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Proverbs 21
1The ’s heart is in the LORD’s hand like the watercourses. He turns it wherever he .
2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts.
3To do and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than .
4A high look and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
5The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit; and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty.
6Getting treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.
7The violence of the wicked will drive them away, because they refuse to do what is right.
8The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
9It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than to share a house with a contentious woman.
10The soul of the wicked evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
11When the mocker is punished, the simple gains wisdom. When the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.
12The One considers the house of the wicked, and brings the wicked to ruin.
13Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard.
14A gift in secret pacifies anger, and a bribe in the cloak, strong wrath.
15It is joy to the to do justice; but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
16The man who wanders out of the way of understanding shall rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.
17He who loves pleasure will be a poor man. He who loves wine and won’t be rich.
18The wicked is a for the , the treacherous for the upright.
19It is better to dwell in a land, than with a contentious and fretful woman.
20There is precious treasure and in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up.
21He who follows after and kindness finds life, righteousness, and honor.
22A wise man scales the city of the mighty, and brings down the strength of its confidence.
23Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.
24The proud and arrogant man—“Scoffer” is his name— he works in the arrogance of pride.
25The of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.
26There are those who covet greedily all day long; but the give and don’t withhold.
27The of the wicked is an abomination— how much more, when he brings it with a wicked mind!
28A false witness will perish. A man who listens speaks to eternity.
29A wicked man hardens his face; but as for the upright, he establishes his ways.
30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
31The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but victory is with the LORD.
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Questions this passage answers
How do I stop committing the same sin over and over?
Scripture answers a repeated sin by changing what the believer reckons to be true, then by naming the ordinary means: consider yourself dead to sin, stop presenting your body to it, bring it out of secrecy by confession, walk by the Spirit, and remove what feeds the desire. It does not promise a single moment that ends the struggle, and it does not treat repeated falling as proof that grace has run out.
How do I trust God when life is difficult?
Biblical trust is not a feeling you generate. It is leaning your weight on what God has revealed about himself, especially when your circumstances suggest otherwise. Scripture builds trust the same way every time: by remembering what God has already done, telling him the truth about what you feel now, and obeying the next small thing while the outcome is still hidden.
How do I know God's will for my life?
Scripture speaks of God's will in two ways. His revealed will is what he has already told us plainly and is not in doubt: holiness, love, gratitude, obedience. His hidden will concerns the future and is not given to us in advance. The Bible directs almost all its attention to the first, and it teaches us to make wise decisions inside it rather than to decode secret guidance.
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
The fear of the LORD is not terror of an unpredictable God. It is the reverence of a creature who has rightly understood who God is, holy, sovereign and near, and who therefore takes him seriously in every decision. Proverbs calls it the beginning of knowledge, because a person who has not reckoned with God has not yet begun to understand anything rightly.