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

4Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin. 5The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death. 7The violence of the wicked will drag them away, Because they refuse to act with justice. 8The way of a guilty man is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

Proverbs 21:6 word by word

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

• acquisitionפֹּ֫עַלpô‛al · workH6467
• of treasuresאוֹצָר'ôtsâr · treasureH214
• by a lyingשֶׁ֫קֶרsheqer · deceptionH8267
• tongueלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
• Is a fleetingנָדַףnâdaph · to driveH5086
• vaporהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• pursuitבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194

Cross-references for Proverbs 21:6

• Proverbs 10:2Ill-gotten gains do not profit, But righteousness delivers from death.
• Proverbs 13:11Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, But the one who gathers by labor increases it.
• Proverbs 20:14“Bad, bad,” says the buyer, But when he goes his way, then he boasts.
• Proverbs 22:8He who sows iniquity will reap vanity, And the rod of his fury will perish.
• Proverbs 30:8Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
• Jeremiah 17:11As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid, So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly; In the midst of his days it will forsake him, And in the end he will be a fool.”
• 1 Timothy 6:9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
• 2 Peter 2:3and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
• Proverbs 8:36But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”
• Ezekiel 18:31Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O 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