Proverbs 12:5
in Proverbs 12The plans of the righteous are just, but the counsel of the wicked leads to deceit.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The thoughts of the righteous are just; But the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
KJV
The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
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This verse in Proverbs 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe thoughts of the righteous are judgments, etc. The righteous judge their actions by diligent meditation, to see if they please the Lord, lest, by any chance, being less careful, the heavenly arbiter dispenses adversities against them invisibly; according to that of the Apostle, If …
This site's exposition
The plans of the righteous are just
on Proverbs 12:5-7
“The plans of the righteous are just,” but “the counsel of the wicked leads to deceit,” so the contrast moves inward to the mind. The wicked “are overthrown and perish” with the finality Psalm 37 gives the wicked man's sudden end, but “the house of the righteous will stand”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
John ChrysostomCOMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 12:4 · Written before 407.
proposed
When you are going to take a wife, do not only look for a companion in life but also for a companion in virtue. It is inevitable that the husband of a depraved wife perishes in the same way. Therefore look for virtue and not for money. And a well-behaved wife will become a crown of glory because she is strong; [whereas] an evil wife, as if a worm dwells inside her heart, will cause destruction gradually and silently. And what is even more dreadful is that this does not appear externally, but this sort of wife injects the poison inside and consumes an unhappy soul. In the opposite way, virtue adorns the one who follows it, whereas iniquity makes the iniquitous even more detestable. "The reflections of the righteous are judgments." They are, in fact, discreet and simple: either because the righteous always reflect on the judgments and commands of God or because they always turn judgments over inside their mind. Our mind sits like a judge, judging the different virtues and arguing with the opposing vices, approving one, condemning the other.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The thoughts of the righteous are right,.... Or "judgment" (o).
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
thoughts--or, "purposes." are right--literally, "are judgment," that is, true decisions. counsels--(Compare Pr 11:14). deceit--contrary to truth and honesty.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַחְשְׁב֣וֹת | machshevot | [the] plans of | H4284 → | 56 times |
| צַדִּיקִ֣ים | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| מִשְׁפָּ֑ט | mishpat | [are] justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| תַּחְבֻּל֖וֹת | tachbulot | [the] counsel of | H8458 → | 6 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| מִרְמָֽה׃ | mirmah | [are] deceit | H4820 → | 39 times |
מַחְשְׁב֣וֹת[the] plans of
machshevotH4284 →56 times
צַדִּיקִ֣יםrighteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →206 times
מִשְׁפָּ֑ט[are] justice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
תַּחְבֻּל֖וֹת[the] counsel of
tachbulotH8458 →6 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
מִרְמָֽה׃[are] deceit
mirmahH4820 →39 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
Psalms 139:23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
it leads to
- Psalms 26:2
Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind.
- 1 Peter 1:7
so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Job 31:6
let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity.
- Proverbs 17:3
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
- Deuteronomy 8:2
Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your…
- Psalms 26:2
Through
Isaiah 55:7Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely…
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- James 4:8–10
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Ezekiel 18:21–23
But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.
- Proverbs 28:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Proverbs
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 12:4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.