21 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
    he (A)turns it wherever he will.
(B)Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
    but the Lord (C)weighs the heart.
(D)To do righteousness and justice
    is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
(E)Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    (F)the lamp[a] of the wicked, are sin.
The plans of (G)the diligent lead surely to abundance,
    but everyone who is (H)hasty comes (I)only to poverty.
(J)The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
    is a (K)fleeting (L)vapor and a (M)snare of death.[b]
The violence of the wicked will (N)sweep them away,
    because they refuse to do what is just.
The way of the guilty (O)is crooked,
    but the conduct of the pure is upright.
It is (P)better 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 (Q)a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;
    when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
12 The Righteous One (R)observes the house of the wicked;
    he throws the wicked down to ruin.
13 (S)Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
    will himself call out and not be answered.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:4 Or the plowing
  2. Proverbs 21:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Latin; most Hebrew manuscripts vapor for those who seek death

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