Tree of Life Version
Proverbs 16:10
10An oracle is on the lips of the king— let his mouth never be treacherous in judgment.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth does not betray justice.
- 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.
Context of Proverbs 16:10
8Better a little with righteousness than much income without justice. 9The heart of man plans his course, but Adonai directs his steps. An oracle is on the lips of the king— let his mouth never be treacherous in judgment. 11Honest balances and scales are Adonai’s. All the weights in a bag are His handiwork. 12Wrongdoing is an abomination to kings, for a throne is established by 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 16:12Wrongdoing is an abomination to kings, for a throne is established by righteousness.
- Genesis 44:5Isn’t this the one from which my lord drinks? He even uses it especially to discern by divination. What you’ve done is evil!”
- Deuteronomy 17:18“Now when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself a copy of this Torah on a scroll, from what is before the Levitical kohanim.
- 2 Samuel 23:3The God of Israel has said, the Rock of Israel has spoken to me, ‘He who rules over men righteously, he who rules in the fear of God—
- Psalms 45:6Your arrows are sharp. Peoples fall beneath you— into the heart of the king’s enemies.
- Psalms 72:1Of Solomon. Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s son.
- Psalms 99:4The might of a king loves justice. You have established fairness. You executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
- Isaiah 32:1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness and princes will rule in justice.
- Jeremiah 23:5“Behold, days are coming” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign as king wisely, and execute justice and righteousness in the land.
- Hosea 10:4They spoke words— empty oaths to make a covenant. But judgment springs up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.
- Amos 5:7You who turn justice to wormwood threw righteousness to the ground.
- Amos 6:12Will horses run on the cliff? Will one plow there with oxen? Yet you turned justice into venom, the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.
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
Tree of Life Version — © 2015 The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
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