Proverbs 30:24-33

24 There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags;
27 The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks;
28 The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings' palaces.
29 There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk:
30 A lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn away from any;
31 A greyhound, A male goat also, And a king whose troops are with him.
32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, Or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth.
33 For as the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood, So the forcing of wrath produces strife.

Proverbs 30:24-33 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 17

This chapter begins with a prophecy of Elijah, that there should be want of rain for some years to come, and he is directed to go first to the brook Cherith, where he should be fed by ravens, 1Ki 17:1-7, and afterwards he is sent to a widow at Zarephath, where he, she, and her son, were supported for a considerable time with a handful of meal, and a little oil in a cruse miraculously increased, 1Ki 17:8-16, whose son falling sick and dying, he restored to life, 1Ki 17:17-24.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Or hyraxes
  • [b]. Or lizard
  • [c]. Exact identity unknown
  • [d]. A Jewish tradition reads a king against whom there is no uprising.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.