Proverbs 16:23-33

23 The 1heart of the wise instructs his mouth And adds persuasiveness to his lips.
24 2Pleasant words are a honeycomb *, Sweet to the soul and 3healing to the bones.
25 4There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
26 A worker's appetite works for him, For his hunger urges him on.
27 A 5worthless man digs up evil, While his words are like 6scorching fire.
28 A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends.
29 A man of violence 7entices his neighbor And leads him in a way that is not good.
30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.
31 A 8gray head is a crown of glory; It 9is found in the way of righteousness.
32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.
33 The 10lot is cast into the lap, But its every 11decision is from the LORD.

Proverbs 16:23-33 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST KINGS 6

This chapter gives an account of the building of the temple, for which preparations were before made and begins with the time of its building, 1Ki 6:1; gives the dimensions of it and the porch before it, 1Ki 6:2,3; observes the windows in it and chambers about it, 1Ki 6:4-10; and while it was building, Solomon had a word from the Lord relative to it, 1Ki 6:11-14; and then the account goes on concerning the walls of the house, and the flooring of it, 1Ki 6:15-18; and the oracle in it, and the cherubim in that, 1Ki 6:19-30; and the doors into it, and the carved work of them, 1Ki 6:31-36; and the chapter is concluded with observing the time when it was begun and finished 1Ki 6:37,38.

Cross References 11

  • 1. Psalms 37:30; Proverbs 15:28; Matthew 12:34
  • 2. Psalms 19:10; Proverbs 15:26; Proverbs 24:13, 14
  • 3. Proverbs 4:22; Proverbs 17:22
  • 4. Proverbs 12:15; Proverbs 14:12
  • 5. Prov 6:12, 14, 18
  • 6. James 3:6
  • 7. Proverbs 1:10; Proverbs 12:26
  • 8. Proverbs 20:29
  • 9. Proverbs 3:1, 2
  • 10. Proverbs 18:18
  • 11. Proverbs 29:26

Footnotes 3

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