Proverbs 21:1-10

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.

Proverbs 21:1-10 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

Footnotes

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