God’s Word Translation
Proverbs 16:6
6By mercy and faithfulness, peace is made with the Lord. By the fear of the Lord, evil is avoided.
Proverbs 16:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.
- New International Version (NIV)Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.
- English Standard Version (ESV)By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
- New King James Version (NKJV)In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.
Context of Proverbs 16:6
4The Lord has made everything for his own purpose, even wicked people for the day of trouble. 5Everyone with a conceited heart is disgusting to the Lord. Certainly, ⌞such a person⌟ will not go unpunished. By mercy and faithfulness, peace is made with the Lord. By the fear of the Lord, evil is avoided. 7When a person’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. 8Better a few ⌞possessions⌟ gained honestly than many gained through injustice.
Read all of Proverbs 16Proverbs 16:6 word by word
בְּחֶ֣סֶד וֶ֭אֱמֶת יְכֻפַּ֣ר עָוֹ֑ן וּבְיִרְאַ֥ת יְ֝הוָ֗ה ס֣וּר מֵרָֽע׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- By mercyחֶ֫סֶדchêsêd · kindnessH2617
- and truthאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: faithfulH571
- iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
- is purgedכִּפֶּרkâphar · to atoneH3722
- and by the fearיִרְאָהyir'âh · fearH3374
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- departסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: departH5493
- from evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
Cross-references for Proverbs 16:6
- Proverbs 20:28Mercy and truth protect a king, and with mercy he maintains his throne.
- Psalms 85:10Mercy and truth have met. Righteousness and peace have kissed.
- Daniel 4:27“That is why, Your Majesty, my best advice is that you stop sinning, and do what is right. Stop committing the same errors, and have pity on the poor. Maybe you can prolong your prosperity.”
- Micah 7:18Who is a God like you? You forgive sin and overlook the rebellion of your faithful people. You will not be angry forever, because you would rather show mercy.
- Luke 11:41Give what is inside as a gift to the poor, and then everything will be clean for you.
- John 15:2He removes every one of my branches that doesn’t produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit.
- Acts 15:9God doesn’t discriminate between Jewish and non-Jewish people. He has cleansed non-Jewish people through faith as he has cleansed us Jews.
- 1 Peter 1:22Love each other with a warm love that comes from the heart. After all, you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth. As a result you have a sincere love for each other.
- Proverbs 8:13To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, evil behavior, and twisted speech.
- Proverbs 14:16A wise person is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is careless and overconfident.
- Genesis 20:11Abraham said, “I thought that because there are no God-fearing people in this place, I’d be killed because of my wife.
- Nehemiah 5:9I added, “What you’re doing is wrong. Shouldn’t you live in the fear of our God to keep our enemies from ridiculing us?
- Job 1:1A man named Job lived in Uz. He was a man of integrity: He was decent, he feared God, and he stayed away from evil.
- 2 Corinthians 7:1Since we have these promises, dear friends, we need to cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit and live a holy life in the fear of God.
- Ephesians 5:21Place yourselves under each other’s authority out of respect for Christ.
Commentaries on Proverbs 16:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6By mercy and truth iniquity is purged - This may be misunderstood, as if a man, by showing mercy and acting according to truth, could atone for his own iniquity. The Hebrew text is not ambiguous: עון יכפר ואמת בחסד bechesed veemeth yechapper avon ; "By mercy and truth he shall atone for iniquity." He - God, by his mercy, in sending his son Jesus into the world, - "shall make an atonement for iniquity" according to his truth - the word which he declared by…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Compare Proverbs 15:8. “By mercy and truth,” not by sacrifices and burnt-offerings, “iniquity is purged, atoned for, expiated.” The teaching is the same as that of the prophets.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6Verse 6 By the mercy and truth of God in Christ Jesus, the sins of believers are taken away, and the power of sin is broken.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6God's constant love and faithfulness are key in his covenant with Israel (see Exodus 15:13; 34:6–7; Numbers 14:18–19; Deuteronomy 7:9–11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. By mercy and truth--that is, God's (Psa 85:10); He effects the atonement, or covering of sin; and the principles of true piety incline men to depart from evil; or, "mercy" and "truth" may be man's, indicative of the gracious tempers which work instrumentally in procuring pardon. purged--expiated (as in Le 16:33; Is 27:9, Hebrew).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 16:6
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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