Proverbs 22:24-25. Make no friendship with an angry man — “As there is nothing more necessary than a friend, so a principal point of wisdom consists in the choice of him; concerning which, observe this rule among others, not to enter into any familiarity with a man prone to anger;” and with a furious man thou shalt not go — Shalt not associate, or be intimate; lest thou learn his ways — Lest thou be infected by his example, or provoked by his wrath to return the like to him; and get a snare to thy soul — Some mischief, which is often the effect of unbridled rage; or an occasion of, or temptation to sin, being led either to imitate him, or to neglect performing that great and important duty of a friend, the giving faithful and seasonable admonition and reproof, which thou mayest be induced to omit because of his furious temper.

22:17-21. To these words, to this knowledge, the ear must be bowed down, and the heart applied by faith and love. To live a life of delight in God and dependence on him, is the foundation of all practical religion. The way to know the certainty of the word of truth, is to make conscience of our duty. 22,23. He that robs and oppresses the poor, does so at his peril. And if men will not appear for them, God will. 24,25. Our corrupt hearts have so much tinder in them, that it is dangerous to have to do with those that throw about the sparks of their passion.i. e., "Do not be tempted by the helplessness of the poor man to do him wrong:" some prefer, "Refrain from doing him wrong through pity for his helplessness."

The gate - The place where the rulers of the city sit in judgment. The words point to the special form of oppression of which unjust judges are the instruments.

24, 25. (Compare Pr 2:12-15; 4:14). Into his company; not converse frequently and familiarly with him, as friends use to do.

Make no friendship with an angry man,.... Do not associate with him; contract not a familiarity with him; make him not a companion; take him not into an intimacy, or use him as a particular friend and acquaintance: a man should be courteous, and carry it civilly to all men; but he should take care whom he admits as his bosom friend; he should be cautious in his choice of a familiar friend, and not receive any; and, among the rest, avoid an angry and passionate man, one who is much given to passion himself, and stirs it up in others; for there can be no lasting peace and pleasure in such a man's company and conversation;

and with a furious man thou shall not go: not take a walk with him, much less a journey; or shall not be frequently together. It may be rendered, "unto a man of wraths", or of great wrath and "fury, thou shall not come"; not enter into his house, nor seek his company, and court his conversation, which rather should be shunned.

Make {o} no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

(o) Have nothing to do with him that is not able to rule his affections: for he would hurt you by his evil conversation.

24. an angry man] Better, a man that is given to anger, R.V. Lit a lord of anger. ἀνδρὶ θυμώδει, LXX.; homini iracundo, Vulg.

furious] Rather, wrathful, R.V.

Verses 24, 25. - Another tetrastich. Make no friendship with an angry (irascible) man. Have no close intercourse with a man given to fits of passion. And with a furious man thou shalt not go. Avoid the society of such a one. The reason follows: Lest thou learn his ways; his manner of life and conduct. as Proverbs 1:15 (where see note). Anger breeds anger; impotence, impatience. St. Basil ('De Ira'), quoted by Corn. a Lapide, enjoins, "Take not your adversary as your teacher, and be not a mirror to reflect the angry man, showing his figure in thyself." And get a snare to thy soul; bring destruction on thyself. Anger unsubdued not only mars the kindliness of social life, but leads to all sorts of dangerous complications which may bring ruin and death in their train (comp. Proverbs 15:18). Vers 26, 27. - A warning against suretyship, often repeated. Be not thou one of them that strike hands; i.e. that become guarantees for others (see on Proverbs 17:18; 20:16; and comp. Proverbs 6:1; Proverbs 11:15). Sureties for debts. The writer explains what kind of guarantee he means. Why should he (the creditor) take away thy bed from under thee? Why should you ("from respect of person." Septuagint) act so weakly as to give a creditor power to seize your very bed as a pledge? The Law endeavoured to mitigate this penalty (Exodus 22:26, 27; Deuteronomy 24:12, 13). But doubtless its merciful provisions were evaded by the moneylenders (see Nehemiah 5:11; Ezekiel 18:12, "hath not restored the pledge"). Proverbs 22:24Another tetrastich follows:

24 Have no intercourse with an angry man,

     And with a furious man go thou not;

25 Lest thou adopt his ways,

     And bring destruction upon thy soul.

The Piel רעה, Judges 14:20, signifies to make or choose any one as a friend or companion (רעה, רע); the Hithpa. התרעה (cf. at Proverbs 18:24), to take to oneself (for oneself) any one as a friend, or to converse with one; אל־תּתרע sounds like אל־תּשׁתּע, Isaiah 41:10, with Pathach of the closed syllable from the apocope. The angry man is called בּעל אף, as the covetous man בּעל נפשׁ, Proverbs 23:2, and the mischievous man בּעל מזמּות, Proverbs 24:8; vid., regarding בּעל at Proverbs 1:19 and Proverbs 18:9. אישׁ חמות is related superlat. to אישׁ חמה, Proverbs 15:18 (cf. Proverbs 29:22), and signifies a hot-head of the highest degree. לא תבוא is meant as warning (cf. Proverbs 16:10). בּוא את, or בוא עם, Psalm 26:4, to come along with one, is equivalent to go into fellowship or companionship with one, which is expressed by הלך את, Proverbs 13:20, as בוא ב means, Joshua 23:7, Joshua 23:12, to enter into communion with one, venire in consuetudinem. This בוא את is not a trace of a more recent period of the language. Also תּאלף, discas, cannot be an equivalent for it: Heb. poetry has at all times made use of Aramaisms as elegancies. אלף, Arab. אלף, ילף, Arab. âlifa, signifies to be entrusted with anything equals to learn (Piel אלּף, to teach, Job 15:15, and in Elihu's speeches), or also to become confidential with one (whence אלּוּף, companion, confidant, Proverbs 2:17); this אלף is never a Heb. prose word; the bibl. אלּוּף is only used at a later period in the sense of teacher. ארחות .reh are the ways, the conduct (Proverbs 2:20, etc.), or manner of life (Proverbs 1:19) which any one enters upon and follows out, thus manners as well as lot, condition. In the phrase "to bring destruction," לקח is used as in our phrase Schaden nehmen [to suffer injury]; the ancient language also represented the forced entrance of one into a state as a being laid hold on, e.g., Job 18:20, cf. Isaiah 13:8; here מוקשׁ is not merely equivalent to danger (Ewald, falsely: that thou takest not danger for thy soul), but is equivalent to destruction, sin itself is a snare (Proverbs 29:6); to bring a snare for oneself is equivalent to suffer from being ensnared. Whosoever comes into a near relation with a passionate, furious, man, easily accommodates himself to his manners, and, hurried forward by him and like him to outbreaks of anger, which does that which is not right before God, falls into ruinous complications.

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