Bible Strands
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A wisdom teacher (traditionally Solomon) addressing a general audience in the didactic mode of Proverbs. The verse stands as a standalone maxim bracketed by two related proverbs (16:17, 16:19).
The words — גֹּ֣בַהּ (gōaḥ) is the noun "haughtiness," from the root meaning "to be high/exalted"; it names the quality of being elevated above others. כִ֝שָּׁל֗וֹן (khi.sha.lon) is "stumbling," a loss of footing, not a generic collapse — the fall is specific, a trip.
The thread — Proverbs 18:12 mirrors the structure almost exactly: "Before his downfall a man's heart is proud." Proverbs 11:2 and Isaiah 2:11 extend the pattern from individual to cosmic scope.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to treat any sense of elevation as a warning sign, not a confirmation. The verse does not say pride causes destruction by provoking others; it says the pride itself is the precursor.
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
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.
- Isaiah 2:11 The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
- Proverbs 18:12 Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
- Obadiah 1:3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
- Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- Proverbs 17:19 He who loves transgression loves strife; he who builds his gate high invites destruction.
- 1 Timothy 3:6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.
- Romans 11:20 That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.
- Esther 6:6 Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king be delighted to honor more than me?”
- Daniel 4:30 the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”