Contention—found twenty times in twenty verses
Strife—found eighty-nine times in eighty-two verses
Variations: contention, contentions, contentious, strife, strifes, strive, strived, striven, striveth, striving, strivings, strove
First usage of contention: Proverbs 13:10 (contention)
Last usage of contention: Titus 3:9 (contentions)
First usage of strife: Genesis 6:3 (strive)
Last usage of strife: James 3:16 (strife)
Defined: conflict, strife, or the act of contending
Interesting fact: In the late 1600s, poet and playwright William Congreve wrote “Heaven has no rage, like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury, like a woman scorned.” The latter part of the phrase is commonly paraphrased to say, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” In similar fashion, the scripture identifies the difficulties of living with a contentious woman stating that her contentions are like a continual dropping (Proverbs 19:13; Proverbs 27:15) and that it would be better to dwell in the wilderness (Proverbs 21:19) or in the corner of the housetop than with her (Proverbs 21:9; Proverbs 25:24).
Bible study tip: In modern English, sentences begin with a capital letter, however, in scripture this is not always the case. In some cases, an exclamation point (1 Samuel 4:8) or question mark (Genesis 4:10) might be followed by a lower case letter. A period, however, will never be followed by a lower case letter. This pattern also holds true in many of the old hymns of the faith. Take time to consider why these differences might be used within any particular passage.
Sunday, Day 64—Church Day (no devotional)
Monday, Day 65—What Is Strife?
Tuesday, Day 66—By Pride Cometh Contention
Wednesday, Day 67—Church Night (no devotional)
Thursday, Day 68—Strive Not Without Cause
Friday, Day 69—The Castle Bars
Saturday, Day 70—Strife Harms the Innocent
Day 64: Church Day
Proverbs 17:14 The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.