Proverbs 21:1-14

1 In the LORD’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.

2 A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart.

3 To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.

5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

6 A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.^[a]

7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to do what is right.

8 The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

9 Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

10 The wicked crave evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them.

11 When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge.

12 The Righteous One^[b] takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.

13 Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.

14 A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.

Proverbs 21:1-14 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. Esther 5:1; Jeremiah 39:11-12
• 2. S Proverbs 16:2; Proverbs 24:12; Luke 16:15
• 3. S 1 Samuel 15:22; Proverbs 15:8; Isaiah 1:11; Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8
• 4. S Job 41:34; Proverbs 6:17
• 5. S Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 28:22
• 6. S Proverbs 10:2; 2 Peter 2:3
• 7. S Proverbs 11:5
• 8. S Proverbs 2:15
• 9. ver 19; Proverbs 19:13; Proverbs 25:24
• 10. S Proverbs 19:25
• 11. S Proverbs 14:11
• 12. S Exodus 11:6
• 13. S Job 29:12; Matthew 18:30-34; James 2:13
• 14. S Genesis 32:20; Proverbs 18:16; Proverbs 19:6

Footnotes

• [a]. Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts "vapor for those who seek death"
• [b]. Or "The righteous person"