He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
Parallel translations
- WEB An unfriendly man pursues selfishness, and defies all sound judgment.
- KJV Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.
- NKJV A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.
- NASB One who separates himself seeks his own desire; He quarrels against all sound wisdom.
- NLT Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense.
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 person who isolates himself pursues selfish desire and rejects sound wisdom. Willful separation from others reflects a self-centered heart.
Overview
This proverb warns against one who cuts himself off from community to follow his own cravings, quarreling with all wise counsel. The translation is debated, but the main thrust commends accountability and warns against prideful isolation. God designed His people for fellowship (Heb. 10:24-25), and the church embodies this in Christ, where believers grow together rather than in solitary self-will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Eph 5:15–17Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
- Prov 20:3It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool will quarrel.
- Prov 2:1–6My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,
- Jer 15:17I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.
- Prov 24:21My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
- Jude 1:19These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.
- Mark 1:35Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.
- Prov 14:10The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares in its joy.
- Prov 26:17Like one who grabs a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
- Exod 33:16For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
- Isa 26:8–9Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
- Matt 13:44The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.
- Prov 17:14To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
- Mark 4:11He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,
- Rom 1:1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
- Prov 20:19He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
- Matt 13:11He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- 2 Cor 6:17“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
- Zech 7:3by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
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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 18:1 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.