Proverbs 20:14
in Proverbs 20“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer, but on the way out, he gloats.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It is bad, it is bad, saith the buyer; But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
KJV
It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
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This verse in Proverbs 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Do not love sleep, or you
on Proverbs 20:13-15
The chapter warns against wasted hours, "Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor," and answers open eyes with "plenty of food." Against gold and rubies the chapter sets lips of knowledge as "a rare treasure," valuing speech that instructs above wealth that only buys.
This site's exposition
on the way out, he gloats
The buyer runs down the goods while he bargains, then boasts of his purchase once he is out of earshot. The scene is market theater. Verses 10 and 23 set the standard of the LORD over such trade.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
It is bad, it is bad, says every buyer, etc. Therefore, he who desires to obtain eternal rewards in the heavens must endure what is bad in the present, so that when he departs from the world, he may then glory; clearly perceiving that the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer - How apt are men to decry the goods they wish to purchase, in order that they may get them at a cheaper rate; and, when they have made their bargain and carried it off, boast to others at how much less than its value they have obtained it! Are such honest men? Is such knavery actionable? Can such be punished only in another world?
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“It is bad, it is bad,” says the buyer If one acquires Torah through poverty and the pains of hunger, he says, “Woe is to me for this evil and for this trouble,” but when he goes away full of wisdom.. then he boasts about the pain he suffered.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רַ֣ע | ra' | bad | H7451 → | 662 times |
| רַ֭ע | ra' | bad | H7451 → | 662 times |
| יֹאמַ֣ר | yomar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַקּוֹנֶ֑ה | hakoneh | the buyer | H7069 → | 84 times |
| וְאֹזֵ֥ל | veozel | and [he is] going away | H235 → | |
| ל֝֗וֹ | lo | <for> himself | ||
| אָ֣ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| יִתְהַלָּֽל׃ | yithalal | he boasts | H1984 → | 165 times |
רַ֣עbad
ra'H7451 →662 times
רַ֭עbad
ra'H7451 →662 times
יֹאמַ֣רhe says
yomarH559 →5305 times
הַקּוֹנֶ֑הthe buyer
hakonehH7069 →84 times
וְאֹזֵ֥לand [he is] going away
veozelH235 →
ל֝֗וֹ<for> himself
lo
אָ֣זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
יִתְהַלָּֽל׃he boasts
yithalalH1984 →165 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 4:6and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal.
- Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
- Hebrews 13:4
Through
Ecclesiastes 1:10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
it leads to
- Acts 7:51
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Luke 17:26–30
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Matthew 23:30–32
And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
- Acts 7:51
Where this verse is studied
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.