Proverbs 21:8
in Proverbs 21The way of a guilty man is crooked, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The way of him that is laden with guilt is exceeding crooked; But as for the pure, his work is right.
KJV
The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe perverse way of a man is foreign, etc. To live justly before the Lord is proper to the human condition. Hence elsewhere it is said, "Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiasticus 12). But he who …
This site's exposition
The way of a guilty man is crooked
on Proverbs 21:8-10
"The way of a guilty man is crooked, but the conduct of the innocent is upright," the chapter's division. The soul of the wicked man "craves evil," the appetite language used of the fortune seeker, and his neighbor finds no favor with him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Wherefore we must cast out all wickedness from our souls, and never more contrive any deceit; for, saith one, "To the perverse God sendeth crooked paths"; and, "The holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and remove from thoughts that are without understanding." For nothing maketh men so foolish as wickedness; since when a man is treacherous, unfair, ungrateful, (these are different forms of wickedness,) when without having been wronged he grieves another, when he weaves deceits, how shall he not exhibit an example of excessive folly? Again, nothing maketh men so wise as virtue; it rendereth them thankful and fair-minded, merciful, mild, gentle, and candid; it is wont to be the mother of all other blessings. And what is more understanding than one so disposed? for virtue is the very spring and root of prudence, just as all wickedness hath its beginning in folly.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The way of man is froward and strange,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Or, “Perverse is the way of a sin burdened man.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲפַכְפַּ֬ךְ | hafakhpakh | [is] crooked | H2019 → | |
| דֶּ֣רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וָזָ֑ר | vazar | guilty | H2054 → | |
| וְ֝זַ֗ךְ | vezakh | and a pure [person] | H2134 → | 11 times |
| יָשָׁ֥ר | yashar | [is] upright | H3477 → | 119 times |
| פָּעֳלֽוֹ׃ | poolo | work his | H6467 → | 37 times |
הֲפַכְפַּ֬ךְ[is] crooked
hafakhpakhH2019 →
דֶּ֣רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
אִ֣ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וָזָ֑רguilty
vazarH2054 →
וְ֝זַ֗ךְand a pure [person]
vezakhH2134 →11 times
יָשָׁ֥ר[is] upright
yasharH3477 →119 times
פָּעֳלֽוֹ׃work his
pooloH6467 →37 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
1 John 3:3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- 1 John 2:6
Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
- 2 Peter 3:14
Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.
- Matthew 5:48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
- 2 Corinthians 7:1
Through
Daniel 12:10Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:11
Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”
- Daniel 11:35
Some of the wise will fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
- 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…
- Revelation 22:11
Through
1 Corinthians 3:3for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
it leads to
- James 3:16
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
- James 3:16
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 41; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
