Proverbs 13:12
in Proverbs 13Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; But when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
KJV
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
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This verse in Proverbs 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Arrogance leads only to strife
on Proverbs 13:10-12
“Dishonest wealth will dwindle,” but wealth earned through hard work grows, the contrast the book draws elsewhere between the diligent and the sluggard. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life,” the book's image for wisdom found and the righteous man's fruit.
This site's exposition
Hope deferred makes the heart sick
Adam Clarke traces the sickness in stages: delay pains the mind, longer delay sickens the heart, and final disappointment kills it. Desire fulfilled is a tree of life, the image Proverbs 3:18 gives to wisdom. Waiting is its own suffering.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick," etc. For certainly, as long as the hope of eternal things is deferred, the soul of the faithful is afflicted, either because of the delay of the good things they love or because of the imposition of the evils …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick - When once a good is discovered, want of it felt, strong desire for the possession excited, and the promise of attainment made on grounds unsuspected, so that the reality of the thing and the certainity of the promise are manifest, hope posts forward to realize the blessing. Delay in the gratification pains the mind; the increase of the delay prostrates and sickens the heart; and if delay sickens the heart, ultimate disappointment kills it.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When the desire cometh - The desire comes, it is a tree of life: i. e., the object of our desires is attained. Compare Pro 3:18.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Wealth gotten by vanity One who makes his study in bundles. shall be diminished For he will forget it little by little.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
He who despises a thing will be pledged to it Heb. יחבל. He who despises one of the words of the Torah will ultimately be taken for it as a pledge.
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. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תּוֹחֶ֣לֶת | tochelet | hope | H8431 → | 6 times |
| מְ֭מֻשָּׁכָה | memushakhah | deferred | H4900 → | |
| מַחֲלָה־ | machalah- | [is] making sick | H2470 → | 76 times |
| לֵ֑ב | lev | [the] heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וְעֵ֥ץ | veetz | and [is] a tree of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| חַ֝יִּ֗ים | chaiyim | life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| תַּאֲוָ֥ה | taavah | a desire | H8378 → | 20 times |
| בָאָֽה׃ | vaah | [which] comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
תּוֹחֶ֣לֶתhope
tocheletH8431 →6 times
מְ֭מֻשָּׁכָהdeferred
memushakhahH4900 →
מַחֲלָה־[is] making sick
machalah-H2470 →76 times
לֵ֑ב[the] heart
levH3820 →595 times
וְעֵ֥ץand [is] a tree of
veetzH6086 →328 times
חַ֝יִּ֗יםlife
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
תַּאֲוָ֥הa desire
taavahH8378 →20 times
בָאָֽה׃[which] comes
vaahH935 →2568 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 11:30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
it leads to
- Daniel 12:3
Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.
- James 5:20
consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
- 1 Corinthians 9:19–23
Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
- Daniel 12:3
Through
John 16:22So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:8
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
- 1 Peter 1:8
Through
Psalms 17:15As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- Psalms 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
- Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
- Psalms 11:7
For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Hope34 verses
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
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; 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.