Proverbs 17:14
in Proverbs 17To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: Therefore leave off contention, before there is quarrelling.
KJV
The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Gregory the DialogistThe Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 14 · Written before 604.
Moreover, since the indolent mind for the most part lapses by degrees into downfall, while we neglect to guard against idle words we go on to hurtful ones; so that at first it pleases us to talk of other men's affairs; afterwards the tongue gnaws with detraction the lives of those of whom we talk; but at last breaks out even into open slanders. Hence are sown pricking thorns, quarrels arise, the torches of enmities are kindled, the peace of hearts is extinguished. Whence it is well said through Solomon, "He that letteth out water is a well-spring of strifes."
This site's exposition
To start a quarrel is
on Proverbs 17:14-16
To start a quarrel is "to release a flood," a small breach that widens past control, so the dispute is abandoned "before it breaks out." Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous are named together as detestable to the LORD, one offence in two directions.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He who releases water, etc. To release water is to loosen the tongue into flowing speech. In a good sense, it is said, "Deep waters, words from the mouth of a man." Therefore, he who releases the waters is the beginning of quarrels, because he …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water,.... As when a man makes a little hole in the bank of a river, or cuts a small passage in it, to let the water into an adjoining field; by the force of the water, the passage is widened, and it flows in, in great abundance, to the overflow and prejudice of the field; nor is it easily stopped: so a single word, spoken in anger, with some warmth, or in a way of contradiction, has been the beginning and occasion of great strife and contention.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water - As soon as the smallest breach is made in the dike or dam, the water begins to press from all parts towards the breach; the resistance becomes too great to be successfully opposed, so that dikes and all are speedily swept away. Such is the beginning of contentions, quarrels, lawsuits, etc. Leave off contention, before it be meddled with - As you see what an altercation must lead to, therefore do not begin it.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
letteth . . . water--as a breach in a dam. before . . . meddled with--before strife has become sharp, or, by an explanation better suiting the figure, before it rolls on, or increases.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The figure is taken from the great tank or reservoir upon which Eastern cities often depended for their supply of water. The beginning of strife is compared to the first crack in the mound of such a reservoir. At first a few drops ooze out, but after a time the whole mass of waters pour themselves forth with fury, and it is hard to set limits to the destruction which they cause. Before it be meddled with - literally, “before it rolls, or rushes forward.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The beginning of strife is like letting out water Whoever commences a quarrel is like one who opens a hole in the stone walls of a water canal, and the water goes out through it, and the hole becomes progressively wider; so does the quarrel constantly escalate.
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. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פּ֣וֹטֵֽר | poter | [is one who] lets out | H6362 → | |
| מַ֭יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| רֵאשִׁ֣ית | reshit | [the] beginning of | H7225 → | 51 times |
| מָד֑וֹן | madon | strife | H4066 → | 10 times |
| וְלִפְנֵ֥י | velifnei | and <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הִ֝תְגַּלַּ֗ע | hitgala' | it has broken out | H1566 → | 3 times |
| הָרִ֥יב | hariv | the dispute | H7379 → | 61 times |
| נְטֽוֹשׁ׃ | netoosh | abandon | H5203 → | 40 times |
פּ֣וֹטֵֽר[is one who] lets out
poterH6362 →
מַ֭יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
רֵאשִׁ֣ית[the] beginning of
reshitH7225 →51 times
מָד֑וֹןstrife
madonH4066 →10 times
וְלִפְנֵ֥יand <to> before
velifneiH6440 →2123 times
הִ֝תְגַּלַּ֗עit has broken out
hitgala'H1566 →3 times
הָרִ֥יבthe dispute
harivH7379 →61 times
נְטֽוֹשׁ׃abandon
netooshH5203 →40 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
1 Thessalonians 4:11and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:28
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.
- Ecclesiastes 4:6
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.
- 1 Peter 3:4
but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
- Titus 3:14
And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet the pressing needs of others, so that they will not be unfruitful.
- Proverbs 17:1
Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.
- Ephesians 4:28
Through
Proverbs 20:3It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool will quarrel.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:6
A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:32
He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.
- Proverbs 18:6
Through
Proverbs 25:8do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?
it leads to
- Matthew 5:25
Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and…
- Matthew 5:25
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; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Gregory the Dialogist, The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 14; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).