Proverbs 30:10
in Proverbs 30Do not slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Slander not a servant unto his master, Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
KJV
Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 30
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAccuse not a servant - Do not bring a false accusation against a servant, lest thou be found guilty of the falsehood, and he curse thee for having traduced his character, and in his turn traduce thine. In general, do not meddle with other people’s servants.
This site's exposition
Do not slander a servant to
A single proverb interrupts the numerical sayings to warn against slandering a servant to his master. The placement is deliberate, coming right after a prayer against theft and false swearing: unjust accusation is its own form of the dishonesty. The servant here has no standing to answer back.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Accuse not a servant unto his master,....
An account, upon occasion of this caution, of some wicked generations of men, that are justly abominable to all that are virtuous and good. Such as are abusive to their parents, give them bad language and wish them ill, call them bad names and actually injure them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Accuse not a servant - The prayer in Pro 30:8 does not shut out, sympathy with those who are less favored. Even the slave has a right to protection against frivolous or needless accusation. Others, however, render the words Make not a slave to accuse his master, i. e., Do not make him discontented with his lot, lest he afterward curse thee for having made it worse than it was.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תַּלְשֵׁ֣ן | talshen | you slander | H3960 → | |
| עֶ֭בֶד | ʾeved | a slave | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֑יו | ʾadonov | master<s> his | H113 → | 333 times |
| פֶּֽן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| יְקַלֶּלְךָ֥ | yekalelcha | he should curse you | H7043 → | 82 times |
| וְאָשָֽׁמְתָּ׃ | veashameta | and you will be held guilty | H816 → |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תַּלְשֵׁ֣ןyou slander
talshenH3960 →
עֶ֭בֶדa slave
ʾevedH5650 →799 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲדֹנָ֑יוmaster<s> his
ʾadonovH113 →333 times
פֶּֽן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
יְקַלֶּלְךָ֥he should curse you
yekalelchaH7043 →82 times
וְאָשָֽׁמְתָּ׃and you will be held guilty
veashametaH816 →
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
Romans 14:4Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
it leads to
- James 4:11–12
Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of…
- Romans 9:20
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
- Romans 8:31–39
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Jude 1:24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- 1 Corinthians 4:4–5
My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.
- James 4:11–12
Through
Daniel 6:13Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times…
it leads to
- Daniel 3:12
But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue…
- Daniel 2:25
Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.”
- Daniel 3:12
Through
Ecclesiastes 7:21Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 29:21
those who indict a man with a word, who ensnare the mediator at the gate, and who with false charges deprive the innocent of justice.
- Isaiah 29:21
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); 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.