English Standard Version
Proverbs 27:4
4Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
Proverbs 27:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
- New International Version (NIV)Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, But who is able to stand before jealousy?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous.
Context of Proverbs 27:4
2Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. 3A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both. Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? 5Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Read all of Proverbs 27Proverbs 27:4 word by word
אַכְזְרִיּ֣וּת חֵ֭מָה וְשֶׁ֣טֶף אָ֑ף וּמִ֥י יַ֝עֲמֹד לִפְנֵ֥י קִנְאָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 27:4
- James 1:19Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
- Proverbs 14:30A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.
- Genesis 26:14He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.
- Genesis 37:11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
- Job 5:2Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.
- Matthew 27:18For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.
- Acts 5:17But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy
- Acts 7:9"And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him
- Acts 17:5But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
- Romans 1:29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
- James 3:14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
- James 4:5Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?
- 1 John 3:12We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.
- Proverbs 6:34For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
Commentaries on Proverbs 27:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Who is able to stand before envy? - The rabbins have a curious story on this subject, and it has been formed by the moderns into a fable. There were two persons, one covetous and the other envious, to whom a certain person promised to grant whatever they should ask; but double to him who should ask last. The covetous man would not ask first, because he wished to get the double portion, and the envious man would not make the first request because he could…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Envy - Better, as in the margin, the violence of passion in the husband who thinks himself wronged (compare Proverbs 6:34).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-4Verses 3-4 Those who have no command of their passions, sink under the load.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Anger can be dangerous, but a gentle answer can calm it (Proverbs 15:1). Jealousy is more difficult to resolve (Proverbs 6:34–35).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. envy--or, "jealousy" (compare Margin; Pr 6:34), is more unappeasable than the simpler bad passions.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 27:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 27
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries