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: King James Version
" Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. "
Proverbs 25:19
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
17 Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate
18 A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
20 As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be 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.
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From This Chapter
Proverbs 25:1
"These are also 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 honour of kings is to search out a matter."
Proverbs 25:3
"The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable."
Proverbs 25:4
"Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer."
Proverbs 25:5
"Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness."
Proverbs 25:6
"Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great"
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