New English Translation
Proverbs 28:21
21To show partiality is terrible, for a person will transgress over the smallest piece of bread.
Proverbs 28:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.
- New International Version (NIV)To show partiality is not good— yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.
- English Standard Version (ESV)To show partiality is not good, but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.
- New King James Version (NKJV)To show partiality is not good, Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.
Context of Proverbs 28:21
19The one who works his land will be satisfied with food, but whoever chases daydreams will have his fill of poverty. 20A faithful person will have an abundance of blessings, but the one who hastens to gain riches will not go unpunished. To show partiality is terrible, for a person will transgress over the smallest piece of bread. 22The stingy person hastens after riches and does not know that poverty will overtake him. 23The one who reproves another will in the end find more favor than the one who flatters with the tongue.
Read all of Proverbs 28Proverbs 28:21 word by word
הַֽכֵּר־פָּנִ֥ים לֹא־ט֑וֹב וְעַל־פַּת־לֶ֝֗חֶם יִפְשַׁע־גָּֽבֶר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 28:21
- Proverbs 18:5It is terrible to show partiality to the wicked, by depriving a righteous man of justice.
- Proverbs 24:23These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:
- Exodus 23:2“You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,
- Ezekiel 13:19You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!
- Hosea 4:18They consume their alcohol, then engage in cult prostitution; they dearly love their shameful behavior.
- Micah 3:5This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people are as good as dead. If someone gives them enough to eat, they offer an oracle of peace. But if someone does not give them food, they are ready to declare war on him.
- Micah 7:3They are determined to be experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men make demands, and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.
- Romans 16:18For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of the naive.
- 2 Peter 2:3And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation pronounced long ago is not sitting idly by; their destruction is not asleep.
Commentaries on Proverbs 28:21
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Dishonest partiality leads men who have enslaved themselves to it to transgress, even when the inducement is altogether disproportionate. A “piece of bread” was proverbial at all times as the most extreme point of poverty (compare the marginal reference).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21Verse 21 Judgment is perverted, when any thing but pure right is considered.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21Giving a wrong verdict because of a bribe is wrong (Proverbs 17:23; 22:16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. respect of persons--(Pr 24:23). Such are led to evil by the slightest motive.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 28:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 28
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries