Proverbs 25:20

Proverbs 25:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
• New International Version (NIV)Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, And like vinegar on soda, Is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

Context of Proverbs 25:20

18Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor. 19Like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. Like one who removes a garment on a cold day or vinegar poured on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. 21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. 22For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

Proverbs 25:20 word by word

מַ֥עֲדֶה בֶּ֨גֶד׀ בְּי֣וֹם קָ֭רָה חֹ֣מֶץ עַל־נָ֑תֶר וְשָׁ֥ר בַּ֝שִּׁרִ֗ים עַ֣ל לֶב־רָֽע׃ פRead the interlinear

• one who removesעָדָה‛âdâh · to advanceH5710
• a garmentבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• on a coldקָרָהqârâh · coldH7135
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• or vinegarחֹ֫מֶץchômets · vinegarH2558
• poured onעַל‛al · uponH5921
• a woundנֶ֫תֶרnether · natronH5427
• one who singsשִׁירshîyr shûr · to singH7891
• songsשִׁירshîyr shîyrâh · songH7892
• a heavyרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
• heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820

Cross-references for Proverbs 25:20

• Deuteronomy 24:12If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession;
• Job 24:7Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
• Isaiah 58:7Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
• James 2:15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
• Proverbs 10:26Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the slacker to those who send him.
• Psalms 137:3for there our captors requested a song; our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us a song of Zion.”
• Ecclesiastes 3:4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
• Daniel 6:18Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.
• Romans 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
• James 5:15And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Commentaries on Proverbs 25:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20As vinegar upon nitre - The original word נתר nather is what is known among chemists as the natron of the ancients and of the Scriptures, and carbonate of soda. It is found native in Syria and India, and occurs as an efflorescence on the soil. In Tripoli it is found in crystalline incrustations of from one third to half an inch thiek. It is found also in solution in the water of some lakes in Egypt and Hungary. The borders of these lakes are covered with…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Examples of unwisdom and incongruity sharpen the point of the proverb. Pouring vinegar upon nitre or potash utterly spoils it. The effervescence caused by the mixture is perhaps taken as a type of the irritation produced by the “songs” sung out of season to a heavy heart. The verb rendered “taketh away” may have the sense (as in Ezekiel 16:11) of “adorning oneself,” and the illustration would then be, “as to put on a fine garment in time of cold is…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20Verse 20 We take a wrong course if we think to relieve those in sorrow by endeavouring to make them merry.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Not only is the incongruity of songs (that is, joyful) and sadness meant, but an accession of sadness, by want of sympathy, is implied.Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 25:20

• Music
• Nitre
• Vinegar

In the dictionaries

• Arrow
• Debate
• Discover
• Heavy
• Nitre
• Heavy; Heaviness
• Hezekiah (2)
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Solomon
• Vinegar

Commentaries on Proverbs 25

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings