15. A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16. to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.
17. Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.
18. Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who guards his master will be honoured.
19.As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
20. Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21.The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
22. Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
Comment: I will try to say a word or two about each thought.
- 15&16. Solomon is speaking from a man’s point of view. It equally applies from the the woman’s. Choose your partner very wisely. Sometimes they change for the worse and then you have to live with it. But think wisely. Don’t assume that you are going to be able to change their core values. Eros can be a deceiving god.
- 17&18. Honest serious discussions are very profitable.
- 19. Your core heart values show the real you.
- 20. Death is certain, your eyes, imaginations and desires uncontrolled are never satisfied.
- 21. The first line obviously talks about being cleaned from rubbish. How we handle praise is able to strengthen our character.
- 22. You’re never going to take the foolishness out of a determined fool – so is it wise to waste your time?
Some of these make you think hard, but that is what they are supposed to do!
Prayer: I want to be a knowledgeable and very loving person when I get to the end of this life. Please help me.
As I read it! 