Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but before honor is humility.
Parallel Translations
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Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but before honor is humility.
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Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
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Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honour goeth humility.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Proverbs 18:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 15:33 The fear of Yahweh teaches wisdom. Before honor is humility.
- 1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.
- Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.
- Ezekiel 28:2 “Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas;’ yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God—
- Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride brings him low, but one of lowly spirit gains honor.
- Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Ezekiel 28:9 Will you yet say before him who kills you, ‘I am God’? But you are man, and not God, in the hand of him who wounds you.
- Daniel 9:20 While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Yahweh my God for the holy mountain of my God;
- Daniel 9:23 At the beginning of your petitions the commandment went out, and I have come to tell you; for you are greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.
- Acts 12:21-23 On an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal clothing, sat on the throne, and gave a speech to them. The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory. Then he was eaten by worms and died.
- Job 42:6-17 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” It was so, that after Yahweh had spoken these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore, take to yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him, that I not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did what Yahweh commanded them, and Yahweh accepted Job. Yahweh turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. Yahweh gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house. They comforted him, and consoled him concerning all the evil that Yahweh had brought on him. Everyone also gave him a piece of money, and everyone a ring of gold. So Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. He called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren Happuch. In all the land were no women found so beautiful as the daughters of Job. Their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, to four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days.
- Isaiah 6:5-13 Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand. You see indeed, but don’t perceive.’ Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land becomes utterly waste, and Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many within the land. If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed, as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stump remains when they are cut down; so the holy seed is its stock.”
- Ezekiel 16:49-50 “ ‘ “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters. She also didn’t strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. They were arrogant, and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took them away when I saw it.
- Daniel 5:23-24 but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which don’t see, or hear, or know; and you have not glorified the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is…
Pro 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour [is] humility.
Ver. 12. Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty.] Creature confidence and high mindedness are the Dives’s richman’s diseases, and go therefore yoked together, as here; so in 1Ti 6:17 - "Charge the rich that they be not high minded, nor trust to uncertain riches." Magna cognatio ut rei sic nominis divitiis, et vitiis; Wealth and wickedness are of near alliance, and are not far from destruction, or ‘breaking to shivers,’ as the word signifies. So bladder like is the soul, that, filled with earthly vanities, though but wind, it grows great and swells in pride; but pricked with the least pin of divine justice, it shrinks and shrivels to nothing. {Pro 16:18; Pro 15:33; Pro 12:2} {See Trapp on "Pro 16:18"} {See Trapp on "Pro 15:33"} {See Trapp on "Pro 12:2"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Before destruction the heart of man is haughty; pride…
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty; pride is a cause and presage of ruin, as is noted, Pro 16:18. Is; or, goeth. This clause we had Pro 15:33.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Note, 1. Pride is the presage of ruin, and…
Note, 1. Pride is the presage of ruin, and ruin will at last be the punishment of pride; for before destruction men are commonly so infatuated by the just judgment of God that they are more haughty than ever, that their ruin may be the sorer and the more surprising. Of, if that do not always hold, yet after the heart has been lifted up with pride, a fall comes, Pro 16:18. 2. Humility is the presage of honour and prepares men for it, and honour shall at length be the reward of humility, as he had said before, Pro 15:33. That has need to be often said which men are so loth to believe.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,.... Lifted…
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,.... Lifted up with his riches. Rich men are apt to be highminded, and therefore are to be charged and cautioned against it; they are apt to look above their poor neighbours, and with contempt upon them; and very often this haughtiness of theirs is a presage of their ruin and destruction: and those haughty airs are put on from the pride of their hearts, when a "breach" is near, as the word (u) signifies, or when they are ready to break; however, their haughty spirits are, sooner or later, humbled by one distressing providence or another; see Pro 16:18;
and before honour is humility; See Gill on Pro 15:33.
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(u) "ante confractionem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schultens.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. Before destruction] See on Prov 11:2; Prov…
Verse 12. Before destruction] See on Prov 11:2; Prov 16:18.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Before - In the sense of priority of time.
Before - In the sense of priority of time.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain We have had both these Proverbs separately. (Pro 16:18…
We have had both these Proverbs separately. (Pro 16:18 ; Pro 15:33 .) Surely this repetition, like our Lord’s often-repeated parallel,†1 was intended to deepen our sense of their importance. It is hard to persuade a man that he is proud. Every one protests against this sin. Yet who does not cherish the viper in his own bosom? Man so little understands, that dependence upon his God constitutes the creature’s happiness, and that the principle of independence is madness, and its end — destruction. (Gen 3:5-6 .) The haughty walk on the brink of a fearful precipice; only a miracle preserves them from instant ruin. The security of the child of God is, when he lies prostrate in the dust. If he soar high, the danger is imminent, though he be on the verge of heaven. (2Co 12:1-7 .)
The danger of a young Christian lies in an over-forward profession. The glow of the first love, the awakened sensibility to the condition of his perishing fellow-sinners; ignorance of the subtle working of inbred vanity, the mistaken zeal of injudicious friends — all tends to foster self-pleasing. Oh! let him know, that before honour is humility. In the low valley of Humiliation special manifestations are realized.†2 Enlarged gifts, and apparently extending usefulness, without growing more deeply into the humility of Christ, will be the decline, not the advancing of grace. That undoubtedly is the most humbled spirit, that has most of the spirit of Christ. The rule of entry into his school — the first step of admission to his kingdom is — "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." (Mat 11:29 .)
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The spring of this humility is true self-knowledge. Whatever may be seen of a man externally to his advantage, let him keep his eye looking within; and the real sight of himself must lay him low. When he compares his secret follies with his external decency — what appears to his fellow-creatures with what he knows of himself — he can but cry out — "Behold I am vile! I abhor myself!" (Job 40:4 .) The seat of this precious grace is not in words, meltings, or tears, but in the heart. No longer will he delude himself with a false conceit of what he has not, or with a vain conceit of what he has. The recollection — "Who maketh thee to differ?" (1Co 4:7 ) is ever present, to press him down under the weight of infinite obligations. Its fruit is lowliness of mind, meekness of temper, thankfulness in receiving reproof, forgetfulness of injury, readiness to be lightly regarded. No true greatness can there be without this deep-toned humility. This is he "whom the King delighteth to honour." "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, that he may set him with princes, even with the princess of his people." (Mat 5:3 . Psa 113:7-8 .)
Footnotes:
†1 Mat 23:12. Luk 14:11 ; Luk 18:14 . See Hor. Od. i. 34.
†2 Job 42:5-6. Isa 6:5-7 . Dan 9:20-23 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Compare Pro 15:33; Pro 16:18).
(Compare Pro 15:33; Pro 16:18).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. Compare Pro_15:33; Pro_16:18. They are the same in…
12. Compare Pro_15:33; Pro_16:18. They are the same in substance.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. Comp. Pro_16:18; Pro_15:33.
12. Comp. Pro_16:18; Pro_15:33.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Comp. Pro_16:18 Pro_15:33; where the maxims are found in…
Comp. Pro_16:18 Pro_15:33; where the maxims are found in almost the same words.
See homily on Pro_16:18. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and…
Pro_18:12
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
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Honour and humility
I. Explain the nature of genuine humility.
1. It does not consist in a mean and servile state of mind, in anything that is unworthy of the man or the Christian. Humility dignifies human nature; a spirit of servility degrades it. Some persons are naturally timid and faint-hearted. But this is mere human weakness.
2. It does not consist in indulging a low and dejected frame of mind, or in being pensive and sad on all occasions. Distance and reserve are so far from being the fruit of genuine humility, that they often proceed from pride and self-conceit.
3. There is what the Scriptures call a voluntary humility unrequired and unapproved. An apparently humble demeanour may consist with a haughty and aspiring spirit.
4. Genuine humility consists chiefly in the state of our hearts towards God. Here reason bows to faith, and interest to obligation.
5. Humility consists in thinking of ourselves as we ought to think, and conducting ourselves accordingly.
6. Our humility will appear in the sentiments we entertain of others, of the behaviour we manifest towards them.
II. The honour with which Christian humility is accompanied.
1. It is the forerunner of just and worthy commendation. God exalts the low tree, and brings down the high.
2. Humility is a preparative for honour. A meek and quiet spirit is itself an ornament. It prepares the way for further honours.
