Proverbs 27:4

Footnotes

1. 9 Heb “fierceness of wrath and outpouring [= flood] of anger.” A number of English versions use “flood” here (e.g., , , ).
2. 10 The Hebrew term translated “jealousy” here probably has the negative sense of “envy” rather than the positive sense of “zeal.” It is a raging emotion (like “anger” and “wrath,” this word has nuances of heat, intensity) that defies reason at times and can be destructive like a consuming fire (e.g., 6:32–35; Song 8:6–7). The rhetorical question is intended to affirm that no one can survive a jealous rage. (Whether one is the subject who is jealous or the object of the jealousy of someone else is not so clear.)