Proverbs 27:6 (DRB)

Passage

Better are the wounds of a friend, than the deceitful kisses of an enemy.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 27:4 Anger hath no mercy: nor fury, when it breaketh forth: and who can bear the violence of one provoked?

Proverbs 27:5 Open rebuke is better than hidden love.

Proverbs 27:6 Better are the wounds of a friend, than the deceitful kisses of an enemy.

Proverbs 27:7 A soul that is full shall tread upon the honeycomb: and a soul that is hungry shall take even bitter for sweet.

Proverbs 27:8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that leaveth his place.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "better", "wounds", "friend", "than", "deceitful", "kisses", and "enemy". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "better" and "wounds", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Open rebuke is better than hidden love..." into verse 7's "A soul that is full shall tread...", so "better" and "wounds" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "better" and "wounds" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.