Proverbs 21:24-31

24 You know their names - Brash, Impudent, Blasphemer - intemperate hotheads, every one.

25 Lazy people finally die of hunger because they won't get up and go to work.

26 Sinners are always wanting what they don't have; the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.

27 Religious performance by the wicked stinks; it's even worse when they use it to get ahead.

28 A lying witness is unconvincing; a person who speaks truth is respected.

29 Unscrupulous people fake it a lot; honest people are sure of their steps.

30 Nothing clever, nothing conceived, nothing contrived, can get the better of God.

31 Do your best, prepare for the worst - then trust God to bring victory.

Proverbs 21:24-31 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 9

This chapter relates a second vision Solomon had at Gibeon, in which he received an answer to his prayer in the preceding chapter, 1Ki 9:1-9 that passed between him and Hiram king of Tyre, 1Ki 9:10-14, the places that Solomon built or repaired, 1Ki 9:15-19, the Canaanitish people that became bondmen to him, and the officers he had among the children of Israel, 1Ki 9:20-23 the removal of Pharaoh's daughter to the house built for her, 1Ki 9:24. Solomon's attention to religious services, 1Ki 9:25 and the navy of ships he employed, which brought him in great riches, 1Ki 9:26-28.