Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.
- BSB Do not accuse a man without cause, when he has done you 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 the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
- Prov 29:22An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
- Rom 12:18–21If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
- Prov 18:6A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
- Prov 25:8–9Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.
- Prov 17:14The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
- Matt 5:39–41But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
- 1 Cor 6:6–8But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the 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
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.