Proverbs 28:13
in Proverbs 28He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper; But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy.
KJV
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
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This verse in Proverbs 28
Commentary
7 notes on this verse"As confession and beauty are in the sight of God," so a sinner who confesses his sins and says, "My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness" loses his foul wounds and is made whole and clean. But "he that covers his sins shall not prosper."
This site's exposition
He who conceals his sins will not prosper
on Proverbs 28:13-14
"He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy" is the collection's clearest gospel-shaped sentence. Renouncing stands beside confessing, so mercy answers a change of direction. Verse 14 closes on the reverence, while "he who hardens his heart falls into trouble."
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
I address you too, the penitents. You should not keep back from yourselves this means of healing [confession] that has been given you. For it says in the Scripture, "He who confesses his sins and abandons them, on him God has mercy." Look at the son who squandered his wealth. And when he returned to his father, he received him in joy and slew the fatted ox for him. And his father rejoiced at his repentance and even invited his friends to rejoice with him. And his father embraced him and kept on kissing him, saying, "This my son was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found." And his father did not reprove him for the wealth he had squandered.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Concealment of sin delivers none from God's wrath, but He shows mercy to the humble penitent (Ps 51:4).
He that covereth his sins - Here is a general direction relative to conversion. 1. If the sinner do not acknowledge his sins; if he cover and excuse them, and refuse to come to the light of God’s word and Spirit, lest his deeds should be reproved, he shall find no salvation. God will never admit a sinful, unhumbled soul, into his kingdom. 2. But if he confess his sin, with a penitent and broken heart, and, by forsaking every evil way, give this proof that he feels his own sore, and the plague of his heart, then he shall have mercy. Here is a doctrine of vital importance to the salvation of the soul, which the weakest may understand.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The conditions of freedom are confession and amendment, confession to God of sins against Him, to men of sins against them. The teaching of ethical wisdom on this point is identical with that of psalmist, prophet, apostles, and our Lord Himself.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
but he who confesses and abandons He confesses his sins and abandons them, never to return to them.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
person will be searched out He will be searched out with all kinds of false accusations.
who is always afraid He is concerned with punishment, and therefore distances himself from sin.
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
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְכַסֶּ֣ה | mekhaseh | [one who] conceals | H3680 → | 152 times |
| פְ֭שָׁעָיו | feshaav | transgressions his | H6588 → | 93 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַצְלִ֑יחַ | yatzliach | he will prosper | H6743 → | |
| וּמוֹדֶ֖ה | umodeh | and [one who] confesses | H3034 → | |
| וְעֹזֵ֣ב | veozev | and [one who] forsakes [them] | H5800 → | 215 times |
| יְרֻחָֽם׃ | yerucham | he will be shown mercy | H7355 → |
מְכַסֶּ֣ה[one who] conceals
mekhasehH3680 →152 times
פְ֭שָׁעָיוtransgressions his
feshaavH6588 →93 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַצְלִ֑יחַhe will prosper
yatzliachH6743 →
וּמוֹדֶ֖הand [one who] confesses
umodehH3034 →
וְעֹזֵ֣בand [one who] forsakes [them]
veozevH5800 →215 times
יְרֻחָֽם׃he will be shown mercy
yeruchamH7355 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Job 31:33if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,
it leads to
- Acts 5:8
“Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?” “Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”
- 1 John 1:8–10
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Hosea 6:7
But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.
- Genesis 3:12
And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
- Joshua 7:11
Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these…
- Acts 5:8
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Mercy35 verses
On this page
Studies5
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); Aphrahat the Persian Sage, DEMONSTRATIONS 7:12; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, LETTER 122.3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.