Proverbs 25:9
in Proverbs 25Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself, And disclose not the secret of another;
KJV
Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:
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This verse in Proverbs 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
An anticipation of the highest standard of ethical refinement Mat 18:15, but with a difference. Here the motive is prudential, the risk of shame, the fear of the irretrievable infamy of the betrayer of secrets. In the teaching of Christ the precept rests upon the divine authority and the perfect example.
This site's exposition
do not bring hastily to court
on Proverbs 25:8-10
The command "do not bring hastily to court" warns against rushing into a dispute before knowing how it will end. "Argue your case with your neighbor" keeps the quarrel between the two parties. A secret told to a third person can bring infamy that will "never go away."
This site's exposition
Argue your case with your neighbor
Argue your case with your neighbor himself and keep another's confidence. Albert Barnes sees here an early form of the standard Christ set at Matthew 18:15. The motive differs, since here it is prudence and fear of shame, while Christ's teaching rests on divine authority and his perfect example.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Debate thy cause with thy neighbour privately, and perhaps you will understand one another better and see that there is no occasion to go to law." In public quarrels the war that must at length end might better have been prevented by a treaty of peace, and a great deal of blood and treasure spared.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Debate thy cause with thy neighbor - Take the advice of friends. Let both sides attend to their counsels; but do not tell the secret of thy business to any. After squandering your money away upon lawyers, both they and the judge will at last leave it to be settled by twelve of your fellow citizens! O the folly of going to law! O the blindness of men, and the rapacity of unprincipled lawyers! On this subject I cannot but give the following extract from Sir John Hawkins’s Life of Dr. Johnson, which he quotes from Mr. Selwin, of London: “A man who deliberates about going to law should have, 1. A good cause; 2. A good purse; 3. A good skillful attorney; 4. Good evidence; 5. Good able counsel; 6. A good upright judge; 7. A good intelligent jury; and with all these on his side, if he have not, 8. Good luck, it is odds but he miscarries in his suit.” O the glorious uncertainty of the law!
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רִֽ֭יבְךָ | rivekha | own case your | H7379 → | 61 times |
| רִ֣יב | riv | conduct | H7378 → | 67 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| רֵעֶ֑ךָ | reekha | neighbor your | H7453 → | 188 times |
| וְס֖וֹד | vesod | and [the] secret of | H5475 → | 21 times |
| אַחֵ֣ר | ʾacher | another [person] | H312 → | |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּגָֽל׃ | tegal | you reveal | H1540 → | 186 times |
רִֽ֭יבְךָown case your
rivekhaH7379 →61 times
רִ֣יבconduct
rivH7378 →67 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
רֵעֶ֑ךָneighbor your
reekhaH7453 →188 times
וְס֖וֹדand [the] secret of
vesodH5475 →21 times
אַחֵ֣רanother [person]
ʾacherH312 →
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תְּגָֽל׃you reveal
tegalH1540 →186 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
Proverbs 11:13A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:16
You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 20:19
He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
- 1 Timothy 5:13
At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.
- Proverbs 26:20–22
Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
- Leviticus 19:16
Through
Proverbs 20:19He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:13
A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
- Proverbs 18:8
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
- Proverbs 11:13
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); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.