Bible Strands
Proverbs 14:1
Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A wisdom teacher contrasts two types of women in the domestic sphere, addressing a student learning to evaluate household life. The moment is a paired judgment: one builds, the other destroys.
The words — The verb pair בָּנָה (banah, "to build") and הֵרֵס (heres, "to tear down, ruin") frames the entire contrast. The phrase בְּיָדֶיהָ (be-yadeha, "with her own hands") makes the destruction personal and deliberate.
The thread — Proverbs 24:3 states the principle directly: "By wisdom a house is built." Proverbs 31:10 and 21:9 extend the household-evaluation motif to the noble wife and the quarrelsome wife respectively.
Why it lands — The verse forces the reader to see that managing a household is not a neutral task but an act of either wisdom or self-destruction, and the "with her own hands" removes any possibility of blaming external causes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 31:10 A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
- Proverbs 24:3 By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
- Proverbs 21:9 Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 21:19 Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
- Ruth 4:11 “We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.
- Proverbs 9:13 The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing.
- Proverbs 19:13 A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
- 1 Kings 16:31 And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
- 2 Kings 11:1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.
- 1 Kings 21:24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”