Proverbs 27:17-21

17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored.

19 As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.^[a]

20 Death and Destruction^[b] are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.

21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.

Proverbs 27:17-21 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.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Corinthians 9:7
• 2. Luke 19:12-27
• 3. Proverbs 30:15-16; Habakkuk 2:5
• 4. Ecclesiastes 1:8; Ecclesiastes 6:7
• 5. S Proverbs 17:3

Footnotes

• [a] Or "so others reflect your heart back to you"
• [b] Hebrew "Abaddon"