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.

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Cross References 16

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

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Or the plowing
  • [b]. Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Latin; most Hebrew manuscripts vapor for those who seek death
  • [c]. Hebrew a bribe in the bosom
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.