Proverbs 25:20
and like one who loosens his garment in cold weather. Whoever sings verses to a wicked heart is like vinegar on baking soda. Just like a moth to a garment, and a worm to wood, so too does the sadness of a man do harm to the heart.
Catholic Public Domain Version
In The King James Version
In Context
19Whoever sets his hopes on the unfaithful in a day of anguish is like a rotten tooth and weary foot,
21If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
Cross References
Job 24:7They send men away naked, having taken the clothing of those who have no covering in the cold;
Proverbs 10:26Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so is a lazy one to those who sent him.
Isaiah 58:7Break your bread with the hungry, and lead the destitute and the homeless into your house. When you see someone naked, cover him, and do not despise your own flesh.
Romans 12:15Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Weep with those who are weeping.
James 5:15And a prayer of faith will save the infirm, and the Lord will alleviate him. And if he has sins, these will be forgiven him.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 25:20
19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. 1. The confidence of an unfaithful man (so some read it) will be like a broken tooth; his policy, his power, his interest, all that which he trusted in to support him in his wickedness, will fail him in time of trouble, Ps. lii. 7 . 2. Confidence in an unfaithful man (so we read it), in a man whom we thought trusty and therefore depended on, but who proves otherwise; it proves not only unserviceable, but painful… Read the whole commentary →