New International Version
Proverbs 18:13
13To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.
Proverbs 18:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.
Context of Proverbs 18:13
11The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. 12Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. To answer before listening— that is folly and shame. 14The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? 15The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.
Read all of Proverbs 18Proverbs 18:13 word by word
מֵשִׁ֣יב דָּ֭בָר בְּטֶ֣רֶם יִשְׁמָ֑ע אִוֶּ֥לֶת הִיא־ל֝֗וֹ וּכְלִמָּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 18:13
- Deuteronomy 13:14then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,
- 2 Samuel 16:4Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” “I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”
- 2 Samuel 19:24Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.
- Esther 3:10So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
- Esther 8:5“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces.
- Job 29:16I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
- Daniel 6:9So King Darius put the decree in writing.
- John 7:51“Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
Commentaries on Proverbs 18:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13He that answereth a matter - This is a common case; before a man can tell out his story, another will begin his. Before a man has made his response, the other wishes to confute piecemeal, though he has had his own speech already. This is foolishness to them. They are ill-bred. There are many also that give judgment before they hear the whole of the cause, and express an opinion before they hear the state of the case. How absurd, stupid, and foolish!Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13Verse 13 Eagerness, with self-conceit, will expose to shame.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Hasty speech evinces self-conceit, and ensures shame (Pr 26:12).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 18:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 18
- 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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