Proverbs 17:9
in Proverbs 17Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; But he that harpeth on a matter separateth chief friends.
KJV
He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Seeketh love - i. e., Takes the course which leads to his gaining it. He that repeateth a matter - The warning is directed against that which leads a man to dwell with irritating iteration on a past offence instead of burying it in oblivion. Separateth very friends - Better, alienateth his chief friend. The tale-bearer works injury to himself.
This site's exposition
Grandchildren are the crown of the aged
on Proverbs 17:6-9
Grandchildren are the crown of the aged and the glory of a son is his father, an honour running down and up the generations. "Eloquent words are unfit for a fool," and lying lips are worse in a ruler, since rank raises the stakes of what a mouth says.
This site's exposition
Whoever conceals an offense promotes love
Albert Barnes warns against dwelling on a past offense with irritating repetition when it could be buried. He who brings it up alienates his chief friend, and the talebearer, Barnes adds, injures himself. Whoever conceals it promotes love.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that covereth a transgression seeketh love,.... He that hides the transgression of another, or of his friend, committed against himself or against another, which he is privy to; but the matter being made up, and the offence forgiven, he forgets it, and no more speaks of it to his friend, or upbraids him with it, nor spreads it among others: such a man shows that he loves his friend, and is desirous that love and friendship should be continued; and this is the way to continue it; and a man that thus seeks it finds it.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְֽכַסֶּה־ | mekhaseh- | [one who] conceals | H3680 → | 152 times |
| פֶּ֭שַׁע | pesha' | a transgression | H6588 → | 93 times |
| מְבַקֵּ֣שׁ | mevakesh | [is] seeking | H1245 → | 225 times |
| אַהֲבָ֑ה | ʾahavah | love | H160 → | 38 times |
| וְשֹׁנֶ֥ה | veshoneh | and [one who] repeats | H8138 → | 21 times |
| בְ֝דָבָ֗ר | vedavar | <in> a matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| מַפְרִ֥יד | mafrid | [is] separating | H6504 → | 26 times |
| אַלּֽוּף׃ | ʾaluf | a close friend | H441 → | 69 times |
מְֽכַסֶּה־[one who] conceals
mekhaseh-H3680 →152 times
פֶּ֭שַׁעa transgression
pesha'H6588 →93 times
מְבַקֵּ֣שׁ[is] seeking
mevakeshH1245 →225 times
אַהֲבָ֑הlove
ʾahavahH160 →38 times
וְשֹׁנֶ֥הand [one who] repeats
veshonehH8138 →21 times
בְ֝דָבָ֗ר<in> a matter
vedavarH1697 →1440 times
מַפְרִ֥יד[is] separating
mafridH6504 →26 times
אַלּֽוּף׃a close friend
ʾalufH441 →69 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 Peter 4:8Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.
- James 5:20
consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.
- 1 Peter 1:22
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
- Proverbs 10:12
Through
Psalms 32:1Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
it leads to
- Romans 4:6–8
And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
- Isaiah 44:22
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
- Psalms 85:2
You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah
- Romans 4:6–8
Through
Proverbs 10:12Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
- 1 Peter 4:8
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).