Bible Strands
Proverbs 16:15
When a king’s face brightens, there is life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wisdom writer addresses rulers and their subjects, placing this saying immediately after warning that a king’s wrath brings death. It contrasts the lethal consequence of royal displeasure with the survival offered by royal approval.
The words — The text hinges on פְּנֵי (pe.nei), meaning face, and מַלְקוֹשׁ (mal.ko.osh), meaning spring rain. These terms frame the king’s favor as a visible, life-sustaining force.
The thread — The spring rain metaphor appears in Psalms 72:6 to describe righteous rulership, in Job 29:23 to illustrate attentive listening, and in Hosea 6:3 to depict divine faithfulness. Each passage uses agricultural imagery to describe a reliable, life-giving provision.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that authority’s approval dictates immediate survival and prosperity. It instructs the reader to pursue wisdom and discernment as the practical means to secure favorable conditions.
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 light of the king’s countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
Cross-references
- Psalms 72:6 May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth.
- Job 29:23 They waited for me as for rain and drank in my words like spring showers.
- Hosea 6:3 So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.
- Acts 2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’
- Psalms 4:6 Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
- Psalms 21:6 For You grant him blessings forever; You cheer him with joy in Your presence.
- Psalms 30:5 For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Proverbs 19:12 A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.
- Zechariah 10:1 Ask the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field.