Amplified Bible
Proverbs 31:8
8Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all who are unfortunate and defenseless;
Proverbs 31:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
- New International Version (NIV)Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Context of Proverbs 31:8
6Give strong drink [as medicine] to him who is ready to pass away, And wine to him whose life is bitter. 7Let him drink and forget his poverty And no longer remember his trouble. Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all who are unfortunate and defenseless; 9Open your mouth, judge righteously, And administer justice for the afflicted and needy. 10An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous], who is he who can find her? Her value is more precious than jewels and her worth is far above rubies or pearls.
Read all of Proverbs 31Proverbs 31:8 word by word
פְּתַח־פִּ֥יךָ לְאִלֵּ֑ם אֶל־דִּ֝֗ין כָּל־בְּנֵ֥י חֲלֽוֹף׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 31:8
- Proverbs 24:7Wisdom is too exalted for a [hardened, arrogant] fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate [where the city’s rulers sit in judgment].
- 1 Samuel 19:4Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “May the king not sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very beneficial to you.
- 1 Samuel 20:32Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why must he be put to death? What has he done?”
- 1 Samuel 22:14Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is as faithful and trustworthy as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and who is captain over your guard [and your confidant], and is honored in your house?
- Esther 4:13Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.
- Job 29:9The princes stopped talking And put their hands on their mouths;
- Psalms 82:3Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice and maintain the rights of the afflicted and destitute.
- Jeremiah 26:16Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the [false] prophets, “This man is not deserving of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”
- Jeremiah 38:7Now Ebed-melech the Ethiopian (Cushite), one of the eunuchs who was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern, and while the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin,
- John 7:51“Does our Law convict someone without first giving him a hearing and finding out what he is [accused of] doing?”
- Psalms 79:11Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power keep safe those who are doomed to die.
Commentaries on Proverbs 31:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Open thy mouth for the dumb - For such accused persons as have no counsellors, and cannot plead for themselves. Are appointed to destruction - חלוף בני beney chaloph, variously translated, children of passage - indigent travelers; children of desolation - those who have no possessions, or orphans. I believe it either signifies those who are strangers, and are travelling from place to place, or those who are ready to perish in consequence of want or…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8In contrast with the two besetting sins of Eastern monarchs stands their one great duty, to give help to those who had no other helper. Such as are appointed to destruction - literally, “children of bereavement,” with the sense, either, as in the text, of those “destined to be bereaved of life or goods,” or of “bereaved or fatherless children.”Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9Instead of drinking wine (Proverbs 31:4–7), the king should defend those who cannot protect themselves.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-93-9. Succinct but solemn warnings against vices to which kings are peculiarly tempted, as carnal pleasures and oppressive and unrighteous government are used to sustain sensual indulgence. strength--mental and bodily resources for health and comfort. thy ways--or course of life. to that ... kings--literally, "to the destroying of kings," avoid destructive pleasures (compare Pr 5:9; 7:22, 27; Ho 4:11).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 31:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 31
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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