Proverbs 21:10

10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor will not find mercy in his eyes.

Proverbs 21:10 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 21:10

The soul of the wicked desireth evil
The evil of sin, it being natural to him; he chooses it, delights in it, craves after it, under a notion of pleasure or profit: or the evil of mischief; it is a sport and pastime to him to do injury to others; see ( Proverbs 10:23 ) ; he desires both the one and the other with all his soul; his heart is in it, he is set upon it, which shows him to be a wicked man; his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes;
not only he delights to do mischief to an enemy or a stranger, but even to a neighbour and friend; he will do him no kindness, though he asks it of him; he will show him no mercy, though an object of it; he will spare him not, but do him an injury, if he attempts to hinder or dissuade him from doing mischief, or reproves him for it.

Proverbs 21:10 In-Context

8 Crooked is the way of a man and a foreigner, but the pure [is] upright [in] his conduct.

9 Better to dwell on the corner of a roof than [to] share a house with a woman of contention.

10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor will not find mercy in his eyes.

11 With the punishment of a scoffer, the simple will become wise, and with the instruction of the wise, he will obtain knowledge.

12 The righteous observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked to ruin.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "soul, life, throat"