Proverbs 21:1-6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 21
1 A king’s heart is channeled water in the hand of the Lord;
God directs it where he pleases.[a]
2 All your ways may be straight in your own eyes,
but it is the Lord who weighs hearts.(A)
3 To do what is right and just(B)
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.[b]
4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
the lamp of the wicked will fail.[c]
5 The plans of the diligent end in profit,
but those of the hasty end in loss.[d]
6 Trying to get rich by lying
is chasing a bubble over deadly snares.
Footnotes
- 21:1 “Channeled water” in Is 32:2 and Prv 5:16 is water that fertilizes arid land. It takes great skill to direct water, whether it be water to fertilize fields or cosmic floods harnessed at creation, for water is powerful and seems to have a mind of its own. It also requires great skill to direct the heart of a king, for it is inscrutable and beyond ordinary human control.
- 21:3 External rites or sacrifices do not please God unless accompanied by internal worship and right moral conduct; cf. 15:8; 21:27; Is 1:11–15; Am 5:22; Mal 1:12.
- 21:4 Heart and eyes depict, respectively, the inner and the outer person. “Haughty eyes” peering out from a “proud heart” show a thoroughly arrogant person. How can such a person flourish! Their lamp, which signifies life, will go out.
- 21:5 The antitheses are diligent and impetuous. The metaphor characterizing each type is taken from the world of commerce. Planning is important; bustle leads to waste.
Proverbs 21:10-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
10 The soul of the wicked desires evil;
their neighbor finds no pity in their eyes.
11 When scoffers are punished the naive become wise;
when the wise succeed, they gain knowledge.(A)
12 The Righteous One appraises the house of the wicked,
bringing down the wicked to ruin.[a]
13 Those who shut their ears to the cry of the poor
will themselves call out and not be answered.
Footnotes
- 21:12 It is difficult to ascertain the subject of the saying. Some hold it is the Lord, the “Righteous One,” who is normally the executor of justice in Proverbs. Others believe it is the just person who is the agent of divine justice. “Righteous One” is a title for God in Is 24:16. The best argument for making God the subject of the verb is that elsewhere in Proverbs righteous human beings never do anything to the wicked; only God does.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.