Proverbs 26:18
16 The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.
17 Like one who grabs a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows,
19 so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
20 Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows,
- KJV
- As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
- WEB
- Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,
- ASV
- As a madman who casteth firebrands, Arrows, and death,
- DARBY
- As a madman who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
- BLB
- Like a madman shooting firebrands arrows, and death,
- ÅB
- Lik en gal mann som kaster ut brannpiler og skyter og dreper,
- OTB
- Som en gal mann som skyter flammende piler og død,
- B1930
- Lik en gal mann som kaster ut brandpiler og skyter og dreper,
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Proverbs 25:18
Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
Read in contextIsaiah 50:11
Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who array yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and of the firebrands you have lit! This is what you will receive from My hand: You will lie down in a place of torment.
Read in contextProverbs 7:23
until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare— not knowing it will cost him his life.
Read in contextGenesis 49:23
The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
Read in context