industry of the ant has been frequently noticed by the ancient poets. It has been generally believed that these animals lay up stores of corn for their winter's provision, and that they gnaw off the buds of the grains so as to prevent their growing in the earth. This fact is asserted by Pliny; Bochart produces many writers asserting the same. La Pluche says, "A prevailing passion in these little animals is to amass stores of grain; and, lest the humidity of the cells should make the corn shoot up, we are told for a certainty that they gnaw off the buds which grow at the point of the grain." Parkhurst. 10. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber.] By the repetition of the words here seems to be implied, sleep and slumber often repeated at different intervals. The change of the person speaking, from the preceptor to the sluggard, in this verse, is extremely beautiful. 11. — as one that travelleth, — as an armed man.] "As one that travelleth," that is, by surprise: "as an armed man," with irresistible violence. Bp. Patrick, Calmet. 12. A naughty person.] In the Hebrew, "a man of Belial;" denoting probably an idle, foolish, wicked man, who cares not for God's directions of his tongue or life. "With a froward mouth;" in the Hebrew, "with perverseness of mouth," in the sense of detracting from the actions of other men, and so perverting all to the worst sense that is possible. Dr. Hammond. 13. He winketh with his eyes, &c.] Such a person when he has nothing of weight to say against a man, will, by significant gestures of all sorts, intimate matters to his 15. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly.] Such a person shall be brought to utter ruin, when he fancies he has carried his matters so cunningly, that no one discerns his villany. Bp. Patrick. "He shall be broken without remedy;" alluding, it appears, to an earthen vessel, which, when broken into pieces, cannot be made whole again. Dr. Wells. 16. These six things &c. These six things, which are commonly found in such profligate persons, "doth the Lord hate:" yea, there is one more, and so in all there are seven things commonly found in such persons, which are an abomination to Him. Dr. Wells. The seven things are these: pride or haughtiness; lying or fraudulence; guilt of blood; malice or projecting of evil; a pleasure in doing mischief; false witness or calumny; a causing of discord or ill-will among those who live friendly together. Dr. Hammond. 22. — it shall talk with thee.] Shall suggest good thoughts to thee. Dr. Wells. 25. — with her eyelids.] See note at 2 Kings ix. 30. 26. — will hunt for the precious life.] Will bring the adulterer to his grave. See Ezek. xiii. 18. Dr. Isham. 30. Men do not despise a thief, &c.] The general meaning of this verse and the following is, However Before CHRIST about 1000. d Chap. 1. 8. c Ps. 19. 8. &119. 105. f Or, candle. &3. 3. &7. 3. g Or, of the strange tongue. g Matt. 5. 28. woman of a man, or, a man's wife. Solomon persuadeth to wisdom. An harlot's behaviour described. Before CHRIST about 1000. 31. — he shall restore sevenfold;] The law of Moses does not enjoin a restitution of sevenfold, but in a smaller proportion, Exod. xxii. 1. 4. Bp. Patrick. Seven seems only put here for a number of perfection: the meaning is, he shall make a perfect and full restitution according to the law, so far as his substance or estate will reach. Abp. Tillotson. 32. But whoso committeth adultery &c.] The adulterer robs a man of his wife, without any such necessity, and therefore is destitute of all excuse, and must be looked upon as void of all understanding; and when he is discovered, he will be punished, not merely in his estate, but with the loss of his life, Lev. xx. 10. Bp. Patrick. 34. For jealousy is the rage of a man:] No translation can fully express the force of the original here. "The inflammation of jealousy is the setting a man on fire:" as much as to say, The jealousy with which a man is inflamed, so heats him and rages within him, that he can never be appeased, but is borne with irresistible violence to the revenge of his defiled bed. Schultens. Chap. VII. ver. 2. — as the apple of thine eye.] Rather, "as the pupil of thine eye." Dr. Durell. — upon the highest places of the city.] The schools of the Prophets were seated on "high places," as appears from 1 Sam. x. 5. 10, &c.; which seems to be the allusion here of wisdom crying upon the highest places of the city, to invite those who had a disposition towards her to come and hear her instructions. Bp. Patrick. Or the expression may allude merely to the tops of the houses and parapets, to which it was customary to go for the purpose of proclaiming any thing aboud, agreeably to the expression of our Saviour, "Preach ye upon the housetops." Matt. x. 27. Calmet. 2. She hath killed her beasts; &c.] She hath made a plentiful provision for all hungry and thirsty souls, who will find no less life, and vigour, and strength, and joy communicated to them from her sacred instructions, than the body does when it partakes of a liberal and delicious feast. Bp. Patrick. 3. Bind them upon thy fingers, &c.] It is sufficiently evident that Solomon could not mean this precept to be understood literally, any more than the next expression, which frequently occurs, "Write them on the table of thine heart;" yet it was on such texts as these (see Exod. xiii. 16; Deut. vi. 8; xi. 18.) that the Pharisees founded the practice of binding on their foreheads phylacteries, or slips with particular precepts of the law inscribed upon them. Dr. Durell. See note at Exod. xiii. 9. 3. She hath sent forth her maidens.] She hath sent forth her attendants and ministers, persons of uncorrupted purity and sincerity, to invite men with a loud voice, which cannot but be heard by whole cities and countries. This expression may be illustrated by a drink of the wine which I have mingled. 4. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister;] Be as familiar with wisdom, as if she were thy own natural sister. Bp. Hall. The name of "sister" occurs often as the name of friendship, and is employed to express the affection of the husband to his bride. Cant. iv. 9; v. 1, &c. It here marks the chaste love which we ought to bear to wisdom. Calmet. 7. He that reproceth a scorner &c.] He who performs the charitable office of reproving those who deride religion, and scoff at all good admonition, not only loses his labour, but will probably be requited with reproaches. Bp. Patrick. — getteth himself a blot.] Suffers vile and unworthy usage. Dr. Wells. 9. In the twilight, &c.] He seems to enumerate the several periods of the night, intending to imply that he had frequently observed the scene which he describes, although he professes to be describing only one particular instance. Schultens. 10. — of the holy] Of sacred things, or Divine revelations. Dr. Isham. 11. [She is loud and stubborn;] Translators have differed in rending these words; they seem rather to mean, "She is prating, petulant, and wandering, running about from house to house." Dr. Hammond. 12. If thou be wise, &c.] If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for the good of thyself; but if thou scornest religion, thou alone shalt bear the punishment of it. Dr. Wells. 14. I have peace offerings with me; &c.] "I have peace offerings with me," that is, "I have an entertainment or feast at my house;" for in sacrifices of this sort, the person that offered reserved a part of the victim for convivial purposes. Dr. Durell. This narrative is strongly expressive of the woman's character; of her Before CHRIST about 1000. b Chap. 5. 3. c Chap. 9. 13. An harlot's behaviour described. The fame and evidency of wisdom. Before CHRIST about 1000. 14. — on a seat in the high places] For the purpose of inveigling passengers. It is related by travellers in the East, that it is still the practice for prostitutes to sit at the doors of their houses, in the most alluring pomp that they can display. Harmer. Before CHRIST about 1000.