Proverbs 14:30
in Proverbs 14A tranquil heart is life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A tranquil heart is the life of the flesh; But envy is the rottenness of the bones.
KJV
A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhile all our actions should be free from hidden malevolence, this is particularly the case in the selection of a bishop, whose life is the pattern for all his flock. Calm and pacific judgment is called for if you are to prefer to all his fellows a man who will be elected by all and who will heal all dissension. "The gentle man is the physician of the heart." In the gospel the Lord declared himself the physician of the heart when he said, "They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick."
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.
This site's exposition
A tranquil heart is life to the body
The heart's peace or envy reaches down into the body and its bones. Ambrose of Milan quotes another rendering, the gentle man is the physician of the heart, and asks for such a man as bishop. A tranquil man heals others too.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The life of the flesh is the health of the heart, etc. By flesh, certain weak and tender things; by bones, strong deeds are signified. It is well said, The life of the flesh is the health of the heart, because if the innocence of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A sound heart is the life of the flesh,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A sound heart is the life of the flesh - A healthy state of the blood, and a proper circulation of that stream of life, is the grand cause, in the hand of God, of health and longevity. If the heart be diseased, life cannot be long continued.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Sound heart - literally, “heart of health,” that in which all emotions and appetites are in a healthy equilibrium. The contrast with this is the envy which eats, like a consuming disease, into the very bones and marrow of a man’s moral life.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חַיֵּ֣י | chaiyei | [is] [the] life of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| בְ֭שָׂרִים | vesarim | bodies | H1320 → | 270 times |
| לֵ֣ב | lev | a heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| מַרְפֵּ֑א | marpe' | healing | H4832 → | 16 times |
| וּרְקַ֖ב | urekav | and [is] rottenness of | H7538 → | |
| עֲצָמ֣וֹת | atzamot | bones | H6106 → | 126 times |
| קִנְאָֽה׃ | kinah | jealousy | H7068 → | 43 times |
חַיֵּ֣י[is] [the] life of
chaiyeiH2416 →498 times
בְ֭שָׂרִיםbodies
vesarimH1320 →270 times
לֵ֣בa heart of
levH3820 →595 times
מַרְפֵּ֑אhealing
marpe'H4832 →16 times
וּרְקַ֖בand [is] rottenness of
urekavH7538 →
עֲצָמ֣וֹתbones
atzamotH6106 →126 times
קִנְאָֽה׃jealousy
kinahH7068 →43 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 4:23Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
it leads to
- Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow…
- Matthew 12:34–35
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Mark 7:21–23
For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
- Psalms 139:23–24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
- Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
- Luke 6:45
Through
Proverbs 17:22A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:13
A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance, but sorrow of the heart crushes the spirit.
- Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man, but a good word cheers it up.
- Proverbs 18:14
The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but who can survive a broken spirit?
- Proverbs 15:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this chapter
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, LETTER 63:46; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.