Proverbs 25:20

Proverbs 25:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, And like vinegar on soda, Is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.

Context of Proverbs 25:20

18Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor. 19Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble. Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. 21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. 22In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Proverbs 25:20 word by word

מַ֥עֲדֶה בֶּ֨גֶד׀ בְּי֣וֹם קָ֭רָה חֹ֣מֶץ עַל־נָ֑תֶר וְשָׁ֥ר בַּ֝שִּׁרִ֗ים עַ֣ל לֶב־רָֽע׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• he that taketh awayעָדָה‛âdâh · to advanceH5710
• a garmentבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• in coldקָרָהqârâh · coldH7135
• weatherיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• vinegarחֹ֫מֶץchômets · vinegarH2558
• upon nitreנֶ֫תֶרnether · natronH5427
• he that singethשִׁירshîyr shûr · to singH7891
• songsשִׁירshîyr shîyrâh · songH7892
• to an heavyרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
• heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820

Cross-references for Proverbs 25:20

• Deuteronomy 24:12If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession.
• Job 24:7Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
• Isaiah 58:7Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
• James 2:15Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.
• Proverbs 10:26As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them.
• Psalms 137:3for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
• Ecclesiastes 3:4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
• Daniel 6:18Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
• Romans 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
• James 5:15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

Commentaries on Proverbs 25:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20As vinegar upon nitre - The original word נתר nather is what is known among chemists as the natron of the ancients and of the Scriptures, and carbonate of soda. It is found native in Syria and India, and occurs as an efflorescence on the soil. In Tripoli it is found in crystalline incrustations of from one third to half an inch thiek. It is found also in solution in the water of some lakes in Egypt and Hungary. The borders of these lakes are covered with…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Examples of unwisdom and incongruity sharpen the point of the proverb. Pouring vinegar upon nitre or potash utterly spoils it. The effervescence caused by the mixture is perhaps taken as a type of the irritation produced by the “songs” sung out of season to a heavy heart. The verb rendered “taketh away” may have the sense (as in Ezekiel 16:11) of “adorning oneself,” and the illustration would then be, “as to put on a fine garment in time of cold is…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20Verse 20 We take a wrong course if we think to relieve those in sorrow by endeavouring to make them merry.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Not only is the incongruity of songs (that is, joyful) and sadness meant, but an accession of sadness, by want of sympathy, is implied.Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 25:20

• Music
• Nitre
• Vinegar

In the dictionaries

• Arrow
• Debate
• Discover
• Heavy
• Nitre
• Heavy; Heaviness
• Hezekiah (2)
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Solomon
• Vinegar

Commentaries on Proverbs 25

• 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