Proverbs 19:12
in Proverbs 19A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; But his favor is as dew upon the grass.
KJV
The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
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This verse in Proverbs 19
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion,.... Which is very terrible when hungry, and is after its prey, and has got it. Kings, especially tyrannical ones, are compared to lions; as Nebuchadnezzar by Jeremiah, Jer 4:17; and Nero by the Apostle Paul, 2Ti 4:7; and the rage of such is very dreadful, as Ahasuerus's was to Haman. Jarchi interprets the king, of the holy blessed God.
This site's exposition
Luxury is unseemly for a fool
on Proverbs 19:10-12
Luxury is unseemly for a fool, and worse still is "a slave to rule over princes," things set out of their proper order. A man's insight gives him patience and "his virtue is to overlook an offense," restraint the chapter praises again before its end.
This site's exposition
like the roar of a lion
John Gill notes that Scripture compares tyrants to lions, as Jeremiah does Nebuchadnezzar, and he recalls the rage of Ahasuerus against Haman. Jarchi, he reports, read the king as God. The favor of a king falls like dew on the grass.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"As the roaring of a lion, so is the anger of a king," etc. It speaks of God the King, who in judgment is both cheerful and gentle to the just, but will appear terrible to the unjust. "A foolish son is a father's grief." …
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion - There is nothing more dreadful than the roaring of this tyrant of the forest. At the sound of it all other animals tremble, flee away, and hide themselves. The king who is above law, and rules without law, and whose will is his own law, is like the lion. This is strongly descriptive of the character of Asiatic sovereigns.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The King’s fury is like a lion’s roar [The fury of] the Holy One, blessed be He.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
a constant dripping lit. a driving drip. [As] the dripping of the rain that falls in the house disturbs and drives out the inhabitants of the house, so are the quarrels of a bad wife.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נַ֣הַם | naham | [is] a roaring | H5099 → | |
| כַּ֭כְּפִיר | kakefir | like <the> young lion | H3715 → | 32 times |
| זַ֣עַף | zaaf | [the] rage of | H2197 → | |
| מֶ֑לֶךְ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וּכְטַ֖ל | ukhetal | and [is] like dew | H2919 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֵ֣שֶׂב | ʾesev | grass | H6212 → | |
| רְצוֹנֽוֹ׃ | retzono | favor his | H7522 → | 56 times |
נַ֣הַם[is] a roaring
nahamH5099 →
כַּ֭כְּפִירlike <the> young lion
kakefirH3715 →32 times
זַ֣עַף[the] rage of
zaafH2197 →
מֶ֑לֶךְa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
וּכְטַ֖לand [is] like dew
ukhetalH2919 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עֵ֣שֶׂבgrass
ʾesevH6212 →
רְצוֹנֽוֹ׃favor his
retzonoH7522 →56 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
Hosea 14:5I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
it leads to
- Isaiah 35:2
It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the…
- Ephesians 3:17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Isaiah 27:6
In the days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole world with fruit.
- Matthew 6:28
And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin.
- Isaiah 35:2
Through
Proverbs 28:15Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- 1 Peter 5:8
Through
Proverbs 20:2The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 10:4
If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.
- 1 Kings 2:23
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
- Proverbs 8:36
But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
- Ecclesiastes 10:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.