Proverbs 14:28
in Proverbs 14A large population is a king’s splendor, but a lack of subjects is a prince’s ruin.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In the multitude of people is the king’s glory; But in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
KJV
In the multitude of people is the king’s honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A protest against the false ideal of national greatness to which Eastern kings, for the most part, have bowed down. Not conquest, or pomp, or gorgeous array, but a happy and numerous people form the true glory of a king. The word translated “prince” is of doubtful meaning; but the translation is supported by the Septuagint, Vulg, and most commentators.
This site's exposition
A large population is a king’s splendor
on Proverbs 14:28-30
A king's honour is counted in people rather than territory, so an empty land is a prince's ruin even where his throne still stands. Patience is named great understanding and haste is named folly's own promotion, the same contrast the chapter has drawn between the wise and the fool.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
In the multitude of people is the king's honour,.... For it is a sign of a good and wise government, of clemency and righteousness being exercised, of liberty and property being enjoyed, of peace, plenty, and prosperity; which encourage subjects to serve their king cheerfully, and to continue under his reign and government peaceably; and which invites others from different parts to come and settle there also; by which the strength and glory of a king are much increased.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
In the multitude of people - It is the interest of every state to promote marriage by every means that is just and prudent; and to discourage, disgrace, and debase celibacy; to render bachelors incapable, after a given age, of all public employments: and to banish nunneries and monasteries from all parts of their dominions; - they have ever, from their invention, contributed more to vice than virtue; and are positively point blank against the law of God.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּרָב־ | berov- | [is] in [the] multitude of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| עָ֥ם | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַדְרַת־ | hadrat- | [the] glory of | H1927 → | |
| מֶ֑לֶךְ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וּבְאֶ֥פֶס | uveefes | and in not | H657 → | 44 times |
| לְ֝אֹ֗ם | leom | a people | H3816 → | 31 times |
| מְחִתַּ֥ת | mechitat | [the] ruin of | H4288 → | 11 times |
| רָזֽוֹן׃ | razon | a ruler | H7333 → |
בְּרָב־[is] in [the] multitude of
berov-H7230 →149 times
עָ֥םa people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
הַדְרַת־[the] glory of
hadrat-H1927 →
מֶ֑לֶךְa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
וּבְאֶ֥פֶסand in not
uveefesH657 →44 times
לְ֝אֹ֗םa people
leomH3816 →31 times
מְחִתַּ֥ת[the] ruin of
mechitatH4288 →11 times
רָזֽוֹן׃a ruler
razonH7333 →
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
Exodus 1:12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.
it leads to
- Psalms 105:24
And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,
- Exodus 1:9
“Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us.
- Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Psalms 105:24
Through
Exodus 1:22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
it leads to
- Acts 7:19
He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.
- Proverbs 1:16
For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
- Psalms 105:25
whose hearts He turned to hate His people, to conspire against His servants.
- Proverbs 4:16
For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.
- Acts 7:19
Through
2 Kings 13:7Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
it leads to
- Amos 1:3
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.
- Amos 1:3
Where this verse is studied
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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.