Faithful are the wounds of a friend; although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
Parallel translations
- KJV Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
- BSB The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
- NKJV Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
- NASB Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
- NLT Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.
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 true friend's painful correction is trustworthy, while an enemy's flattering kisses are deceptive. It urges us to value faithful honesty over pleasant insincerity.
Overview
The proverb sets the loyal wounds of a friend against the abundant but treacherous kisses of an enemy, teaching that we should welcome loving rebuke and distrust empty flattery. The line foreshadows betrayal hidden behind affection, supremely fulfilled when Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss (Luke 22:48). True friendship images the faithful love of Christ, who tells His people the truth for their good.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 141:5Let the righteous strike me, it is kindness; let him reprove me, it is like oil on the head; don’t let my head refuse it; Yet my prayer is always against evil deeds.
- Rev 3:19As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Job 5:17–18“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
- Prov 26:23–26Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.
- 2 Sam 12:7–15Nathan said to David, “You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
- Heb 12:10For they indeed, for a few days, punished us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.
- 2 Sam 20:9–10Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
- Prov 10:18He who hides hatred has lying lips. He who utters a slander is a fool.
- Matt 26:48–50Now he who betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, “Whoever I kiss, he is the one. Seize him.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 27:6 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.