Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Parallel translations
- WEB Faithful are the wounds of a friend; although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
- 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 smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
- Rev 3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Job 5:17–18Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
- Prov 26:23–26Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.
- 2 Sam 12:7–15And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
- Heb 12:10For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
- 2 Sam 20:9–10And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
- Prov 10:18He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
- Matt 26:48–50Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
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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 27:6 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
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