Proverbs 16:20-30

20 He who gives attention to the word will ¹find good, And ²blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

21 The ³wise in heart will be called understanding, And sweetness of speech ⁴increases persuasiveness.

22 Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, But the discipline of fools is folly.

23 The ⁵heart of the wise instructs his mouth And adds persuasiveness to his lips.

24 ⁶Pleasant words are a honeycomb *, Sweet to the soul and ⁷healing to the bones.

25 ⁸There 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 ⁹worthless man digs up evil, While his words are like ¹⁰scorching fire.

28 A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends.

29 A man of violence ¹¹entices 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.

Proverbs 16:20-30 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

• 1. Proverbs 19:8
• 2. Psalms 2:12; Psalms 34:8; Jeremiah 17:7
• 3. Hosea 14:9
• 4. Proverbs 16:23
• 5. Psalms 37:30; Proverbs 15:28; Matthew 12:34
• 6. Psalms 19:10; Proverbs 15:26; Proverbs 24:13, 14
• 7. Proverbs 4:22; Proverbs 17:22
• 8. Proverbs 12:15; Proverbs 14:12
• 9. Prov 6:12, 14, 18
• 10. James 3:6
• 11. Proverbs 1:10; Proverbs 12:26

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "lips"
• [b]. Or "learning"
• [c]. Or "learning"
• [d]. Lit "mouth"
• [e]. Lit "on his lips"