Proverbs 18:13

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(13) He that answereth a matter before he heareth it . . .—Comp. Ecclesiasticus 11:8.

Benson Commentary

Proverbs 18:13. He that answereth a matter before he beareth it — Before he hath fully heard and considered what another is speaking about it; it is folly and shame unto him — It is a shameful folly, though he seek the reputation of a wise man by it; as if he could readily and thoroughly understand all that another can say before he has uttered it.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

18:4. The well-spring of wisdom in the heart of a believer, continually supplies words of wisdom. 5. The merits of a cause must be looked to, not the person. 6,7. What mischief bad men do to themselves by their ungoverned tongues! 8. How base are those that sow contention! and what fatal effects may be expected from small beginnings of jealousy! 9. Omissions of duty, and in duty, are fatal to the soul, as well as commissions of sin. 10,11. The Divine power, made known in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, forms a strong tower for the believer, who relies on the Lord. How deceitful the defence of the rich man, who has his portion and treasure in this world! It is a strong city and a high wall only in his own conceit; for it will fail when most in need. They will be exposed to the just wrath of that Judge whom they despised as a Saviour. 12. After the heart has been lifted up with pride, a fall comes. But honour shall be the reward of humility. 13. Eagerness, with self-conceit, will expose to shame. 14. Firmness of mind supports under many pains and trials. But when the conscience is tortured with remorse, no human fortitude can bear the misery; what then will hell be? 15. We must get knowledge, not only into our heads, but into our hearts. 16. Blessed be the Lord, who makes us welcome to come to his throne, without money and without price. May his gifts make room for him in our souls.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Before - In the sense of priority of time.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

13. Hasty speech evinces self-conceit, and ensures shame (Pr 26:12).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Before he heareth it; before he hath fully heard and considered what another is speaking about it.

It is folly and shame; it is a shameful folly, though he seek the reputation of a wise man by it, as if he could readily and thoroughly understand all that another cart say before he hath uttered it.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it,.... Who is impatient, and cannot wait to hear it out, but breaks in upon the speaker before he has finished what he has to say; or is rash and precipitate, and returns an answer at once, without weighing and considering, and thoroughly understanding, what is said:

it is folly and shame unto him; his answer must be a foolish one, and bring shame and confusion upon him; men should be "swift to hear", and "slow to speak", James 1:9.

Geneva Study Bible

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

13. answereth a matter] Rather, giveth answer, R.V. “Heb. returneth a word,” A.V. marg. Compare:

“Answer not before thou hast heard;

And interrupt not in the midst of speech.”—Sir 11:8.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 13. - He that answereth a matter, etc. Thus Ecclus. 11:8, "Answer not before thou hast heard the, cause; neither interrupt men in the midst of their talk." A reminiscence of the passage occurs in the Talmud ('Aboth.' 5. 10), "I weighed all things in the balance, and found nothing lighter than meal; lighter than meal is the betrothed man who dwells in the house of his intended father-in-law; lighter than he is a guest who introduces a friend; and lighter than he is the man who answers before he has heard the other's speech" (Dukes, p. 72, § 21). So Menander -

Ὁ προκαταγιγνώσκων δὲ πρὶν ἀκοῦσαι σαφῶς
Αὐτὸς πονηρός ἐστι πιστεύσας κακῶς. Seneca, 'Medea,' 199 -

"Qui statuit aliquid, parte inaudita altera,
AEquum licet statuerit, haud aequus erit." Proverbs 18:13

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

13 If one giveth an answer before he heareth,

     It is to him as folly and shame.

The part. stands here differently from what it does at Proverbs 13:18, where it is subj., and at Proverbs 17:14, where it is pred. of a simple sentence; it is also here, along with what appertains to it in accordance with the Semitic idiom, subj. to 13b (one who answers ... is one to whom this...); but, in accordance with our idiom, it becomes a hypothetical antecedent. For "to answer" one also uses השׁיב without addition; but the original full expression is השׁיב דּבר, reddere verbum, referre dictum (cf. ענה דּבר, Jeremiah 44:20, absol. in the cogn., Proverbs 15:28); דבר one may not understand of the word to which, but of the word with which, the reply is made. היא לו comprehends the meaning: it avails to him (ducitur ei), as well as it reaches to him (est ei). In Agricola's Fnfhundert Sprchen this proverb is given thus: Wer antwortet ehe er hret, der zaiget an sein torhait und wirdt ze schanden [he who answers before he hears shows his folly, and it is to him a shame]. But that would require the word to be יבושׁ, pudefiet; (היא לו) כּלמּה means that it becomes to him a ground of merited disgrace. "כּלמּה, properly wounding, i.e., shame (like atteinte son honneur), from כּלם (cogn. הלם), to strike, hit, wound" (Fl.). Sirach (11:8) warns against such rash talking, as well as against the rudeness of interrupting others.