Do not accuse a man without cause, when he has done you no harm.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.
- KJV Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
- NKJV Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm.
- NASB Do not contend with a person for no reason, If he has done you no harm.
- NLT Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm.
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
Do not pick a fight with someone who has done you no harm. Wisdom refuses needless conflict and quarrels.
Overview
The father warns against initiating strife without cause, a mark of a contentious and foolish heart. Peace with others is to be pursued, not casually disturbed. The New Testament likewise calls believers to live peaceably with all so far as it depends on them (Rom 12:18; cf. the peacemaking of Matt 5:9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Tim 2:24And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.
- Prov 29:22An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.
- Rom 12:18–21If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.
- Prov 18:6A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
- Prov 25:8–9do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?
- Prov 17:14To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
- Matt 5:39–41But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;
- 1 Cor 6:6–8Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers!
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 3:30 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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