Proverbs 27:11-21

11 Be wise, my son, and bring my heart joy, so that I can answer anyone who taunts me.^[a]

12 The sensible see danger and take cover; the foolish keep going and are punished.^[b]

13 Take his garment,^[c] for he has put up security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for foreigners.^{[d] [e]}

14 If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse to him.

15 An endless dripping on a rainy day and a nagging wife are alike.^[f]

16 The one who controls her controls the wind and grasps oil with his right hand.

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

18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever looks after his master will be honored.

19 As the water reflects the face, so the heart reflects the person.

20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,^[h] and people's eyes are never satisfied.

21 Silver is [tested] in a crucible, gold in a smelter, and a man, by the praise he receives.^{[i] [j]}

Proverbs 27:11-21 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Pr 10:1; 23:24-25; 29:3
• [b]. Pr 22:3
• [c]. A debtor's outer garment held as collateral; Dt 24:12-13; Am 2:8
• [d]. Lit a foreign woman
• [e]. Pr 6:1-5; 11:15; 20:16
• [f]. Pr 19:13
• [g]. Lit and a man sharpens his friend's face
• [h]. Pr 30:15-16; Hab 2:5
• [i]. Lit The crucible for silver and the smelter for gold, and a man for a mouth of praise.
• [j]. Pr 16:2; 17:3