Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 29:20 - 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
" Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. "
Proverbs 29:20
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but one who keeps the law is blessed.
19 A servant can’t be corrected by words. Though he understands, yet he will not respond.
20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
21 He who pampers his servant from youth will have him become a son in the end.
22 An angry man stirs up strife, and a wrathful man abounds in sin.
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Solomon shows here that there is little hope of bringing a man to wisdom if he is too quick and hasty. One kind of hasty person is rash and careless. He seems to take things in quickly, but he only takes them halfway. He rushes through a book or a subject, but never slows down to understand it, think about it, or weigh it well. There is more hope of making a scholar and a wise man out of someone who is dull and slow in learning than out of someone who is quick-moving but cannot stay focused.
Another kind of hasty person is proud and full of himself. He is ready to speak about every topic as soon as it comes up. He wants to be first to explain it, and last to judge it, as if he were an expert on everything. There is more hope for a modest fool who knows he is foolish than for someone who is so self-important.
From This Chapter
Proverbs 29:1
"He who is often rebuked and stiffens his neck will be destroyed suddenly, with no remedy."
Proverbs 29:2
"When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:3
"Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth."
Proverbs 29:4
"The king by justice makes the land stable, but he who takes bribes tears it down."
Proverbs 29:5
"A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet."
Proverbs 29:6
"An evil man is snared by his sin, but the righteous can sing and be glad."
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