English Standard Version
Proverbs 14:1
1The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.
Proverbs 14:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
- New International Version (NIV)The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.
- New Living Translation (NLT)A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.
Context of Proverbs 14:1
The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down. 2Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises him. 3By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them.
Read all of Proverbs 14Proverbs 14:1 word by word
חַכְמ֣וֹת נָ֭שִׁים בָּנְתָ֣ה בֵיתָ֑הּ וְ֝אִוֶּ֗לֶת בְּיָדֶ֥יהָ תֶהֶרְסֶֽנּוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 14:1
- Proverbs 9:13The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing.
- Proverbs 19:13A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife's quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
- Proverbs 21:9It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
- 1 Kings 16:31And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
- 1 Kings 21:24Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat."
- 2 Kings 11:1Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family.
Commentaries on Proverbs 14:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Every wise woman buildeth her house - By her prudent and industrious management she increases property in the family, furniture in the house, and food and raiment for her household. This is the true building of a house. The thriftless wife acts differently, and the opposite is the result. Household furniture, far from being increased, is dilapidated; and her household are ill-fed, ill-clothed, and worse educated.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Every wise woman - literally, Wise women. The fullest recognition that has as yet met us of the importance of woman, for good or evil, in all human society.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Verse 1 A woman who has no fear of God, who is wilful and wasteful, and indulges her ease, will as certainly ruin her family, as if she plucked her house down.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1Building or tearing down a home is a metaphor for making a family stronger or weaker.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-35Pr 14:1-35. 1. Every wise, &c.--literally, "The wisdoms" (compare Pr 9:1) "of women," plural, a distributive form of speech. buildeth ... house--increases wealth, which the foolish, by mismanagement, lessen.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 14:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 14
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries