Bible Strands
Proverbs 14:28
A large population is a king’s splendor, but a lack of subjects is a prince’s ruin.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text delivers a wisdom maxim concerning royal governance, situated between an exhortation on fearing the LORD and a contrast of patience versus quick temper. It addresses the practical conditions required for a ruler's stability.
The words — הַדְרַת (had.rat) means "glory" or "splendor," and מְחִתַּת (me.chi.Tat) means "ruin" or "destruction." These terms frame the verse as a direct comparison between political success and collapse.
The thread — The connection between population size and political fate runs through 1 Kings 4:20, which notes Judah and Israel's vast numbers, and 2 Kings 13:7, which records Jehoahaz's diminished forces. Exodus 1:22 further shows rulers treating demographic strength as a measure of power.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to acknowledge that a leader's authority depends on the presence of subjects, not merely their title. It demands practical attention to population as the baseline for political survival.
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
In the multitude of people is the king’s honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 4:20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.
- Exodus 1:22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
- 2 Kings 13:7 Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
- Exodus 1:12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.
- 1 Kings 20:27 The Israelites also mobilized, gathered supplies, and marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
- 2 Kings 10:32 In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory