Albert Barnes Commentary Proverbs 18:19

"A brother offended [is harder to be won] than a strong city; And [such] contentions are like the bars of a castle." — Proverbs 18:19 (ASV)

The meaning of the first clause is obtained in the King James Version by the insertion of the words in italics, and it seems, on the whole, to be the best. The Septuagint and Vulgate give an entirely different rendering, based, apparently, on a different text.