Proverbs 21:26
in Proverbs 21All day long he covets more, but the righteous give without restraint.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
There is that coveteth greedily all the day long; But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.
KJV
He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
All the day long - Better, every day. The wish of the slothful man passes into restless, covetous, dissatisfied desire; the righteous, free from that desire, gives without grudging.
This site's exposition
Mocker is the name of the proud
on Proverbs 21:24-26
"Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man," his conduct having named him. "The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work." All day long he covets more, "but the righteous give without restraint," wanting without working set beside giving without counting the cost.
This site's exposition
the righteous give without restraint
Albert Barnes renders all day long as every day. The wish of the slacker in verse 25 turns into restless, covetous desire, he explains. The righteous, free of that desire, give without grudging.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
It belongs to angels never to have evil desires; it is human sometimes to have evil desires and other times not to have them; it belongs to demons always to have evil desires. The expression "all the day" signifies the entire life. So also, "continue …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistThe Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3 (Admonition 16) · Written before 604.
proposed
"A dissolute soul shall suffer hunger." For, because it braces not itself towards higher things, it lets itself run loose uncared for in lower desires; and, while not braced with the vigour of lofty aims, suffers the pangs of the hunger of low concupiscence, and, in that it neglects to bind itself up by discipline, it scatters itself the more abroad hungry in its craving after pleasures. Hence it is written again by the same Solomon, "The idle man is wholly in desires."
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He coveteth greedily all the day long,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The sin of covetousness marks the sluggard, as the virtue of benevolence the righteous.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַ֭יּוֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הִתְאַוָּ֣ה | hitavah | he craves | H183 → | 26 times |
| תַאֲוָ֑ה | taavah | a craving | H8378 → | 20 times |
| וְצַדִּ֥יק | vetzadik | and a righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| יִ֝תֵּ֗ן | yiten | he gives | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַחְשֹֽׂךְ׃ | yachsokh | he keeps back | H2820 → | 28 times |
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַ֭יּוֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הִתְאַוָּ֣הhe craves
hitavahH183 →26 times
תַאֲוָ֑הa craving
taavahH8378 →20 times
וְצַדִּ֥יקand a righteous [person]
vetzadikH6662 →206 times
יִ֝תֵּ֗ןhe gives
yitenH5414 →2011 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יַחְשֹֽׂךְ׃he keeps back
yachsokhH2820 →28 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 5:42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 19:17
Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- Luke 6:30–36
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.
- 1 Timothy 6:17–19
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us…
- Hebrews 13:16
Through
Ephesians 4:28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:18
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12
and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
- Galatians 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
- Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal.
- 1 Timothy 6:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Evagrius Ponticus, SCHOLIA ON PROVERBS 231:21.26; Gregory the Dialogist, The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3 (Admonition 16); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
