Proverbs 29:12
If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.
BSB
ASV
If a ruler hearkeneth to falsehood, All his servants are wicked.
KJV
If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
If a ruler hearken to lies - Wherever the system of espionage is permitted to prevail, there the system of falsity is established; for he who is capable of being a spy and informer, is not only capable of telling and swearing lies, but also of cutting his king’s or even his father’s throat. I have seen cases, where the same spy received pay from both parties, and deceived both.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk5
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Proverbs 20:8A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.
leads to
Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.
A king who judges the poor with fairness—his throne will be established forever.
The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob.
For surely Your enemies, O LORD, surely Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.