Proverbs 11:11
in Proverbs 11By the blessing of the upright a city is built up, but by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted; But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
KJV
By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
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This verse in Proverbs 11
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The blessing of the upright - Probably the prayers which he offers for the good of the city in which he dwells, and which avail to preserve it from destruction (compare Gen 18:23-33); or “the blessing which God gives the upright.”
This site's exposition
With his mouth the ungodly man destroys his neighbor
on Proverbs 11:9-11
“With his mouth the ungodly man destroys his neighbor,” and it takes knowledge to rescue the righteous from the harm his words intend. The next proverbs widen the view from neighbor to city: “When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices,” and one man's character moves a town's fortune.
This site's exposition
By the blessing of the upright a city is built up
Albert Barnes takes the blessing of the upright as the prayers they offer for their city, like Abraham pleading for Sodom in Genesis 18. The wicked tear the same city down with their mouths. Speech builds or destroys a city.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
the ceiling is raised The ceiling of the Temple will be preserved at its height from falling. As long as the kings of Judah were upright, their prayer preserved the Temple.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
but a man of understanding is silent when the one devoid of sense despises him, like Saul, as it is written (I Sam.:27): “And they despised him and brought him no gift; and he was as one who kept his peace.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּבִרְכַּ֣ת | bevirkat | by [the] blessing of | H1293 → | 69 times |
| יְ֭שָׁרִים | yesharim | upright [people] | H3477 → | 119 times |
| תָּר֣וּם | tarum | it is exalted | H7311 → | 190 times |
| קָ֑רֶת | karet | a town | H7176 → | 5 times |
| וּבְפִ֥י | uvefi | and by [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| תֵּהָרֵֽס׃ | tehares | it is torn down | H2040 → | 43 times |
בְּבִרְכַּ֣תby [the] blessing of
bevirkatH1293 →69 times
יְ֭שָׁרִיםupright [people]
yesharimH3477 →119 times
תָּר֣וּםit is exalted
tarumH7311 →190 times
קָ֑רֶתa town
karetH7176 →5 times
וּבְפִ֥יand by [the] mouth of
uvefiH6310 →498 times
רְ֝שָׁעִ֗יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
תֵּהָרֵֽס׃it is torn down
teharesH2040 →43 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 3:6The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on…
it leads to
- Psalms 120:2–3
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.
- Proverbs 16:27
A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.
- Mark 7:15
Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
- Matthew 15:11–20
A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
- Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- Psalms 120:2–3
Through
Proverbs 14:34Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
it leads to
- Psalms 107:34
and fruitful land into fields of salt, because of the wickedness of its dwellers.
- Deuteronomy 28:1–68
“Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above…
- Deuteronomy 29:18–28
Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure…
- Psalms 107:34
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).