Limitless Word
Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
Proverbs 30:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “Don’t slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
  • BSB Do not slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.
  • NKJV Do not malign a servant to his master, Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
  • NASB ¶Do not slander a slave to his master, Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.
  • NLT Never slander a worker to the employer, or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.

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 slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you and you bear guilt.

Overview

This proverb warns against malicious or careless accusations that harm the vulnerable, here a servant who lacks power to defend himself. False or harmful speech recoils on the speaker, who incurs real guilt before God. It calls for truthful, protective speech toward the lowly, reflecting God's own care for the defenseless.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Rom 14:4Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
  • Eccl 7:21Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
  • Dan 6:24And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
  • Prov 24:23–24These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
  • Dan 6:13Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
  • 2 Sam 19:26–27And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame.
  • Dan 3:8–18Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
  • 2 Chr 24:22–24Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.
  • 1 Sam 22:9–10Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
  • Deut 23:15Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:
  • 2 Sam 16:1–4And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.
  • Prov 11:26He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
  • 1 Sam 26:19Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.
  • 1 Sam 30:15And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
  • 1 Sam 24:9And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?
  • Deut 15:9Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
  • Prov 28:27He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 30:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 30:10 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.