“Serving benefits the servant.”
Proverbs 27:18
(18) Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
Explanation
Hebrew poetry is written so that the lines of text relate to one another. The bulk of the proverbs relate two thoughts in two lines. Hebrew poetry rhymes in thought not in sound. For example, the above proverb breaks down this way:
Line 1: Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof:
Line 2: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
Written this way, the reader can see the corresponding thoughts: tending to a fig tree is equal to waiting on (or, serving) a master, and enjoying the fruit of the tree is equal to receiving praise for one’s service.
“To fruit in the first line corresponds honour in the second, which the faithful and attentive servant attains unto first on the part of his master, and then also from society in general.”
Keil & Delitszch, Proverbs 27:18, e-sword ver. 11.1.0
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Nathan M. McConnell 