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.
• New International Version (NIV)A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.
• 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.

Context of Proverbs 21:6

4Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin. 5Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap. 7The violence of the wicked sweeps them away, because they refuse to do what is just. 8The guilty walk a crooked path; the innocent travel a straight road.

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 10:2Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life.
• Proverbs 13:11Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.
• Proverbs 20:14The buyer haggles over the price, saying, “It’s worthless,” then brags about getting a bargain!
• Proverbs 22:8Those who plant injustice will harvest disaster, and their reign of terror will come to an end.
• Proverbs 30:8First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
• Jeremiah 17:11Like a partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid, so are those who get their wealth by unjust means. At midlife they will lose their riches; in the end, they will become poor old fools.
• 1 Timothy 6:9But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
• 2 Peter 2:3In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
• Proverbs 8:36But those who miss me injure themselves. All who hate me love death.”
• Ezekiel 18:31Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O 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