Proverbs 25:11
in Proverbs 25A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A word fitly spoken Is like apples of gold in network of silver.
KJV
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
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This verse in Proverbs 25
Commentary
2 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Apples of gold - Probably the golden colored fruit set in baskets (i. e., chased vessels of open worked silver); so is a word spoken upon its wheels (i. e., moving quickly and quietly on its way). The proverb may have had its origin in some kingly gift to the son of David, the work of Tyrian artists, like Hiram and his fellows. Others gazed on the cunning work and admired, but the wise king saw in the costly rarity a parable of something higher. “A word well set upon the wheels of speech” excelled it.
This site's exposition
apples of gold in pictures of silver
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver is among the most quoted lines in the book, a rare word ordinarily rendered fitly or well-timed set against a costly image, gold fruit set into silver carving. Delitzsch reads the picture as praising not eloquence alone but timing, the same true word landing well at one moment and badly at another, so fitness rather than mere content is the proverb's real subject.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תַּפּוּחֵ֣י | tapuchei | apples of | H8598 → | |
| זָ֭הָב | zaho | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| בְּמַשְׂכִּיּ֥וֹת | bemaskiyot | in settings of | H4906 → | |
| כָּ֑סֶף | kasef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| דָּ֝בָ֗ר | davar | a word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| דָּבֻ֥ר | davur | spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אָפְנָֽיו׃ | ʾafenav | proper times its | H655 → |
תַּפּוּחֵ֣יapples of
tapucheiH8598 →
זָ֭הָבgold
zahoH2091 →389 times
בְּמַשְׂכִּיּ֥וֹתin settings of
bemaskiyotH4906 →
כָּ֑סֶףsilver
kasefH3701 →403 times
דָּ֝בָ֗רa word
davarH1697 →1440 times
דָּבֻ֥רspoken
davurH1696 →1141 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אָפְנָֽיו׃proper times its
ʾafenavH655 →
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 50:4The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
it leads to
- Luke 21:15
For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
- Proverbs 15:23
A man takes joy in a fitting reply—and how good is a timely word!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 1:9
Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
- John 7:15–17
The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man attain such learning without having studied?”
- Exodus 4:11–12
And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
- Luke 21:15
Through
Proverbs 15:23A man takes joy in a fitting reply—and how good is a timely word!
it leads to
- Proverbs 25:11–12
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 50:4
The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
- Ephesians 4:29
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- Proverbs 25:11–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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 and Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon.