As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
Parallel translations
- WEB Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.
- BSB Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
- NKJV Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.
- NASB Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not come to rest.
- NLT Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.
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
An undeserved curse has no power to land, like a bird that never settles. Groundless curses do not take effect.
Overview
The proverb reassures that a curse without just cause finds no resting place, flitting away like a darting bird. God governs outcomes, so the innocent need not fear empty maledictions (Num 23:8). It points to the security of those whom God has blessed in Christ, against whom no charge can finally stand (Rom 8:33).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Num 23:8How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?
- Neh 13:2Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
- Ps 109:28Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
- 2 Sam 16:12It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.
- Deut 23:4–5Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
- 1 Sam 17:43And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
- Prov 27:8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
- 1 Sam 14:28–29Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint.
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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 26:2 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.