Proverbs 17:19
in Proverbs 17He who loves transgression loves strife; he who builds his gate high invites destruction.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He loveth transgression that loveth strife: He that raiseth high his gate seeketh destruction.
KJV
He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe that exalteth his gate - In different parts of Palestine they are obliged to have the doors of their courts and houses very low, not more than three feet high, to prevent the Arabs, who scarcely ever leave the backs of their horses, from riding into the courts and houses, and spoiling their goods. He, then, who, through pride and ostentation, made a high gate, exposed himself to destruction; and is said here to seek it, because he must know that this would be a necessary consequence of exalting his gate.
This site's exposition
A friend loves at all times
on Proverbs 17:17-19
The verse sets "A friend loves at all times" beside "a brother is born for adversity." Striking hands in pledge for a neighbor marks "A man lacking judgment," the book's recurring caution against pledging what cannot be foreseen. Loving strife and building a high gate both invite destruction.
This site's exposition
he who builds his gate high
Adam Clarke explains that houses in parts of Palestine kept their doors low to stop raiders riding into the courts. A man who built a high gate from pride opened his house to destruction. Love of strife and love of display invite the same end.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He loveth transgression that loveth strife,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
strife--contention is, and leads to, sin. he that exalteth his gate--gratifies a vain love of costly building. seeketh--or, "findeth," as if he sought (compare "loveth death," Pr 8:36).
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
He that exalteth his gate - i. e., Builds a stately house, indulges in arrogant ostentation.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֹ֣הֵֽב | ʾohev | [one who] loves | H157 → | 211 times |
| פֶּ֭שַׁע | pesha' | transgression | H6588 → | 93 times |
| אֹהֵ֣ב | ʾohev | [is] loving | H157 → | 211 times |
| מַצָּ֑ה | matzah | contention | H4683 → | |
| מַגְבִּ֥יהַּ | magbiah | [one who] makes high | H1361 → | |
| פִּ֝תְח֗וֹ | pitcho | entrance his | H6607 → | 164 times |
| מְבַקֶּשׁ־ | mevakesh- | [is] seeking | H1245 → | 225 times |
| שָֽׁבֶר׃ | shaver | ruin | H7667 → | 45 times |
אֹ֣הֵֽב[one who] loves
ʾohevH157 →211 times
פֶּ֭שַׁעtransgression
pesha'H6588 →93 times
אֹהֵ֣ב[is] loving
ʾohevH157 →211 times
מַצָּ֑הcontention
matzahH4683 →
מַגְבִּ֥יהַּ[one who] makes high
magbiahH1361 →
פִּ֝תְח֗וֹentrance his
pitchoH6607 →164 times
מְבַקֶּשׁ־[is] seeking
mevakesh-H1245 →225 times
שָֽׁבֶר׃ruin
shaverH7667 →45 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 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 2:11–12
The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
- Proverbs 18:12
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
- Obadiah 1:3–4
The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
- Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- Proverbs 11:2
Through
Proverbs 18:12Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
- 1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Ezekiel 28:2
“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of…
- Proverbs 15:33
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); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).