Proverbs 25:14
in Proverbs 25Like clouds and wind without rain is the man who boasts of gifts never given.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As clouds and wind without rain, So is he that boasteth himself of his gifts falsely.
KJV
Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.
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This verse in Proverbs 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA false gift - מתת שקר mattath shaker, a lying gift, one promised, but never bestowed. “Whoso maketh greate boastes, and giveth nothing;” Coverdale. So the Vulgate: “Vir gloriosus, et promissa non complens;” “A bragging man, who does not fulfill his promises,” is like clouds which appear to be laden with vapor, and like the wind which, though it blow from a rainy quarter, brings no moistness with it. So the vain boaster; he is big with promise, but performs nothing.
This site's exposition
Like clouds and wind without rain
"Like clouds and wind without rain is the man who boasts of gifts never given" answers the messenger of verse 13 with his opposite. Gill notes that in a farming setting clouds without rain were a real loss, matching the cost of a promised gift that never arrives.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Humility therefore is the mistress of all virtues, it is the surest foundation of the heavenly building, it is the special and splendid gift of the Saviour. For he can perform all the miracles which Christ wrought, without danger of being puffed up, who follows the gentle Lord not in the grandeur of His miracles, but in the virtues of patience and humility.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Clouds and wind, etc. This seems similar to what was said earlier, Do not beguile anyone with your lips. But that verse specifically contains this, that you do not promise to take a person in and then deceive by not fulfilling it; this verse, however, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The disappointment caused by him who promises much and performs little or nothing, is likened to the phenomena of an eastern climate; the drought of summer, the eager expectation of men who watch the rising clouds and the freshening breeze, the bitter disappointment when the breeze dies off, and the clouds pass away, and the wished for rain does not come.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Clouds and wind, etc. When there is a false hope—when the heavens thicken with clouds and the wind blows—people hope that it will rain. Now if it does not rain, they are troubled and their eyes languish.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Like the cold of snow Like the cold of the days of snow (winter), for which a person longs at harvest, but not actual snow, because snow is not beneficial during harvest.
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. 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נְשִׂיאִ֣ים | nesiim | clouds | H5387 → | |
| וְ֭רוּחַ | veruach | and wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| וְגֶ֣שֶׁם | vegeshem | and [is] rain | H1653 → | |
| אָ֑יִן | ʾayin | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִ֝תְהַלֵּ֗ל | mithalel | [who] boasts | H1984 → | 165 times |
| בְּמַתַּת־ | bematat- | in a gift of | H4991 → | |
| שָֽׁקֶר׃ | shaker | falsehood | H8267 → | 113 times |
נְשִׂיאִ֣יםclouds
nesiimH5387 →
וְ֭רוּחַand wind
veruachH7307 →378 times
וְגֶ֣שֶׁםand [is] rain
vegeshemH1653 →
אָ֑יִןthere not
ʾayinH369 →789 times
אִ֥ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מִ֝תְהַלֵּ֗ל[who] boasts
mithalelH1984 →165 times
בְּמַתַּת־in a gift of
bematat-H4991 →
שָֽׁקֶר׃falsehood
shakerH8267 →113 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
Luke 14:11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
it leads to
- Matthew 23:12
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
- Luke 18:14
I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- James 4:6
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- 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.”
- Matthew 23:12
Through
Jude 1:16These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:18
With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.
- Philippians 2:14
Do everything without complaining or arguing,
- 2 Peter 2:10
Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.
- 2 Peter 2:18
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 15:7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).