Proverbs 14:2
in Proverbs 14He who walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but the one who is devious in his ways despises Him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that walketh in his uprightness feareth Jehovah; But he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.
KJV
He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.
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This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Every wise woman builds her house
on Proverbs 14:1-2
“Every wise woman builds her house,” but the foolish one “tears it down with her own hands”. Her ruin is domestic, a house undone by its own occupant. Walking “in uprightness” and fearing the LORD are one act, the fear the book names at 1:7 as “the beginning of knowledge”.
This site's exposition
He who walks in uprightness
Both lines read a man's regard for God from the road he walks. John Chrysostom held that the fear of God is what keeps a life straight, and that it adds devotion to plain virtue. A crooked road shows contempt.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
John ChrysostomCOMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 14:2 · Written before 407.
proposed
"He who walks straight, fears the Lord." Not just any fear makes people walk straight, but the fear of God.… A life provided with virtue is quite illustrious, but the addition of fear makes persons more religious.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Walking in a right path, and fearing God, etc. For religion is an abomination to sinners. It seems foolish to the unbelievers when the faithful, due to the fear of God, not only cast away fear but also deride the torments of those who kill …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The wisest of women Heb. חכמות, vowelized with a “patach,” is not a noun, but [it means that] the wisest of women build their houses, for they are preserved by them, like the wife of On the son of Peleth, as is explained in the chapter entitled “Chelek.”
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הוֹלֵ֣ךְ | holekh | [one who] walks | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּ֭יָשְׁרוֹ | beyashero | in uprightness his | H3476 → | 14 times |
| יְרֵ֣א | yere' | [is one] fearing | H3373 → | 64 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | <of> Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וּנְל֖וֹז | uneloz | and [the] [one who] is crooked of | H3868 → | 6 times |
| דְּרָכָ֣יו | derakhav | ways his | H1870 → | 707 times |
| בּוֹזֵֽהוּ׃ | bozehu | [is] despising him | H959 → | 44 times |
הוֹלֵ֣ךְ[one who] walks
holekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּ֭יָשְׁרוֹin uprightness his
beyasheroH3476 →14 times
יְרֵ֣א[is one] fearing
yere'H3373 →64 times
יְהוָ֑ה<of> Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וּנְל֖וֹזand [the] [one who] is crooked of
unelozH3868 →6 times
דְּרָכָ֣יוways his
derakhavH1870 →707 times
בּוֹזֵֽהוּ׃[is] despising him
bozehuH959 →44 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
Job 28:28And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
it leads to
- Psalms 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
- Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
- Proverbs 3:7
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
- Ecclesiastes 12:13
When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
- Psalms 111:10
Through
Acts 10:35but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:29
If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.
- Acts 10:2
He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.
- Romans 10:12–13
For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
- 1 John 2:29
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 14:2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.