New International Version
Proverbs 16:10
10The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth does not betray justice.
Proverbs 16:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
- English Standard Version (ESV)An oracle is on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Divination is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The king speaks with divine wisdom; he must never judge unfairly.
Context of Proverbs 16:10
8Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. 9In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth does not betray justice. 11Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord; all the weights in the bag are of his making. 12Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness.
Read all of Proverbs 16Proverbs 16:10 word by word
קֶ֤סֶם׀ עַֽל־שִׂפְתֵי־מֶ֑לֶךְ בְּ֝מִשְׁפָּ֗ט לֹ֣א יִמְעַל־פִּֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 16:10
- Proverbs 16:12Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness.
- Genesis 44:5Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’ ”
- Deuteronomy 17:18When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests.
- 2 Samuel 23:3The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God,
- Psalms 45:6Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
- Psalms 72:1Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.
- Psalms 99:4The King is mighty, he loves justice— you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right.
- Isaiah 32:1See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice.
- Jeremiah 23:5“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
- Hosea 10:4They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
- Amos 5:7There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground.
- Amos 6:12Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—
Commentaries on Proverbs 16:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10A divine sentence - קסם kesem, "divination," as the margin has it. Is the meaning as follows? Though divination were applied to a righteous king's lips, to induce him to punish the innocent and spare the guilty, yet would not his lips transgress in judgment; so firmly attached is he to God, and so much is he under the Divine care and influence. Whatever judgment such a one pronounces, it may be considered as a decision from God.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10A divine sentence - See the margin, i. e., “soothsaying” in its darker aspect as contrasted with prophecy. The true oracle is to be sought, not from soothsayers and diviners, but “at the lips of the king,” who is ideally the representative, the ́ prophētēs of Yahweh, in His government of mankind.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10Divine wisdom is guidance from a divine source that helps the king make decisions (for example, 1 Kings 3:28; see also Psalm 72:2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. The last clause depends on the first, expressing the importance of equity in decisions, so authoritative.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 16:10
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
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