Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 17:12 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: King James Version
" Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. "
Proverbs 17:12
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
10 A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
11 An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent
12 Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
13 Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled
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A passionate man acts like a brute. At other times he may show some wisdom, but let him be left to his anger, and he becomes a fool in the full force of his foolishness. Those are fools whose hearts are filled with anger and whose faces show it plainly. He has, as it were, laid aside his humanity and become like a bear, even a bear robbed of her cubs. He clings to the things he desires and craves with the same fierce attachment a bear has for her cubs, ugly as they may be, and he pursues them with the same eagerness when they are taken away. If anyone gets in his way, he is filled with rage.
He is also a dangerous man, striking out at everyone in his path, even if they are innocent or friendly. A bear robbed of her cubs will attack the first person she meets, whether that person caused the loss or not. Anger is a brief kind of madness. It is easier to stop, escape from, or protect yourself against an angry bear than against a furious man. So we should watch our own tempers, lest they gain control and do harm, and in that way preserve our own honor. We should also avoid the company of violent people, and move out of their way when they are enraged, and in that way preserve our own safety.
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From This Chapter
Proverbs 17:1
"Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife."
Proverbs 17:2
"A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren."
Proverbs 17:3
"The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts."
Proverbs 17:4
"A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue."
Proverbs 17:5
"Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished."
Proverbs 17:6
"Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers."
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