Proverbs 26:21

As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to eish; 1 so is a contentious ish to kindle strife. 1

Orthodox Jewish Bible

In The King James Version

As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.

In Context

20Where no wood is, there the eish goeth out; 1 so where there is no nirgan (gossip, slanderer, talebearer), the strife dieth down. 1

22The devarim of a nirgan (gossip, slanderer, talebearer) are like tasty morsels, 1 and they go down into the innermost chambers of the beten. 1

Read all of Proverbs 26

Cross References

2 Samuel 20:1And there happened to be there an ish Beliyaal, + 20:1 rebel shmo Sheva Ben Bikhri an ish from Binyamin; and he blew a shofar, and said, We have no chelek in Dovid, neither have we nachalah in Ben Yishai; every ish to his ohel, O Yisroel.

1 Kings 12:20And it came to pass, when kol Yisroel heard that Yarov'am was come again, that they sent and called him unto the Edah, and made him melech over kol Yisroel; there was none that followed the Bais Dovid, but the Shevet Yehudah only.

Proverbs 10:12Sin'ah (hatred) stirreth up medanim (dissensions), 1 but ahavah covereth all peysha'im. 1

Proverbs 29:22An ish af (angry man) stirreth up strife, 1 and a ba'al chemah (ill-tempered man) aboundeth in peysha (transgression). 1

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 26:21-23

20 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. 21 As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. 22 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Contention is as a fire; it heats the spirit, burns up all that is good, and puts families and societies into a flame. Now here we are told how that fire is commonly kindled and kept burning, that we may avoid the occasions… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Proverbs 26:21