“Iron sharpens iron”

PROVERBS 27:17

KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)

About this Quote

A simplified version of this verse says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (ESV). It speaks to the importance of having like-minded friends or mentors to challenge us to develop ourselves and become a better person.

Quote in Context

See the quote in bold below within its King James Bible verse.

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

— Proverbs 27:17

Scriptural Translation

What does this quote really mean?

Use the table below to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew scripture behind the words of this quote. Please note: follow the buttons in the right column below to clarify word meanings, find related verses, and get a deeper understanding.

Quote words Original Hebrew Meaning/ Definition
This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail.
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Iron בַּרְזֶ֣ל Iron (as cutting); by extension, an iron implement H1270
sharpeneth יָ֑חַד To be (causatively, make) sharp or (figuratively) severe H2300
iron; בְּבַרְזֶ֣ל Iron (as cutting); by extension, an iron implement H1270

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Sources

The King James Bible text is sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.


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