Proverbs 19:11
in Proverbs 19A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
KJV
The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
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This verse in Proverbs 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThrough the vice of impatience, doctrine itself, the nurse of virtues, is scattered. For it is written: "A man's learning is known through patience." Therefore, the less patient anyone is shown to be, the less learned he is shown to be. For one cannot truly impart good things by teaching if he does not know how to tolerate the evils of others with equanimity in his way of living.
This site's exposition
Delight is not seemly for a fool
on Proverbs 19:10-12
Luxury does not suit a fool, and a servant ruling over princes suits even less, the verse naming things out of their proper order. A man's discretion shows in deferring his anger, and passing over a transgression is called his glory, the chapter praising restraint the same way it will praise it again before its end. The king's wrath roaring like a lion against his favour like dew on the grass gives the cluster its closing image of how far apart a ruler's two moods can fall.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
The doctrine of a man is known through patience. The perfection of ecclesiastical doctrine is shown through the patience of the teachers, for while they preferred to submit their bodies to afflictions and death rather than cease from the duty of teaching, they certainly showed …
"And his glory passes away unjustly." For certainly it is characteristic of a perfect teacher to bear the wickedness of others patiently, while also skillfully preventing his own frailty from committing unjust actions. For neither does the purity of one's own conduct suffice without the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The discretion of a man deferreth his anger,.... That he does not show it immediately; but takes time to consider of the offence given him, and makes use of a proper time to resent what is fit should be resented; he is a wise and discreet man that is slow to anger, Pro 14:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
It is his glory to pass over a transgression - “No,” says what is termed a man of honor; “he must meet me as a gentleman; I must have his blood, let God say what he will.” O poor, dastardly coward! thou canst not bear the reproach of poor, flimsy, paltry fellows who ridicule thee, because thou hast refused to commit murder. Such laws should be put down by law; and the man that gives a challenge should be hanged, because he intends to commit murder.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Pleasure does not befit a fool, much less a slave It is derived by an a fortiori conclusion that it does not befit a slave to rule over princes.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The King’s fury is like a lion’s roar [The fury of] the Holy One, blessed be He.
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. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שֵׂ֣כֶל | sekhel | [the] prudence of | H7922 → | 16 times |
| אָ֭דָם | ʾadom | a person | H120 → | 551 times |
| הֶאֱרִ֣יךְ | heerikh | it makes long | H748 → | 34 times |
| אַפּ֑וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
| וְ֝תִפאַרְתּ֗וֹ | vetipeharto | and glory his | H8597 → | 51 times |
| עֲבֹ֣ר | ʾavor | [is] to pass | H5674 → | 556 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פָּֽשַׁע׃ | pasha' | transgression | H6588 → | 93 times |
שֵׂ֣כֶל[the] prudence of
sekhelH7922 →16 times
אָ֭דָםa person
ʾadomH120 →551 times
הֶאֱרִ֣יךְit makes long
heerikhH748 →34 times
אַפּ֑וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 times
וְ֝תִפאַרְתּ֗וֹand glory his
vetipehartoH8597 →51 times
עֲבֹ֣ר[is] to pass
ʾavorH5674 →556 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פָּֽשַׁע׃transgression
pasha'H6588 →93 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 1:19My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
it leads to
- Proverbs 14:29
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 17:27
A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.
- Proverbs 21:23
He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.
- Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
- Proverbs 18:13
He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.
- Proverbs 14:29
Through
Proverbs 16:32He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.
it leads to
- James 1:19
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:18
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 25:28
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who does not control his temper.
- James 1:19
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily XXXV; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.