Proverbs 27:17
in Proverbs 27As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
KJV
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
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This verse in Proverbs 27
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIron sharpeneth iron,.... A sword or knife made of iron is sharpened by it; so butchers sharpen their knives; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend; by conversation with him; thus learned men sharpen one another's minds, and excite each other to learned studies; Christians sharpen one another's graces, or stir up each other to the exercise of them, and the gifts which are bestowed on them, and to love and to good works.
This site's exposition
Iron sharpeneth iron
on Proverbs 27:17-19
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend states friendship's use plainly, that one mind set against another produces an edge neither achieves alone. Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof carries the same principle into labor, diligent care returning its own reward, and applies it to the servant who waits on his master. As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man, closes the triad: people reflect one another, and what a man sees in another's heart is commonly his own looking back.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Iron sharpens iron, etc. The consultation and advice of the wise is quite good, where they instruct each other by consulting, iron sharpens iron.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The proverb expresses the gain of mutual counsel as found in clear, well-defined thoughts. Two minds, thus acting on each other, become more acute. This is better than to see in “sharpening” the idea of provoking, and the point of the maxim in the fact that the quarrels of those who have been friends are bitter in proportion to their previous intimacy.
Iron sharpeneth iron - As hard iron, viz., steel, will bring a knife to a better edge when it is properly whetted against it: so one friend may be the means of exciting another to reflect, dive deeply into, and illustrate a subject, without which whetting or excitement, this had never taken place. Had Horace seen this proverb in the Septuagint translation when he wrote to the Pisos? Ergo fungar vice cotis, acutum Reddere quae ferrum valet, exors ipsa secandi. Hor. Ars. Poet., ver. 304. “But let me sharpen others, as the hone Gives edge to razors, though itself have none.” Francis.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּרְזֶ֣ל | barzel | iron | H1270 → | |
| בְּבַרְזֶ֣ל | bevarzel | by iron | H1270 → | |
| יָ֑חַד | yachad | it grows sharp | H2300 → | |
| וְ֝אִ֗ישׁ | veish | and each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יַ֣חַד | yachad | he sharpens | H2300 → | |
| פְּנֵֽי־ | penei- | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| רֵעֵֽהוּ׃ | reehu | neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
בַּרְזֶ֣לiron
barzelH1270 →
בְּבַרְזֶ֣לby iron
bevarzelH1270 →
יָ֑חַדit grows sharp
yachadH2300 →
וְ֝אִ֗ישׁand each
veishH376 →1663 times
יַ֣חַדhe sharpens
yachadH2300 →
פְּנֵֽי־[the] face of
penei-H6440 →2123 times
רֵעֵֽהוּ׃neighbor his
reehuH7453 →188 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
1 Samuel 23:16And Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and strengthened his hand in God,
it leads to
- Isaiah 35:3–4
Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!
- Hebrews 12:12–13
Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees.
- Job 4:3–4
Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
- 2 Timothy 2:1
You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- Isaiah 35:3–4
Through
Hebrews 10:24And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.
- 1 John 3:18
Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.
- Hebrews 13:1
Continue in brotherly love.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11
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; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).