Proverbs 21:16-26

16 Whoever strays from the path of prudence comes to rest in the company of the dead.

17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.

18 The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the unfaithful for the upright.

19 Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.

20 The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.

21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity^[a] and honor.

22 One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.

23 Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.

24 The proud and arrogant person—“Mocker” is his name— behaves with insolent fury.

25 The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.

26 All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.

Proverbs 21:16-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 9

This chapter relates a second vision Solomon had at Gibeon, in which he received an answer to his prayer in the preceding chapter, 1Ki 9:1-9 that passed between him and Hiram king of Tyre, 1Ki 9:10-14, the places that Solomon built or repaired, 1Ki 9:15-19, the Canaanitish people that became bondmen to him, and the officers he had among the children of Israel, 1Ki 9:20-23 the removal of Pharaoh's daughter to the house built for her, 1Ki 9:24. Solomon's attention to religious services, 1Ki 9:25 and the navy of ships he employed, which brought him in great riches, 1Ki 9:26-28.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 49:14; Ezekiel 18:24
• 2. Pr 23:20-21,29-35
• 3. Proverbs 11:8; Isaiah 43:3
• 4. S ver 9
• 5. Psalms 25:13
• 6. Matthew 5:6
• 7. S Proverbs 8:14; Ecclesiastes 9:15-16
• 8. S Psalms 34:13; James 3:2
• 9. S Proverbs 10:19; Proverbs 12:13; S Proverbs 13:3
• 10. Jeremiah 43:2; Psalms 1:1; Proverbs 1:22; Isaiah 16:6; Jeremiah 48:29
• 11. Proverbs 13:4
• 12. S 2 Samuel 17:27
• 13. S Leviticus 25:35; Psalms 37:26; Matthew 5:42; Ephesians 4:28

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "righteousness"