New International Version
Proverbs 21:3
3To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Proverbs 21:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
- English Standard Version (ESV)To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
- New King James Version (NKJV)To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices.
Context of Proverbs 21:3
1In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him. 2A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. 4Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin. 5The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
Read all of Proverbs 21Proverbs 21:3 word by word
עֲ֭שֹׂה צְדָקָ֣ה וּמִשְׁפָּ֑ט נִבְחָ֖ר לַיהוָ֣ה מִזָּֽבַח׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 21:3
- Proverbs 15:8The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.
- 1 Samuel 15:22But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
- Psalms 50:8I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
- Isaiah 1:11“The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
- Jeremiah 7:21“ ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!
- Hosea 6:6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Micah 6:6With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
- Mark 12:33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Commentaries on Proverbs 21:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3To do justice and judgment - The words of Samuel to Saul. See note on 1 Samuel 15:23.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Compare the marginal reference. The words have a special significance as coming from the king who had built the temple, and had offered sacrifices that could not be numbered for multitude” 1 Kings 8:5.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3Verse 3 Many deceive themselves with a conceit that outward devotions will excuse unrighteousness.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3God wants worship to come from a sincere heart and lead to good actions (see Psalm 40:6–8; Micah 6:6–8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. (Compare Psa 50:7-15; Is 1:11, 17).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 21:3
In the dictionaries
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
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