English Standard Version
Proverbs 26:2
2Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.
Context of Proverbs 26:2
1Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight. 3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools. 4Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
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 23:8How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
- Deuteronomy 23:4because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
- 1 Samuel 14:28Then one of the people said, "Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food this day.'" And the people were faint.
- 1 Samuel 17:43And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
- 2 Samuel 16:12It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today."
- Nehemiah 13:2for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.
- Psalms 109:28Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries