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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.

Context of Proverbs 25:20

18A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow. 19Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips. Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda. 21If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, 22for 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• he that taketh awayעָדָה‛âdâh · to advanceH5710
• a garmentבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• in coldקָרָהqârâh · coldH7135
• weatherיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• vinegarחֹ֫מֶץchômets · vinegarH2558
• upon nitreנֶ֫תֶרnether · natronH5427
• he that singethשִׁירshîyr shûr · to singH7891
• songsשִׁירshîyr shîyrâh · songH7892
• to an heavyרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
• heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820

Cross-references for Proverbs 25:20

• Deuteronomy 24:12And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge.
• Job 24:7They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
• Isaiah 58:7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
• James 2:15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
• Proverbs 10:26Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.
• Psalms 137:3For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs 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 diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.
• Romans 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
• James 5:15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, 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