American Standard Version
Proverbs 16:10
10A divine sentence is in the lips of the king;His mouth shall not transgress in judgment.
Proverbs 16:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
- New International Version (NIV)The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth does not betray justice.
- English Standard Version (ESV)An oracle is on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Divination is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment.
Context of Proverbs 16:10
8Better is a little, with righteousness, Than great revenues with injustice. 9A man’s heart deviseth his way; But Jehovah directeth his steps. A divine sentence is in the lips of the king; His mouth shall not transgress in judgment. 11A just balance and scales are Jehovah’s; All the weights of the bag are his work. 12It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness; For the throne is established by righteousness.
Read all of Proverbs 16Proverbs 16:10 word by word
קֶ֤סֶם׀ עַֽל־שִׂפְתֵי־מֶ֑לֶךְ בְּ֝מִשְׁפָּ֗ט לֹ֣א יִמְעַל־פִּֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Proverbs 16:10
- Proverbs 16:12It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness; For the throne is established by righteousness.
- Genesis 44:5Is not this that in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
- Deuteronomy 17:18And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
- 2 Samuel 23:3The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me: One that ruleth over men righteously, That ruleth in the fear of God,
- Psalms 45:6Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
- Psalms 72:1Give the king thy judgments, O God, And thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
- Psalms 99:4The king’s strength also loveth justice; Thou dost establish equity; Thou executest justice and righteousness in Jacob.
- Isaiah 32:1Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice.
- Jeremiah 23:5Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
- Hosea 10:4They speakvainwords, swearing falsely in making covenants: therefore judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.
- Amos 5:7Ye who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth,
- Amos 6:12Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plowtherewith oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;
Commentaries on Proverbs 16:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10A divine sentence - קסם kesem, "divination," as the margin has it. Is the meaning as follows? Though divination were applied to a righteous king's lips, to induce him to punish the innocent and spare the guilty, yet would not his lips transgress in judgment; so firmly attached is he to God, and so much is he under the Divine care and influence. Whatever judgment such a one pronounces, it may be considered as a decision from God.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10A divine sentence - See the margin, i. e., “soothsaying” in its darker aspect as contrasted with prophecy. The true oracle is to be sought, not from soothsayers and diviners, but “at the lips of the king,” who is ideally the representative, the ́ prophētēs of Yahweh, in His government of mankind.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10Divine wisdom is guidance from a divine source that helps the king make decisions (for example, 1 Kings 3:28; see also Psalm 72:2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. The last clause depends on the first, expressing the importance of equity in decisions, so authoritative.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 16:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries