Limitless Word
lest one who hears it put you to shame, and your bad reputation never depart.
Proverbs 25:10 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.
  • BSB lest the one who hears may disgrace you, and your infamy never go away.
  • ESV lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end.
  • NKJV Lest he who hears it expose your shame, And your reputation be ruined.
  • NASB Or one who hears it will put you to shame, And the evil report about you will not pass away.
  • NLT Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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

Betraying confidences may bring you lasting shame and a ruined reputation. Discretion protects your good name.

Overview

Completing verse 9, this warns that disclosing secrets exposes the betrayer himself to disgrace that does not easily fade. It underscores the lasting damage careless speech can do. The proverb commends trustworthiness as essential to a life of integrity and good repute.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Ps 119:39Take away my disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 25:10YouTube · 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 25:10 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.