Proverbs 21:3-13

3 1To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
4 2Haughty eyes and a proud heart, 3the lamp[a] of the wicked, are sin.
5 The plans of 4the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is 5hasty comes 6only to poverty.
6 7The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a 8fleeting 9vapor and a 10snare of death.[b]
7 The violence of the wicked will 11sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just.
8 The way of the guilty 12is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is upright.
9 It is 13better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
11 When 14a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
12 The Righteous One 15observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked down to ruin.
13 16Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.

Cross References 16

  • 1. See Proverbs 15:8; 1 Samuel 15:22
  • 2. See Proverbs 6:17; Psalms 101:5
  • 3. 1 Kings 11:36
  • 4. Proverbs 10:4
  • 5. [Proverbs 19:2]
  • 6. [Proverbs 11:24; Proverbs 14:23; Proverbs 22:16]
  • 7. Proverbs 20:21; See Proverbs 10:2
  • 8. [Proverbs 13:11]
  • 9. Job 13:25
  • 10. [Proverbs 8:36]
  • 11. [Jeremiah 30:23]
  • 12. [Proverbs 2:15]
  • 13. Proverbs 25:24; [ver. 19; Proverbs 19:13; Proverbs 27:15]
  • 14. Proverbs 19:25; See Psalms 1:1
  • 15. Psalms 37:35, 36
  • 16. [James 2:13]; See Matthew 18:30-34

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Or the plowing
  • [b]. Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Latin; most Hebrew manuscripts vapor for those who seek death
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.