Proverbs 30:33

For as the churning ¹  of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger ²  produces strife. ³ 

biblegateway Pro 30:33

For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife."

biblegateway Pro 30:33

For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose brings forth blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.

biblegateway Pro 30:33

As the beating of cream yields butter, and a blow to the nose causes bleeding, so anger causes quarrels.

biblegateway Pro 30:33

Don't be surprised if someone bloodies your nose. Churned milk turns into butter; riled emotions turn into fist fights.

SABDAweb Pro 30:33

The shaking of milk makes butter, and the twisting of the nose makes blood come: so the forcing of wrath is a cause of fighting.

bibleoremus Pro 30:33

For as pressing milk produces curds, and pressing the nose produces blood, so pressing anger produces strife.

biblegateway Pro 30:33

For as the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood, So the forcing of wrath produces strife.

biblegateway Pro 30:33

For as the churning ¹  of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger ²  produces strife. ³ 

¹ tn This line provides the explanation for the instruction to keep silent in the previous verse. It uses two images to make the point, and in so doing repeats two words throughout. The first is the word מִיץ (mits), which is translated (in sequence) “churning,” “punching,” and “stirring up.” The form is a noun, and BDB 568 s.v. suggests translating it as “squeezing” in all three places, even in the last where it describes the pressure or the insistence on strife. This noun occurs only here. The second repeated word, the verb יוֹצִיא (yotsir), also occurs three times; it is the Hiphil imperfect, meaning “produces” (i.e., causes to go out).

² sn There is a subtle wordplay here with the word for anger: It is related to the word for nose in the preceding colon.

³ sn The analogy indicates that continuously pressing certain things will yield results, some good, some bad. So pressing anger produces strife. The proverb advises people to strive for peace and harmony through humility and righteousness. To do that will require “letting up” on anger.