Proverbs 14:23
in Proverbs 14There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In all labor there is profit; But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
KJV
In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
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This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Desert FathersThe Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks · Written before 500.
Another brother spoke with the same Theodore, and he began to talk about matters of which he had no experience. Theodore said to him, 'You've not yet found a ship to sail in, nor put your luggage aboard, nor put out to sea, and you're …
This site's exposition
Do they not err that devise evil?
on Proverbs 14:22-25
Those who devise evil err by the plainest definition, while mercy and truth belong to those who devise good, the same word, devise, used of a plan that can run toward ruin or toward kindness. Labour turns to profit and idle talk turns to poverty, and riches sit as the wise man's crown while folly is all the fool ever wears. The witness pair closes the group by echoing verse 5: a true witness delivers souls, and a deceitful witness speaks nothing but lies, the same integrity tested now in a courtroom rather than a conversation.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
In all labour there is profit,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
In all labor there is profit - If a man work at his trade, he gains by it; if he cultivate the earth, it will yield an increase; and in proportion as he labors, so will be his profit: but he who talks much labors little. And a man words is seldom a man of deeds. Less talk and more work, is one of our own ancient advices.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The contrast between a single, thorough deed, and the mere emptiness of speech.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֶ֭צֶב | ʾetzev | hard labor | H6089 → | 7 times |
| יִהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | it is | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מוֹתָ֑ר | motar | profit | H4195 → | |
| וּדְבַר־ | udevars- | and word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| שְׂ֝פָתַ֗יִם | sefatayim | lips | H8193 → | 176 times |
| אַךְ־ | ʾakh- | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| לְמַחְסֽוֹר׃ | lemachsor | to poverty | H4270 → | 13 times |
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
עֶ֭צֶבhard labor
ʾetzevH6089 →7 times
יִהְיֶ֣הit is
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
מוֹתָ֑רprofit
motarH4195 →
וּדְבַר־and word of
udevars-H1697 →1440 times
שְׂ֝פָתַ֗יִםlips
sefatayimH8193 →176 times
אַךְ־only
ʾakh-H389 →161 times
לְמַחְסֽוֹר׃to poverty
lemachsorH4270 →13 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
Ecclesiastes 5:3As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:2
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
- Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
- Ecclesiastes 10:12–14
The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.
- Proverbs 15:2
Through
Proverbs 28:19The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.
it leads to
- Proverbs 12:11
The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.
- Proverbs 12:11
Through
Proverbs 12:24The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
it leads to
- Proverbs 12:27
A lazy man does not roast his game, but a diligent man prizes his possession.
- Proverbs 10:4
Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
- Proverbs 21:25–26
The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.
- Proverbs 13:4
The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
- Proverbs 12:27
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Desert Fathers, The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).