Proverbs 27:16-26

16 [In] restraining her, he restrains wind, and his right hand will grasp oil.

17 [As] iron sharpens iron, so {one man sharpens another}.

18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honored.

19 As the waters [reflect] {face to face}, so the heart of a person [reflects] the person.

20 Sheol and Abaddon will not be satisfied, and the eyes of a person will not be satisfied [either].

21 A crucible [is] for the silver, and a furnace for the gold, but a man [is tested by] the mouth of him who praises him.

22 If you crush a fool in the mortar with the pestle {along with} the crushed grain, it will not drive folly from upon him.

23 You will surely know the {condition} of your flock; your heart attends to the herds.

24 For riches [are] not forever, nor a crown for generation [after] generation.

25 When the grass is gone, then green growth will appear, and the herbs of the mountains will be gathered.

26 Lambs [will be] your clothing, and goats the price of the field.

Proverbs 27:16-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 14

This chapter relates the sickness of Jeroboam's son, the application of his wife, at his instance, to the prophet Ahijah, in the child's favour, 1Ki 14:1-6, the prophecy of the prophet concerning the ruin of Jeroboam's house, and the death of the child, which came to pass, 1Ki 14:7-18, an account of the years of Jeroboam's reign, and also of Rehoboam's, 1Ki 14:19-21, and of the evil things done and suffered by the latter in his kingdom, and the calamities that came upon him for it, 1Ki 14:22-28 and the conclusion of his reign, 1Ki 14:29-31.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "breath, or "spirit"
• [b]. Or "fat"
• [c]. Or "is united with"
• [d]. Literally "a man sharpens [the] faces of his friend"
• [e]. Or "lord"
• [f]. Literally "the faces to the faces"
• [g]. A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
• [h]. Poetic synonym for "Sheol." Only mentioned in the ot in relation to Sheol, the grave, or death.
• [i]. Or "in the midst of"
• [j]. Literally "faces"
• [k]. Or "mind"