By fruitful speech a man is filled with good things, and the work of his hands returns to him.
Parallel translations
- WEB A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. The work of a man’s hands shall be rewarded to him.
- KJV A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.
- NKJV A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.
- NASB A person will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, And the deeds of a person’s hands will return to him.
- NLT Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A person is satisfied with good by his words, and rewarded for the work of his hands. Both our speech and our labor bring fitting returns.
Overview
The proverb teaches that wholesome words and diligent work both yield good fruit that returns to the doer. It affirms the meaningful connection between what we say and do and what we receive. This reflects God's just ordering of life and encourages faithfulness in both speech and deed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 18:20–21From the fruit of his mouth a man’s belly is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
- Isa 3:10–11Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Prov 13:2From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the desire of the faithless is violence.
- Ps 63:5My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.
- Prov 15:23A man takes joy in a fitting reply—and how good is a timely word!
- Matt 10:41–42Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.
- 2 Th 1:6–7After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
- Matt 16:27For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
- Heb 11:26He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.
- Heb 2:2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 12:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.