Proverbs 17:24

“Wisdom [is] before him that hath understanding, etc.] Is near him, to direct and assist him; it is before him as a rule to walk by, and it is the mark he aims at. A man of spiritual understanding has the book of wisdom before him, the Scriptures of truth, which are able to make a man wise to salvation; and he steers his course according to them; he sets Christ, the Wisdom of God, always before him; and keeps his eye on the mark for the prize, all the while he is running his Christian race: or, “in the face of an understanding man is wisdom”f507; it is to be seen in his countenance, which is grave and composed; but the eyes of a fool [are] in the ends of the earth; where wisdom is not to be…”

“Wisdom . . . him--ever an object of regard, while a fool's affections are unsettled.”

“Before him - Set straight before his eyes as the mark to which they look. Others, following the Septuagint and Vulgate, interpret the verse, Wisdom is seen in the clear, stedfast look of the wise man as contrasted with the wandering gaze of the fool. return to 'Top of Page'”

“In the face - His wisdom appears even in his looks. The eyes - Minding most, those things which are remotest from him, and least concern him. Proverbs 17:26”

“17:24 Wisdom is not a natural quality but must be pursued. Sensible people persistently cultivate wisdom, but a fool’s eyes cannot stay focused.”

“before: Pro 14:6, Pro 15:14; Ecc 2:14, Ecc 8:1; Joh 7:17 the eyes: Pro 23:5; Psa 119:37; Ecc 6:9; Jo1 2:16 Proverbs 17:25”

“24 The understanding has his attention toward wisdom; But the eyes of a fool are on the end of the earth. Many interpreters explain, as Euchel: "The understanding finds wisdom everywhere; The eyes of the fool seek it at the end of the world." Ewald refers to Deu 30:11-14 as an unfolding of the same thought. But although it may be said of the fool (vid., on the contrary, Pro 15:14) that he seeks wisdom, only not at the right place, as at Pro 14:6, of the mocker that he seeks wisdom but in vain, yet here the order of the words, as well as the expression, lead us to another thought: before the eyes of the understanding את־פּניע, as Gen 33:18; Sa1 2:11, and frequently in the phrase 'את־פני ה,…”