Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 14:4 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: World English Bible — Catholic Edition
" Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox. "
Proverbs 14:4
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
2 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, but he who is perverse in his ways despises him.
3 The fool’s talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.
4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
5 A truthful witness will not lie, but a false witness pours out lies.
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom, and doesn’t find it, but knowledge comes easily to a discerning person.
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The neglect of farming leads to poverty. If there are no oxen to plow the ground and thresh the grain, the crib will be empty. There will be no straw for the cattle, and so there will be no bread for people. Scarcity is pictured by “clean teeth” (Amos 4:6), meaning there is nothing to eat.
If there are no oxen, nothing gets done in the field, and then nothing comes in from the field. The crib may be clean because there is no dung, and that may please people who like neatness and avoid farm work because it is dirty. Such people may even sell their oxen to keep the place tidy, but then they lose both the labor of the oxen and even the manure they provide.
This shows the foolishness of people who enjoy life in the country but do not do the work it requires. As we say, they keep more horses than cows, or more dogs than pigs. Their households will suffer for it.
On the other hand, those who work hard on their land are likely to profit from it. People who keep what is useful and helpful, not just what looks grand, are more likely to do well. More work done by oxen brings more increase, because the ox was made for our service and is useful both while living and after it is dead.
From This Chapter
Proverbs 14:1
"Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands."
Proverbs 14:2
"He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, but he who is perverse in his ways despises him."
Proverbs 14:3
"The fool’s talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them."
Proverbs 14:5
"A truthful witness will not lie, but a false witness pours out lies."
Proverbs 14:6
"A scoffer seeks wisdom, and doesn’t find it, but knowledge comes easily to a discerning person."
Proverbs 14:7
"Stay away from a foolish man, for you won’t find knowledge on his lips."
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