Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 25:23 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: King James Version
The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
Proverbs 25:23
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
23 The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
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Here we see, first, that we must discourage sin and speak against it, especially the sin of slandering and backbiting. We should frown on it and, by showing our displeasure, try to put it to shame. Slander would not be spoken so freely if people were not so ready to listen. Good manners would silence the slanderer if he saw that his stories offended the company.
We should show that we are hurt if we hear a dear friend, someone we value, spoken against. The same dislike should show itself toward evil speech in general. If we cannot correct it in any other way, we can still do so by our looks.
Second, this may do real good. Who knows whether it might silence and drive away a backbiting tongue? Sin grows bold if people approve of it, but if it meets any check, it feels its own shame and becomes timid. This is especially true of backbiting, because many people only speak badly of others in hopes of winning favor with those who are listening.
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 men:"
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