Proverbs 21:12
in Proverbs 21The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked, How the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.
KJV
The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked,.... Not so much the stately palace he lives in, and the furniture of it, as the glory, splendour, riches, and largeness of his family; the flourishing condition he and they are in: he considers how they came into it, the short continuance of it, and what the end will be, which in a short time wilt be ruin and destruction; and therefore be does not envy their present happiness, or fret at it.
This site's exposition
When a mocker is punished
on Proverbs 21:11-13
When a mocker is punished, "the simple gain wisdom," public justice teaching by example a lesson the onlooker learns without paying the mocker's price. Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor "shall cry out and receive no answer," the punishment fitted exactly to the failure.
This site's exposition
The Righteous One considers the house
Readers divide on this verse. The Berean text reads the Righteous One as God, who brings the wicked to ruin. Clarke and Gill read a righteous man, Clarke seeing his concern to instruct them, and Gill seeing him weigh their end and cease to envy.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The righteous man wisely considereth - This verse is understood as implying the pious concern of a righteous man, for a wicked family, whom he endeavors by his instructions to bring into the way of knowledge and peace.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Or, The Righteous One (Yahweh) regardeth well the house of the wicked, and maketh the wicked fall into mischief.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The Righteous One considers The Righteous One of the world sets His heart to destroy the house of the wicked, e.g. the remembrance of Amalek.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
When a scorner is punished, a fool gains wisdom Through the chastisements of scorners, fools gain wisdom and return [to God] in repentance.
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. 4 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
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַשְׂכִּ֣יל | maskil | [is] giving attention | H7919 → | 62 times |
| צַ֭דִּיק | tzadik | [the] righteous [one] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| לְבֵ֣ית | leveit | to [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| רָשָׁ֑ע | rasha' | a wicked [person] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| מְסַלֵּ֖ף | mesalef | [he is] subverting | H5557 → | 7 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| לָרָֽע׃ | lara' | to <the> calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
מַשְׂכִּ֣יל[is] giving attention
maskilH7919 →62 times
צַ֭דִּיק[the] righteous [one]
tzadikH6662 →206 times
לְבֵ֣יתto [the] house of
leveitH1004 →2046 times
רָשָׁ֑עa wicked [person]
rasha'H7563 →263 times
מְסַלֵּ֖ף[he is] subverting
mesalefH5557 →7 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
לָרָֽע׃to <the> calamity
lara'H7451 →662 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
Proverbs 14:11The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:33
The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.
- Proverbs 12:7
The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the house of the righteous will stand.
- Matthew 7:26–27
But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
- Proverbs 3:33
Through
Psalms 107:43Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.
it leads to
- Hosea 14:9
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in…
- Psalms 64:9
Then all mankind will fear and proclaim the work of God; so they will ponder what He has done.
- Jeremiah 9:12
Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so…
- Ephesians 3:18–19
will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth
- Daniel 10:12
“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response…
- Hosea 14:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.