What Does Proverbs 15:23 Mean?
A man has joy in the answer of his mouth, and a word in its season, how good it is!
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!THE KEY
A word’s timing is part of what makes it good.
THE MEANING
When you find the answer for the moment, it brings joy; a word spoken at its fitting time is good. Its timing belongs to its meaning: the word meets the moment it enters.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that a good word is equally good whenever it is said misses the verse’s point: fit and timing are part of its goodness.
THE ROOT
מַעֲנֵה
ma'aneh
GROWS FROM
ענה
To answer or respond.
The Hebrew word for “answer” here is also used in Proverbs 15:1, where a soft answer turns away wrath. Together, the verses show that a response’s manner and timing shape what it brings.
ALSO GROWS
anah: To answer or respond.
עָנָה
The verb behind the noun connects the joy in this verse to the act of answering.
ma'aneh: An answer or response.
מַעֲנֶה
This same noun appears in Proverbs 15:1, linking a response’s manner with its effect.
דָּבָר
davar
GROWS FROM
דבר
To speak; the related noun can mean a word, matter, or thing.
Davar can name both what is spoken and a matter or thing. The verse presents a timely word as something that does real good in the moment it reaches.
ALSO GROWS
dibber: Spoke; uttered words.
דִּבֵּר
The verb shows the spoken action contained in the word davar.
davar: A word, matter, or thing.
דָּבָר
Its wider sense lets the spoken word also be seen as something that takes shape in the moment.
שִׂמְחָה
simchah
GROWS FROM
שמח
To rejoice or be glad.
“joy” in this verse is simchah. Simchah comes from the root for rejoicing, naming a felt response rather than a mere pleasant idea. Here that rejoicing is tied to an answer that finds its moment.
ALSO GROWS
samach: To rejoice or be glad.
שָׂמַח
The verb names the response that the noun simchah expresses.
mesammeach: Gladdening; bringing joy.
מְשַׂמֵּחַ
This form echoes the verse’s picture of an answer that brings joy.
THE PATTERN
Words do their best work when their content and timing meet the need of the moment.
A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to hush, and a time to speak.Let no rotten word come out of your mouth, but whatever is good for building up where there is need, that it may give favor to those who hear.Let your word always be in favor, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you must answer each one.THE THREAD
A soft answer turns away the burning, but words of pain stir up the nostrils.“Answer” translates the same Hebrew noun, מַעֲנֶה (ma’aneh), in both verses. Proverbs 15:1 shows how an answer’s manner can turn wrath; this verse shows how its timing can bring joy.
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