Proverbs 21

Proverbs 21

¹The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord ;

he turns it wherever he will.

²All deeds are right in the sight of the doer,[#Prov 16.2; Lk 16.15]

but the Lord weighs the heart.

³To do righteousness and justice[#1 Sam 15.22; Mic 6.7, 8]

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart—[#Prov 6.17]

the lamp of the wicked—are sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,[#Prov 10.4]

but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.

⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue[#2 Pet 2.3]

is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away[#Prov 10.25]

because they refuse to do what is just.

⁸The way of the guilty is crooked,

but the conduct of the pure is right.

⁹It is better to live in a corner of the housetop[#Prov 25.24]

than in a house shared with a contentious wife.

¹⁰The souls of the wicked desire evil;[#Prov 2.14; 14.21]

their neighbors find no mercy in their eyes.

¹¹When a scoffer is punished, the simple become wiser;[#Prov 19.25]

when the wise are instructed, they increase in knowledge.

¹²The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;[#Prov 14.11]

he casts the wicked down to ruin.

¹³If you close your ear to the cry of the poor,[#Mt 18.30–34; Jas 2.13; 1 Jn 3.17]

you will cry out and not be heard.

¹⁴A gift in secret averts anger,[#Prov 18.16]

and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

¹⁵When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous

but dismay to evildoers.

¹⁶Whoever wanders from the way of understanding[#Ps 49.14]

will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷Whoever loves pleasure will suffer want;

whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich.

¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous[#Prov 11.8]

and the faithless for the upright.

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land

than with a contentious and fretful wife.

²⁰Precious treasure remains in the house of the wise,[#Job 20.15, 18; Prov 22.4; #21.20 Gk: Heb and oil]

but the fool devours it.

²¹Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness[#Mt 5.6]

will find life and honor.

²²One wise person went up against a city of warriors[#Eccl 9.15, 16]

and brought down the stronghold in which they trusted.

²³To watch over mouth and tongue[#Prov 12.13; Jas 3.2]

is to keep out of trouble.

²⁴The proud, haughty person, named Scoffer,[#Ps 1.1; Prov 1.22; Isa 16.6; Jer 48.29]

acts with arrogant pride.

²⁵The craving of the lazy person is fatal,[#Prov 13.4]

for lazy hands refuse to labor.

²⁶All day long the wicked covet,[#Ps 37.26; Mt 5.42; Eph 4.28; #21.26 Gk: Heb all day long one covets covetously]

but the righteous give and do not hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;[#Isa 66.3; Jer 6.20; Am 5.22]

how much more when brought with evil intent.

²⁸A false witness will perish,

but a good listener will testify successfully.

²⁹The wicked put on a bold face,[#Eccl 8.1]

but the upright give thought to their ways.

³⁰No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel[#Isa 8.9, 10; Jer 9.23]

can avail against the Lord .

³¹The horse is made ready for the day of battle,[#Ps 3.8; Isa 31.1; 1 Cor 15.28]

but the victory belongs to the Lord .