New International Version
Proverbs 20:25
25It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost.
Context of Proverbs 20:25
23The Lord detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him. 24A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows. 26A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them. 27The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being.
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 mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives.
- Leviticus 5:15“When anyone is unfaithful to the Lord by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, they are to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering.
- Leviticus 22:10“ ‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it.
- Leviticus 27:30“ ‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.
- Malachi 3:8“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.
- Leviticus 27:9“ ‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy.
- Numbers 30:2When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.
- Ecclesiastes 5:4When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.
- Matthew 5:33“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’
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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