Proverbs 27:17-27

17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. ^[a]

18 ¹Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who ²guards his master will be honored.

19 As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.

20 ³Sheol and Abaddon are ⁴never satisfied, and ⁵never satisfied are the eyes of man.

21 ⁶The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.

22 ⁷Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him.

23 ⁸Know well the condition of your flocks, and ⁹give attention to your herds,

24 for ¹⁰riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations?

25 ¹¹When the grass is gone and the new growth appears and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,

26 ¹²the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field.

27 ¹³There will be enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food of your household and maintenance for your girls.

Proverbs 27:17-27 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.

Cross References

• 1. 27:18 Song 8:12; 1 Cor. 3:8; 9:7; 2 Tim. 2:6
• 2. 27:18 [Matt. 25:21]
• 3. 27:20 ch. 15:11; See Job 26:6
• 4. 27:20 ch. 30:15, 16; Hab. 2:5; [ch. 1:12]
• 5. 27:20 Eccles. 1:8; 4:8
• 6. 27:21 ch. 17:3
• 7. 27:22 [ch. 23:35; Isa. 1:5; Jer. 5:3]
• 8. 27:23 [John 10:3, 14; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2, 4]
• 9. 27:23 [John 10:3, 14; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2, 4]
• 10. 27:24 ch. 23:5
• 11. 27:25 Ps. 37:2; 90:5, 6
• 12. 27:26 [1 Tim. 6:8]
• 13. 27:27 [See ver. 26 above]

Footnotes

• [a] 27:17 Hebrew 'sharpens the face of another'