Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
Parallel translations
- WEB An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.
- BSB An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips.
- NKJV He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.
- NASB One who gives a right answer Kisses the lips.
- NLT An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.
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 truthful, fitting answer is as welcome and sincere as a kiss on the lips. Honesty is a gift of love.
Overview
The kiss here pictures genuine affection and friendship, so an honest reply is portrayed as an act of love, not harshness. Truth-telling, even when correcting, blesses both speaker and hearer (Eph 4:15). The verse commends candor over flattery and reflects the character of Christ, who is full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 15:23A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
- Gen 41:38–57And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
- Prov 25:11–12A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
- Prov 16:1The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
- Job 6:25How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
- Dan 2:46–48Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
- Mark 12:32–34And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
- Mark 12:17–18And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.
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 24:26 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.