Proverbs 21:1-9

1 A king's heart is a water channel in the Lord's hand: He directs it wherever He chooses.

2 All the ways of a man seem right to him, but the Lord evaluates the motives.^[a]

3 Doing what is righteous and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.^[b]

4 The lamp^[c] that guides the wicked- haughty eyes and an arrogant heart^[d]-is sin.

5 The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless only becomes poor.^[e]

6 Making a fortune through a lying tongue is a vanishing mist,^[f] a pursuit of death.^{[g] [h]}

7 The violence of the wicked sweeps them away because they refuse to act justly.

8 A guilty man's conduct is crooked, but the behavior of the innocent is upright.^[i]

9 Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.^[j]

Proverbs 21:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 9

This chapter relates a second vision Solomon had at Gibeon, in which he received an answer to his prayer in the preceding chapter, 1Ki 9:1-9 that passed between him and Hiram king of Tyre, 1Ki 9:10-14, the places that Solomon built or repaired, 1Ki 9:15-19, the Canaanitish people that became bondmen to him, and the officers he had among the children of Israel, 1Ki 9:20-23 the removal of Pharaoh's daughter to the house built for her, 1Ki 9:24. Solomon's attention to religious services, 1Ki 9:25 and the navy of ships he employed, which brought him in great riches, 1Ki 9:26-28.

Footnotes

• [a]. Pr 12:15; 16:2; 17:3
• [b]. 1 Sm 15:22; Hs 6:6; Mt 9:13
• [c]. Some Hb mss, ancient versions read tillage
• [d]. Pr 6:16-17; 30:13; Ps 101:5
• [e]. Pr 10:4; 14:23; 21:20
• [f]. Or a breath blown away
• [g]. Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg read a snare of death
• [h]. Lit is vanity, ones seeking death
• [i]. Pr 20:11
• [j]. Pr 15:16-17; 17:1; 21:19; 25:24