Albert Barnes Commentary Proverbs 24:27

"Prepare thy work without, And make it ready for thee in the field; And afterwards build thy house." — Proverbs 24:27 (ASV)

That is, get an estate into good order before erecting a house on it. To “build a house” may, however, be equivalent (Deuteronomy 25:9; Ruth 4:11) to “founding a family”; and the words are a warning against a hasty and imprudent marriage. The young man is taught to cultivate his land before he has to bear the burdens of a family.

Further, in a spiritual sense, the “field” may be the man’s outer common work, and the “house” the dwelling-place of his higher life. He must do the former faithfully in order to attain the latter. Neglect in one is fatal to the other. Compare Luke 16:10-11.