EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Proverbs 14:21
21It is a sin if you do not respect your neighbour. But if you are kind to helpless people, God will bless you.
Proverbs 14:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
- New International Version (NIV)It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Context of Proverbs 14:21
19Evil people will respect good people. Wicked people will ask righteous people to be kind to them. 20Even the neighbours of poor people do not like them. But rich people have many friends. It is a sin if you do not respect your neighbour. But if you are kind to helpless people, God will bless you. 22People who want to do evil things have lost their way. But those who want to do good things show faithful love. 23If you work hard, something good will come. But if you only talk about it, you will become poor.
Read all of Proverbs 14Proverbs 14:21 word by word
בָּז־לְרֵעֵ֥הוּ חוֹטֵ֑א וּמְחוֹנֵ֖ן עֲנָוִ֣ים אַשְׁרָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 14:21
- Proverbs 11:12When someone insults his neighbour, it shows that he is foolish. But a wise person stays quiet.
- Proverbs 17:5If you laugh at poor people, you are insulting God, who made them. If you are happy when trouble happens to other people, you will receive the punishment that you deserve.
- Proverbs 18:3When a wicked person arrives, shame comes with him. And shame causes people to speak against you.
- Job 31:13When my servants complain against me, I have always been fair to them.
- Job 35:5Look up at the sky to see what is there. Look at the clouds that are so high above you.
- Psalms 22:24God did not forget to help the man who was in pain. He did not turn away from the one who suffered. When he called to God for help, God answered his prayer.
- Luke 18:9Jesus told a story to teach other people. These people thought that they were very good in front of God. They thought that they were much better than other people.
- James 2:5My Christian friends, listen to me. God has chosen to bless people who are poor in this world. He has helped them to trust him. So really they are rich. God will give to them a place in his kingdom. He has promised to do that for all people who love him.
- Proverbs 14:31If you are cruel to poor people, you are insulting God who created them. But if you are kind to helpless people, it shows that you respect God.
- Proverbs 11:24Somebody may share his things with other people, but he still becomes richer. Somebody else may keep the things that he should give to others, but he still becomes poor.
- Proverbs 19:17If you are kind to poor people, you are lending money to the Lord. He will pay back the debt to you.
- Daniel 4:27So King Nebuchadnezzar, please do as I suggest. Stop doing bad things. Start to do things that are right. Turn away from your sins. Instead, be kind to poor people. Then, perhaps, you will continue to be comfortable and happy.’
- Matthew 25:34The king will say to those people who are on his right side, “Come here. My Father has been good to you. He has prepared a place for you in his kingdom. That kingdom has been ready for you since the time that God made the world.
- Luke 6:30When anyone asks you for something, give it to him. Someone may take something that belongs to you. If he does, let him keep it. Do not ask to have it back again.
- Acts 20:35In this way I have shown you how you should live. You should work well so that you may help sick or weak people. You should remember what Jesus himself said: “It may make you happy when you receive things. But it makes you more happy when you give things to someone.” ’
- Hebrews 6:12Then you will not be slow to learn. Instead, you will copy the example of those people who continue to trust God. They continue to be patient when trouble happens to them. People like that receive what God has promised to his people.
Commentaries on Proverbs 14:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth - To despise a man because he has some natural blemish is unjust, cruel, and wicked. He is not the author of his own imperfections; they did not occur through his fault or folly; and if he could, he would not retain them. It is, therefore, unjust and wicked to despise him for what is not his fault, but his misfortune. But he that hath mercy on the poor - Who reproaches no man for his poverty or scanty intellect, but…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21Verse 21 To despise a man for his employment or appearance is a sin.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor: See also Proverbs 3:27–28; 11:24; 28:27; 29:7, 14.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. For such contempt of the poor is contrasted as sinful with the virtuous compassion of the good.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 14:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 14
- 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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