A wicked man hardeneth his face: but [as for] the upright, he directeth his way.
Ver. 29. A wicked man hardeneth his face.] Procaciter obfirmat vultum suum, so the Vulgate renders it. The false witness Pro 21:28 impudently defends, or at least extenuates and excuses his falsities. Frontem perfricat, assuens mendacium mendacio, as the Hebrew hath it. Psa 119:69 He thinks to make good one lie by another; to outface the truth, to overbear it with a bold countenance. It seems to be a metaphor from a traveller that sets his face against the wind and weather, and holds on his journey, though he be taking long strides towards destruction. a
But as for the upright, he directeth his way.] He proceeds warily, weighs his words before he utters them, and delivers nothing but the naked truth. And truth is like our first parents, most beautiful when naked. Some interpreters take this verse as setting forth the difference between the wicked and the godly, without any relation to the false and true witness. Pro 21:28 And then it is Sententia sapiente digna, saith one, tam paucis verbis tam profundum sensum cumulans; a sentence worthy of Solomon, as having so much in a little.
a αντοφθαλμειν. Act 27:15