Amplified Bible
Proverbs 27:4
4Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood, But who is able to endure and stand before [the sin of] jealousy?
Proverbs 27:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
- New International Version (NIV)Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, But who is able to stand before jealousy?
Context of Proverbs 27:4
2Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips. 3Stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But a fool’s [unreasonable] wrath is heavier and more burdensome than both of them. Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood, But who is able to endure and stand before [the sin of] jealousy? 5Better is an open reprimand [of loving correction] Than love that is hidden. 6Faithful are the wounds of a friend [who corrects out of love and concern], But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful [because they serve his hidden agenda].
Read all of Proverbs 27Proverbs 27:4 word by word
אַכְזְרִיּ֣וּת חֵ֭מָה וְשֶׁ֣טֶף אָ֑ף וּמִ֥י יַ֝עֲמֹד לִפְנֵ֥י קִנְאָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 27:4
- James 1:19Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving];
- Proverbs 14:30A calm and peaceful and tranquil heart is life and health to the body, But passion and envy are like rottenness to the bones.
- Genesis 26:14he owned flocks and herds and a great household [with a number of servants], and the Philistines envied him.
- Genesis 37:11Joseph’s brothers were envious and jealous of him, but his father kept the words [of Joseph] in mind [wondering about their meaning].
- Job 5:2For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple (naive).
- Matthew 27:18For Pilate knew that it was because of jealousy that the chief priests and elders had handed Jesus over to him.
- Acts 5:17But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy and resentment.
- Acts 7:9“The [ten elder] patriarchs, overwhelmed with jealousy, sold [their younger brother] Joseph into [slavery in] Egypt; but God was with him,
- Acts 17:5But the [unbelieving] Jews became jealous, and taking along some thugs from [the lowlifes in] the market place, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and then attacking Jason’s house tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people.
- Romans 1:29until they were filled (permeated, saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice and mean-spiritedness. They are gossips [spreading rumors],
- James 3:14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant, and [as a result] be in defiance of the truth.
- James 4:5Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose that the [human] spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy?
- 1 John 3:12and not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? Because Cain’s deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
- Proverbs 6:34For jealousy enrages the [wronged] husband; He will not spare [the guilty one] on the day of vengeance.
Commentaries on Proverbs 27:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Who is able to stand before envy? - The rabbins have a curious story on this subject, and it has been formed by the moderns into a fable. There were two persons, one covetous and the other envious, to whom a certain person promised to grant whatever they should ask; but double to him who should ask last. The covetous man would not ask first, because he wished to get the double portion, and the envious man would not make the first request because he could…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Envy - Better, as in the margin, the violence of passion in the husband who thinks himself wronged (compare Proverbs 6:34).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-4Verses 3-4 Those who have no command of their passions, sink under the load.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Anger can be dangerous, but a gentle answer can calm it (Proverbs 15:1). Jealousy is more difficult to resolve (Proverbs 6:34–35).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. envy--or, "jealousy" (compare Margin; Pr 6:34), is more unappeasable than the simpler bad passions.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 27:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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