Proverbs 21:9-19

9 It is ¹better 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 ²a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

12 The Righteous One ³observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked down to ruin.

13 ⁴Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.

14 ⁵A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe,^[a] strong wrath.

15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous ⁶but terror to evildoers.

16 One who wanders from the way of good sense ⁷will rest in the assembly of the dead.

17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

18 ⁸The wicked is a ⁹ransom for the righteous, and the traitor for the upright.

19 It is ¹⁰better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

Proverbs 21:9-19 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.

Cross References

• 1. Proverbs 25:24; [ver. 19; Proverbs 19:13; Proverbs 27:15]
• 2. Proverbs 19:25; See Psalms 1:1
• 3. Psalms 37:35, 36
• 4. [James 2:13]; See Matthew 18:30-34
• 5. [Proverbs 17:8; Proverbs 18:16]
• 6. [Proverbs 10:29]
• 7. [Psalms 49:14]
• 8. [Proverbs 11:8]
• 9. Isaiah 43:3
• 10. [ver. 9]

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew a bribe in the bosom