Bible Strands
Proverbs 14:30
A tranquil heart is life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author of Proverbs addresses readers within a wisdom collection, placing this verse between instructions on patience (14:29) and treatment of the poor (14:31).
The words — קִנְאָה (kin'ah) = jealousy and רְקַב (re Kav) = rottenness.
The thread — Proverbs 17:22 contrasts a joyful heart with a broken spirit that dries up bones. Job 5:2 states that resentment kills a fool and envy slays the simple. Proverbs 3:8 describes the physical benefits of following prior instructions about trusting the Lord and avoiding self-reliance.
Why it lands — Cultivate inner peace rather than covetousness, recognizing that emotional states directly impact physical vitality.
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
A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
- Job 5:2 For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
- Proverbs 3:8 This will bring healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.
- Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
- Proverbs 12:4 A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.
- Psalms 112:10 The wicked man will see and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked will perish.
- Psalms 119:80 May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, that I may not be put to shame.
- Romans 1:29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,
- 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
- Acts 7:9 Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him