Then shall you lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
Read Chapter 22
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Gold, to build and adorn thy habitation, ver. 23. Hebrew, "He will give thee gold instead of dust; (or more abundant) yea, gold of the torrents of Ophir. "The Phasis is said to roll gold dust, which is of the purest kind, Genesis ii. 11. (Calmet)
"Thou shalt lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir, as the stones of the brooks. "(Protestants) (Haydock)
This is an exaggeration, (3 Kings x. 27.; Calmet) and a sort of proverb, intimating that strength and plenty should succeed to infirmity. The foundations should be the hard rock, instead of earth
22. What is denoted by ‘earth’ but weakness in conduct, what by the hardness of the flint but strength, what do we understand by ‘the golden torrents,’ but the instruction of interior brightness? Now to those that turn themselves to Him Almighty God ‘gives for earth the flint,’ in that for weak conduct He bestows the strength of vigorous practice. He also gives ‘for the flint golden torrents,’ in that for vigorous practice He redoubles the instruction of bright preaching, that every converted sinner may from weak be enabled to prove strong, and in his strength rise up even to the uttering forth words of the inner brightness, so that in that person, both weakness of conduct, in which like earth he is crumbled, by strength of good living may be firmly settled, and whereas perception is derived from the life, from that same firmness torrents of gold may run out, seeing that in the mouth of those that live well brightness of teaching runs over.
