Proverbs 14:10 Meaning and Explanation
“The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →No one fully knows another's inner sorrow or joy.
The Context of Proverbs 14:10
Proverbs recognizes the interior privacy and complexity of each person.
What Does Proverbs 14:10 Mean?
Each person carries an interior world that no outsider can fully access. Your own heart knows its bitterness—the ache, the regrets, the grief that others see only from the outside. However much we express it, some of it remains known only to us. This is the solitude of human experience.
Similarly, a stranger cannot truly share another's joy. Others can witness it and rejoice with it, but they cannot inhabit another's delight as that person does. This acknowledges the profound privacy of inner life and the limits of human connection—even as we do connect, something remains known only to God and to ourselves.
Proverbs 14:10 in the Original Language
mar (מַר), 'bitterness' — both literal bitter taste and metaphorical sorrow or anguish of heart.
Frequently Asked Questions About Proverbs 14:10
What does Proverbs 14:10 mean?
No one fully knows another's inner sorrow or joy.
What is the context of Proverbs 14:10?
Proverbs recognizes the interior privacy and complexity of each person.