Christian Standard Bible
Proverbs 16:10
10God’s verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth should not give an unfair 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 a little with righteousness than great income with injustice. 9A person’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps. God’s verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth should not give an unfair judgment. 11Honest balances and scales are the Lord’s; all the weights in the bag are his concern. 12Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, since 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
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 16:10
- Proverbs 16:12Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, since a throne is established through righteousness.
- Genesis 44:5Isn’t this the cup that my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wrong! ’”
- Deuteronomy 17:18When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself 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, “The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,
- Psalms 45:6Your throne, God, is forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
- Psalms 72:1God, give your justice to the king and your righteousness to the king’s son.
- Psalms 99:4The mighty King loves justice. You have established fairness; you have administered justice and righteousness in Jacob.
- Isaiah 32:1Indeed, a king will reign righteously, and rulers will rule justly.
- Jeremiah 23:5“Look, the days are coming” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will raise up a Righteous Branch for David. He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Hosea 10:4They speak mere words, taking false oaths while making covenants. So lawsuits break out like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
- Amos 5:7Those who turn justice into wormwood also throw righteousness to the ground.
- Amos 6:12Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does anyone plow there with oxen? Yet 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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