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This rendition of the Charles Bridges Commentary (which Spurgeon called “the best work on the Proverbs”) was created to make this excellent resource more readily available over the internet, utilizing the familiar look and helpful features of a web browser. The linking capability reduces the time required to check the plethora of cross-references found in the book, and the linked Subject Index entries enable quick jumping to the specified places within the expositions / footnotes. Also included are links to display how each Proverb has been rendered in different translations, links to see how other reputable preachers and commentators have expounded a passage, links to R.A. Torrey's cross-reference resource Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, pages for displaying each chapter in its entirety, and expanded entries in the Subject Index section.
This work was created from scratch using Banner of Truth printing ISBN 0 85151 088 4 (from 1987). Some mistakes in the book were discovered and corrected (a listing of which can be found here if you would like to correct your hardcopy).
Below is the Main Index page. The listed chapter numbers are in different colors, indicating the three major divisions of the book (as set forth in the Preface). The third section is further sub-divided into lighter orange (for chapters 25-29) and darker orange (for chapters 30-31) to distinguish between the two different human authors. Tapping/clicking on any number brings you to the exposition of the first verse(s) of that chapter (or to the other sections of the book – the Preface, the Conclusion, etc.). The red background and gold letters are from scans of the Banner book that was used.
The window below is an example of an Exposition page. The various buttons are pretty much self-explanatory. The “Chapter 3” button (in the center) links to a page which contains the entirety of Proverbs Chapter 3. Note that in the table of verses below, the number “34” is the only number in black font: this will be true for whichever exposition is currently selected. If the Previous Verse or Next Verse buttons are pressed, number “33” or “35” will turn black and the corresponding comments will be displayed (the window below is active, so this can be tried below). To jump directly to any other exposition within this chapter, tap on that particular verse number. To go to a different chapter, click on the Main Index button (or on the Previous/Next Chapter buttons if your destination is an adjacent chapter).
The red cross (†) below indicates that this particular verse is quoted in the New Testament: clicking on this jumps to a page displaying both.
The black cross (“†”) below (at the end of the first sentence) is a Footnote indicator: more information on these can be found in the next section.
The window below contains a Footnote indicator at the end of the first sentence (see “†”). These correspond to the ones found in the hardcopy (except that all of them in this e-version are crosses: the book has a variety of types). Clicking/tapping on them will display the contents of the footnote exactly as it appears in the book (except that the Scripture texts themselves have been added to the ones which contain such). Many footnotes contain further insightful explanatory remarks by Mr. Bridges and/or other commentators. After reading the footnote, press the Back button of your browser to return to the exposition window.
Some hints to avoid losing your place upon returning:
1) If you have a physical keyboard (laptop/desktop), pressing the ALT + Left-Arrow keys (rather than pressing the Back button of the browser) should leave the mouse pointer at the exact location where you left off reading. It can be well worth the effort to practice this a few times to get into the habit.
2) Generally speaking, unvisited Scripture Reference links should be blue, whereas visited links should be purple. Some browsers show the very last visited Scripture reference link in red, and the last visited footnote indicator will have a red underline (this can vary depending on which browser and/or device you might be using: check to see how your specific system handles these things). Thus, the place to resume reading should be near to the last purple (or red) link on the page – or – to the last footnote indicator with a red underline. (This of course assumes that you have been clicking on all of the links as you go).
The “Chapter xx” buttons (located centrally on each exposition page) jump to display the currently-selected chapter in its entirety (see window below). Large portions in Proverbs are verses which are (seemingly) unconnected to each other, so in these cases an overall context is not a factor in understanding them. However, the first and third divisions of the Book include extended narratives – long sections of thematically connected verses – thus creating contexts. (All of Chapter 5 for example is an extended exhortation for sexual purity). Thus, these buttons to display the current chapter can be used to view these larger contexts.
They can also be useful for those who like to devotionally read one chapter in Proverbs each day (there are thirty-one – so one for each day of the month). Mr. Bridges' expositions can be accessed from these pages by clicking on any given verse number when you want to delve further into specific verses.
The double-left (<<) and double-right (>>) arrows before and after each Chapter Number are for jumping backward and forward to adjacent whole chapters (see and try below).
