Proverbs 10:13
in Proverbs 10Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In the lips of him that hath discernment wisdom is found; But a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
KJV
In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
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This verse in Proverbs 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIn the lips of the wise is found wisdom, etc. The rod on the back is vengeance on the posterior, that is, in the following life; well expressed by that famous plague by which the Philistines were struck on their buttocks (1 Sam. V). Therefore, …
This site's exposition
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life
on Proverbs 10:11-14
The tongue cluster opens here and runs to the chapter's end, setting “a fountain of life” against a mouth that “conceals violence”. The two clauses of 10:12, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions,” state the chapter's case for what speech does to a household.
This site's exposition
a rod is for the back
The discerning man is known by his lips, and the man without judgment is taught by a rod on his back. Albert Barnes reads the rod as the chastisement a fool's own speech brings on him. Words and blows are the two teachers here.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found,....
19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. We are here admonished concerning the government of the tongue, that necessary duty of a Christian. It is good to say little, because in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, or sin doth not cease.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
i. e., The wisdom of the wise is seen in the words that issue from his lips; the folly of the fool is not only seen in his speech, but brings upon him the chastisement which he well deserves.
A rod is for the back of him - He that can learn, and will not learn, should be made to learn. The rod is a most powerful instrument of knowledge. Judiciously applied, there is a lesson of profound wisdom in every twig.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Wisdom is found in the lips of the understanding When a person reproves an understanding individual, he replies to him, “I have sinned,” e.g. David, who said to Nathan, “I have sinned” (11 Sam.:13).
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Hatred arouses quarrels Even a sin that was forgotten is remembered though additional iniquities.
Wise men store up knowledge They guard it in their heart so that they do not forget it.
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. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּשִׂפְתֵ֣י | besiftei | on [the] lips of | H8193 → | 176 times |
| נָ֭בוֹן | navon | a discerning [person] | H995 → | 170 times |
| תִּמָּצֵ֣א | timatze' | it is found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חָכְמָ֑ה | chokhmah | wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| וְ֝שֵׁ֗בֶט | veshevet | and a rod | H7626 → | 190 times |
| לְגֵ֣ו | legev | [is] for [the] back of | H1460 → | 7 times |
| חֲסַר־ | chasar- | [one] lacking of | H2638 → | 17 times |
| לֵֽב׃ | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
בְּשִׂפְתֵ֣יon [the] lips of
besifteiH8193 →176 times
נָ֭בוֹןa discerning [person]
navonH995 →170 times
תִּמָּצֵ֣אit is found
timatze'H4672 →455 times
חָכְמָ֑הwisdom
chokhmahH2451 →153 times
וְ֝שֵׁ֗בֶטand a rod
veshevetH7626 →190 times
לְגֵ֣ו[is] for [the] back of
legevH1460 →7 times
חֲסַר־[one] lacking of
chasar-H2638 →17 times
לֵֽב׃heart
levH3820 →595 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 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.
- 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.
- 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?
- Proverbs 25:11
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
- John 7:15–17
The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man attain such learning without having studied?”
- Luke 21:15
Through
Proverbs 6:32He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
it leads to
- Proverbs 7:7
I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment,
- Proverbs 7:7
Through
Proverbs 27:22Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 23:35
“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
- Jeremiah 5:3
O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than…
- Proverbs 23:35
Where this verse is studied
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.