As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
Parallel translations
- WEB As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.
- BSB Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who wanders from his home.
- NKJV Like a bird that wanders from its nest Is a man who wanders from his place.
- NASB Like a bird that wanders from its nest, So is a person who wanders from his home.
- NLT A person who strays from home is like a bird that strays from its nest.
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 person who abandons his home is as displaced as a bird that strays from its nest. It warns against wandering from one's God-given place and responsibilities.
Overview
The image of a restless, displaced bird pictures the vulnerability and loss that come from forsaking one's proper home and duties. Scripture honors faithfulness to one's calling and household rather than aimless wandering. The believer's lasting security is found in abiding in Christ, who prepares an eternal home for His own (John 14:2-3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 21:16The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
- Jonah 1:10–17Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
- 1 Cor 7:20Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
- Isa 16:2For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
- Jonah 1:3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
- Gen 16:6–8But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
- 1 Kgs 19:9And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
- 1 Sam 22:5And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.
- Job 39:14–16Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,
- Gen 4:16And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
- Neh 6:11–13And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.
- Prov 26:2As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
- Jude 1:13Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
- 1 Sam 27:1–12And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 27:8 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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