EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Proverbs 25:21
21If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him some water to drink.
Proverbs 25:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
- New International Version (NIV)If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
- New King James Version (NKJV)If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
Context of Proverbs 25:21
19If you are in trouble and you trust someone who is not honest, it will not help you. He will be as useless as a bad tooth or a broken leg. 20If you sing to a very sad man to make him happy, it only gives him more pain. It is like you are taking away his coat on a cold day, or you are putting vinegar on his wound. If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him some water to drink. 22If you help him, he will become ashamed, and the Lord will bless you with good things. 23When the wind blows from the north, it brings rain. In the same way, when somebody tells other people's secrets, it brings anger.
Read all of Proverbs 25Proverbs 25:21 word by word
אִם־רָעֵ֣ב שֹׂ֭נַאֲךָ הַאֲכִלֵ֣הוּ לָ֑חֶם וְאִם־צָ֝מֵ֗א הַשְׁקֵ֥הוּ מָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 25:21
- Proverbs 24:1728. Do not shout with joy when your enemy falls down. Do not be happy when his foot slips.
- Exodus 23:4Perhaps you may find your enemy's cow or his donkey when he has lost it. If so, you must give it back to him.
- Matthew 5:44What I tell you is this: You should love the people who want to hurt you. If people want to give you pain, pray for them. Pray that God would help them.
- Luke 10:33But then a man from Samaria was also travelling along the road. And he came to the place where the man was lying. When he saw him, he felt very sorry for him.
- Romans 12:20But the Bible also says this: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. If you help your enemy, he will become ashamed. He will be sorry because of what he did to you.’
Commentaries on Proverbs 25:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21If thine enemy be hungry - See this and the next verse explained, Romans 12:20; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21A precept reproduced by Paul Romans 12:20; the second clause of which seems at first sight to suggest a motive incompatible with a true charity. Leviticus 16:12 suggests an explanation. The high priest on the Day of Atonement was to take his censer, to fill it with “coals of fire,” and then to put the incense thereon for a sweet-smelling savor. So it is here. The first emotion in another caused by the good done to him may be one of burning shame, but the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-22Verses 21-22 The precept to love even our enemies is an Old Testament commandment. Our Saviour has shown his own great example in loving us when we were enemies.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-22Surprisingly, showing kindness to an enemy works better than showing anger (see Romans 12:20).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-2221-22. (Compare Mt 5:44; Ro 12:20). As metals are melted by heaping coals upon them, so is the heart softened by kindness.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 25:21
In the dictionaries
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
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