Bible Trivia - 5/5/2008

Question: Finish the following verse from Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goeth before destruction and..."

Answer: "...a haughty spirit before a fall."

Comments: It is from Proverbs 16:18 that the popular axiom "Pride goes before a fall" derives. The expression is a paraphrase of the Hebrew proverb, designed to warn the listener of the dangers of pride.

Pride goes before destruction,/And a haughty spirit before stumbling. (Proverbs 16:18, NASB)

Michael Macrone further explains, "The phrasing 'pride goeth before destruction' is perhaps a bit confusing; what 'goeth before' means here is 'leads to' ("go" was a much more versatile verb in the Renaissance than it is now). Yet "goeth" does suggest that pride is a force capable of moving on its own and of leading us by the hand to our doom, which is both more vivid and truer to Hebrew psychology." (Macrone, Brush Up Your Bible!.)