“Pride comes before a fall.”

The verse reads "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Destruction comes first in the sentence, and it is the heavier word of the two.

This one is genuinely in the Bible, which is why the paraphrase survives so easily. But Proverbs is built on parallel lines, and this verse gives two: pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. The popular version splices the pride of the first line onto the fall of the second and throws destruction away entirely. That matters, because a fall can sound like a stumble, a bruised ego, a lesson learned over coffee. Destruction does not sound like that. Solomon is describing something that ends a man, not something that embarrasses him. Keeping both lines also keeps the second half's warning about a haughty spirit, which is pride at the level of settled disposition rather than a single arrogant moment.

One word, every week.

Scripture, reflection, and one thing to carry with you.