Proverbs 27:5
in Proverbs 27Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Better is open rebuke Than love that is hidden.
KJV
Open rebuke is better than secret love.
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This verse in Proverbs 27
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIt is surely clear that concealing sin contributes to the death of the sick person, "for the sting of death is sin," says the Scripture, and also, "Open rebukes are better than hidden love." Let no one, therefore, conceal a sin in behalf of another, lest fratricide take the place of fraternal charity.
This site's exposition
A stone is heavy
on Proverbs 27:3-6
Verse 3 sets "aggravation from a fool" beside stone and sand and finds it heavier than both. Wrath and anger are named, but jealousy is left unanswered: "who can withstand jealousy?" Verses 5 and 6 turn to speech, since "Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed."
This site's exposition
Better an open rebuke
Albert Barnes reads concealed love as love that never shows itself by rebuking a fault. Any rebuke, he says, serves better than that. Basil of Caesarea applies the verse to sin kept hidden for another's sake, which he likens to letting a sick man die.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Better is open rebuke, etc. Hidden love in this place is called improper love, such as adulterous love, which due to its shamefulness is rightfully hidden from the wise to avoid reproach; to which rightfully open rebuke is preferred, as it is undoubtedly better to …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Open rebuke is better than secret love.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Secret love - Better, love that is hidden; i. e., love which never shows itself in this one way of rebuking faults. Rebuke, whether from friend or foe, is better than such love.
Open rebuke is better than secret love - Plutarch gives an account of a man who, aiming a blow at his enemy’s life, cut open an imposthume, which by a salutary discharge saved his life, that was sinking under a disease for which a remedy could not be found. Partial friendship covers faults; envy, malice, and revenge, will exhibit, heighten, and even multiply them. The former conceals us from ourselves; the latter shows us the worst part of our character. Thus we are taught the necessity of amendment and correction. In this sense open rebuke is better than secret love. Yet it is a rough medicine, and none can desire it. But the genuine open-hearted friend may be intended, who tells you your faults freely but conceals them from all others; hence the sixth verse: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ט֭וֹבָה | toah | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| תּוֹכַ֣חַת | tokhachat | rebuke | H8433 → | 28 times |
| מְגֻלָּ֑ה | megulah | uncovered | H1540 → | 186 times |
| מֵֽאַהֲבָ֥ה | meahavah | more than love | H160 → | 38 times |
| מְסֻתָּֽרֶת׃ | mesutaret | hidden | H5641 → | 80 times |
ט֭וֹבָה[is] good
toahH2896 →538 times
תּוֹכַ֣חַתrebuke
tokhachatH8433 →28 times
מְגֻלָּ֑הuncovered
megulahH1540 →186 times
מֵֽאַהֲבָ֥הmore than love
meahavahH160 →38 times
מְסֻתָּֽרֶת׃hidden
mesutaretH5641 →80 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
Matthew 18:15If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:17
You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.
- Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
- Luke 17:3–4
Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:15
Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
- Colossians 3:13
Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
- Leviticus 19:17
Through
Proverbs 28:23He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.
it leads to
- Proverbs 27:5–6
Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 27:5–6
Through
Leviticus 19:17You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.
it leads to
- Luke 17:3
Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
- 1 John 2:9
If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
- Luke 17:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Basil of Caesarea, THE LONG RULES 46; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).