Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 25:19 - 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
" Confidence in someone unfaithful in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a lame foot. "
Proverbs 25:19
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he be weary of you, and hate you.
18 A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
19 Confidence in someone unfaithful in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a lame foot.
20 As one who takes away a garment in cold weather, or vinegar on soda, so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
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The trust you place in an unfaithful person, some read it this way, will be like a broken tooth. That means all the schemes, strength, and support he counted on to carry out his wrongdoing will fail him when trouble comes (Psalm 52:7).
But we can also read it as trust in an unfaithful person, someone we thought was reliable and depended on, but who turns out to be false. Such trust is not only useless, it is painful and frustrating, like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint. When you lean on it, it fails you and hurts you, especially in times of trouble, when you most need help from it. It is like the broken reed in Isaiah 36:6.
Trust in God is very different. In times of trouble, confidence in a faithful God will not disappoint us. In him we can rest, and in him we can live at peace.
From This Chapter
Proverbs 25:1
"These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out."
Proverbs 25:2
"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter."
Proverbs 25:3
"As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable."
Proverbs 25:4
"Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the refiner."
Proverbs 25:5
"Take away the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness."
Proverbs 25:6
"Don’t exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men;"
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