Proverbs 26:16
in Proverbs 26The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit Than seven men that can render a reason.
KJV
The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
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This verse in Proverbs 26
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThan seven men that can render a reason - Seven here only means perfection, abundance, or multitude. He is wiser in his own eyes than a multitude of the wisest men. “Than seven men that sytt and teach.” - Coverdale; i.e., than seven doctors of the law, or heads of the schools of the prophets, who always sat while they taught.
This site's exposition
There is a lion in the way
on Proverbs 26:13-16
Four proverbs on the sluggard, each a small comedy: the lion invented to keep him indoors, the door turning on its hinges as he turns on his bed, fixed to it and going nowhere, and the hand buried in the bosom that grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. The last verse stops the laughter: the sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason, which hands him the verdict of verse 12. Laziness, the bench observes here, is finally a thinking problem, an unearned certainty that effort is for other people.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The sluggard thinks himself wiser, etc. He speaks of seven men delivering sentences, who, full of the sevenfold grace of the Spirit, have ministered to us the knowledge of holy Scripture. The fool thinks himself wiser than these because, often, some so turn aside their …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit,.... It is a sort of a solecism, a kind of a contradiction in terms for a sluggard to be wise, who is so slothful as to make no use of the means of getting wisdom and knowledge.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Seven - The definite number used for the indefinite (compare Pro 24:16). Reason - Better, a right judgment.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
in the cauldron He buries his hand in a hot cauldron because of the cold.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
one who grabs a dog by its ears One who passes by and becomes embroiled in a quarrel that is not his is like one who grabs a dog by his ears, who causes him to bite him for no reason.
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. 4 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
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חָכָ֣ם | chakham | [is] wise | H2450 → | 138 times |
| עָצֵ֣ל | ʾatzel | a sluggard | H6102 → | 14 times |
| בְּעֵינָ֑יו | beeinav | in own eyes his | H5869 → | 887 times |
| מִ֝שִּׁבְעָ֗ה | mishivah | more than seven [people] | H7651 → | 394 times |
| מְשִׁ֣יבֵי | meshivei | [who] bring back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| טָֽעַם׃ | taam | <of> discernment | H2940 → |
חָכָ֣ם[is] wise
chakhamH2450 →138 times
עָצֵ֣לa sluggard
ʾatzelH6102 →14 times
בְּעֵינָ֑יוin own eyes his
beeinavH5869 →887 times
מִ֝שִּׁבְעָ֗הmore than seven [people]
mishivahH7651 →394 times
מְשִׁ֣יבֵי[who] bring back
meshiveiH7725 →1056 times
טָֽעַם׃<of> discernment
taamH2940 →
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
1 Peter 3:15But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and…
it leads to
- Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- 2 Timothy 2:25–26
He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
- Luke 21:14–15
So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves.
- 1 Peter 3:2
when they see your pure and reverent demeanor.
- Matthew 10:18–20
On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.
- Colossians 4:6
Through
Proverbs 12:15The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:7
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
- Proverbs 3:7
Through
Proverbs 26:12Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 3:18–19
Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
- Proverbs 29:20
Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- 1 Corinthians 3:18–19
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; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.