Like a city that is broken down and without walls is a man whose spirit is without restraint.
Parallel translations
- KJV He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
- BSB Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who does not control his temper.
- NKJV Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.
- NASB Like a city that is broken into and without walls So is a person who has no self-control over his spirit.
- NLT A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.
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 person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken walls. Lack of restraint leaves one exposed to ruin.
Overview
In the ancient world a breached wall meant a city was open to every enemy, so the proverb pictures the undisciplined person as utterly vulnerable. Self-control is a vital protection for the soul. It is named as a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23), produced by God's grace at work in the believer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Prov 16:32One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.
- Prov 22:24Don’t befriend a hot-tempered man, and don’t associate with one who harbors anger:
- 2 Chr 32:5He took courage, built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised it up to the towers, with the other wall outside, and strengthened Millo in David’s city, and made weapons and shields in abundance.
- Neh 1:3They said to me, “The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
- 1 Sam 20:30Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse rebellious woman, don’t I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?
- 1 Sam 25:17Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a worthless fellow that one can’t speak to 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 25:28 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.