Bible Strands
Proverbs 14:3
The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The verse is a wisdom saying in Proverbs addressed to a general listener, contrasting the disciplinary consequences of foolish speech with the protective function of wise speech.
The words — The Hebrew gaʿăwâ (pride) and choṭer (a shoot or stalk of wood) anchor the literal contrast between arrogant talk and the rod it provokes.
The thread — This speech dynamic runs in Proverbs 12:6, where wicked words ambush blood while upright words rescue, and in James 3:5, which notes how the tongue boasts and ignites devastation.
Why it lands — The text asks a reader to evaluate their own speech, recognizing that arrogant words invite physical or relational discipline while wise words provide preservation.
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 mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 12:6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.
- James 3:5 In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
- Revelation 12:11 They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.
- Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
- Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
- 1 Samuel 2:3 Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
- Job 5:21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.
- Psalms 12:3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue.
- Psalms 52:1 For the choirmaster. A Maskil of David. After Doeg the Edomite went to Saul and told him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.” Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The loving devotion of God endures all day long.
- Psalms 57:4 My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts—with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.