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Proverbs 21:14

in Proverbs 21

A gift in secret soothes anger, and a covert bribe pacifies great wrath.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

A gift in secret pacifieth anger; And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.

KJV

A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.

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This verse in Proverbs 21

Commentary

2 notes on this verse
A gift in secret pacifieth anger,.... Appeases an angry man; humbles and "brings his anger down" (y), as Aben Ezra and Gersom observe the word signifies; which before rose very high, and showed itself in big words and disdainful looks, as proud wrath does; or extinguishes it, as the Targum and Vulgate Latin version render it, and very fitly.

This site's exposition

A gift in secret soothes anger

on Proverbs 21:14-16

"A gift in secret soothes anger, and a covert bribe pacifies great wrath," an observation of a common tactic that stops short of commending it. "Justice executed is a joy to the righteous, but a terror to the workers of iniquity," one act producing opposite feelings on either side.

The words behind it

8 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • מַתָּ֣ןa gift

    matanH4976 →5 times

  • בַּ֭סֵּתֶרin <the> secrecy

    baseterH5643 →36 times

  • יִכְפֶּה־it subdues

    yikhpeh-H3711 →

  • אָ֑ףanger

    ʾafH639 →276 times

  • וְשֹׁ֥חַדand a bribe

    veshochadH7810 →23 times

  • בַּ֝חֵ֗קin the bosom

    bachekH2436 →38 times

  • חֵמָ֥הrage

    chemahH2534 →125 times

  • עַזָּֽה׃strong

    ʾazahH5794 →24 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Proverbs 19:6Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.5 worksProverbs 18:16A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.4 worksGenesis 32:20You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I will appease Esau with the gift that is going before me. After that I can face him, and perhaps he will accept me.”4 worksJudges 3:15And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.3 worksGenesis 32:13Jacob spent the night there, and from what he had brought with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau:3 worksProverbs 17:8A bribe is a charm to its giver; wherever he turns, he succeeds.3 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 25:35Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and he said to her, “Go home in peace. See, I have heeded your voice and granted your request.”2 worksMatthew 6:3–4But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,2 worksProverbs 17:23A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.2 worksGenesis 21:27So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant.2 worksGenesis 43:11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.2 works1 Samuel 25:18Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 19:6

    Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 17:8

      A bribe is a charm to its giver; wherever he turns, he succeeds.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Proverbs 29:26

      Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man receives justice from the LORD.

    • Proverbs 18:16

      A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.

    • Genesis 42:6

      Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the…

  • Through

    Proverbs 18:16

    A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 19:6

      Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.

    • Genesis 43:11

      Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift…

    • Genesis 33:10

      But Jacob insisted, “No, please! If I have found favor in your sight, then receive this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face…

    • 1 Samuel 25:27

      Now let this gift your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow you.

Where this verse is studied

About Proverbs

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Proverbs: the study guide →Read Proverbs 21 →

This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Proverbs 21 →