Proverbs 25:21

If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
enemy	שֹׂ֭נַאֲךָ So.na.'a.kha	H8130	to hate (personally) · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
hungry	רָעֵ֣ב ra.'Ev	H7457	hungry (more or less intensely) · adjective, masculine singular absolute
bread	לָ֑חֶם La.chem	H3899	food (for man or beast) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
eat	הַאֲכִלֵ֣הוּ ha.'a.khi.Le.hu	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
thirsty	צָ֝מֵ֗א tza.Me'	H6771	thirsty (literally or figuratively) · adjective, masculine singular absolute
water	מָֽיִם Ma.yim	H4325	water · noun, common masculine plural absolute
drink	הַשְׁקֵ֥הוּ hash.Ke.hu	H8248	to quaff · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 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

Romans 12:20-21 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use yo…
Proverbs 24:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Exodus 23:4-5 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
2 Kings 6:22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set brea…
Luke 10:33-36 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
2 Chronicles 28:15 And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arra…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 25:21-22

By this it appears that, however the scribes and Pharisees had corrupted the law, not only the commandment of loving our brethren, but even that of loving our enemies, was not only a new, but also an old commandment, an Old Testament commandment, though our Saviour has given it to us with the new enforcement of his own great example in loving us when we were enemies. Observe, 1. How we must express our love to our enemies by the real offices of kindness, even those that are expensive to ourselves and most acceptable to them: "If they be hungry and thirsty, instead of pleasing thyself with their distress and contriving how to cut off supplies from them, relieve them, as Elisha did the Syrians…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 25:21

(Compare Mat 5:44; Rom 12:20). As metals are melted by heaping coals upon them, so is the heart softened by kindness.

John Gill on Proverbs 25:21

If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat,.... Which includes all manner of food; whatever persons may have in their houses, that they should bring out and feed the hungry with, even though an enemy; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink; which was what was usually and in common drank in those countries. These two, bread and water, take in all the necessaries of life; and giving them is expressive of all acts of beneficence and humanity to be performed to enemies; see 2 Kings 6:22; or "drink to him", so Pagninus and Montanus; which is still more expressive of respect and kindness.

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 25:18-22

This group of proverbs has the word רע in each of them, connecting them together. The first of the group represents a false tongue: Pro 25:18 18 A hammer, and a sword, and a sharp arrow - A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour. An emblematic, or, as we might also say, an iconological proverb; for 18a is a quodlibet of instruments of murder, and 18b is the subscription under it: that which these weapons of murder accomplish, is done to his neighbour by a man who bears false witness against him - he ruins his estate, takes away his honour, but yet more: he murders him, at one time more grossly, at another time with more refinement; at one time slowly, at another time more quic…

The Church Fathers

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him," etc. This can be understood both of physical food and spiritual nourishment.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

He also said, 'Evil cannot drive out evil. If anyone hurts you, do good to him and your good will destroy his evil.'
— Desert Fathers, The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

This [scriptural passage] seems to prescribe a crime or a vice; therefore, it is a figure of speech directing that we are to participate in the Lord's passion and treasure up in grateful and salutary remembrance the fact that his flesh was crucified and wounded for us. Scripture says, "If your enemy is hungry, give him food; if he is thirsty, give him drink." This undoubtedly prescribes a kindness, but the part that follows—"For by so doing you will heap coals of fire upon his head"—you might suppose was commanding a crime of malevolence. So, do not doubt that it is a figurative expression. Although it can have a twofold interpretation, by one intending harm, by the other intending a good, charity should call you away from the former to kindness, so that you may understand that the coals of fire are the burning lamentations of repentance by which that person's pride is healed and he grieves that he has been an enemy of the one who relieves his misery.
— Augustine of Hippo, CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION 3:16.24

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

Proverbs, Book of — A collection of moral and philosophical maxims of a wide range of subjects presented in a poetic form. This book sets forth the “philosophy of practical life. It is the sign to us that the Bible does…
Beneficence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Enemies · Should be: Assisted — Should be: Assisted
Enemy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Forgiveness · OF ENEMIES — OF ENEMIES
Liberality · Should be exercised: Toward enemies — Should be exercised: Toward enemies
Revenge · Instead of taking, we should: Overcome others by kindness — Instead of taking, we should: Overcome others by kindness

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 25:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 25:21-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 25:21

John Gill on Proverbs 25:21

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 25:18-22

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 25:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 25:21-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 25:21

John Gill on Proverbs 25:21

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 25:18-22

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 25:21-22

Rashi on Proverbs 25:21