He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him.
Parallel translations
- KJV He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
- BSB If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted to him as a curse.
- 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 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 16:16–19When Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, had come to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
- Acts 12:22–23The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”
- Jer 28:2–4“Thus speaks Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, saying, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
- 2 Sam 17:7–13Hushai said to Absalom, “The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good.”
- 1 Kgs 22:6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Should I go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or should I refrain?” They said, “Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- 1 Kgs 22:13The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “See now, the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak good.”
- 2 Sam 15:2–7Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate. When any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him, and said, “What city are you from?” He said, “Your servant is of 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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