Proverbs 21:4-14

4 ¹Haughty eyes and a proud heart, ²the lamp^[a] of the wicked, are sin.

5 The plans of ³the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is ⁴hasty comes ⁵only to poverty.

6 ⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a ⁷fleeting ⁸vapor and a ⁹snare of death. ^[b]

7 The violence of the wicked will ¹⁰sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just.

8 The way of the guilty ¹¹is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is upright.

9 It is ¹²better 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 ¹³a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

12 The Righteous One ¹⁴observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked down to ruin.

13 ¹⁵Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.

14 ¹⁶A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, ^[c] strong wrath.

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

Footnotes

• [a] 21:4 Or 'the plowing'
• [b] 21:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Latin; most Hebrew manuscripts 'vapor for those who seek death'
• [c] 21:14 Hebrew 'a bribe in the bosom'