Proverbs 30:21-31

21 There are four things that the earth itself cannot tolerate:

22 a slave who becomes a king, a fool who has all he wants to eat,

23 a hateful woman who gets married, and a servant woman who takes the place of her mistress.

24 There are four animals in the world that are small, but very, very clever:

25 Ants: they are weak, but they store up their food in the summer.

26 Rock badgers: they are not strong either, but they make their homes among the rocks.

27 Locusts: they have no king, but they move in formation.

28 Lizards: you can hold one in your hand, but you can find them in palaces.

29 There are four things that are impressive to watch as they walk:

30 lions, strongest of all animals and afraid of none;

31 goats, strutting roosters, and kings in front of their people.

Proverbs 30:21-31 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

• [a]. [Verse 31 in Hebrew is unclear.]