Proverbs 14:3
in Proverbs 14The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his pride; But the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
KJV
In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
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This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhat judgment harder than that of our hearts, whereby each one stands convicted and accuses himself of the injury that he has wrongfully done against his brother? This the Scriptures speak of very plainly, saying, "Out of the mouth of fools there is a rod for wrongdoing." Folly, then, is condemned because it causes wrongdoing. Ought we not rather to avoid this, than death, or loss, or want, or exile or sickness? Who would not think some blemish of body or loss of inheritance far less than some blemish of soul or loss of reputation?
This site's exposition
The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back
on Proverbs 14:3-5
“The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back,” so the proud mouth strikes the fool who carries it. “Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,” so the mess an ox makes is the price of the harvest it brings.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book 24, xvi.40 · Written before 604.
proposed
But it is the peculiar way with haughty preachers, that they are more desirous of strictly reproving their hearers even when distressed, than to cherish them in a kindly manner. For they study more to chide and reprove faults, than to encourage goodness with praise. For they are anxious to appear superior to other people, and they are better pleased when anger raises their feelings than when charity brings them down. They ever wish to find something, to smite sharply with reproof. Whence it is written, "In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride," because in truth he knows how to smite sharply, but not to sympathize with humility.
In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride, etc. Because the foolish through their idle talk afflict the humble whom they despise; but the same humble in spirit fortify themselves by the doctrine of wisdom so as not to be deceived.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride - The reproofs of such a person are ill-judged and ill-timed, and generally are conveyed in such language as renders them not only ineffectual, but displeasing, and even irritating.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A rod of pride - i. e., The pride shown in his speech is as a rod with which he strikes down others and himself.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּֽפִי־ | befi- | [is] in [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| אֱ֭וִיל | ʾevil | a fool | H191 → | 26 times |
| חֹ֣טֶר | choter | a shoot of | H2415 → | |
| גַּאֲוָ֑ה | gaavah | pride | H1346 → | |
| וְשִׂפְתֵ֥י | vesiftei | and [the] lips of | H8193 → | 176 times |
| חֲ֝כָמִ֗ים | chakhamim | wise [people] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| תִּשְׁמוּרֵֽם׃ | tishmurem | it preserves them | H8104 → | 468 times |
בְּֽפִי־[is] in [the] mouth of
befi-H6310 →498 times
אֱ֭וִילa fool
ʾevilH191 →26 times
חֹ֣טֶרa shoot of
choterH2415 →
גַּאֲוָ֑הpride
gaavahH1346 →
וְשִׂפְתֵ֥יand [the] lips of
vesifteiH8193 →176 times
חֲ֝כָמִ֗יםwise [people]
chakhamimH2450 →138 times
תִּשְׁמוּרֵֽם׃it preserves them
tishmuremH8104 →468 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
Revelation 12:11They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 10:3–5
For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.
- John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
- 1 John 5:5
Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
- 1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
- Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
- 2 Corinthians 10:3–5
Through
Revelation 3:10Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the…
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:9
if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
- Revelation 14:12
Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
- Daniel 12:10
Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
- 2 Peter 2:9
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); Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.4.24; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book 24, xvi.40; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).