Proverbs 16:14
in Proverbs 16The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The wrath of a king is as messengers of death; But a wise man will pacify it.
KJV
The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.
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This verse in Proverbs 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe wrath of a king is as messengers of death,.... Or, "angels of death", as the Targum. As the wrath of Ahasuerus was to Haman; when it is either discovered in the countenance of a king, or expressed by his words, or signified by a messenger; it sometimes has been immediate death to a person, and often as terrible as if a messenger brought the sentence of death; yea, it is as if one messenger after another was sent on such an errand, and therefore the word is in the plural number.
This site's exposition
Righteous lips are a king’s delight
on Proverbs 16:13-15
“Righteous lips are a king’s delight, and he who speaks honestly is beloved,” a courtier's proverb that measures royal favor by honesty over flattery. When the king's face brightens there is life, and “his favor is like a rain cloud in spring,” the rain tied to a good harvest.
This site's exposition
a messenger of death
The Targum renders the phrase angels of death, John Gill notes, and he reads the plural as one messenger sent after another. Albert Barnes sets the swift punishment of eastern courts against the king as he ought to be. A wise man will pacify it.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
And a wise man will appease him. For he can appease God by repenting, whom he happened to offend by speaking foolishly.
The king's indignation is messengers of death. The messengers of death are the angels of Satan, that is, heretics and vain philosophers; indeed, all who announce those words to their neighbors, by which they are taken away to eternal death. The more they serve the …
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
While Pro 16:13 depicts the king as he ought to be, this verse reminds us of the terrible rapidity with which, in the despotic monarchies of the East, punishment, even death, follows royal displeasure.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The king’s wrath is like messengers of death, like messengers of death [but not angels of death].
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
In the light of the King’s countenance is life The one to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, shows a bright countenance—it is life to him. Therefore, a person must straighten his way before Him.
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. 1 further source is 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חֲמַת־ | chamat- | [the] rage of | H2534 → | 125 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מַלְאֲכֵי־ | malakhei- | [is] messengers of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| מָ֑וֶת | mavet | death | H4194 → | 156 times |
| וְאִ֖ישׁ | veish | and a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| חָכָ֣ם | chakham | wise | H2450 → | 138 times |
| יְכַפְּרֶֽנָּה׃ | yekhapperenah | he covers it | H3722 → |
חֲמַת־[the] rage of
chamat-H2534 →125 times
מֶ֥לֶךְa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
מַלְאֲכֵי־[is] messengers of
malakhei-H4397 →213 times
מָ֑וֶתdeath
mavetH4194 →156 times
וְאִ֖ישׁand a person
veishH376 →1663 times
חָכָ֣םwise
chakhamH2450 →138 times
יְכַפְּרֶֽנָּה׃he covers it
yekhapperenahH3722 →
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
2 Corinthians 5:20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:20
for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.
- Luke 14:23
So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
- Malachi 2:7
For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
- Ezekiel 18:31–32
Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Ephesians 6:20
Through
Ecclesiastes 10:4If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.
it leads to
- Proverbs 25:15
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
- Ecclesiastes 8:3
Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
- Proverbs 25:15
Through
Proverbs 19:12A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:14–15
The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:14–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.