He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who pleads his cause first seems right; until another comes and questions him.
- BSB The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines 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 that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
- Acts 24:12–13And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city:
- 2 Sam 19:24–27And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.
- 2 Sam 16:1–3And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.
- Acts 24:5–6For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and 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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