Proverbs 25:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

NIV: Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked.

NASB: Like a trampled spring and a polluted well, So is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.

CSB: A righteous person who yields to the wicked is like a muddied spring or a polluted well.

NLT: If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.

KJV: A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

NKJV: A righteous man who falters before the wicked Is like a murky spring and a polluted well.

A drink of pure water from a spring or fountain is refreshing. Waters clogged with stirred-up dirt would disappoint someone who came there looking to end their thirst. The spring, itself, is a good thing. It was good in the past, and it will presumably be good in the future. In the moment it's full of mud or pollution, the water source is not good. Solomon (Proverbs 25:1) compares this to an otherwise-godly person who shrinks in the face of evil. In that moment, the righteous person fails to meet expectations. It's disappointing and unfortunate.

A sinning believer muddies his testimony and disappoints anyone who looks to him for an example of righteousness. It is sad that a believer falls into sin before the eyes of the wicked. When Simeon and Levi took revenge on Shechem, the prince of the land (Genesis 34:1–3, 13–29), for his defilement of their sister Dinah, their father Jacob told them, "You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites" (Genesis 34:30). In modern times, the fall of a few well-known pastors and evangelists into the sin of adultery has sullied their testimony in the eyes of countless thousands of unbelievers and damaged the church's credibility.

This chapter includes more statements from Solomon, copied by scribes of King Hezekiah many years later. The first section speaks about the risks of arrogance. The next gives comparisons which teach spiritual lessons. The last segment teaches about relationships, reputation, and self-control.

Chapter 25 begins to relate more wise statements from Solomon. Depending on where they are divided or combined, these amount to around one hundred portions of godly wisdom. These were compiled and added about 250 years after Solomon's reign by men under the direction of King Hezekiah. The phrasing used in verse 1 suggests these were copied from other records into the scrolls associated with the prior proverbs. This collection runs through the end of chapter 29.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.