Proverbs

Proverbs 21

31 verses · Wisdom · Old Testament

1The king’s heart is in Yahweh’s hand like the watercourses. He turns it wherever he desires. 2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the hearts. 3To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice. 4A high look and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, is sin. 5The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit; and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty. 6Getting treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death. 7The violence of the wicked will drive them away, because they refuse to do what is right. 8The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright. 9It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than to share a house with a contentious woman. 10The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes. 11When the mocker is punished, the simple gains wisdom. When the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge. 12The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked, and brings the wicked to ruin. 13Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard. 14A gift in secret pacifies anger, and a bribe in the cloak, strong wrath. 15It is joy to the righteous to do justice; but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity. 16The man who wanders out of the way of understanding shall rest in the assembly of the departed spirits. 17He who loves pleasure will be a poor man. He who loves wine and oil won’t be rich. 18The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, the treacherous for the upright. 19It is better to dwell in a desert land, than with a contentious and fretful woman. 20There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man swallows it up. 21He who follows after righteousness and kindness finds life, righteousness, and honor. 22A wise man scales the city of the mighty, and brings down the strength of its confidence. 23Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles. 24The proud and arrogant man—“Scoffer” is his name— he works in the arrogance of pride. 25The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. 26There are those who covet greedily all day long; but the righteous give and don’t withhold. 27The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination— how much more, when he brings it with a wicked mind! 28A false witness will perish. A man who listens speaks to eternity. 29A wicked man hardens his face; but as for the upright, he establishes his ways. 30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh. 31The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but victory is with Yahweh.

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What others are saying

4 commentators · 118 notes on this chapter

Matthew HenryEnglish Puritan / Nonconformist · 1708–171428

Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.

Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.

v. 2

Note, 1. We are all apt to be partial in judging of ourselves and our own actions, and to think too favourably of our own character, as if there was nothing amiss in it: Every way of a man, even his by-way, is right in his own eyes. The proud heart is very…

v. 3

Here, 1. It is implied that many deceive themselves with a conceit that, if they offer sacrifice, that will excuse them from doing justice, and procure them a dispensation for their unrighteousness; and this makes their way seem right, Pro 21:2. We have…

v. 4

This may be taken as showing us, 1. The marks of a wicked man. He that has a high look and a proud heart, that carries himself insolently and scornfully towards both God and man, and that is always ploughing and plotting, designing and devising some mischief…

John GillParticular Baptist / High Calvinist · 1746–176331

The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.

Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.

v. 1

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water,.... The heart of every king, and all that is in it, his thoughts, counsels, purposes, and designs; the hearts of bad kings, as Pharaoh, whom the Lord hardened and softened at pleasure; the…

v. 2

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,.... This is repeated, from Proverbs 16:2; for the confirmation of it; and that it might be observed and taken notice of, and men be brought under a conviction of it; which is not easily done, it being what affects…

v. 3

To do justice and judgment,.... The moral duties of religion, what is holy, just, and good, which the law requires; what is agreeably to both tables, piety towards God, and justice to men; that which is just and right between man and man; which, especially if…

Keil & DelitzschGerman Lutheran, conservative-critical · 1861–187530

The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.

Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.

v. 1

The group, like the preceding one, now closes with a proverb of the king. A king's heart in Jahve's hand is like brooks of water; He turneth it whithersoever He will. Brook and canal (the Quinta: ὑδραγωγοί) are both called פּלג, or פּלג, Job 20:17, Arab…

v. 2

The next group extends from Pro 21:2 to Pro 21:8, where it closes as it began. 2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes; But a weigher of hearts is Jahve. A proverb similar to Pro 16:2 (where דּרכי, for דּרך, זך for ישׁר, רוּחות for לבּות). God is also…

v. 3

3 To practice justice and right Hath with Jahve the pre-eminence above sacrifice. We have already (vol. i. p. 42) shown how greatly this depreciation of the works of the ceremonial cultus, as compared with the duties of moral obedience, is in the spirit of…

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownScottish Presbyterian / Reformed · 187129

The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.

Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.

v. 2

(Compare Pro 14:2; Pro. 16:2-25).

v. 3

(Compare Psa 50:7-15; Isa 1:11, Isa 1:17).

v. 4

high look--(Compare Margin; Psa 131:1). proud heart--or, "heart of breadth," one that is swollen (compare Psa 101:5). ploughing--better "lamp," a frequent figure for prosperity (Pro 20:20); hence joy or delight.

World English Bible — Public domain