Proverbs 14:10

“The heart knoweth his own bitterness, etc.] Or “the bitterness of his soul”f396, the distress of his conscience, the anguish of his mind; the heart of man only knows the whole of it; something of it may be known to others by his looks, his words, and gestures, but not all of it; (see <460210>1 Corinthians 2:10 <182302>Job 23:2); bitterness of soul often arises from outward troubles, pains, and diseases of body, losses, crosses, and disappointments, (<090110>1 Samuel 1:10,15 <180320>Job 3:20 7:11 10:1 <233815>Isaiah 38:15,17). Sometimes it is upon spiritual accounts; but this is not the case of every heart; men may be in the gall of bitterness, and have no bitterness of soul on account of it;…”

“Each one best knows his own sorrows or joys.”

“A striking expression of the ultimate solitude of each man’s soul at all times, and not merely at the hour of death. Something there is in every sorrow, and in every joy, which no one else can share. Beyond that range it is well to remember that there is a Divine Sympathy, uniting perfect knowledge and perfect love. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Bitterness - The inward griefs and joys of mens hearts, are not known to any but a man's self. Proverbs 14:12”

“14:10 No one can fully understand the emotions of another (cp. Ps 103:14; Isa 63:9; Nah 1:7; Rom 8:27). Bitterness and joy are at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum; this poetic device of referring to polar opposites (merism) covers the whole range in between.”

“heart: Pro 15:13, Pro 18:14; Sa1 1:10; Kg2 4:27; Job 6:2-4, Job 7:11, Job 9:18, Job 10:1; Eze 3:14; Mar 14:33, Mar 14:34; Joh 12:27 his: etc. Heb. the bitterness of his soul, Gen 42:21 and: Psa 25:14; Joh 14:18, Joh 14:23; Phi 4:7; Pe1 1:8; Rev 2:17 Proverbs 14:11”

“Four proverbs of joy and sorrow in the present and the future: 10 The heart knoweth the trouble of its soul, And no stranger can intermeddle with its joy. The accentuation לב יודע seems to point out יודע as an adjective (Lwenstein: a feeling heart), after Kg1 3:9, or genit. (of a feeling heart); but Cod. 1294 and the Jemen Cod., and others, as well as the editions of Jablonsky and Michaelis, have לב with Rebia, so that this is by itself to be taken as the subject (cf. the accentuation Pro 15:5 and under at 16a). מרּת has the ר with Dagesh, and consequently the short Kametz (Michlol 63b), like שׁרּך Pro 3:8, cf. כּרתה, Jdg 6:28, and on the contrary כרּת, Eze 16:4; it is the fem. of mōr =…”