When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
What does Proverbs 11:2 mean?
Considering how safe, and quiet, and easy the humble are, we see that with the lowly is wisdom.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Proverbs 11:1-4 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Proverbs 11:2
A rabbinic paraphrase of the second clause is: "Lowly souls become full of wisdom as the low place becomes full of water.
Key words
- pride
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When pride cometh, then cometh shame,.
- cometh
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When pride cometh, then cometh shame,.
- cometh
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When pride cometh, then cometh shame,.
Context in Proverbs 11
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Proverbs 11 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as Solomonic proverb collections. Proverbs offers compact instruction on speech, work, wealth, friendship, sex, discipline, justice, and wisdom as a way of life before God. Read this chapter with the wider themes of wisdom, fear of the Lord, and speech in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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Passages on lowliness, modesty, the contrast between pride and humility, and the way God exalts those who humble themselves.
Warnings against pride, arrogance, and haughty spirits, and the Bible's consistent teaching that pride leads to destruction.
Bible verses about anxiety and fear
Verses for readers searching for biblical language about fear, worry, troubled thoughts, and the call to trust God under pressure.
Verses on the fear of the Lord, wise speech, practical judgment, teachability, and the difference between biblical wisdom and mere cleverness.
Bible verses about justice and mercy
Key texts on public righteousness, neighbor-love, social ethics, compassion, and the prophetic refusal to separate worship from justice.