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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• 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.

Context of Proverbs 25:20

18Like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow is one who bears false witness against his neighbor. 19Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is confidence in the unfaithful in time of trouble. Like taking off a garment on a cold day or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. 21If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, 22for you will heap coals of fire on his head and Adonai 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 he is a poor man, you are not to sleep with his pledge .
• Job 24:7Without clothing they spend the night naked, without covering against the cold.
• Isaiah 58:7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the homeless poor into your house? When you see the naked, to cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh and blood?
• James 2:15If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,
• Proverbs 10:26Like vinegar to the teeth or smoke to the eyes, so is a slacker to those who send him.
• Psalms 137:3For there our captors demanded songs and our tormentors asked for joy: “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 6:18A stone was brought to block the mouth of the den. The king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet of his nobles, so that nothing could be changed regarding Daniel.
• Romans 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
• James 5:15The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he 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