Proverbs 16:12-22

12 Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness.

13 Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right.

14 A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but the wise will appease it.

15 When a king’s face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.

16 How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!

17 The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives.

18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

19 Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.

20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,^[a]and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD.

21 The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction.^[b]

22 Prudence is a fountain of life to the prudent, but folly brings punishment to fools.

Proverbs 16:12-22 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 26:28; Proverbs 25:5; Proverbs 29:14; Proverbs 31:5
• 2. Proverbs 22:11; Proverbs 14:35
• 3. S Genesis 40:2; S Job 29:24; Proverbs 20:2; Proverbs 19:12
• 4. Proverbs 25:15; Proverbs 29:8; Ecclesiastes 10:4
• 5. S Genesis 40:2; S Job 29:24
• 6. Proverbs 19:12; Proverbs 25:2-7
• 7. Psalms 49:20
• 8. S Job 28:15; S Proverbs 3:13-14; Proverbs 8:10,19
• 9. Proverbs 19:16
• 10. S 1 Samuel 17:42
• 11. Psalms 18:27; Isaiah 13:11; Jeremiah 48:29
• 12. S Esther 5:12; Proverbs 11:2; S Proverbs 15:33; Proverbs 18:12; Proverbs 29:23
• 13. Proverbs 13:13
• 14. S Psalms 32:10; Psalms 40:4; Psalms 2:12; Psalms 34:8; Proverbs 19:8; Proverbs 29:25; Jeremiah 17:7
• 15. ver 23
• 16. S Proverbs 10:11; Proverbs 13:14

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "whoever speaks prudently finds what is good"
• [b]. Or "words make a person persuasive"