Proverbs 21:10

10 The souls of the wicked desire evil; their neighbors find no mercy in their 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 The way of the guilty is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is right.

9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious wife.

10 The souls of the wicked desire evil; their neighbors find no mercy in their eyes.

11 When a scoffer is punished, the simple become wiser; when the wise are instructed, they increase in knowledge.

12 The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked; he casts the wicked down to ruin.