Proverbs 13:14
in Proverbs 13The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning one from the snares of death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The law of the wise is a fountain of life, That one may depart from the snares of death.
KJV
The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
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This verse in Proverbs 13
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThe law of the wise is a fountain of life - Perhaps it would be better to translate, “The law is to the wise man a fountain of life.” It is the same to him as the “vein of lives,” מקור חיים mekor chaiyim, the great aorta which transmits the blood from the heart to every part of the body.
This site's exposition
He who despises instruction will pay the penalty
on Proverbs 13:13-15
“He who despises instruction will pay the penalty,” but “the one who respects a command will be rewarded”. “Good understanding wins favor,” but “the way of the faithless is difficult,” and difficult describes the path itself, with no outside punishment added to it.
This site's exposition
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life
Adam Clarke gives the Hebrew as mekor chaiyim, the vein of lives, and compares it to the great artery carrying blood from the heart. The same teaching turns a man from the snares of death. Life flows and traps close.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The law of the wise is a fountain of life,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The instruction of a wise man is a spring of life for he teaches him to turn away from the snares of death.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תּוֹרַ֣ת | torat | [the] instruction of | H8451 → | 219 times |
| חָ֭כָם | chakhom | a wise [person] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| מְק֣וֹר | mekor | [is] a fountain of | H4726 → | 18 times |
| חַיִּ֑ים | chaiyim | life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| לָ֝ס֗וּר | lasur | to turn aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁי | mimokeshei | from [the] snares of | H4170 → | 27 times |
| מָֽוֶת׃ | mavet | death | H4194 → | 156 times |
תּוֹרַ֣ת[the] instruction of
toratH8451 →219 times
חָ֭כָםa wise [person]
chakhomH2450 →138 times
מְק֣וֹר[is] a fountain of
mekorH4726 →18 times
חַיִּ֑יםlife
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
לָ֝ס֗וּרto turn aside
lasurH5493 →299 times
מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁיfrom [the] snares of
mimokesheiH4170 →27 times
מָֽוֶת׃death
mavetH4194 →156 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 10:11The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:29
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- Proverbs 10:6
Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
- Proverbs 18:4
The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
- Proverbs 10:20–21
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked has little worth.
- Proverbs 10:32
The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.
- Ephesians 4:29
Through
Proverbs 14:27The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
it leads to
- Revelation 21:6
And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
- Revelation 21:6
Through
Psalms 116:3The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:4–6
The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
- Psalms 38:6
I am bent and brought low; all day long I go about mourning.
- Psalms 18:4–6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).