Proverbs 30:18-28

18 Three things amaze me, no, four things I'll never understand -
19 how an eagle flies so high in the sky, how a snake glides over a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, why adolescents act the way they do.
20 Here's how a prostitute operates: she has sex with her client, Takes a bath, then asks, "Who's next?" Four Intolerables
21 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear, yes, four things shake its foundations -
22 when the janitor becomes the boss, when a fool gets rich,
23 when a whore is voted "woman of the year," when a "girlfriend" replaces a faithful wife. Four Small Wonders
24 There are four small creatures, wisest of the wise they are -
25 ants - frail as they are, get plenty of food in for the winter;
26 marmots - vulnerable as they are, manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;
27 locusts - leaderless insects, yet they strip the field like an army regiment;
28 lizards - easy enough to catch, but they sneak past vigilant palace guards. Four Dignitaries

Proverbs 30:18-28 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 17

This chapter begins with a prophecy of Elijah, that there should be want of rain for some years to come, and he is directed to go first to the brook Cherith, where he should be fed by ravens, 1Ki 17:1-7, and afterwards he is sent to a widow at Zarephath, where he, she, and her son, were supported for a considerable time with a handful of meal, and a little oil in a cruse miraculously increased, 1Ki 17:8-16, whose son falling sick and dying, he restored to life, 1Ki 17:17-24.

Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.