Proverbs 21:6

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

Proverbs 21:6 in Other Translations

6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.

6 Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.

6 Make it to the top by lying and cheating; get paid with smoke and a promotion - to death!

6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue Is a vapor driven to and fro by them that seek death.

6 Those who gather wealth by lying are wasting time. They are looking for death.

6 Making a fortune through a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death.

6 A fortune made by people who tell lies amounts to nothing and leads to death.

Proverbs 21:6 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 21:6

The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
By telling lies in trade; by bearing false witness in a court of judicature; or by preaching false doctrines in the church of God: [is] a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death:
such treasures, though ever so great, are like any light thing, smoke or vapour, straw, stubble, chaff, or a feather, tossed about the wind; which is expressive of the instability uncertainty of riches ill gotten; they do not last long, but are taken away and carried off by one providence or another; and they are likewise harmful and pernicious; they issue in death: and those that seek after them, and obtain them in a bad way, are said to "seek death": not intentionally, but eventually; this they certainly find, if grace prevent not; see ( Proverbs 8:36 ) . Jarchi reads it, they are the "snares of death" to him; and so the Septuagint version.

Proverbs 21:6 In-Context

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.

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.

Cross References

• 1. S Proverbs 10:2; 2 Peter 2:3

Footnotes

• [a] Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts "vapor for those who seek death"