Proverbs 30:25 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

I. Agur, having specified four things that seem great and yet are really contemptible, here specifies four things that are little and yet are very admirable, great in miniature, in which, as bishop Patrick observes, he teaches us several good lessons; as, 1. Not to admire bodily bulk, or beauty, or strength, nor to value persons or think the better of them for such advantages, but to judge of men by their wisdom and conduct, their industry and application to business, which are characters that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 30:25

The ants are a people not strong ,.... Far from it; what is weaker than an ant? a multitude of them may be destroyed at once, with the crush of a foot. Pliny calls it "minimum animal", the least animal; and the Arabians use it as a proverb, to call a weak man one weaker than an ant: and there is one sort of ants called "dsar", so small that one hundred of them will not weigh more than a barley corn F7 Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 4. c. 22. col. 598. : they are called a people,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:1-33

Part VII. FIRST APPENDIX TO THE SECOND COLLECTION , containing "the words of Agur." A short introduction, teaching that the Word of God is the source of wisdom ( Proverbs 30:1-6 ), is followed by apothegms on different subjects ( Proverbs 30:7-33 ). Cornelius a Lapide offers the following opinion concerning this appendix, which no one can hesitate to say is well founded, if he attempts to give it a spiritual interpretation, and to discern mysteries under the literal... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:11-31

contain six groups of four sentences each, each quaternion having a certain connection in language and concinnity of idea. First ( Proverbs 30:11-14 ) come four generations that are evil—four being taken as the symbol of universality. The sins herein specified had become so general that they affected the whole generation. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

Four things small and weak, and yet wise. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

Four weak things, and the greatness of them The four little creatures that are here mentioned all illustrate the wonderful way in which the disadvantages of weakness may be overcome by some countervailing quality. In the spiritual world Christianity teaches us to look for the triumph of weakness—the weak things of the world confounding the things which are mighty ( 1 Corinthians 1:27 ). Now, we have illustrations from nature for the same principle. Each of the four creatures teaches us... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

The significance of little things I. EXAMPLES . 1 . The ant ( Proverbs 30:25 ); tiny in frame, yet full of providence, making wise provision against the rainy day. 2 . The hedgehog ("coney," Proverbs 30:26 ); though feeble, finds compensation in the strength of the dwelling it selects. 3 . The locust ( Proverbs 30:27 ); a creature, as an individual, easily crushed, yet gaining immense force by union with others. Joel 4 . The lizard (verse 28); another tender... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

Success within success Many things go to make a man successful, in a true and large sense of that word. A man may have many elements of success, and yet, for want of one more, he may fail. The best part of our succeeding is this—that if we are labouring for some present and visible reward, we are, whilst so doing and in the very act, securing a deeper and a larger good, as the schoolboy seeking the prize is really storing up knowledge and power. We may learn from some of the least and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:25

The ants are a people not strong. The ant is proposed as an example to the sluggard ( Proverbs 6:6 , etc.). He calls the ants a people, am , because they live in a community, and have authorities which they obey, and their actions are regulated by certain definite laws. So Joel ( Joel 1:6 ) calls the locusts a nation, and Homer ('Iliad,' 2.87) speaks of ἔθνεα μελισσάων ἀδινάων , "the tribes of thronging bees." Yet they prepare their meat in the summer. In countries where... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 30:24-28

Proverbs 30:24-28. There be four things little, &c., but exceeding wise Comparatively to other brute creatures, they act very wisely and providently, through the direction of Divine Providence, which secretly influences them to do those things for their own preservation which are most agreeable to the rules of wisdom. The design of this observation Isaiah , 1 st, To commend wisdom to us, and to teach us to imitate the providence of these creatures, as we are excited, Proverbs 6:6, to... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 30:25

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:1-33

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:11-31

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:24-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:25

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 30:24-28

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