Proverbs 13:2
in Proverbs 13From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the desire of the faithless is violence.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth; But the soul of the treacherous shall eat violence.
KJV
A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
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This verse in Proverbs 13
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth,.... Or, "of the mouth"; either another's or his own, since the word his is not in the text; though it is supplied by the Targum, Aben Ezra, the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions, as by us. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "shall eat of the fruits of righteousness". I should choose to translate the whole thus: "a good man shall eat of the fruit of his mouth": so Aben Ezra interprets it, "a good man shall eat"; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it.
This site's exposition
A wise son heeds his father’s discipline
on Proverbs 13:1-3
“A wise son heeds his father’s discipline,” but “a mocker does not listen to rebuke,” and the chapter returns to the discipline theme. “From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things,” and the same organ that feeds a man can destroy him.
This site's exposition
From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things
Speech is pictured as a crop that feeds the speaker. John Gill notes the word his is supplied, so the fruit may come from another man's lips as well as his own. The faithless hunger for violence instead.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The fruit of his mouth - Speech rightly used is itself good, and must therefore bring good fruit. Eat violence - i. e., Bring upon itself repayment in kind for its deeds of evil.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
A wise son.. his father’s discipline This is an elliptical verse: a wise son asks for and loves his father’s discipline. Some say: Because of the father’s discipline, he is wise.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִפְּרִ֣י | miperi | from [the] fruit of | H6529 → | 119 times |
| פִי־ | fi- | [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| אִ֭ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יֹ֣אכַל | yokhal | he eats | H398 → | 810 times |
| ט֑וֹב | tov | good thing[s] | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְנֶ֖פֶשׁ | venefesh | and [the] appetite of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| בֹּגְדִ֣ים | bogedim | treacherous [people] | H898 → | 49 times |
| חָמָֽס׃ | chamas | [is] violence | H2555 → | 60 times |
מִפְּרִ֣יfrom [the] fruit of
miperiH6529 →119 times
פִי־[the] mouth of
fi-H6310 →498 times
אִ֭ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יֹ֣אכַלhe eats
yokhalH398 →810 times
ט֑וֹבgood thing[s]
tovH2896 →538 times
וְנֶ֖פֶשׁand [the] appetite of
venefeshH5315 →754 times
בֹּגְדִ֣יםtreacherous [people]
bogedimH898 →49 times
חָמָֽס׃[is] violence
chamasH2555 →60 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 1:31So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
it leads to
- Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
- Jeremiah 6:19
Hear, O earth! I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their own schemes, because they have paid no attention to My word and have rejected My instruction.
- Job 4:8
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
- Proverbs 22:8
He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
- Galatians 6:7–8
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Proverbs 14:14
Through
Proverbs 12:14By fruitful speech a man is filled with good things, and the work of his hands returns to him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:20–21
From the fruit of his mouth a man’s belly is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
- Isaiah 3:10–11
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Proverbs 18:20–21
Through
Proverbs 10:11The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:14
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning one from the snares of death.
- Proverbs 13:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.