“Pride comes before a fall”

The actual verse

Proverbs 16:18 (BSB):

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

The KJV (1769):

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

What the paraphrase changes

The verse contains two clauses joined by parallelism:

• First clause: “Pride goes before destruction”
• Second clause: “a haughty spirit before a fall”

The common saying — “Pride comes before a fall” — compresses these two into one and drops the word “destruction.” The idea is preserved, but the verse’s parallel structure and stronger first image are not.

The surrounding passage

Proverbs 16 is a chapter of standalone proverbs, most addressing kings, justice, speech, and human conduct. The verses immediately surrounding 16:18 (BSB):

17 The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life. 18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 19 Better to be lowly in spirit among the humble than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Original language

The Hebrew text is structured as synonymous parallelism, in which the second clause restates the first using different words:

• gā’ôn (גָּאוֹן, “pride, majesty”) and gōvah-rûaḥ (גֹּבַהּ־רוּחַ, “haughtiness of spirit”)
• shever (שֶׁבֶר, “breaking, fracture, destruction”) and kishalon (כִּשָּׁלוֹן, “stumbling, falling”)

This is a standard pattern in the wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible. The two clauses are not separate predictions — they are one idea expressed twice for emphasis.