Proverbs 30:17

15 The leech has two daughters—
Give and Give!
There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four never say, “Enough!”:

16 ^aThe¹ grave,
The barren womb,
The earth that is not satisfied with water—
And the fire never says, “Enough!”

17 ^aThe eye that mocks his father,
And scorns obedience to his mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.

18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Yes, four which I do not understand:

19 The way of an eagle in the air,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the¹ midst of the sea,
And the way of a man with a virgin.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Proverbs 30:17 Mean?

Proverbs 30:17

We can dishonor our parents through stubbornness, mocking, scorning, angrily talking back to them, thievery, and violence. These will eventually be punished by death, shame, disgrace, darkness of understanding (ignorance), and destruction. Through greedy human reasoning, the Pharisees encouraged financial neglect of parents to increase the riches of the treasury, a hypocrisy Jesus condemned (Matthew 15:3-9; Mark 7:6-13).

Martin G. Collins
The Fifth Commandment

Proverbs 30:17

This verse describes a sobering end for those who fail to keep the fifth commandment. What a gruesome end for those guilty of this! In this figure of speech, an outward manifestation (a mocking eye) represents the unseen cause in the heart (scorn, disrespect). Over the short term, the inner cause produces stress-filled family disturbances. Over the long term, though, it produces even more distressing and serious consequences—even death.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fifth Commandment (1997)

**Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Proverbs 30:17:**

Revelation 4:7
Revelation 6:7

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