Proverbs 15:15
in Proverbs 15All the days of the oppressed are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
All the days of the afflicted are evil; But he that is of a cheerful heart hath a continual feast.
KJV
All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.
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This verse in Proverbs 15
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAll the days of the afflicted are evil,.... And some are afflicted all their days, from their youth up; so that not only the days of old age are evil days, in which they have no pleasure, but even the days of their youth; all their days, as Jacob says, "few and evil have the days of the years of my life been", Gen 47:9; because they had been filled up with affliction and trouble of one sort or another.
This site's exposition
A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance
on Proverbs 15:13-15
“A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance,” while “sorrow of the heart crushes the spirit”. “A discerning heart seeks knowledge,” while “the mouth of a fool feeds on folly”. “All the days of the oppressed are bad,” yet “a cheerful heart has a continual feast,” the heart outweighing the circumstances.
This site's exposition
All the days of the oppressed are bad
Albert Barnes reads the affliction as a troubled and downcast spirit more than hard circumstances, so the cheerful man feasts every day, rich or poor. Anxiety spoils the feast. Barnes ties it to the anxious thought about tomorrow in Matthew 6:34.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
All the days of the afflicted are evil, etc. All the time of the people of God, as long as they are poor in the present, abounds with afflictions and troubles, because they have not yet reached the riches of supreme goodness and eternal abode. …
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Afflicted - The affliction meant here is less that of outward circumstances than of a troubled and downcast spirit. Life to the cheerful is as one perpetual banquet, whether he be poor or rich. That which disturbs the feast is anxiety, the taking (anxious) thought” of Mat 6:34.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
All the days of a poor man are wretched Even Sabbaths and festivals, as Samuel said. A change of diet is the beginning of intestinal disorders.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Better a little with the fear of the Lord, than a great treasury and turmoil with it The voice of people shouting that the treasury was made from robbery and violence, as in (Amos:9): “And see great confusions within it and people being oppressed in its midst.”
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. 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְמֵ֣י | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עָנִ֣י | ʾani | [the] afflicted | H6041 → | 73 times |
| רָעִ֑ים | raim | [are] displeasing | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וְטֽוֹב־ | vetov- | and a [person] good of | H2896 → | 538 times |
| לֵ֝֗ב | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| מִשְׁתֶּ֥ה | mishteh | a feast | H4960 → | |
| תָמִֽיד׃ | tamid | continually | H8548 → | 104 times |
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יְמֵ֣י[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
עָנִ֣י[the] afflicted
ʾaniH6041 →73 times
רָעִ֑ים[are] displeasing
raimH7451 →662 times
וְטֽוֹב־and a [person] good of
vetov-H2896 →538 times
לֵ֝֗בheart
levH3820 →595 times
מִשְׁתֶּ֥הa feast
mishtehH4960 →
תָמִֽיד׃continually
tamidH8548 →104 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 17:22A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
it leads to
- Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man, but a good word cheers it up.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 18:14
The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but who can survive a broken spirit?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:13
A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance, but sorrow of the heart crushes the spirit.
- Proverbs 12:25
Through
Romans 12:12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
it leads to
- Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Psalms 62:8
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
- Hebrews 10:36
You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
- Romans 5:2–4
through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
- Philippians 4:6–7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Romans 15:13
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.