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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.

Context of Proverbs 21:6

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. A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare. 7The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to do what is right. 8The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

Proverbs 21:6 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• The gettingפֹּ֫עַלpô‛al · workH6467
• of treasuresאוֹצָר'ôtsâr · treasureH214
• by a lyingשֶׁ֫קֶרsheqer · deceptionH8267
• tongueלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
• a vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• tossed to and fro ofנָדַףnâdaph · to driveH5086
• them that seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194

Cross-references for Proverbs 21:6

• Proverbs 10:2Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.
• Proverbs 13:11Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
• Proverbs 20:14“It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer— then goes off and boasts about the purchase.
• Proverbs 22:8Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.
• Proverbs 30:8Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
• Jeremiah 17:11Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end they will prove to be fools.
• 1 Timothy 6:9Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
• 2 Peter 2:3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
• Proverbs 8:36But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.”
• Ezekiel 18:31Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people 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