Proverbs 27:19

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Proverbs 27:19 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “As in water face [answereth] to face, So the heart of man to man.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

As in water face [answereth] to face, So the heart of man to man.
Proverbs 27:19 — American Standard Version

Context — Proverbs 27

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
19As in water face [answereth] to face, So the heart of man to man.

What do historical commentaries say?

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“We may see our characters in the developed tempers of others.”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“As we see our own face when we look on the mirror-like surface of the water, so in every heart of man we may see our own likeness. In spite of all diversities we come upon the common human nature in which we all alike share. Others see in the reference to the reflection in the water the thought that we judge of others by ourselves, find them faithful or the reverse, as we ourselves are. return to 'Top of Page'”
Read attributed excerpt →
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“So - So one man resembles another in the corruption of his nature. Proverbs 27:20”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“in: Jam 1:22-25 so: Gen 6:5; Psa 33:15; Mar 7:21 Proverbs 27:20”
Read attributed excerpt →
Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“19 As it is with water, face correspondeth to face, So also the heart of man to man. Thus the traditional text is to be translated; for on the supposition that כּמּים must be used for כּבמּים, yet it might not be translated: as in waters face corresponds to face (Jerome: quomodo in aquis resplendent vultus respicientium), because כּ (instar) is always only a prep. and never conj. subordinating to itself a whole sentence (vid., under Psa 38:14). But whether כּמּים, "like water," may be an abridgment of a sentence: "like as it is with water," is a question, and the translation of the lxx (Syr., Targ., Arab.), ὥσπερ οὐχ ὅμοια πρόσωπα προσώποις, κ.τ.λ., appears, according to Bttcher's…”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification