The king’s heart is in Yahweh’s hand like the watercourses. He turns it wherever he desires.
Parallel Translations
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The king’s heart is in Yahweh’s hand like the watercourses. He turns it wherever he desires.
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The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
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The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever He will.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Proverbs 21:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his course, but Yahweh directs his steps.
- Ezra 6:22 and kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy; because Yahweh had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of God, the God of Israel’s house.
- Proverbs 20:24 A man’s steps are from Yahweh; how then can man understand his way?
- Acts 7:10 and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
- Proverbs 16:1 The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.
- Ezra 7:27-28 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem; and has extended loving kindness to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. I was strengthened according to Yahweh my God’s hand on me, and I gathered together chief men out of Israel to go up with me.
- Daniel 4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stop his hand, or ask him, “What are you doing?”
- Psalms 106:46 He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captive.
- Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
- Nehemiah 2:4 Then the king said to me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
- Nehemiah 1:11 Lord, I beg you, let your ear be attentive now to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who delight to fear your name; and please prosper your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cup bearer to the king.
- Psalms 105:25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
- Psalms 74:15 You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.
- Psalms 93:4 Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, Yahweh on high is mighty.
- Isaiah 44:27 who says to the deep, ‘Be dry,’ and ‘I will dry up your rivers;’
- Revelation 16:4 The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
- Psalms 114:3 The sea saw it, and fled. The Jordan was driven back.
- Revelation 16:12 The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. Its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings that come from the sunrise.
- Psalms 114:5 What was it, you sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you turned back?
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Though Kings seem to have all things at commandment,…
Though Kings seem to have all things at commandment, yet are they not able to bring their own purposes to pass any otherwise than God hath appointed: much less are the inferiors able.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 21:1 The king’s heart [is] in the hand…
Pro 21:1 The king’s heart [is] in the hand of the LORD, [as] the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Ver. 1. The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.] Be kings never so absolute and unaccountable to any, yet are they ruled and overruled by him "that is higher than the highest,." {Ecc 5:8} God’s heart is not in the king’s hand, as that foolish prince in Mexico pretends, when at his coronation he swears that it shall not rain unseasonably, neither shall there be famine or pestilence during his reign in his dominions; but "the king’s heart," that is, his will, desires, devices, resolutions, are God’s to dispose of. He turneth them this way or that way with as much ease as the ploughman doth the water course with his paddle, or the gardener with his hand. Thus he turned the heart of Pharaoh to Joseph; of Saul to David; of Nebuchadnezzar to Jeremiah; of Darius to Daniel; of Cyrus, and afterwards of Alexander the Great, to the Jews; of some of the Roman persecutors to the primitive Christians; and of Charles V, who ruled over twenty-eight flourishing kingdoms, to the late reformers, Melanchthon, Pomeran, and other famous men of God, whom, when he had in his power, after he had conquered the Protestant princes, he not only determined not anything extremely against them, but also, entreating them gently, he sent them away, not so much as once forbidding them to publish openly the doctrine that they professed: albeit, all Christendom had not a more prudent prince than he was, saith Mr Foxe, {a} nor the Church of Christ almost a a sorer enemy.
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{a} Acts and Mon., fol. 1784.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The king’s heart; his very inward purposes and inclinations,…
The king’s heart; his very inward purposes and inclinations, which seem to be most in a man’s own power, and out of the reach of all others, and much more his tongue and hand, and all his outward actions. He names kings not to exclude other men, but because they are more arbitrary and uncontrollable than other men.
As the rivers of water; which husbandmen or gardeners can draw by little channels into the adjacent grounds as they please, and as their occasions require.
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He turneth it; directeth and boweth, partly by suggesting those things to their minds which have a commanding influence upon their wills; and partly by a direct and immediate motion of their wills and affections, which being God’s creatures must needs be as subject to his power and pleasure as either men’s minds or bodies are, and which he moves sweetly and suitably to their own nature, though strongly and effectually.
Withersoever he will; so as they shall fulfil his counsels and designs, either of mercy or of correction to themselves, or to their people.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The kings - He names kings not to exclude…
The kings - He names kings not to exclude other men, but because they are more arbitrary and uncontrollable than others. As rivers - Which husband-men draw by little channels into the adjacent grounds as they please.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The king's heart is in the hand of God.…
CHAPTER XXI
The king's heart is in the hand of God. We should practise
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mercy and justice. The lying tongue. The quarrelsome woman.
The punishment of the wicked. The uncharitable. The private
gift. The happiness of the righteous. The wicked a ransom for
the righteous. The treasures of the wise. He who guards his
tongue. Desire of the sluggard. The false witness. Salvation
is of the Lord.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXI
Verse 1. The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord] The Lord is the only ruler of princes. He alone can govern and direct their counsels. But there is an allusion here to the Eastern method of watering their lands. Several canals are dug from one stream; and by opening a particular sluice, the husbandman can direct a stream to whatever part he please: so the king's heart, wherever it turns; i.e., to whomsoever he is disposed to show favour. As the land is enriched with the streams employed in irrigation; so is the favourite of the king, by the royal bounty: and God can induce the king to give that bounty to whomsoever he will. See Harmer.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 21:1. The king’s heart — His very inward…
Pro 21:1. The king’s heart — His very inward purposes and inclinations, which seem to be most in a man’s own power, and out of the reach of all other beings; and much more his tongue, and hand, and all his outward actions; are in the hand of the Lord — Subject to the influence, control, and government of the great Lord of all. As the rivers of water — Which husbandmen, or gardeners, can draw by little channels into the adjacent grounds, as they please. He names kings, not to exclude other men, but because they are more arbitrary and uncontrollable than others. He turneth it — Hebrew, ישׂנו, he inclineth, or bendeth it; whithersoever he will — So that they fulfil his counsels and designs, either of mercy, or of correction to themselves, or to their people. God does this partly by suggesting those considerations to their minds which have a commanding influence upon their wills and affections, and partly by a powerful, although insensible operation upon their minds and hearts.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Rivers of water - See the Psa 1:3 note.…
Rivers of water - See the Psa 1:3 note. As the cultivator directs the stream into the channels where it is most wanted, so Yahweh directs the thoughts of the true king, that his favors may fall, not at random, but in harmony with a divine order.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain MOST reflecting persons acknowledge God as the doer of…
MOST reflecting persons acknowledge God as the doer of all things. In inert matter he acts by physical force; in brute animals, by instinct and appetite; in intelligent beings, by motives suited to their faculties; in his redeemed people, by the influence of grace. We are here reminded of one course of his Providential acting. The general truth, before stated, of man’s entire dependence, is taught by the strongest illustration — his uncontrollable sway upon the most absolute of all wills — the king’s heart.
The river of water is an apt emblem of this agency. Its commencement is a single spring; scarcely capable of turning an handmill to grind a day’s corn. But increased by the confluence of other small or great streams, it may turn hundreds of mills, and provide food for thousands. So the thoughts of the king’s heart are first a single imagination for the good of his subjects; then swelled by the attendant thoughts of his mental resources, till what appeared desirable rises to the full power of accomplishment. But after all, the Great Sovereign turns the most despotic rule, all political projects, to his own purposes, with the same ease, that the rivers of water are turned by every inflection of the channel.†1 While this course is directed, the waters flow naturally and unforced on their own level. The king’s heart he directs as a responsible agent, without interfering with the moral liberty of his will.
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Nehemiah fully acknowledged this prerogative, when, having a favor to ask of the king, he "prayed unto the God of heaven."†2 And indeed Scripture witness is abundant. Abimelech’s heart was in the hand of the LORD for good.†3 Pharaoh’s heart was turned towards Joseph.†4 The Babylonish monarchs showed kindness to Daniel and his captive brethren.†5 The Persian monarchs countenanced and assisted in the building of the temple.†6 The hearts of wicked kings are alike in the hand of the LORD; †7 yet he hath no part in their wickedness.†8 The hatred of Pharaoh; the ambition of Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar,†9 were his instruments for his own purposes. Ahab’s murderous heart was restrained, and even made to accomplish the downfall of Baal.†10 The counsels of the kings of the earth against Christ were under Divine control.†11 Thus does "the wrath of man praise him; and the remainder he restrains."†12 Thus an Almighty agency is visible by its effects in the minutest affairs. Ahasuerus’s sleepless nights;†13 Nebuchadnezzar’s divination;†14 the appointment of the year of general taxation†15 — these seemingly unimportant events were turning-points in the dispensations of God, fraught with immensely momentous results.
The history of our blessed, though now calumniated, Reformation, shews the same sovereign control of the royal heart. Henry VIII. was employed as an unintentional instrument, and his godly son as a willing agent, in furthering this great work. The recollection encourages us to refer all anxious care for the Church to her great Head; to rejoice that not kings, but the King of kings reigneth. (Isa 9:6 .) And shall not we be quickened to earnest prayer for our beloved sovereign (1Ti 2:1-3 ), that her heart, being in the LORD’s hand, as rivers of water, may be disposed to rule for his glory, as a nursing-mother to the Church (Isa 49:23 ), and a blessing to her people?
Footnotes:
†1 The allusion evidently is to channels made for the distribution of waters according to will, for irrigation of gardens or fields. — See Paxton’s Illustrations, i. 173. Bishop Lowth’s note on Isa 1:30 . Compare the beautiful figure, Sir 24:30-31 .
†2 Neh 2:4-5.
†3 Gen 20:6. Psa 105:14-15 .
†4 Gen 41:37-45.
†5 Dan 1:19; Dan 2:48 ; Dan 3:30 ; Dan 6:1-3, Dan 6:28 . Psa 106:46 .
†6 Ezr 1:1; Ezr 6:22 ; Ezr 7:27 ; Ezr 9:9 . Neh 1:11 ; Neh 2:4-9.
†7 Rev 17:16-17.
†8 Exo 1:8-22. Psa 105:25 .
†9 Isa 10:7. Jer 25:1-38 .
†10 1Ki 18:10, 1Ki 18:40 .
†11 Act 4:25-28. Compare Joh 19:10 .
†12 Psa 76:10.
†13 Est 6:1-2.
†14 Eze 21:21.
†15 Luk 2:1.
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain It. Though it be free, and may resist grace…
It. Though it be free, and may resist grace or embrace virtue, Isaias xlv. 22., Jeremias iii. 14., and vii. 3., and Josue xxiv. 23. (Calmet) --- Yet God knows how to turn the heart even of a king, so as to preserve his liberty, with the same ease as a gardener brings the streams of water to his plants. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain ζ) Admonition to integrity, patience, and obedient submission to…
ζ) Admonition to integrity, patience, and obedient submission to God’s gracious guidance
Chap. 21
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1 Like streams of water is the heart of a king in Jehovah’s hand;
he turneth it whithersoever he will.
2 Every way of man is right in his own eyes,
but Jehovah trieth hearts.
3 To do justice and judgment
is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.
4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
the light of the wicked is (nought but) sin.
5 The counsels of the diligent (tend) only to abundance;
but every one who is over hasty (cometh) only to want.
6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting breath of them that seek death.
7 The violence of the wicked sweepeth them away,
because they refuse to do justice.
8 Crooked is the way of the guilty man,
but the pure, his work is right (or, straight).
9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the house top,
than with a contentious woman in a thronged house.
10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil;
his neighbor findeth no mercy with him.
11 When the scorner is punished the simple is made wise,
and when the wise is prospered, he will gain knowledge.
12 The Righteous (God) marketh the house of the wicked;
He hurleth the wicked into destruction.
13 He that stoppeth his ear to the cry of the poor,
he also shall call and not be answered.
14 A gift in secret allayeth anger,
and a present in the bosom strong wrath.
15 It is a joy to the just to do justice,
but destruction to them that work iniquity.
16 A man who wandereth from the way of understanding,
shall dwell in the assembly of the dead.
17 He becometh a poor man who loveth pleasure;
he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
18 The wicked becometh a ransom for the righteous,
and the faithless for the upright.
19 It is better to dwell in a desert land,
than to live with a contentious and fretful woman.
20 Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the wise,
but a foolish man consumeth them.
21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy
shall find life, righteousness, and honor.
22 A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,
and casteth down the strength of its confidence.
23 He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue,
guardeth his soul from troubles.
24 A proud (and) arrogant (man)—scorner is his name;
he acteth in insolence of pride (overflowing of haughtiness).
25 The desire of the slothful killeth him,
for his hands refuse to labor.
26 He desireth intensely all the day long;
but the righteous giveth and spareth not.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
how much more when it is brought for evil!
28 A false witness shall perish,
the man that heareth shall speak evermore.
29 The wicked putteth on a bold face,
but he that is upright establisheth his way.
30 No wisdom, no understanding,
no counsel (is there) against Jehovah.
31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but from Jehovah is the victory.
GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL
Pro_21:3.—The Infinitive form עֲשׂה like קְנֹה in Pro_16:16.
Pro_21:4.—Hitzig writes נִב (= נִיב, sprout or shoot) instead of נִר and translates the second clause: “The fruit of the wicked [i.e., pride] bringeth to destruction”—an emendation plainly not less unfortunate than the corresponding one, נִיב for נִיר, which he proposed in Pro_13:23. Compare notes on this passage. [The shortening of the long vowel in נִיר is undoubtedly facilitated by the initial ר of the following word.]
Pro_21:6.—הֶבֶל cannot be stat. constr., for it would be separated from its genitive by the adjective נִדָּף.—Ewald, Bertheau etc., read with the LXX and Vulg.: מוֹקְשֶׁי instead of מְבַקְּשֶׁי and render “snares of death” instead of “seekers of death.” Hitzig, in addition, proposes רֹדֵף instead of נִדָּף, as well as in clause a פֹּעַל instead of פֹּעַל, so that he reaches the meaning (which corresponds pretty closely with the LXX and Vulg.): “He that getteth treasures by a lying tongue runneth after vanity into snares of death.”
Pro_21:7.—מֵאֲנוּ is one of Böttcher’s “relative” perfects; they have before this destruction, be it earlier or later, refused, etc.—See § 950, 1.—A.]
Pro_21:8.—הֲפַכְפַךְ, “winding, crooked” (as נֶהְפָךְ is elsewhere used, comp. Pro_17:20) is not stat. constr. (Bertheau, “one crooked in his way”), but a predicate for emphasis prefixed to its subject דֶּרֶךְ, as the parallelism shows.—וְזַךְ at the beginning of clause b seems to be purposely chosen to correspond with וָזָר at the end of clause a. Comp. זָךְ in Pro_20:11. [This וָזָר is one of the very few words in Hebrew in which an initial ו remains, not being weakened into י. It seems to be an ancient judicial term, and etymologically corresponds with the familiar Arabic word Vizier; comp. also Chargé d‘ Affaires. See Bött., Fuerst, etc.—A.]
Pro_21:9.—[טוֹב לָשֶׁבֶת a masculine predicative adjective notwithstanding the fem. form of the Infinitive. Bött., § 990, 3,b.—A.]
Pro_21:10.—[Bött. strongly maintains the existence of a Passive of the Kal. conj., and cites יֻחַן as one of the examples. See § 906, c. As is well known, it has usually been called a Hophal form; no Hiphil forms are in use, and this is in meaning an exact passive counterpart to the Kal.—A.]
Pro_21:14.—Instead of יִכְכֶּה (from מפה, a verb occurring only here, which must mean “to bend or beat down”), Hitzig proposes to road, with Symmachus, the Vulg. and Targ. יְכַבֶּה “extinguishes.”
Pro_21:22.—The ה in מִבְטֶחָה without Mappiq, on account of the distinctive accent; comp. Jer_6:6; Isa_23:17-18; Isa_45:6, etc.—[עָלָה one of Böttcher’s “empirical Perfects;” it has been a matter of experience; see § 950, 3.—A.]
Pro_21:28.—Hitzig, partially following the LXX (changing לָנֶצַח to לִנְצֹר, and שֹׁמֵעַ to שׂמֵחַ), amends thus: The man that rejoiceth to deliver (! ?) shall speak.
EXEGETICAL
1. Pro_21:1-3. Of God’s all directing providence and government.—Like streams of water is the heart of a king in Jehovah’s hand.—The tertium comp. is, according to the second member of the parallelism, the capability in the “streams of water” of being directed and guided at pleasure,—the allusion being to the canals and ditches constructed for the irrigation and fertilizing of meadows, gardens and fields. [See Hackett’s Illustrations of Scripture, and similar works; also Horace, Od. III., 1, 5–8.—A.] Since for the accomplishment of their object there must always be a number of them, the plural “streams” is used, although only one king’s heart is spoken of. Whether in the second line the pleasant, refreshing influence of the rivulets, dispensing blessing and increase, comes into account as a point in the comparison is uncertain (comp. Isa_32:2): this, however, is not improbable, inasmuch as the heart of a king may in fact become in an eminent degree a fountain of blessing for many thousands, and according to God’s design ought to be so. See also the comparison of royal favor with a “cloud of the harvest rain,” in Pro_16:15, and in the opposite direction comp. Pro_20:2; Pro_20:8; Pro_20:26.
Pro_21:2. Almost precisely like Pro_16:2; comp. also Pro_14:12; Pro_16:25. [Fuerst, unlike most others, renders the verb of the second clause “determineth,” i.e., determines the direction,—instead of “weighing, trying,” or the old English term of our E. V., “pondereth.”—A.]
Pro_21:3. To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice. Comp. Pro_15:8; Psa_50:7 sq.; 1Sa_15:22; Mic_6:6-8.—For this combination of righteousness and justice comp. besides, e.g, 2Sa_8:15; Jer_9:23. For the נִבְחַר “more acceptable,” lit., “chosen,” i.e., desired, well-pleasing, valuable, comp. Pro_22:1; and also Pro_8:10; Pro_8:19. [“This maxim of the Proverbs was a bold saying then,—it is a bold saying still; but it well unites the wisdom of Solomon with that of his father David in the 51st Psalm, and with the inspiration of the later prophets.” Stanley, Jewish Church, II., 257].
2. Pro_21:4-9. Against pride, avarice, deceit, violence, and vicious dispositions in general.—Haughty eyes and a proud heart; lit. “to be lofty of eyes and to be swollen of heart,” for רוּם and רְחַב are infinitives. “Swelling of heart” is however here and in Psa_101:5, where it stands again in connection with “loftiness of eyes,” a proud, arrogant disposition chastened by no care; comp. also Isa_60:5; Psa_119:32.—The light of the wicked is only sin. נִר רְשָׁעִים, which is plainly an appositive to “haughty eyes and a proud heart,” may be translated either by “the fallow, or newly ploughed land of the wicked” (comp. נִיר, Pro_13:23), and refer to “the very first fruits of a man’s activity (so Ewald, Elster, etc.), or, which is surely preferable, it may be taken as meaning the same as נֵר (comp. 1Ki_11:36, where instead of נֵר we find נִיר in the sense of “light”), and in accordance with 20:37, it may be regarded as a figurative representation of the entire spirit of the wicked, i.e. their proud disposition, flaring and framing like a bright light. Thus the LXX (λαμπτήρ), Vulg., Schultens, Dathe, Bertheau—except that the latter interpret the “light” less pertinently of the brilliant prosperity of the wicked. In like manner Luther also, Geier, Döderlein, Ziegler, Umbreit, who, however, find in the last term not an appositive to the two preceding expressions, but a third subject co-ordinate with them. [To these who adopt “light” as their rendering, may be added, although with some diversity in the grammatical relation and the interpretation of the term, K., De W., H., S., M., N., and the E. V. in its marginal reading. The old English expositors generally follow the text of the E. V., “ploughing,” which is also preferred and defended by Wordsw., as suggesting an “evil execution” of the “proud aspirations and covetous ambition” of the wicked “in a deliberate action.”—A.].—The predicate of clause b is with no more propriety here than in Pro_10:16 to be explained by “ruin” (disaster, destruction),—which is contrary to the view of Umbreit, Hitzig, etc.,—but retains the meaning which is predominant in the Old Testament; for to trace back all proud conduct and action to sin is plainly the proper drift and import of the proverb before us; comp. Pro_21:24, below.
Pro_21:5. The counsels of the diligent (tend) only to abundance; but every one who is overhasty (cometh) only to want. “Abundance” and “want” stand contrasted here as in Pro_16:23. The “hasty,” however, in contrast with the “diligent,” the man who labors in substantial and continuous methods (comp. Pro_12:27), must be he who in the pursuit of gain is in excessive haste, the impatient, restless fortune-hunter, who besides is not above base and deceitful modes of acquiring, and for that very reason for a punishment is plunged into destitution and penury; comp. Pro_19:2; also Pro_20:21; Pro_28:20; and with respect to the general sentiment still further Pro_12:11; Pro_13:11.—This explanation, which is as simple as it is congruous with the context, makes Hitzig’s conjecture superfluous (instead of אָצֵר ,אָץ, “the collector,” i.e. the niggard); comp. Pro_11:24. [Rueetschi, ubi supra, p. 152, defending the common rendering, expands somewhat the implied contrast between the plans according to which the diligent toils, and the impatient haste which cannot wait to plan.—A.].
Pro_21:6. The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting breath of them that seek death. The second member is literally rendered according to the text: “is fleeting breath, those seeking death,”—the latter phrase not to be regarded as a limiting genitive (see Critical Notes), but the two a hendiadys; the idea “fleeting breath of those seeking death” being resolved into the two co-ordinate ideas, “fleeting breath” and “seekers of death.” [Wordsw.: “vanity driven like chaff;”—“the work of the wicked and covetous man is chaff and his harvest is death.” Kamph., while favoring a simple emendation (that of Ewald, etc.; see Critical Notes), would refer the “seekers,” if the text is to be retained, to the treasures; “treasures unlawfully gained are not only themselves without substance, but also bring on destruction for their deceitful possessor.” H.: “a vanity agitated by them that seek death;” N.: “seattered breath of them,” etc.; S.: “a fleeting breath are they who seek death;” M.: “(like) a fleeting vapor to those who seek death.” The phrase plainly requires somewhat violent grammatical constructions, or an emendation. Our author’s hendiadys making the plural participle an apparent appositive of the singular noun is not the most forced.—A.] With reference to the phrase “seekers of death,” comp. Pro_8:36; Pro_17:19; with respect to the expression “a fleeting vanity,” Job_14:2; Job_13:25; and Pindar’s well-known phrase, σκιὰς ὄναρ ἄνθρωπος. It is hardly possible that we have here any suggestion of the mirage (Isa_35:7), the “tremulous mist of the desert, vanishing again in quick deception,”—for the noun הֶבֶל nowhere else occurs with this signification (this in opposition to Arnoldi, and to some extent Umbreit also).
Pro_21:7. The violence of the wicked sweepeth them away. The “violence” is not designed here to describe the destruction intended for the wicked (comp. Job_5:22; Isa_13:6), but is used in the active sense, of the rapacious or murderous violence practised by them (comp. Pro_24:2. So the Vulg., Luther, Umbreit, Hitzig.) The latter, to illustrate the idea, appropriately suggests the case in which an incendiary is consumed in the fire which he sets. But examples like Pro_1:18-19; Pro_7:23; serve also for illustration. With clause b compare (above) Pro_21:3, a.
Pro_21:8. Crooked is the way of the guilty man. “Burdened, laden” signifies, as the corresponding word in Arabic does, “the guilt-laden,” and so the vicious man, the malefactor, in contrast with the “pure or clean.”
3. Pro_21:9-18. Various warnings against foolish, hard-hearted, uncharitable, unrighteous conduct.—It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, and so on the one hand, solitary and forsaken (comp. Psa_102:7 (8)), and on the other, exposed to all winds and weathers, in an exceedingly inconvenient, uncomfortable position. [See Hackett’s Illustrations of Scripture, and similar works].—Than with a contentious woman in a thronged house: lit., “than a woman of contentions (comp. Pro_19:13; Pro_27:15) and a house of companionship” (οἶκος κοινός, LXX),—an example of hendiadys, therefore like Pro_21:6.—On account of the correspondence of the idea with Pro_21:19, which certainly is remarkably close, Hitzig proposes to remove the “contentious woman” entirely from the text, for (freely following the LXX) he reads מִשְּׂאֵת instead of מֵאֵשֶׁת, and so from clause b gets the meaning: “than that strife arises and the house is common.”
Pro_21:10. For the expression in a comp. Pro_13:4.—His neighbor findeth no mercy with him, lit., “his neighbor is not compassionately treated by his eyes,” i.e., on account of his violent wickedness and selfishness even his friend experiences no sympathy from him.
Pro_21:11. With a comp. Pro_19:25.—And when the wise is prospered, he will gain knowledge, i.e. the simple, who must be the subject again in clause b, inasmuch as it can hardly be said of the wise that it is his prosperity that first helps him to knowledge. Usually, “and if one instruct the wise,” as if the verb הַשְׂכִיל were here transitive in the sense of “warning, instructing,” and thus stood for הוֹכִיחַ, Pro_19:25. But the wise man needs no longer such instruction as may for the first time give him understanding; and this verb is found, e.g also in Pro_17:8 (comp. Isa_52:13), used in the sense of “possessing or finding prosperity.” The whole proverb therefore demands that “the simple” be deterred by the punishment of the fool, as well as made intelligent and stimulated to good by the prosperity of the wise.
Pro_21:12. The Righteous marketh the house of the wicked. That by this righteous one God is meant, the supreme judge and rewarder, appears beyond all controversy from clause b, as well as from the parallel passage Pro_22:12 (comp. also Job_34:17). Rosen-mueller, Ewald, Bertheau, Elster take the correct view, while Hitzig here again endeavors to emend (substituting בֵּיתוֹ for בֵּית, and making, רֵשַׁע, “wickedness,” the subject of clause b); Umbreit, however, harshly and ungrammatically makes the “righteous” in a a righteous man, and then in b. supplies God as the subject of the predicative participle. [So the E. V., which is followed by Wordsw.; Noyes makes the righteous man the subject of both clauses,—while De., W, K., H., S. and M. more correctly refer both to God.—A.]
Pro_21:13. Comp. Mat_18:23-35, a parable which fitly illustrates the meaning of this sentence, pronounced against hard-heartedness; see also Mat_25:41 sq.; Luk_11:13.
Pro_21:14. Comp. Pro_17:8; Pro_18:16; Pro_19:6. As in these passages so in the one before us it is not prohibited presents or bribes that are spoken of, but lawful manifestations of liberality, though bestowed in all quietness (in secret), i.e. without attracting needless attention.—A present in the bosom, is the same as the “gift from the bosom” in Pro_17:23, a present brought concealed in the bosom (not a “present into the bosom,” as Rosenm., Bertheau, etc., would have it).
Pro_21:15. It is a joy to the just to do justice, but (it is) destruction only to them that work iniquity. “Confusion, terror” (comp. Pro_10:29) is all right action to evil doers, since they distinctly feel “that its consequences must condemn and punish their own course and conduct” (Elster.); for they practise their ungodly folly with pleasure and delight (Pro_10:23; Pro_15:21); they have a real satisfaction in their works of darkness (comp. Rom_1:32; Joh_3:19). [The E. V., followed by H., N., S., M. makes “destruction” the subject of clause b, and not a second predicate, as De W., K., etc., do, like our author. The latter construction best brings out the antithesis between a “joy” and a “terror.” The same course of conduct is thus differently viewed by and related to the contrasted classes.—A.]
Pro_21:16. With a compare Pro_2:15; Pro_4:14 sq.; with b, Pro_2:18; Pro_9:18.
Pro_21:17. He becometh a poor man who loveth pleasure (lit. “a man of want”). “Joy” is here specifically intoxicating delights, such as are to be found in luxurious banquets, where “wine and perfume,” these familiar symbols of social festivity (Psa_104:15; Pro_27:9; comp. Amo_6:6), play their part. The Vulgate, therefore, if not with verbal accuracy renders by “qui diligit epulas.”
Pro_21:18. The Wicked becometh a ransom for the righteous, i.e. so far forth as the divine wrath turns from him who is comparatively righteous to fall upon the head of the evil doer; comp. Pro_11:8. Thus according to Isa_43:3 the heathen nations atone for the comparatively purer and more upright Israel (comp. Hitzig on this passage).
4. Pro_21:19-25. Admonitions of an import similar to that of the preceding series, directed especially against uncharitableness, folly and sloth.—With Pro_21:19 comp. Pro_21:9 above.—With a contentious, fretful woman, lit., “with a woman of contentions and of worry;” the genitives are naturally genitivi effectus.
Pro_21:20. Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man consumeth them, i.e. wastes whatever he possesses of valuable treasures and spices. “A fool of a man,” as in Pro_15:20. To “swallow up,” i.e. to waste, destroy and ruin, as in Ecc_10:12; Lam_2:2-8; Job_10:8, etc.—Hitzig in clause a changes וְשֶׁמֶן to יִשְׁכֹן and reads פֶּה instead of נְוֵה, and thus obtains the meaning, “Precious treasure is in a wise mouth, but a fool of a man swallows it down (?).”
Pro_21:21. He that followeth after righteousness and mercy shall find life, righteousness and honor. The second “righteousness,” although wanting in the LXX, is not for that reason to be regarded an error (in opposition to Ziegler, Elster). It denotes the judicial righteousness of the man who, on account of his striving after righteousness, is sanctified and blessed by God (just as in Pro_8:18; Job_33:26),—while in clause a the righteousness intended is a moral quality of the wise man who keeps the law. The relation is the same in the N. T. between δικαιοσύνη as a present possession of the believer (e.g. Rom_3:28; Gal_3:21), and δικαιοσύνη; as an object of Christian hope; Gal_5:5.—With this use of the terms “life” and “honor” comp. Pro_3:16.
Pro_21:22. A wise man scaleth a city of the mighty; i.e. even a fortress well defended by numerous and strong warriors does not long withstand the sagacious counsel of the wise; comp. Pro_24:5, and also Ecc_9:15,—where, in a reversed relation, one wise man successfully defends the city against a whole army.—For the expression, “the bulwark of its confidence,” in clause b, comp. Pro_14:26.
Pro_21:23. Comp. Pro_13:3; Pro_19:6.
Pro_21:24. A proud and arrogant (man)—scorner is his name; i.e. not, “he might reasonably be called scoffer,” but, “the universal moral judgment of men really calls him so, looks upon him as a scoffer, as an ‘infidel’ (Delitzsch; comp. Introd., § 3, N. 2), a man to whom there is nothing holy.” For יָהִיד, superbiens, “arrogant, conceited,” comp. Hab_2:5.
Pro_21:25-26 form a continuous representation of the slothful, in contrast with the righteous and therefore diligent man, who, however, on account of his diligence is also beneficent.—The desire of the slothful killeth him, i.e. his desire for food and drink, his hunger, for the quieting, of which he is nevertheless unable to employ the proper means—labor in behalf of his physical sustenance. Comp. Pro_13:4; also Pro_19:24. [Stuart understands “his desire of slothful repose;” which is less easily reconciled with clause a of Pro_21:26. His desires are not so intense and consuming for repose, passivity rather than activity characterizing whatever is voluntary about him; his involuntary appetites, for which he neglects to provide, destroy him.—A.]—He desireth intensely all the day long; lit., “Every day he wisheth a wish,” i.e. he carries constantly the same intense longing for possession and enjoyment, but stops with this indolent wishing and dreaming, without passing over into energetic action. It is otherwise with the upright, who by his honorable industry is put in circumstances to distribute rich gifts among others also; comp. Pro_11:24 a.
5. Pro_21:27-31. Of God’s righteous judgment on the wicked and disobedient.—The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination (comp. Pro_15:8), how much more when it is offered for evil. בְּזִמָּה might mean “with transgression, with evil intent” (not “with deceit,” as Bertheau holds), comp. Psa_26:10; Psa_119:150. But it seems to be more appropriately taken here as a statement of the motive of the abhorred sacrifice, and therefore to be “for transgression,” for some iniquity wrought with evil intent, which is to be expiated by a sacrifice,—and by a sacrifice only, and not by true contrition and repentance (comp. Hitzig on this passage). Mal_1:13 is therefore not so true a parallel as Sir_34:21-25.
Pro_21:28. With a comp. Pro_19:5; Pro_19:9.—The man that heareth shall speak evermore; i. e. the modest and teachable, who, instead of talking on heedlessly at random, gives thoughtful attention to all profitable teaching, and ponders quietly all that he has heard, that he may be able to give reliable testimony (comp. Solomon’s “hearing heart,” 1Ki_3:9)—such a one will be constantly called forth anew to testify, and so become one “speaking evermore,” a testis sive orator perpetuus, a witness to the truth universally esteemed and much desired, in contrast with the heedless, gossiping, lying witness (comp. Pro_18:13 ). For this interpretation the parallel in Pro_12:19 is decisive, from which appears especially the inadmissibility of rendering לָנֶצַח secundum veritatem, according to truth (so e.g. Umbreit: “he who hears the truth”). [Rueetschi (as above, p. 152) brings out the antithetic force of the verse thus: “To hold to the truth is just what the lying witness fails to do; therefore must he cease to speak; his way perishes, Psa_1:6. But the man that hearkens, etc., to the truth shall evermore speak ‘as a witness and otherwise, living happily shall always be able to speak, and shall be gladly heard’ (Ewald), and so by no means perish.”—A.]
Pro_21:29. The wicked putteth on a bold face, lit., “the man of wickedness maketh boldness with his face.” The predicate as in Pro_7:13, denotes the immovable fixedness of features behind which the shameless villain seeks to hide his criminal intentions and crafty dispositions. Whether we are here to think specifically of a false witness implicated in some criminal conspiracy (from the suggestion of 28, a), must remain doubtful from the indefiniteness of the expression (in opposition to Bertheau, Hitzig).—But he that is upright establisheth his way. Instead of יָכִין the K’ri, with which the LXX agree, proposes יָבִין, and some modern interpreters prefer this reading, e.g. Hitzig: “considereth his way.” But just as it may be said of God (Pro_16:9) so it might be said of a pious man, that he makes his way or his steps firm, i.e. sure and fixed (comp. Jotham’s example, 2Ch_27:6); and the antithesis between a and b becomes decidedly stronger with the reading of the K’thibh. [The E. V., which is followed by H., N. and M. adopts a weakened and ambiguous rendering, “directeth,”—“considereth” being in the margin. S. and Wordsw. decidedly prefer the stronger rendering “establisheth,” W. bringing out the contrast between the wicked man’s hardening his face, and the good man’s hardening his way. As Rueetschi urges, both the verbs and their objects contribute to the completeness of the antithesis. “The wicked man looks only to the outside, the forms, the appearance and show, the transient result; but the good man aims at the real, the actually good; he therefore establishes his ways, his mode of life and action, his whole course.”—A.].
Pro_21:30. No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel is there against Jehovah. לְנֶגֶד is by no means merely “before God,” i.e., according to God’s judgment, as Umbreit, etc., say, but “over against, in opposition to.” The meaning is that a human wisdom which would assert itself in opposition to the divine, is not wisdom, but sheer folly (comp. 1Co_3:19), that in comparison with the divine wisdom that of man is altogether nought (comp. Isa_29:14).
Pro_21:31 continues the thought of the preceding verse. As human wisdom, so likewise is human strength and reliance on human aid and might nothing; comp. Psa_20:7 (8); Psa_33:17.—The horse is made ready for the day of battle. The participle expresses the permanence of the matter; therefore, lit. “stands prepared, is prepared” (Hitzig).—With b compare also David’s language to Goliath, 1Sa_17:47 : “The battle is Jehovah’s;” i.e., on Him depends the decision of the war, its favorable issue, its victorious result.
