EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Proverbs 26:2
2If someone curses you for no reason, it will not stay with you. Their words will be like birds that never stop to rest.
Proverbs 26:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
- New International Version (NIV)Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.
Context of Proverbs 26:2
1It is not right to give honour to a fool. It is as silly as snow that falls in summer, or rain that falls at the time of harvest. If someone curses you for no reason, it will not stay with you. Their words will be like birds that never stop to rest. 3There are right ways to punish a horse or a donkey. The right way to punish a fool is to beat him with a stick. 4If someone asks you a silly question, do not give him a silly answer. Be careful that you do not become as silly as he is.
Read all of Proverbs 26Proverbs 26:2 word by word
כַּצִּפּ֣וֹר לָ֭נוּד כַּדְּר֣וֹר לָע֑וּף כֵּ֥ן קִֽלְלַ֥ת חִ֝נָּ֗ם ל֣וֹ תָבֹֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 26:2
- Numbers 23:8But I cannot curse these people, because God has not cursed them. I cannot speak against people that the Lord does not speak against.
- Deuteronomy 23:4The people of those nations refused to help you when you were leaving Egypt. They did not give you food or water. Also, they paid Beor's son Balaam to curse you. He came from Pethor in Mesopotamia.
- 1 Samuel 14:28One of the soldiers told Jonathan, ‘Your father made us promise not to eat any food today. We all agreed that God should curse anyone who eats anything. That is why we are all so weak.’
- 1 Samuel 17:43He said to David, ‘Do you think that I am just a dog? Can you knock me down with a little stick?’ Then he prayed to his gods that they would curse David.
- 2 Samuel 16:12Perhaps the Lord will understand my trouble. He may see how Shimei is cursing me and he may bless me instead.’
- Nehemiah 13:2This was because they had not given the Israelites food and water. Instead, they had paid Balaam to curse the Israelites. But God did not agree to curse them. He blessed them instead.
- Psalms 109:28They may curse me, but you will bless me. When they attack me, they will become ashamed. But I will be very happy, as your servant.
Commentaries on Proverbs 26:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2As the bird - צפור tsippor is taken often for the sparrow; but means generally any small bird. As the sparrow flies about the house, and the swallow emigrates to strange countries; so an undeserved malediction may flutter about the neighborhood for a season: but in a short time it will disappear as the bird of passage; and never take effect on the innocent person against whom it was pronounced.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2i. e., “Vague as the flight of the sparrow, aimless as the wheelings of the swallow, is the causeless curse. It will never reach its goal.” The marginal reading in the Hebrew, however, gives” to him” instead of “not” or “never;” i. e., “The causeless curse, though it may pass out of our ken, like a bird‘s track in the air, will come on the man who utters it.” Compare the English proverb, “Curses, like young chickens, always come home to roost.”Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2Verse 2 He that is cursed without cause, the curse shall do him no more harm than the bird that flies over his head.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Curses and blessings can truly impact people (see Genesis 27:1–41; 48:8–9, 15–20; Numbers 6:23–27), but a curse without cause does not work.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Though not obvious to us, the bird--literally, "sparrow"--and swallow--have an object in their motions, so penal evil falls on none without a reason.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 26:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 26
- 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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