King James Version
Proverbs 20:21
21An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.
Proverbs 20:21 in other versions
- New International Version (NIV)An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end.
- English Standard Version (ESV)An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.
- New King James Version (NKJV)An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning Will not be blessed at the end.
- New Living Translation (NLT)An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end.
Context of Proverbs 20:21
19He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips. 20Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed. 22Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee. 23Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord; and a false balance is not good.
Read all of Proverbs 20Proverbs 20:21 word by word
נַ֭חֲלָה מְבֹהֶ֣לֶת בָּרִאשֹׁנָ֑ה וְ֝אַחֲרִיתָ֗הּ לֹ֣א תְבֹרָֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Proverbs 20:21
- Proverbs 23:4Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
- Proverbs 28:20A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
- 1 Timothy 6:9But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
- Proverbs 13:22A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
- Proverbs 28:8He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
- Job 27:16Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
- Habakkuk 2:6Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
- Zechariah 5:4I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
- Malachi 2:2If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
Commentaries on Proverbs 20:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21An inheritance - gotten hastily - Gotten by speculation; by lucky hits; not in the fair progressive way of traffic, in which money has its natural increase. All such inheritances are short-lived; God's blessing is not in them, because they are not the produce of industry; and they lead to idleness, pride, fraud and knavery. A speculation in trade is a pubiic nuisance and curse. How many honest men have been ruined by such!Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Or, An inheritance gotten hastily (greedily sought after by unjust means) at the beginning, the end thereof shall not be blessed. Another reading gives, “an inheritance loathed, (compare Zechariah 11:8), or with a curse upon it.” The King James Version agrees with the versions.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21Verse 21 An estate suddenly raised, is often as suddenly ruined.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21If you receive an inheritance early in life, you might spend it all before you die, leaving nothing for later.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. gotten hastily--contrary to God's providence (Pr 28:20), implying its unjust or easy attainment; hence the man is punished, or spends freely what he got easily (compare Pr 20:17).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 20:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 20
- 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
King James Version — Public Domain except in the United Kingdom (Crown rights)
Commentaries