Proverbs 12:16

A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
fool’s	אֱוִ֗יל 'e.Vil	H191	(figuratively) silly · adjective, masculine singular absolute
wrath	כַּעְס֑וֹ ka'.So	H3708	vexation · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
presently	בַּ֭יּוֹם Bai.yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
known	יִוָּדַ֣ע yi.va.Da'	H3045	to know (properly · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
prudent	עָרֽוּם 'a.Rum	H6175	cunning (usually in a bad sense) · adjective, masculine singular absolute
covereth	וְכֹסֶ֖ה ve.kho.Seh	H3680	properly · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
shame	קָל֣וֹן ka.Lon	H7036	disgrace · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Proverbs 29:11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
Proverbs 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
Proverbs 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Proverbs 14:33 Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
Proverbs 16:22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
1 Kings 19:1-2 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 12:16

Note, 1. Passion is folly: A fool is known by his anger (so some read it); not but that a wise man may be angry when there is just cause for it, but then he has his anger under check and direction, is lord of his anger, whereas a fool's anger lords it over him. He that, when he is provoked, breaks out into indecent expressions, in words or behaviour, whose passion alters his countenance, makes him outrageous, and leads him to forget himself, Nabal certainly is his name and folly is with him. A fool's indignation is known in the day; he proclaims it openly, whatever company he is in. Or it is known in the day he is provoked; he cannot defer showing his resentments. Those that are soon angry,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 12:16

prudent . . . shame--He is slow to denounce his insulters (Jam 1:19).

John Gill on Proverbs 12:16

A fool's wrath is presently known,.... Having no command of himself, he cannot repress it, nor keep it in; no sooner is he provoked but he shows it in his countenance, and by his words and actions; it is to be seen in the fire of his eyes, in the frowns of his face, in the gnashing of his teeth, and in the stamping of his feet, as well as in the bitter expressions of his mouth: or "a fool's wrath in that day is known" (b); in the same day in which the provocation is given; yea, in the same hour, and in the same moment; he cannot defer showing it for the least space of time; or it is openly known, it is to be seen and observed by everyone: or thus, "a fool is presently known by his wrath" (c)…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 12:16

The relations of the subject and the predicate are the same as in the preceding verse. The fool makes known his vexation on the same day [at once], On the contrary, the prudent man hideth the offence. Very frequently in these proverbs the first line is only defined by the adducing of the second, or the second holds itself in the light of the first. A post-bibl. proverb says that a man is known by three things: by his כוס (his behaviour in drinking), his כיס (his conduct in money transactions), and his כעס (his conduct under deep inward excitement). So here: he is a fool who, if some injury is done to him, immediately shows his vexation in a passionate manner; while, on the contrary the prude…

The Church Fathers

The monks praised a brother to Antony. Antony went to him and tested him to see if he could endure being insulted. When he saw that he could not bear it, he said to him, 'You are like a house with a highly decorated outside, but burglars have stolen all the furniture by the back door.'
— Desert Fathers, The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

The fool immediately shows his anger, etc. He who desires to avenge himself in the present is a fool; but he who disregards an injury for the sake of the Lord is wise. Another translation of this verse says, the fool immediately pronounces his anger, but the astute hides his shame. He does not decree that the shameful passion of anger should be so hidden by the wise, that while condemning its swiftness, he does not prevent its tardiness, which certainly, if it falls upon him due to the necessity of human weakness, he judged to be hidden so that while it is wisely covered for the present, it may be more wisely removed and deleted forever. For such is the nature of anger that, if delayed, it weakens and dies; but if revealed, it burns more and more.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Anger · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Prudence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Speaking · WISDOM IN — WISDOM IN

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 12:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 12:16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 12:16

John Gill on Proverbs 12:16

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 12:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 12:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 12:16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 12:16

John Gill on Proverbs 12:16

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 12:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 12:16

Rashi on Proverbs 12:16