Note: the King James version has been used on these pages to maintain consistency with the hardcover. There is a Compare Translation button on each exposition page to see how other translations have rendered the currently selected verse(s).
The default Subject Index page is “A” — click on any other letter to navigate to a different area. The current selection will have that letter in green-bold text. The Subject Index follows the pattern of the hardcopy except that it lists the chapter/verses of the expositions, instead of listing the page numbers (this because the page numbers no longer exist in this digital rendition). Clicking on any entry jumps as closely as possible to the appropriate sentence where that particular subject is mentioned. Try it in the upcoming example below, using the BACK button to return (or use the ALT + Left-Arrow keys if you have a physical keyboard):
“Absalom referred to: 14:17.”
Note: if you used the ALT + Left-Arrow method to return (and if you did not touch the mouse), the pointer should have remained over the link above upon returning. This method can prove especially beneficial when reading long expositions that contain many footnotes and cross references.
In some instances Subject Index entries refer to an entire expositional section, in which case clicking on the link displays the entire exposition from the beginning. In other instances, it refers to a paragraph, to a sentence, or to something contained inside a near-by footnote (as is described in more detail following)...
Many footnote indicators are followed by an “n” (copying the pattern of the book): in these cases the intended destination is inside a nearby footnote: click on the nearest footnote indicator that you see. In the following example, there will be nothing about “Absolom” in the exposition that displays; instead, click on the nearest footnote indicator that you see:
“Absalom referred to, .... 27:14 ....
If it be asked why the software does not jump into the footnote directly, it is because Mr. Bridges' comments often serve as a ‘lead-in’ to the material contained inside that footnote. Making sense of many footnotes sometimes requires reading these preparatory lead-in comments first.
Entries with parentheses around them are additional references that are not listed in the book. These were discovered via the computer's ability to exhaustively search using keywords (e.g. see the second reference listed under “Absalom” below):
Except for correcting the known mistakes, an effort has been made to exactly reproduce the book – with but a few exceptions:
1) When Old Testament verses are quoted, “Lord” has been changed to “LORD” where appropriate; this restores the pattern found in the KJV and other versions, indicating that the underlying Hebrew is “Jehovah / Yahweh.”
2) Some old-English spellings have been changed to their more modern equivalents. In the exposition of Chapter 2:10-11 for example, the book has “The heart, cast into the mould of the Gospel...” “Mould” has been changed to “mold.” Likewise, “favour”, “savour”, “Saviour” have also been updated (except when found in a Scripture reference, so that consistency in quoting the KJV is maintained, and as an aid to any copy/paste searches that may be performed).
3) The Subject Index entries have been changed from page numbers to Scripture references (this because page numbers no longer exist in this e-version).
4) Some additional Scripture references and entries have been added. For example, in the exposition of Proverbs 25:24 he mentions that the woman is “the diadem in his domestic circle†.” This clearly is referring to Proverbs 12:4: “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband,” but for some reason the footnote did not contain that reference. These were added when the topic at hand seemed to cry for their addition, and are identified by being in parentheses or brackets. Also, because the computer can quickly and comprehensively search for specific keywords, some additional Subject Index entries have been discovered and added, and again are designated by parentheses or brackets.
5) Roman numerals have been changed to the more modern Arabic (for example: “2 Sam. xxiii. 3” is now “2 Samuel 23:3”).
6) The Scripture quotations heading up each exposition section have had the marginal notes added to them (for example, Proverbs 1:4: “To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. {discretion: or, advisement}.”
7) When quoting the Apocryphal writings, some of the reference numbers did not match between the Authorized version and the Douay version. Although the writings known as the Apocrypha are often not included in Protestant Bibles, they were translated and included in the original King James Bible of 1611, and are sometimes referenced in this work (Mr. Bridges did not believe they were inspired, but made use of them as with other uninspired writings/quotations). The electronic versions of the KJV apocrypha and Douay apocrypha that were used to create the footnotes had some inconsistencies in their verse designations. For example in one place where the topic of a “good name” is being addressed, the footnote has “Ecclesiasticus 41:12.”: the KJV has this as verse 12, but the Douay version had it as verse 15. If inconsistencies are seen in these sorts of references, this may be the reason.
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