If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted to him as a curse.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him.
- KJV He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
- ESV Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.
- NKJV He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It will be counted a curse to him.
- NASB One who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, It will be considered a curse to him.
- NLT A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!
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
Excessive, ill-timed flattery is received as an annoyance rather than a blessing. It cautions against insincere or inconsiderate displays of goodwill.
Overview
Loudly blessing a neighbor at dawn turns a supposed kindness into a curse because it is overdone and inconvenient. The proverb exposes how showy or thoughtless praise rings hollow and may mask flattery. Genuine love, by contrast, is sincere and considerate, marking the sincerity that the gospel produces in those renewed by Christ (Romans 12:9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 2 Sam 16:16–19And David’s friend Hushai the Archite went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
- Acts 12:22–23And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”
- Jer 28:2–4“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
- 2 Sam 17:7–13Hushai replied, “This time the advice of Ahithophel is not sound.”
- 1 Kgs 22:6So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- 1 Kgs 22:13Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah instructed him, “Behold now, with one accord the words of the prophets are favorable to the king. So please let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”
- 2 Sam 15:2–7He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”
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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 27:14 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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