Berean Standard Bible
Proverbs 16:10
10A divine verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth must not betray justice.
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 a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice. 9A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. A divine verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth must not betray justice. 11Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are His concern. 12Wicked behavior is detestable for kings, for a throne is established through 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 16:12Wicked behavior is detestable for kings, for a throne is established through righteousness.
- Genesis 44:5Is this not the cup my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wicked!’”
- Deuteronomy 17:18When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
- 2 Samuel 23:3The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, ‘He who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,
- Psalms 45:6Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
- Psalms 72:1Endow the king with Your justice, O God, and the son of the king with Your righteousness.
- Psalms 99:4The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob.
- Isaiah 32:1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.
- Jeremiah 23:5Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Hosea 10:4They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
- Amos 5:7There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
- Amos 6:12“Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison 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
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