Proverbs 8:36
in Proverbs 8But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: All they that hate me love death.
KJV
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
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This verse in Proverbs 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBut he that sinneth against me,.... Or misses the mark, as the word (b) signifies; and which is observed by Aben Ezra; see Jdg 20:
This site's exposition
Now therefore, my sons, listen to me
on Proverbs 8:32-36
The poem turns back into the father's appeal. “For whoever finds me finds life and obtains the favor of the LORD” gathers the chapter's promise into one line. The alternative is stated plainly: “he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death”.
This site's exposition
he who fails to find me harms himself
The King James reads sinneth, and Gill notes that the verb means to miss the mark, as the slingers of Judges 20:16 hit a hair. The man who misses Wisdom harms himself. Missing her is choosing death.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Their crime is very great; they sin against Wisdom, rebel against its light and laws, thwart its designs, and by their folly offend it. They sin against Christ; they act in contempt of his authority, and in contradiction to all the purposes of his life and death. This is construed into hating Wisdom, hating Christ; they are his enemies, who will not have him to reign over them.
6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wrongeth his own soul - It is not Satan, it is not sin, properly speaking, that hurts him; it is himself. If he received the teaching of God, sin would have no dominion over him; if he resisted the devil, the devil would flee from him. Love death - They do it in effect, if not in fact, for as they love sin, that leads to death, so they may be justly said to love death, the wages of sin.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽ֭חֹטְאִי | vechotei | and [one who] misses me | H2398 → | 238 times |
| חֹמֵ֣ס | chomes | [is] doing wrong to | H2554 → | |
| נַפְשׁ֑וֹ | nafsho | self his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מְ֝שַׂנְאַ֗י | mesanai | [those who] hate me | H8130 → | 146 times |
| אָ֣הֲבוּ | ʾahavu | they love | H157 → | 211 times |
| מָֽוֶת׃ פ | mavet | death | H4194 → | 156 times |
וְֽ֭חֹטְאִיand [one who] misses me
vechoteiH2398 →238 times
חֹמֵ֣ס[is] doing wrong to
chomesH2554 →
נַפְשׁ֑וֹself his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מְ֝שַׂנְאַ֗י[those who] hate me
mesanaiH8130 →146 times
אָ֣הֲבוּthey love
ʾahavuH157 →211 times
מָֽוֶת׃ פdeath
mavetH4194 →156 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 12:1Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:10
Discipline is harsh for him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die.
- Proverbs 9:7–8
He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.
- Psalms 119:97–100
Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation.
- Proverbs 18:1
He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
- Proverbs 5:12–13
and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
- Proverbs 15:10
Through
Proverbs 1:31So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
it leads to
- Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
- Jeremiah 6:19
Hear, O earth! I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their own schemes, because they have paid no attention to My word and have rejected My instruction.
- Job 4:8
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
- Proverbs 14:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.