New International Version
Proverbs 28:21
21To show partiality is not good— yet a person will do wrong for a 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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Showing partiality is never good, yet some will do wrong for a mere piece of bread.
Context of Proverbs 28:21
19Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty. 20A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. To show partiality is not good— yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread. 22The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them. 23Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering 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 not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice.
- Proverbs 24:23These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judging is not good:
- Exodus 23:2“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,
- Ezekiel 13:19You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.
- Hosea 4:18Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
- Micah 3:5This is what the Lord says: “As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim ‘peace’ if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them.
- Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together.
- Romans 16:18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
- 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.
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
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Commentaries