The Meaning of Proverbs 20:3 Explained

Proverbs 20:3

KJV: It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.

YLT: An honour to a man is cessation from strife, And every fool intermeddleth.

Darby: It is an honour for a man to cease from strife; but every fool rusheth into it.

ASV: It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife; But every fool will be quarrelling.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[It is] an honour  for a man  to cease  from strife:  but every fool  will be meddling. 

What does Proverbs 20:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 20:1-15 - Sobriety Industry Honesty
Strong drink is the greatest of all foes to human happiness. It gains an influence over men by fair promises, but when once it is entrenched, it mocks at the misery of its abject slave. It promises strength for the arm, joy for the heart, brilliance for the mind; but those fair promises are not kept, and the end is impotence, misery, and imbecility. Let each reader of these words henceforth utterly abjure it!
The sluggard is depicted throughout this book to stir us to diligent industry. After all, it is not by great gifts but by patient persistence that men succeed. Indeed, the highest genius is left behind by the careful plodder, if the one lacks and the other possesses this invaluable quality. "Diligent in business, serving the Lord."
All our life lies open to the eye of God. He is closely acquainted with the transactions of the bank, the office, the ledger, and the weights in the store. No lapse from perfect honesty escapes his notice; and for every act of deception there is an inevitable Nemesis. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 20

1  Proper Living

What do the individual words in Proverbs 20:3 mean?

[it is] honorable for a man to stop striving since any fool can start a quarrel
כָּב֣וֹד לָ֭אִישׁ שֶׁ֣בֶת מֵרִ֑יב וְכָל־ אֱ֝וִ֗יל יִתְגַּלָּֽע

כָּב֣וֹד  [it  is]  honorable 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: כָּבֹוד  
Sense: glory, honour, glorious, abundance.
לָ֭אִישׁ  for  a  man 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
שֶׁ֣בֶת  to  stop 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: שֶׁבֶת  
Sense: cessation, a sitting still.
מֵרִ֑יב  striving 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רִיב 
Sense: strife, controversy, dispute.
וְכָל־  since  any 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
אֱ֝וִ֗יל  fool 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱוִיל  
Sense: be foolish, foolish.
יִתְגַּלָּֽע  can  start  a  quarrel 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּלַע  
Sense: to expose, lay bare.