New English Translation
Proverbs 20:25
25It is a snare for a person to rashly cry, “Holy!” and only afterward to consider what he has vowed.
Proverbs 20:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.
- New International Version (NIV)It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.
- English Standard Version (ESV)It is a snare to say rashly, "It is holy," and to reflect only after making vows.
- New King James Version (NKJV)It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows.
Context of Proverbs 20:25
23The Lord abhors differing weights, and dishonest scales are wicked. 24The steps of a person are ordained by the Lord – so how can anyone understand his own way? It is a snare for a person to rashly cry, “Holy!” and only afterward to consider what he has vowed. 26A wise king separates out the wicked; he turns the threshing wheel over them. 27The human spirit is like the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.
Read all of Proverbs 20Proverbs 20:25 word by word
מוֹקֵ֣שׁ אָ֭דָם יָ֣לַע קֹ֑דֶשׁ וְאַחַ֖ר נְדָרִ֣ים לְבַקֵּֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 20:25
- Proverbs 18:7The mouth of a fool is his ruin, and his lips are a snare for his life.
- Leviticus 5:15“When a person commits a trespass and sins by straying unintentionally from the regulations about the Lord’s holy things, then he must bring his penalty for guilt to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, for a guilt offering.
- Leviticus 22:10“‘No lay person may eat anything holy. Neither a priest’s lodger nor a hired laborer may eat anything holy,
- Leviticus 27:30“‘Any tithe of the land, from the grain of the land or from the fruit of the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.
- Malachi 3:8Can a person rob God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions!
- Leviticus 27:9“‘If what is vowed is a kind of animal from which an offering may be presented to the Lord, anything which he gives to the Lord from this kind of animal will be holy.
- Numbers 30:2If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath of binding obligation on himself, he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.
- Ecclesiastes 5:4When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it. For God takes no pleasure in fools: Pay what you vow!
- Matthew 5:33“Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
Commentaries on Proverbs 20:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25Who devoureth that which is holy - It is a sin to take that which belongs to God, his worship, or his work, and devote it to one's own use. And after vows to make inquiry - That is, if a man be inwardly making a rash vow, the fitness or unfitness, the necessity, expediency, and propriety of the thing should be first carefully considered. But how foolish to make the vow first, and afterwards to inquire whether it was right in the sight of God to do it!…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25Better, It is a snare to a man to utter a vow (of consecration) rashly, and after vows to inquire whether he can fulfill them. Both clauses are a protest against the besetting sin of rash and hasty vows. Compare the marginal reference.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25Verse 25 The evasions men often use with their own consciences show how false and deceitful man is.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25It is important to consider the cost before making a promise to God (see Judges 11:29–40; Ecclesiastes 5:4–6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. devoureth ... holy--or, better, "who rashly speaks promises," or "devotes what is holy," consecrating any thing. This suits better the last clause, which expresses a similar view of the results of rashly vowing.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 20:25
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 20
- 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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