Proverbs 17 · Verse 12

Proverbs 17:12

Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

Proverbs 17:12, King James Version

Proverbs 17:12 in other translations

BSB	It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.
WEB	Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
ASV	Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, Rather than a fool in his folly.
YLT	The meeting of a bereaved bear by a man, And--not a fool in his folly.
DARBY	Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man rather than a fool in his folly.
BBE	It is better to come face to face with a bear whose young ones have been taken away than with a foolish man acting foolishly.
Webster	Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

12. They are less rational in anger than wild beasts.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 12 Let a bear robbed of her whelps - At which times such animals are peculiarly fierce. See the note on 2Sam 17:8.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

Let us watch over our own passions, and avoid the company of furious men.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

פָּג֬וֹשׁpa.Go.oshmay he meetH6298

דֹּ֣בdoa bearH1677

שַׁכּ֣וּלsha.Kulrobbed of cubsH7909

בְּאִ֑ישׁbe.'Ish<in> a personH376

וְאַל\־ve.'al-and may not [he meet]H408

כְּ֝סִ֗ילke.Sila foolH3684

בְּאִוַּלְתּֽוֹ\׃be.'i.val.Toin foolishness hisH200

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

2 Samuel 17:8
For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
Hosea 13:8
I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
Proverbs 27:3
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
Proverbs 28:15
As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
2 Kings 2:24
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
Matthew 2:16
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Proverbs 17:11
An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
Proverbs 17:12
Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
Proverbs 17:13
Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Mejor es se encuentre un hombre con una osa á la cual han robado sus cachorros, que con un fatuo en su necedad.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Qu’un homme rencontre une ourse privée de ses petits, plutôt qu’un sot dans sa folie!
German Elberfelder 1871	Eine Bärin, die der Jungen beraubt ist, begegne einem Manne, aber nicht ein Tor in seiner Narrheit!
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Expedit magis ursæ occurrere raptis fœtibus, quam fatuo confidenti in stultitia sua.