Proverbs 30:32
in Proverbs 30If you have foolishly exalted yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, Or if thou hast thought evil, Lay thy hand upon thy mouth.
KJV
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
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This verse in Proverbs 30
Commentary
6 notes on this verseIf thou hast done foolishly - And who has not, at one time or other of his life? Lay thine hand upon thy mouth - Like the leper; and cry to God, Unclean! unclean! and keep silence to all besides. God will blot out thy offense, and neither the world nor the Church ever know it, for he is merciful; and man is rarely able to pass by a sin committed by his fellows, especially if it be one to which himself is by nature not liable or inclined.
This site's exposition
If you have foolishly exalted yourself
on Proverbs 30:32-33
The sayings give way to a warning: "If you have foolishly exalted yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth." Churning milk yields butter and twisting the nose draws blood. The chapter that opened on a confession of ignorance ends on the same restraint.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And the fool who appears after he has been raised on high, etc. For he indeed will be lifted on high when he will falsely claim to be God. But raised on high, he will appear as a fool, because in his very exaltation, he …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
As none can hope, successfully, to resist such a king, suppress even the thought of an attempt. lay . . . hand upon thy mouth--"lay" is well supplied (Jud 18:19;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Lay thine hand upon thy mouth - The act expresses the silence of humiliation and repentance after the sin has been committed, and that of self-restraint, which checks the haughty or malignant thought before it has passed even into words.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| נָבַ֥לְתָּ | navalta | you have been foolish | H5034 → | |
| בְהִתְנַשֵּׂ֑א | vehitnase' | by exalting yourself | H5375 → | 656 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| זַ֝מּ֗וֹתָ | zamota | you have plotted | H2161 → | |
| יָ֣ד | yad | hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לְפֶֽה׃ | lepeh | to a mouth | H6310 → | 498 times |
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
נָבַ֥לְתָּyou have been foolish
navaltaH5034 →
בְהִתְנַשֵּׂ֑אby exalting yourself
vehitnase'H5375 →656 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
זַ֝מּ֗וֹתָyou have plotted
zamotaH2161 →
יָ֣דhand
yadH3027 →1618 times
לְפֶֽה׃to a mouth
lepehH6310 →498 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
Job 40:4“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.
it leads to
- Job 29:9
The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 29:9
Through
Romans 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:10
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- Galatians 3:22–23
But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
- Romans 2:12–18
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
- Romans 3:9
What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.
- Galatians 3:10
Through
Proverbs 26:12Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 29:20
Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- 1 Corinthians 3:18–19
Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
- Proverbs 29:20
Through
Job 21:5Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
it leads to
- Judges 18:19
“Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 18:19
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.