Iron sharpens iron is the proverb for a friend who will not leave you dull.
Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.
As iron sharpens iron,
so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend.
The edge does not come from solitude.
It comes from another piece of the same metal,
struck the right way.
A blade left alone loses its bite. Proverbs puts two irons together and calls the sparks a gift.
- The countenance of a friend is the face you wear into the day—counsel, correction, a word in season.
- Open rebuke is better than hidden love.
- The wounds of a friend are faithful.
- Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
This is not a license to be harsh.
- A soft answer turns away wrath.
- The tongue of the wise brings healing.
Sharpening is purposeful. It takes the burr off so the edge can cut what it was made to cut.
Paul told the saints to
- admonish the idle,
- encourage the fainthearted,
- help the weak,
- and be patient with them all.
- Bear one another’s burdens.
- Speak the truth in love.
Jesus washed feet and also said Get behind Me when a friend tried to talk Him off the cross.
The church is the shop. Lone-wolf faith stays blunt. Two walking together keep one another from falling. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. The devil prefers you isolated. Iron on iron is how brothers refuse him that win.
- Sharpening assumes both pieces are iron. A friend, not a spectator.
- Countenance means the life shows the edge—or the dullness.
- Wounds of a friend are faithful. Hidden love leaves the blade soft.
- Soft answer and sharp truth live in the same proverb book.
- Admonish, encourage, help, be patient—the shop has more than one tool.
- Get behind Me is sharpening when a friend’s counsel is the tempter’s line.
- Isolation is how an edge dies. The proverb requires another man.
- The Proverb – One man sharpens another.
- The Face – Countenance of a friend; counsel you can see.
- Faithful Wounds – Open rebuke; better than hidden love.
- The Manner – Soft answer; truth in love; patience with all.
- The Shop – Admonish; encourage; help the weak.
- The Limit – Not every strike is from the Lord. Test the edge.
- The Cord – Two are better; a friend who sticks closer.
- Proverbs 27:17 – “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
- Proverbs 27:5-6 – “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”
- Proverbs 27:9 – Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
- Proverbs 27:17 – As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
- Proverbs 15:1 – A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- Proverbs 12:18 – There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 – Two are better than one… if they fall, one will lift up his fellow… a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11, 14 – Encourage one another and build one another up… Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
- Galatians 6:1-2 – If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness… Bear one another’s burdens.
- Ephesians 4:15 – Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.
- Proverbs 18:24 – There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
- Matthew 16:23 – “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.”
- Hebrews 10:24 – Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
- James 5:16 – Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend.
The sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
Speaking the truth in love, we grow up into Him who is the head.
Two are better than one. A friend sticks closer than a brother.
Do not stay dull and call it peace. Let a friend strike the edge. Speak so the face is sharper, not shattered. Hidden love leaves the blade soft. Faithful wounds heal. Stay near enough to be sharpened.
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