Proverbs 21:6

Proverbs 21:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
• New International Version (NIV)A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Getting treasures by a lying tongue Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.

Context of Proverbs 21:6

4The lamp that guides the wicked — haughty eyes and an arrogant heart — is sin. 5The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor. Making a fortune through a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death. 7The violence of the wicked sweeps them away because they refuse to act justly. 8A guilty one’s conduct is crooked, but the behavior of the innocent is upright.

Proverbs 21:6 word by word

פֹּ֣עַל א֭וֹצָרוֹת בִּלְשׁ֣וֹן שָׁ֑קֶר הֶ֥בֶל נִ֝דָּ֗ף מְבַקְשֵׁי־מָֽוֶת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The gettingפֹּ֫עַלpô‛al · workH6467
• of treasuresאוֹצָר'ôtsâr · treasureH214
• by a lyingשֶׁ֫קֶרsheqer · deceptionH8267
• tongueלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
• a vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• tossed to and fro ofנָדַףnâdaph · to driveH5086
• them that seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194

Cross-references for Proverbs 21:6

• Proverbs 10:2Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death.
• Proverbs 13:11Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle, but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it.
• Proverbs 20:14“It’s worthless, it’s worthless!” the buyer says, but after he is on his way, he gloats.
• Proverbs 22:8The one who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
• Proverbs 30:8Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need.
• Jeremiah 17:11He who makes a fortune unjustly is like a partridge that hatches eggs it didn’t lay. In the middle of his life his riches will abandon him, so in the end he will be a fool.
• 1 Timothy 6:9But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
• 2 Peter 2:3They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.
• Proverbs 8:36but the one who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
• Ezekiel 18:31Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel?

Commentaries on Proverbs 21:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Of them that seek death - Instead of מבקשי mebakshey, "them that seek," several MSS., some ancient editions, with Symmachus, the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Arabic, have מקשי mokeshey, the snares. He who gets treasures by a lying tongue, pursues vanity into the snares of death. Our common translation may be as good. But he who, by the snares of his tongue, endeavors to buy and sell to the best advantage, is pursuing what is empty in itself; and he is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Vanity - Or, “a breath driven to and fro of those that are seeking death.” Another reading of the last words is: “of the snares of death” (compare 1 Timothy 6:9). Some commentators have suggested that the “vapor” or “mist” is the mirage of the desert, misleading those who follow it, and becoming a “net of death.”Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6Verse 6 While men seek wealth by unlawful practices, they seek death.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. The getting--or, "what is obtained" (compare Job 7:2; Jr 22:13, Hebrew). vanity ... to and fro--as fleeting as chaff or stubble in the wind (compare Pr 20:17-21; Psa 62:10). Such gettings are unsatisfactory. them ... death--act as if they did (Pr 8:36; 17:19).Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 21:6

• Falsehood
• Riches
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Mind
• Ponder
• Toss
• Death
• Get; Getting
• Proverb
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Vanity, Vanities

Commentaries on Proverbs 21

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings