Limitless Word
The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
Proverbs 14:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The heart knows its own bitterness and joy; he will not share these with a stranger.
  • BSB The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares in its joy.
  • NKJV The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.
  • NASB The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.
  • NLT Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy.

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

Each heart knows its own grief and joy that no outsider can fully share. There is a personal depth to human experience.

Overview

This insightful proverb acknowledges the irreducible privacy of the inner life: our deepest sorrows and joys cannot be wholly entered into by another. It fosters humility in offering comfort and counsel, and gentleness toward others' hidden burdens. Yet there is One who fully knows every heart, and in Christ we have a sympathizing High Priest who understands our griefs (Hebrews 4:15).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Prov 18:14The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
  • Phil 4:7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
  • Prov 15:13A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
  • Job 10:1My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
  • Rev 2:17He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
  • John 14:18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
  • Job 7:11Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
  • John 12:27Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
  • Mark 14:33–34And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
  • 1 Sam 1:10And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
  • Ps 25:14The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
  • 1 Pet 1:8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
  • Ezek 3:14So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
  • 2 Kgs 4:27And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
  • Job 6:2–4Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
  • Job 9:18He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.
  • Gen 42:21And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
  • John 14:23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 14:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 14:10 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.