Proverbs 14:12
in Proverbs 14There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death.
KJV
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
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This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWe read in Proverbs, "There is a way that seems just to men, yet the end of it leads to the depths of hades." You see, ignorance is also clearly condemned in this text, since man thinks otherwise and he falls into hades, seemingly having the truth. "There are many thoughts," he says, "in the heart of man." But still, it is not his will, which is uncertain and doubtful and changeable, that prevails but the counsel of God.
This site's exposition
There is a way that seems right to a man
on Proverbs 14:12-13
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death,” and 16:25 repeats it word for word. The doubling states the danger twice because self-deceived confidence is the hardest error to catch, and the verse warns against trusting a feeling of rightness.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man - This may be his easily besetting sin, the sin of his constitution, the sin of his trade. Or it may be his own false views of religion: he may have an imperfect repentance, a false faith, a very false creed; and he may persuade himself that he is in the direct way to heaven. Many of the papists, when they were burning the saints of God in the flames at Smithfield, thought they were doing God service!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A way ... - The way of the fool, the way of self-indulgence and self-will.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
There is a way that seems right to a man He commits a transgression and says, “There is no transgression in it.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Even with laughter that the Holy One, blessed be He, laughs with the heathens in this world. Their heart will ache in the future, and so Scripture says (Isa.:14): “And you shall cry out from sorrow of heart.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֵ֤שׁ | yesh | there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| דֶּ֣רֶךְ | derekh | [is] a way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| יָ֭שָׁר | yashor | right | H3477 → | 119 times |
| לִפְנֵי־ | lifnei- | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אִ֑ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְ֝אַחֲרִיתָ֗הּ | veacharitah | and end its | H319 → | 61 times |
| דַּרְכֵי־ | darkhei- | [is the] ways of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| מָֽוֶת׃ | mavet | death | H4194 → | 156 times |
יֵ֤שׁthere
yeshH3426 →140 times
דֶּ֣רֶךְ[is] a way
derekhH1870 →707 times
יָ֭שָׁרright
yashorH3477 →119 times
לִפְנֵי־<to> before
lifnei-H6440 →2123 times
אִ֑ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְ֝אַחֲרִיתָ֗הּand end its
veacharitahH319 →61 times
דַּרְכֵי־[is the] ways of
darkhei-H1870 →707 times
מָֽוֶת׃death
mavetH4194 →156 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
Galatians 6:3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
it leads to
- Proverbs 26:12
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 3:18
Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
- 1 Corinthians 8:2
The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
- Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure…
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- Proverbs 26:12
Through
Luke 13:24“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
it leads to
- Matthew 7:13–14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
- 2 Peter 1:10
Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,
- Matthew 7:13–14
Through
Proverbs 12:15The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:7
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
- Proverbs 3:7
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 1.39 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).