DOCTRINAL, ETHICAL, HOMILETIC AND PRACTICAL
According to the introduction and conclusion of the chapter, its contents refer mainly to the all-directing providence of God, the ruler of the world, just as in chap. 16,—which furthermore in regard to several of the ethical precepts, or rules of virtue connected with these considerations about providence, stands in quite close relations to the admonitory substance of the section before us; comp. e.g. Pro_16:5 with Pro_21:4; Pro_21:24; Pro_16:10; Pro_16:12 with Pro_21:1; Pro_16:1 with Pro_21:6; Pro_16:6 with Pro_21:21; Pro_16:17; Pro_16:20 with Pro_21:23; Pro_16:32 with Pro_21:22; Pro_16:26 with Pro_21:25-26. Among the virtues the practice of which is commended as a chief means of putting one’s self in the right relations to the administrative and judicial government of God over the world, righteousness or obedience to God’s word, which is better than sacrifice (Pro_21:3; Pro_21:27; comp. Pro_21:8; Pro_21:12; Pro_21:15; Pro_21:18; Pro_21:21; Pro_21:28-29), is the most conspicuous. Side by side with this stands patience in the sense of the New Testament (comp. ὑπομονή, Luk_8:15; Jam_1:4), i.e., steadfast endurance in labor and in suffering, such as the service of the Lord brings with it (Pro_21:5; Pro_21:17; Pro_21:25-26). There are more isolated warnings against deception (Pro_21:6; Pro_21:28), hard-heartedness (Pro_21:10; Pro_21:13), luxurious extravagance (Pro_21:17; Pro_21:20), scoffing (Pro_21:11; Pro_21:24). Since however these without difficulty group themselves about the central idea of obedience to the divine command, this obedience may itself be considered in a general way as the controlling idea in the substance of the section, and accordingly some such theme as “the man who hearkens” (Pro_21:28; comp. 1Ki_3:9), or again “obedience more acceptable to God than sacrifice” (Pro_21:3; comp. 1Sa_15:22), may be prefixed as a theme or motto to all the rest.
For a homily then on the chapter as a whole: God as ruler and judge over all the world, and man’s duty of obedience to Him, consisting in walking in righteousness, patience, love, and truth. Or more briefly: Obedience to God’s word as the sum of all human duties and virtues. Comp. Stöcker: Of God’s gracious and righteous government, as it shows itself in the good and the evil.—The Berleburg Bible puts it very well: God is to rule, not self-will.
Pro_21:1-3. Cramer (on Pro_21:1-2): God not only knows the thoughts of men, but also has their hearts in His hands, and turns and moulds them as the potter the clay. In matters of faith therefore we are not to proceed according to the fancy of our own hearts, but according to God’s command.—Geier: Pray God earnestly that He may not leave thine heart intent on any evil, but that he may draw it to Himself to walk steadfastly according to his word.—Wohlfarth: Not merely the plans of the lowly, but also the counsels and undertakings of the mighty depend on God, who as chief ruler of His world with wisdom that never deceives and power that never fails shapes all according to His design.—Starke(on Pro_21:3): All outward ceremonies of worship avail nothing, if there is lacking the true inward service of God, worshipping God in spirit and in truth (Joh_4:24).—[Lawson: Sacrifices had no goodness in their own nature; and when men rested on them they were abominable to God. Judgment and justice are a part of the image of God in man, and have an everlasting excellency in their nature].
Pro_21:4-8. Cramer (on Pro_21:5): A measure is good in all things; therefore hasten deliberately.—Geier: He is cruel against himself who heaps up riches unrighteously: he is gathering up his own ruin at the same time.—Calwer Handb. (on Pro_21:5-7): Industry and activity, not excess of haste, leads to good success; furthermore, not falsehood, or deceit, or robbing others.—Von Gerlach (on 7, 8): The desolation which the ungodly bring upon others at length sweeps them away; for no one, who persistently refuses to do right can stand, since right is precisely the stability, the order of things.—[Trapp (on Pro_21:6): Many a wretched worldling spins a fair thread to strangle himself both temporally and eternally].
Pro_21:9-18. [Chalmers (on Pro_21:10): The claims of friendship are overborne by the strength of that evil desire on the part of the wicked, which is bent on the objects of their own selfishness]—Starke (on Pro_21:10): We should not so often act contrary to the law of love to our neighbors, if we reflected always what we should desire in our neighbor’s place (Mat_7:12).—(On Pro_21:13): An uncompassionate spirit toward the poor is punished by God with want of pity in return, according to the justice of an exact requital.—Hasius (on Pro_21:14): Even with trifles, with slight manifestations of love, one may frequently avert much evil, and soothe spirits.—Geier. (on Pro_21:15): Joy and peace of conscience follow a joyful obedience to God’s command; a scornful contempt and disobedience of it is followed by constant disquiet and fear.—[Lawson (on Pro_21:15): Many do judgment without taking pleasure in it; their consciences will not suffer them to do otherwise, but their hearts are on the side of sin; or they will do many good things with pleasure, because their constitutional and beloved sins are not affected by them; but there are other things at which they stop short, etc.—Trapp (on Pro_21:16): He that deviateth from the truth according to godliness cannot possibly wander so far as to miss of hell].—Cramer (on Pro_21:17): He who will consume more than his plough can yield must utterly perish (Ecclesiast. 19:32).—(On Pro_21:18): God often turns the leaf over so that the evil that was designed for the pious comes upon the ungodly.—Von Gerlach (on Pro_21:18): Every man deserves punishment here since none is guiltless. Since however the righteous acknowledges his guilt and walks in humility before the Lord, He remits his penalty, and before his eyes punishes the ungodly in full measure, that by the sight he may be made wise.
Pro_21:19-26. Hasius (on Pro_21:20): Where true wisdom is lacking in the administration of temporal things, there even with a regal or princely income destitution and want may enter.—Geier (on Pro_21:22): Let every Christian and especially every Christian teacher exert himself by virtue of heavenly wisdom to tear down the fortresses and bulwarks of the kingdom of hell.—Cramer (on Pro_21:22): Let no one trust in walls, castles or fortresses. What human hands have constructed human hands can pull down again.—(On Pro_21:23): God as the Creator of our human nature has set a double wall before the tongue,—the teeth and the lips,—to show that we should keep and guard the tongue with all carefulness.—[Bp. Hall: He that looketh carefully to his tongue takes a safe course for preserving his life, which is oft in danger by much and wild talking].—.Geier (on Pro_21:24): Vices hang together like a chain; from pride springs contempt, from contempt wrath, from wrath mockery and many insults.—Zeltner (on Pro_21:25-26): Lazy thieves of time are not worth their bread; he that worketh not, neither shall he eat, 2Th_3:10.—[Muffet: Wishers and woulders are neither good householders nor yet long livers].
Pro_21:27-31. Zeltner (on Pro_21:28-29): To receive kind suggestions with thankfulness, and to reform, is no shame but an honor in the sight of God and men.—[Trapp (on Pro_21:30): Human wisdom while it strives for masteries is overmastered].—Melanchthon (on Pro_21:30-31): It is a wholesome rule for the whole of life, to fulfil the duties of one’s calling, and in connection with this trustfully to invoke God’s aid and succor. If we do this our works under God’s aid in blessing us succeed well. Unrighteous labors, those undertaken without any call from above, as well as without trust in and prayer to God, on the contrary undoubtedly fail, be they entered upon with ever so much shrewdness and cunning.—Saurin (sermon on Pro_21:30): On the futility of the means which human passions oppose to God,—viz. 1) earthly exaltation; 2) political prudence; 3) sensuality; 4) stoical endurance.—Berleburg Bible (on Pro_21:30-31): No beginning, devising, striving of ours can possibly oppose that which God purposes with us. Is it not then the best thing to commit ourselves wholly to His guidance, without giving ourselves much labor in vain? We indeed prepare all in accordance with our idea and understanding; but God gives success wholly according to His will. In everything then let the charge be left to Him!
