The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who pleads his cause first seems right; until another comes and questions him.
- KJV He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
- NKJV The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.
- NASB The first to plead his case seems right, Until another comes and examines him.
- NLT The first to speak in court sounds right— until the cross-examination begins.
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
The first to argue his case sounds convincing until challenged. Hearing only one side gives a misleading impression of the truth.
Overview
This proverb warns that whoever pleads his cause first seems right until another comes to cross-examine him. It commends careful, impartial investigation before reaching a verdict, hearing all sides. The principle undergirds just judgment and guards against being swayed by a single persuasive voice, reflecting God's concern for truth and fairness in every dispute.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Prov 18:13He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.
- Acts 24:12–13Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city.
- 2 Sam 19:24–27Then Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, went down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king had left until the day he returned safely.
- 2 Sam 16:1–3When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.
- Acts 24:5–6We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
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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 18:17 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
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