Proverbs 20:30
in Proverbs 20Lashes and wounds scour evil, and beatings cleanse the inmost parts.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Stripes that wound cleanse away evil; And strokes reach the innermost parts.
KJV
The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.
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This verse in Proverbs 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe sick are to be admonished to consider how great a boon is bodily affliction, which both washes away committed sins and restrains those which might have been committed, which inflicts on the troubled mind wounds of penitence derived from outward stripes. Whence it is written, "The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil, and stripes in the secret parts of the belly." For the blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil, because the pain of scourges cleanses iniquities, whether meditated or perpetrated. But by the appellation of belly the mind is wont to be understood.
This site's exposition
Mercy and truth preserve the king
on Proverbs 20:28-30
Mercy and truth preserve the king closes the chapter's run of king proverbs, his throne upheld by the same mercy that ought to run through the whole administration of justice described earlier. The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is the gray head pairs two seasons of life without ranking one above the other, each carrying its own honour. The chapter's last word turns unexpectedly hard: the blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil, and stripes the inward parts of the belly, correction that hurts on the way to doing good, a closing companion to the rod proverbs scattered through the book.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The blueness of a wound cleanses away evil, etc. For when we are struck outwardly, we are silently and afflictedly recalled to the memory of our sins. And through what we suffer outwardly, we grieve more inwardly for what we have done; thus it happens …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The blueness of a wound - חברות chabburoth, from חבר chabar, to unite, to join together. Does it not refer to the cicatrice of a wound when, in its healing, the two lips are brought topether? By this union the wound is healed; and by the previous discharge the lace-rated ends of fibres and blood-vessels are purged away. So stripes, though they hurt for the time, become the means of correcting and discharging the moral evil of the inmost soul, the vice of the heart, the easily-besetting sin.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Better, The blueness of a wound is a cleansing of evil, so are the stripes that go down to the inward parts of the belly. The open sores of wounds left by the scourge, unclean and foul as they seem, are yet a cleansing, purifying process for evil; so also are the stripes that reach the inward parts of the belly, i. e., the sharp reproofs, the stings of conscience, which penetrate where no scourge can reach, into the inner life of man. Chastisement, whatever be its nature, must be real; the scourge must leave its mark, the reproof must go deep.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חַבֻּר֣וֹת | chaburot | wounds of | H2250 → | |
| פֶּ֭צַע | petza' | bruise[s] | H6482 → | 8 times |
| תַּמְר֣וּק | tamrik | [are] a cleansing | H8562 → | |
| בְּרָ֑ע | bera' | <in> evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וּ֝מַכּ֗וֹת | umakot | and blows | H4347 → | |
| חַדְרֵי־ | chadrei- | [the] chambers of | H2315 → | 38 times |
| בָֽטֶן׃ | vaten | [the] belly | H990 → | 72 times |
חַבֻּר֣וֹתwounds of
chaburotH2250 →
פֶּ֭צַעbruise[s]
petza'H6482 →8 times
תַּמְר֣וּק[are] a cleansing
tamrikH8562 →
בְּרָ֑ע<in> evil
bera'H7451 →662 times
וּ֝מַכּ֗וֹתand blows
umakotH4347 →
חַדְרֵי־[the] chambers of
chadrei-H2315 →38 times
בָֽטֶן׃[the] belly
vatenH990 →72 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
Isaiah 53:5But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:24–25
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Matthew 20:28
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Romans 5:6–10
For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
- 1 Peter 2:24–25
Through
Hebrews 12:10Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 1:4
Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused…
- 2 Peter 1:4
Through
Proverbs 22:15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:24
He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
- Proverbs 29:15
A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
- Proverbs 13:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Gregory the Dialogist, The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.