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 1. King’s heart… hand of the Lord — A…
1. King’s heart… hand of the Lord — A ruler is an official and representative person in an eminent degree. What he does affects others directly and indirectly. Providence oft times overrules his thoughts, tastes, passions, purposes, etc., to subserve His own ends, and often works out results altogether foreign to the intention or expectation of the ruler.
As the rivers of water — פלגי מים, (palge mayim,) divisions of waters, (compare Psa_1:3,) such as the rivulets or channels of water in an irrigated garden or field. In these the water was turned on or off, or conducted to any part, at pleasure. “As irrigation is practised for the purpose of refreshing and rendering fruitful, so the implication seems to be, that Jehovah will direct the heart of the king to purposes of good.” — Stuart.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1. rivers] Lit. streams, or channels of water is…
1. rivers] Lit. streams, or channels of water is the heart of a king in the hand of Jehovah. The comparison is drawn from artificial irrigation. The irrigator has complete control over the water supply. He cuts his channels and directs his streams whithersoever and in whatever measure he pleases. Comp. Psa_1:3.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) As the rivers of water.—Channels for irrigation (comp.…
XXI.
(1) As the rivers of water.—Channels for irrigation (comp. Psa_1:3). He turns the heart of the king, whose favour is as the latter rain (Pro_16:15) and dew (Pro_19:12), now towards one suppliant and now towards another, as He thinks fit, for “the hearts of kings are in His rule and governance.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The king"s heart is in the hand of the…
The king"s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water. We are to think of the little channels used for irrigation. As these are altogether under the gardener"s control, so the heart of the king, who might seem to have no superior, is directed by God. He turneth it whithersoever he will. By hidden influences and providential arrangements God disposes the monarch to order his government so as to carry out his designs, to spread around joy and plenty. The system of irrigation signified in this passage is still to be seen in Eastern lands. "Flower beds and gardens of herbs are always made at a little lower level than the surrounding ground, and are divided into small squares, a slight edging of earth banking the whole round on each side. Water is then let in, and floods the entire surface till the soil is thoroughly saturated; after which the moisture is turned off to another bed, by simply closing the opening in the one under water, by a turn of the bare foot of the gardener, and making another in the same way with the foot, in the next bed, and thus the whole garden is in due course watered .... Only, in this case, the hand is supposed to make the gap in the clay bank of the streamlet, and divert the current" (Geikie, "Holy Land and Bible," 1:9). So in Virgil we find ("Ecl.," 3:111)"Claudite jam rivos, pueri; sat prata biberunt." "Now close the cuts; enough the meads have drunk.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-3. The providence and government of God.
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I THE DIVINE CONTROL OF HUMAN PURPOSES. (Ver. 1) As the streams of water are led by canals and trenches through the land, that it may be refreshed and fructified, so are the thoughts and counsels of the ruler, if wise and true, a means of strength and blessing to the people. And all such wise counsels are of God. He forms and turns the purposes of the heart, as the potter with the clay. To Cyrus he says, "I have called thee by name, have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me". (Isa_45:4. See Dr. Bushnell"s fine sermon on this text in "The New Life
II ALL HUMAN ACTIONS ARE WEIGHED IN THE SCALES OF DIVINE JUDGMENT. (Ver. 2) We can say little about motives; we may be blind to our own, but God is not. Hence the duty of pondering (notice the original meaning of the word) our own doings and plans, weighing them, that is, in the scales of a judgment enlightened by his holy Word.
III THE TRUE DIVINE SERVICE. (Ver. 3) There is an outward and an inward side of the religious life. The outward, viz. ritual and moral conduct, is only of value as it is an expression of true desires in the heart. The inward worship of God in spirit and in truth (Joh_4:24) must precede and accompany the outward worship, or the latter is nothing worth. (Pro_15:8 Ps 1, sqq.; 1Sa_15:22 Mic_6:6-8) J.
Human power and Divine direction.
The course of human affairs impresses, we might perhaps say oppresses, us with the thought
I HOW MUCH POWER IS IN ONE MAN"S HAND. We shall always have kings amongst us of one kind or another. They may not bear that name; they may not occupy the precise social position indicated by the word; but there will always be men who will exercise such distinguished power and hold such eminent position that they will be "as kings," if they are not so called by their fellows. God endows us very differently, and he puts it in the power of a few to wield commanding influence, to rise to high rank, to sway a wide and powerful control over their countrymen. And it has often been a matter for serious concern that, to a very large extent indeed, the prosperity and well being of an entire people has rested with the decision of, has been held in the balance by, a single hand. Then we naturally think that
II HOW HIS HAND WILL MOVE DEPENDS UPON HIS HEART. As the heart feels the hand directs. Behaviour is the outcome of character. Given a stern, insensitive heart, and we count on a hard and cruel policy; but given a kind and considerate heart, and we reckon on a just and humane career. A country has therefore the deepest interest in the character of its rulers, as it has in the moral and spiritual condition of its leaders in any and every sphere of thought and action. We therefore gladly remember that
III THE HEART OF THE POWERFUL IS IN THE HAND OF GOD. "As rivers of water be turneth it," etc. In the formation of this globe, in the arrangement of land and water, in the upbuilding of the great mountains, in the cutting of the fruitful plains, in the tracing of the fertilizing streams, we recognize the hand of God. He has used a great variety of agencies to bring about all these and all such results; but everything on the surface of the globe bears the impress of his wise hand. The rivers do not run where they list they flow along the watercourses which his wisdom has arranged. And so with the hearts of the great and the strong, of the king and the counsellor, of the warrior and the minister. God has access to them; he can as easily touch and affect them in their thoughts and judgments as he can determine the channels in which the springs shall run. He can arrest them in their purpose; he can change or even reverse their course. Our human minds, as well as all material objects, are subject to his sway, and own the touch of his controlling hand. Therefore we conclude that
IV WE NEVER NEED DESPAIR, BUT SHOULD ALWAYS HOPE. For in the darkest hour we know that we have one resource; When we can touch no other human or earthly springs, we can make our appeal to God. We can sock to "move the hand which Droves the universe," and which "turneth the hearts of kings whithersoever he will." We are sure that:
1. God is never regardless of, or indifferent to, the course which his strong sons are taking.
2. He is ruling the world in the interest of righteousness.
3. He is willing, and indeed wishful, to be sought by those who love and trust him. Let the people of God, therefore, cherish hope in the midst of dire trouble and impending evil; and let the enemies of God beware. One touch of the Divine finger, and their fine fabric of oppression falls instantly to the ground. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The kings heart is in the hand of the…
Pro_21:1
The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord.
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God and the human race
In these verses we have God unfolded to us.
I. As the controller of human hearts. Some suppose there is an allusion to the gardener directing the rills of water through the different parts of his ground, and that the comparison is between the ease with which the gardener does this and the ease with which the Almighty controls the purposes and volitions of the human soul.
1. This is an undoubted fact. A priori reasoning renders this obvious. The God of infinite wisdom must have a purpose to answer in relation to the existence and history of the human race. He has a purpose not only in the rise and fall of empires, but in all the events that happen in the individual history of the obscure as well as the illustrious. But unless He has a control over the workings of the human heart and the volitions of the human soul, how could this purpose be realised? If He controls not the thoughts and impulses of the human mind, He has no control over the human race, and His purposes have no guarantee for their fulfilment.
