Proverbs 16:26

He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
He	נֶ֣פֶשׁ Ne.fesh	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct
laboureth	עָ֭מֵל 'A.mel	H6001	toiling · adjective, masculine singular absolute
laboureth	עָ֣מְלָה 'A.me.lah	H5998	to toil · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
mouth	פִּֽיהוּ Pi.hu	H6310	the mouth (as the means of blowing) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
craveth	אָכַ֖ף 'a.Khaf	H404	to urge · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular

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

Ecclesiastes 6:7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
Proverbs 14:23 In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
Proverbs 9:12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
2 Thessalonians 3:8-12 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of…
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 16:26

This is designed to engage us to diligence, and quicken us, what our hand finds to do, to do it with all our might, both in our worldly business and in the work of religion; for in the original it is, The soul that labours labours for itself. It is heart-work which is here intended, the labour of the soul, which is here recommended to us, 1. As that which will be absolutely needful. Our mouth is continually craving it of us; the necessities both of soul and body are pressing, and require constant relief, so that we must either work or starve. Both call for daily bread, and therefore there must be daily labour; for in the sweat of our face we must eat, Th2 3:10. 2. As that which will be unspe…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 16:26

Diligence is a duty due to one's self, for his wants require labor.

John Gill on Proverbs 16:26

He that laboureth, laboureth for himself,.... Man is born for labour; it is a part of the curse inflicted on him for sin; and his condition and circumstances are such as make it necessary, for such who will not work ought not to eat; and it is labouring for food and raiment which is here meant, and that is for a man's self; for if he labours to be rich and lay up money, and purchase estates, these are more for others than himself, and indeed he knows not for whom he labours. It is indeed in the original, "the soul of him that labours (l), labours for himself"; and it may be understood of the labour of, the soul for spiritual things, for spiritual food, for that meat which endures to everlast…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 16:26

26 The hunger of the labourer laboureth for him, For he is urged on by his mouth. The Syr. translates: the soul of him who inflicts woe itself suffers it, and from his mouth destruction comes to him; the Targ. brings this translation nearer the original text (בּיפא, humiliation, instead of אבדנא, destruction); Luther translates thus also, violently abbreviating, however. But עמל (from עמל, Arab. 'amila, to exert oneself, laborare) means, like laboriosus, labouring as well as enduring difficulty, but not, as πονῶν τινα, causing difficulty, or (Euchel) occupied with difficulty. And labour and the mouth stand together, denoting that man labours that the mouth may have somewhat to eat (cf. Th2…

The Church Fathers

The soul of the laborer labors for itself, etc. It is evident, according to the letter, that man expelled from paradise exercises daily labor so that he may not lack. For he compelled his mouth, when he spoke with the serpent and touched the forbidden thing, to suffer long exile with labor and to eat bread by the sweat of his face. But also the teacher compels his mouth to labor, because he must practice the good things he says.
— 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

Hunger · A stimu — A stimu
Industry · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

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 16:26

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 16:26

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 16:26

John Gill on Proverbs 16:26

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 16:26

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 16:26

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 16:26

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 16:26

John Gill on Proverbs 16:26

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 16:26

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 16:25

Rashi on Proverbs 16:26