Proverbs 27:19-27

TEXT Proverbs 27:19-27

19.

As in water face answereth face,

So the heart of man to man.

20.

Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied;

And the eyes of man are never satisfied.

21.

The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold;

And a man is tried by his praise.

22.

Though thou shouldest bray a fool in mortar with a pestle along with bruised grain,

Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

23.

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,

And look well to thy herds:

24.

For riches are not for ever;

And doth the crown endure unto all generations?

25.

The hay is carried, and the tender grass showeth itself,

And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.

26.

The lambs are for thy clothing,

And the goats are the price of the field;

27.

And there will be goats-' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household,

And maintenance for thy maidens.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 27:19-27

1.

Elaborate upon the comparison in Proverbs 27:19.

2.

What New Testament word from Greek is a parallel to Sheol in Hebrew (Proverbs 27:20)?

3.

What does Abaddon mean (Proverbs 27:20)?

4.

In what sense is the last statement of Proverbs 27:21 true?

5.

What do bray, mortar, and pestle in Proverbs 27:22 mean?

6.

Why such instruction as is found in Proverbs 27:23?

7.

Illustrate Proverbs 27:24 by Charlemagne's offspring.

8.

What is the point of Proverbs 27:25?

9.

What is the meaning of the goats are the price of the field (Proverbs 27:20)?

10.

Why did they not use cows-' milk like we do (Proverbs 27:27)?

PARAPHRASE OF 27:19-27

19.

A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.

20.

Ambition and death are alike in this: neither is ever satisfied.

21.

The purity of silver and gold can be tested in a crucible, but a man is tested by his reaction to men's praise.

22.

You can-'t separate a rebel from his foolishness though you crush him to powder.

23, 24.

Riches can disappear fast. And the king's crown doesn-'t stay in his family foreverso watch your business interests closely.

25, 26, 27.

Know the state of your flocks and your herds; then there will be lamb's wools enough for clothing, and goat's milk enough for food for all your household after the hay is harvested, and the new crop appears, and the mountain grasses are gathered in.

COMMENTS ON 27:19-27

Proverbs 27:19. See a man looking at himself in the water. It is almost as if he is talking to himself. Even so as people look at each other, it is almost as if a silent message is being sent between them.

Proverbs 27:20. Sheol is the Hebrew word for the place of departed spirits (the same as Hades in Greek). Abaddon is the Hebrew word for destruction (the same as Apollyon in Greek;. Both forms of the latter are found in Revelation 9:11. Sheol and Abaddon are used together also in Job 26:6 and Proverbs 15:11. Just as death is personified here as never satisfied but always wanting more souls, so man's eyes are never satisfied. The more he has and sees, the more he wants. This fact is also mentioned in Ecclesiastes 1:8. Hebrews 2:5 uses this same language in describing the greediness of the Chaldeans.

Proverbs 27:21. As silver and gold are tried by the art of the refiner, so is a man's heart by the praise he receives. If he feel it not, he deserves it; if he be puffed up by it, he is worthless (Clarke). Pulpit Commentary: As the processes of metallurgy test the precious metals, so a man's public reputation shows what he is really worth...As the crucible brings all impurities to the surface, so public opinion drags for all that is bad in a man, and he who stands this test is generally esteemed.

Proverbs 27:22. Bray...mortar...pestlethese are strange words to our modern way of living. Whenever you put something into a container and pound or mash it with something in your hand, you are braying it, what you are braying it with is the pestle, and the container is the mortar. When our mothers used to mash potatoes by hand, that was the same figure, only we didn-'t use those words to apply to the action and the various pieces. This verse shows that no matter how you might beat on a confirmed fool, you cannot get rid of his foolishness. Consider the drunkard in Proverbs 23:35 and Judah in Isaiah 1:5 and Jeremiah 5:3.

Proverbs 27:23. From here to the end of the chapter the material has to do with shepherding and agriculture except for the illustration in Proverbs 27:24 that explains this present verse. This verse presents Hebrew parallelism in which the second statement is a restatement of the first. Whatever a person's business, he must tend to business, or he will have no business to tend. The shepherd was ever counting his sheep to be sure they were all with the flock. If any was sick, he immediately cared for it.

Proverbs 27:24. Just as riches or the crown could not be taken for granted, neither could one's flock and herd. Today's ten wealthiest men in the world may not all be wealthy in a few years. Those who rule today may be overthrown tomorrow. So care and diligence must be watchwords even of a shepherd.

Proverbs 27:25. One can see the diligence of the shepherd in providing food for his flock at the different seasons.

Proverbs 27:26. This diligence pays off, for there is wool for the clothing, and from the sale of goats could the land be purchased for oneself.

Proverbs 27:27. Additional reward for diligence: plenty of milk. They milked the goat whereas we milk the cow. On goats-' milk Geikie says, In most parts of Palestine goats-' milk in every form makes, with eggs and bread, the main food of the people.