3. Eternal honours shall be the gracious reward of true and genuine humility. God shall save the humble person. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
Humility
The text contains a most certain truth; and yet it is in its proper and most extensive sense a truth we owe to revelation. The natural man is not fond of believing in the necessity of humility. He contends for the dignity of his nature, he asserts the sufficiency of his own powers. Unaided man has been able to discover a considerable number of important truths in the theory of morals. With the polished nations of antiquity morals formed a part of the science of government. They examined into morals, and erected systems of morals, not with a view to ascertain and lay down the duties of the man, but of the citizen. The Christian cannot expect much assistance from this quarter. As they do not rest on the right foundation, or aim at the right end, the ancient ethics are miserably defective, and often grievously false. In no part are they more delusive than in the estimate they teach men to make of themselves. H we turn our eyes upon the world around us, we shall readily find instances of the connection between pride and ruin. Pride leads men to make an offensive assumption of superiority. We know the infatuating nature of pride. It may be illustrated by the career of the first Napoleon. It is not less certain that before honour is humility. Nothing more frequently leads men to situations of respect and eminence than modesty and diffidence. Every man of merit is so conscious of his deficiencies, he judges himself so severely, he adopts such an elevated standard of excellence, that he ever thinks hardly of himself. Thinking people know this, and give their verdict accordingly. And it is the thinking part of society that allot to a man his reputation. And humility has an effect upon the man himself, in whom it prevails. The sense of the smallness of his attainments will drive him to make large attainments. And thus, as the cause is before the effect, so before honour is humility. Now apply the text to the spiritual life. Both in what regards faith, and in what regards practice, pride inevitably leads to ruin. No one is likely to attain truth on spiritual subjects who approaches them in a spirit of pride. The man who depends on his intelligence, who examines the objects of faith in a self-sufficient spirit, is quite sure to fall into infidelity or error. If the man whose heart is haughty does get to entertain orthodox opinions of religious truth, his opinions cannot profit him: the truth must enter his heart as a living principle before it can be of personal benefit to him. The very first effect which it has on the heart is to bring down the reign of pride. Whenever pride reigns in a heart, there the kingdom of God is not set up. When a sinner passes from a state of impenitence to a state of grace, the whole process will be attended by humility. And there is no growth in grace, there is no safety, without humility. The more we know of ourselves the more cause we shall find for humility. Humility is our security. When he distrusts himself, and thinks meanly of himself, the Christian is in the state most favourable for his advancement in faith and holiness. (J. G. Dowling, M. A.)
Pride and humility
When destruction walks through the land, it casts its shadow; it is in the shape of pride. When honour visits a mans house, it casts its shadow before it; it is in the fashion of humility.
I. The vice of pride.
1. Describe pride. It is a groundless thing; a brainless thing; the maddest thing; a protean thing, ever changing its shapes.
2. The seat of pride. The true throne of pride is the heart of man.
3. The consequence of pride--destruction.
II. The grace of humility. A good man may have honour in this life. But God forbids our making that honour a cloak for pride,
1. What is humility? To think rightly of ourselves. Humility is to make a right estimate of ourselves. It is no humility for a man to think less of himself than he ought.
2. What is the seat or throne of humility? It is the heart. I hate, of all things, the humility that lives in the face. Cringing men that bow before everybody are truly proud men; humble men think of themselves so little, they do not think it worth while to stoop to serve themselves.
3. What comes of humility? Before honour is humility. Humility is the herald which ushers in the great King. He who has humility will have honour afterwards. Apply this spiritually. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 12. Before destruction the heart of man is…
v. 12. Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, pride going before the fall, and before honor is humility, preceding it like a herald showing the way. cf Pro 16:18; Pro 15:33.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 18:12 Haughtiness cultivates pride. It leads to failure because…
18:12 Haughtiness cultivates pride. It leads to failure because it does not allow for change in the face of criticism. Humility learns from others and leads to the honor of success.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.