Proverbs 12:25
in Proverbs 12Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man, but a good word cheers it up.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop; But a good word maketh it glad.
KJV
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
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This verse in Proverbs 12
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHeaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop - Sorrow of heart, hopeless love, or a sense of God’s displeasure - these prostrate the man, and he becomes a child before them. But a good word maketh it glad - A single good or favorable word will remove despondency; and that word, “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee,” will instantly remove despair.
This site's exposition
A shrewd man keeps his knowledge to himself
on Proverbs 12:23-25
“A shrewd man keeps his knowledge to himself,” while “a foolish heart proclaims its folly” for lack of the same restraint. “The hand of the diligent will rule,” but “laziness ends in forced labor”. “Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man,” and a good word cheers it again.
This site's exposition
Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man
Anxiety presses the heart down like a weight, and one good word lifts it. Matthew Henry names the best of such words, the good word of God, which calls the weary and burdened to Christ in Matthew 11. The cure is a word.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, etc. Because it is necessary that first the sinner be healthily humbled by the anxiety of repentance, and then afterward by the judgment of the priest, the word of given reconciliation may bring joy. He who neglects …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Those therefore that are inclined to it should watch and pray against it. The cure of it: A good word from God, applied by faith, makes it glad; such a word is that (says one of the rabbin), Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; the good word of God, particularly the gospel, is designed to make the hearts glad that are weary and heavy-laden, Matt. xi.
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop,.... Either an anxious care and solicitude about living in the world, as the word (m) signifies; when it seizes a man's spirits, it depresses them, and keeps them down: or a fear and dread of adversity, or sorrow and grief, on account of some calamity and distress; when it gets into a man's heart, it sinks and bows it down, that it cannot take any pleasure or comfort in anything.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דְּאָגָ֣ה | deagah | anxiety | H1674 → | |
| בְלֶב־ | velev- | in [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יַשְׁחֶ֑נָּה | yashchenah | it bows down it | H7812 → | |
| וְדָבָ֖ר | vedavar | and a word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| ט֣וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| יְשַׂמְּחֶֽנָּה׃ | yesammechenah | it makes glad it | H8055 → | 155 times |
דְּאָגָ֣הanxiety
deagahH1674 →
בְלֶב־in [the] heart of
velev-H3820 →595 times
אִ֣ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יַשְׁחֶ֑נָּהit bows down it
yashchenahH7812 →
וְדָבָ֖רand a word
vedavarH1697 →1440 times
ט֣וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
יְשַׂמְּחֶֽנָּה׃it makes glad it
yesammechenahH8055 →155 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
Proverbs 17:22A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:14
The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but who can survive a broken spirit?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:13
A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance, but sorrow of the heart crushes the spirit.
- 2 Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 18:14
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?
- 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 16:24Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
it leads to
- Proverbs 25:11–12
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 25:11–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.