Proverbs 16:13-23

13 ¹Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.

14 ²A king's wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will ³appease it.

15 ⁴In the light of a king's face there is life, and his ⁵favor is like ⁶the clouds that bring the spring rain.

16 ⁷How much better to get wisdom than ⁸gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than ⁹silver.

17 The highway of the upright ¹⁰turns aside from evil; whoever guards his way preserves his life.

18 ¹¹Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

19 ¹²It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to ¹³divide the spoil with the proud.

20 Whoever gives thought to the word^[a]14will discover good, and blessed is he ¹⁵who trusts in the LORD.

21 The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech ¹⁶increases persuasiveness.

22 Good sense is ¹⁷a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly.

23 ¹⁸The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips.

Proverbs 16:13-23 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 14:35; Proverbs 22:11]
• 2. Proverbs 19:12; Proverbs 20:2
• 3. [Proverbs 25:15]
• 4. [Job 29:24]
• 5. [See ver. 13 above]
• 6. [Psalms 72:6]; See Job 29:23
• 7. Proverbs 8:10, 11, 19
• 8. See Proverbs 3:14
• 9. Proverbs 10:20
• 10. ver. 6
• 11. See Proverbs 11:2
• 12. Proverbs 29:23; Isaiah 57:15
• 13. See Exodus 15:9
• 14. Proverbs 19:8
• 15. See Psalms 2:12
• 16. ver. 23
• 17. See Proverbs 10:11
• 18. [Psalms 37:30; Matthew 12:34]

Footnotes

• [a]. Or to a matter