Argue your case with your neighbor, And do not reveal the secret of another,
Parallel translations
- WEB Debate your case with your neighbor, and don’t betray the confidence of another;
- KJV Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:
- BSB Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,
- NKJV Debate your case with your neighbor, And do not disclose the secret to another;
- NLT When arguing with your neighbor, don’t betray another person’s secret.
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
Settle a dispute privately with your neighbor and do not betray another's confidence. Handle conflict discreetly and honorably.
Overview
This commends resolving conflict directly and confidentially rather than spreading it abroad. Guarding a confidence even amid disagreement protects relationships and reputations. The pattern foreshadows Jesus' instruction to address a brother's fault privately first (Matt 18:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Matt 18:5–17Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,
- Prov 11:13One who brings gossip betrays a confidence, but one who is of a trustworthy spirit is one who keeps a secret.
- Prov 20:19He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets; therefore don’t keep company with him who opens wide his lips.
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 25:9 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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