Proverbs 19:12

12 A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

Proverbs 19:12 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 19:12

The king's wrath [is] as the roaring of a lion
Which is very terrible when hungry, and is after its prey, and has got it. Kings, especially tyrannical ones, are compared to lions; as Nebuchadnezzar by Jeremiah, ( Jeremiah 4:17 ) ( 50:17 ) ; and Nero by the Apostle Paul, ( 2 Timothy 4:7 ) ; and the rage of such is very dreadful, as Ahasuerus's was to Haman. Jarchi interprets the king, of the holy blessed God. It may be applied to Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah; who is said to cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth; and whose wrath is terrible to wicked men, and even to the kings of the earth, ( Revelation 5:5 ) ( 10:3 ) ( 6:15-17 ) ; but his favour [is] as dew upon the grass;
which refreshes and revives it, and causes it to grow and flourish: and so the favour and good will of a king to his subjects delights them, and causes joy and cheerfulness in them; and such an effect has the love of God and Christ on the children of men, ( Hosea 14:6 ) .

Proverbs 19:12 In-Context

10 Luxury is unseemly for a fool— how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

11 A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

12 A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

13 A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

14 Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.