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Proverbs 29:26

in Proverbs 29

Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man receives justice from the LORD.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Many seek the ruler’s favor; But a man’s judgment cometh from Jehovah.

KJV

Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the Lord.

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This verse in Proverbs 29

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Many seek the ruler’s favor - To be screened from the punishment determined by the law; but should he grant the favor sought, and pardon the criminal, this takes not away his guilt in the sight of God, from whom all just judgment proceeds.

This site's exposition

The fear of man is a snare

on Proverbs 29:25-27

"The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high" sets two fears against each other. Verse 26 turns the chapter's thread on rulers toward the true court. Verse 27 closes the sentence literature on a verdict, each detestable to the other.

This site's exposition

Many seek the ruler’s favor

Adam Clarke pictures the guilty seeking the ruler's pardon to escape the law's penalty. A pardon from the throne leaves the guilt standing before God. Justice comes from the LORD.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Many seek the ruler's favour,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

To trust in the favor of princes is to build upon the sands. The judgment which will set right all wrong will come from the Lord. It is better to wait for that than to run here and there, canvassing, bribing, flattering.

The words behind it

7 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • רַ֭בִּיםmany [people]

    rabimH7227 →454 times

  • מְבַקְשִׁ֣ים[are] seeking

    mevakshimH1245 →225 times

  • פְּנֵי־[the] face of

    penei-H6440 →2123 times

  • מוֹשֵׁ֑לa ruler

    moshelH4910 →81 times

  • וּ֝מֵיְהוָ֗הand [is] from Yahweh

    vumeyahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • מִשְׁפַּט־justice of

    mishpat-H4941 →422 times

  • אִֽישׁ׃a person

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Proverbs 19:6Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.13 worksPsalms 20:9O LORD, save the king. Answer us on the day we call.9 worksProverbs 19:21Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.9 worksLamentations 3:38Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?9 worksIsaiah 46:9–11Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.7 worksPsalms 62:12and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.7 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Proverbs 16:33The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.7 worksIsaiah 49:4But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.”6 worksEsther 4:16“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”6 worksDaniel 4:35All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”6 worksNehemiah 1:11O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)6 works1 Corinthians 4:4My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.6 worksProverbs 16:7When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.6 worksEzra 7:27–28Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,6 worksGenesis 43:14May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”6 worksProverbs 21:1The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.5 worksIsaiah 51:12“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?5 works1 Kings 21:11So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 19:21

    Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 16:9

      A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

    • Isaiah 14:24

      The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.

    • Proverbs 16:1

      The plans of the heart belong to man, but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD.

    • Psalms 33:10–11

      The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.

    • Isaiah 46:10

      I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

  • Through

    Psalms 62:12

    and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 16:27

      For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

    • Job 34:11

      For according to a man’s deeds He repays him; according to a man’s ways He brings consequences.

  • Through

    Proverbs 19:6

    Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 18:16

      A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.

Where this verse is studied

About Proverbs

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Proverbs: the study guide →Read Proverbs 29 →

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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Proverbs 29 →