2. This fact interferes not with human responsibility. Though the Creator has an absolute control over all the workings of our minds, yet we are conscious that we are free in all our volitions and actions. Though the reconciliation of these two facts transcends our philosophy, they involve no absurdity.
II. As the judge of human character. There is a connection between the second and first verses. The connection suggests--
1. That God judges mens characters, not according to their own estimate. Men generally are so vain that they form a high opinion of themselves, but this estimate may be the very reverse of Gods.
2. That God judges mens characters not according to the result of their conduct. Though they may unwittingly work out His plans, they do not approve themselves to Him on that account.
3. That God judges mens characters by the heart. The essence of the character is in the motive.
III. As the approver of human goodness (Pro_21:3). Sacrifice, at best, is only circumstantially good--rectitude is essentially so. Sacrifice, at best, is only the means and expression of good--rectitude is goodness itself. God accepts the moral without the ceremonial, but never the ceremonial without the moral. The universe can do without the ceremonial, but not without the moral. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
God rules the hearts of men
General Gordon had an Arab text inscribed over his throne in the Palace of Khartoum--God rules over the hearts of men.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Pro_21:1. Rivers of water. Rather streams, the allusion being…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_21:1. Rivers of water. Rather streams, the allusion being to the watercourses, which in hot countries intersect fields and gardens for the purpose of irrigation, in which the water is entirely under the control of the husbandman.
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Pro_21:2 Pondereth, rather weigheth, as in chap. Pro_16:2. It is the same verb as that used in 1Sa_2:3 and Isa_40:12-13.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_21:1
THE KING OF KINGS
I. Kings are more entirely in the hand of God than subjects are in the hands of kings. The king of the days of Solomon was, as some Oriental rulers are now, an absolute monarch. In the case of Solomon himself, his will was law, and in his hand was the power of life and death (see 1Ki_3:24-25). Of Nebuchadnezzar it is said, “Whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; whom he would he set up, and whom he would he put down” (Dan_5:19). It is to such a king that the proverb refers—to one who called no man or any number of men master, but upon whose single will apparently depended the destiny of millions. Yet he was not the independent being that he appeared, neither were his subjects so dependent upon his will as they appeared to be. The most abject slave in his dominions was less under his control than he was under the control of Him by whom “kings reign” and “princes rule” (chap. Pro_8:15-16). The gardener whose ground is intersected by water-channels finds it a very easy task to turn the stream in the direction he desires; the soil yields to his touch, and forthwith the water flows whithersoever he wills. But the moist earth is not so easily moulded by the hand of man, as the heart of the proudest monarch is subdued to obedience by his Maker; and the water is not more entirely subject to the will of the husbandman than is the will of the most stubborn despot to the will of Jehovah.
II. The power which God exercises over kings extends into a region where no earthly ruler can penetrate. The heart of the king is in the hand of Jehovah. This is more than the most absolute monarch can boast concerning his meanest subject. Nebuchadnezzar could issue his decree, that whoso did not fall down before his golden image should be cast into the fiery furnace, but he could not move the steadfast determination of the Hebrew youths to acknowledge no god but the God of Israel. His will could determine what should be done to their bodies, but all his threatenings could not reach their hearts. But God rules the spirit of a man in that He has access to his innermost thoughts and feelings, and can thus touch the spring of all his actions, and thus bring him to do His will, even when he seems to be doing only his own.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Could anything be more bold? Mark the compass—first, of subject, the whole stream as the gardener turns it; second, of object, “whithersoever” or anything He pleases; and third, of sovereignty; its pleasing Him, that being the only test. The “king” may be a Cæsar. His lip may make new geographies (ch. Pro_16:10). His “heart” may change the history of all things. And yet, like a vineyard’s channels diverted by a child, this Pharaoh’s heart is in the fingers of the Most High.… Upon whatsoever. Not toward anything. A stream may be turned in a new direction to get rid of it. God has no such streams. It is turned on something. For God has an end to answer when He rules even the vilest of fiends.—Miller.
Whether, in the second line, the pleasant refreshing influence of the rivulets, dispensing blessing and increase, comes into account as a point of the comparison, is uncertain (comp. Isa_32:2); this, however, is not improbable, inasmuch as the heart of a king may in fact become in an eminent degree a fountain of blessing for many thousands, and, according to God’s design, ought to be so. See chap. Pro_16:15.—Lange’s Commentary.
For Homiletics on Pro_21:2 see on chap. Pro_16:2, page 454.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain 1. The 'watercourses' (RV) are the artificial irrigation channels…
1. The 'watercourses' (RV) are the artificial irrigation channels of Egypt and Babylon (Isa_58:11).
4. There is no connexion between the two halves of the v. RM 'The tillage of the wicked is sin,' i.e. the result of his labour is sin.
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5. One who is in a hurry to be rich hastens to want.
6. By a very slight alteration of the Hebrew text we get the greatly improved rendering of RM, 'Is a vapour driven to and fro; they are snares of death.'
9. A small room is often built on the flat roof of an Oriental house (1Ki_17:19; 2Ki_4:10; Psa_102:7). 'A needle's eye is wide enough for two friends; the whole world is too narrow for two foes.'
12. Read, 'The righteous considereth the house of the wicked; he overturneth the wicked to ruin.' Perhaps the righteous means God.
14. Bribes are carried ready for use in a fold of the robe.
16. He will come prematurely to his final resting-place amongst' the Shades' (Pro_2:18).
17. The oil is that used at banquets for anointing (Pro_27:9; Deu_14:26; Neh_8:12; Amo_6:6).
18. Cp. Pro_11:8.
22. Strength of the confidence thereof] the stronghold in which it trusted.
25. He desires ease and self-indulgence.
27. Read, 'When he bringeth it to atone for wickedness' (RM): cp. Lev_19:20-22.
28. The man who actually heard what he swears to, will speak constantly or 'for ever'; his testimony will never be shaken.
29. A wicked man boldly maintains whatever suits him; a wise man 'considereth his way' (RM).
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain CHAPTER 21 Personal Instructions as to Life and Conduct
CHAPTER 21 Personal Instructions as to Life and Conduct
In the proverbs of this chapter the Lord is mentioned five times. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will” Pro 21:1). The rivers of water are “water-courses,” the irrigation system known to the ancients, opening and shutting sluices directed the flow of the waters. Thus the Lord governs the king’s heart as He directs the affairs of men. The Lord pondereth the hearts Pro 21:2). The same truth is stated in Pro 16:2; self-justification suits the natural man but the Lord testeth all hearts. How well it is to remember in all our conduct, that truth, so comforting to the believer, expressed by Peter, “Thou knoweth all things.” More acceptable than sacrifice to the Lord, is to do righteousness and judgment Pro 21:3). This may be compared with1Sa 15:22, Hos 6:6 ; Mic 6:6-16. The words of our Lord in the Gospel of Matthew give the same truth. “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice”Mat 9:13). At the close of the chapter two additional statements are made concerning the Lord; “There is no wisdom nor understanding, nor counsel against the LORD” (Pro 21:30). No matter how man may plan, how cunning the enemy may be, it will all come to naught, for the Lord is above all. How well Eliphaz the Temanite expressed this truth when he said: “He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their craftiness; and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong” Job 5:12-27). Safety is not by “the horse prepared against the day of battle, nor by might or by power, but safety is of the LORD” Pro 21:31). How well then to look away from man and look to the Lord and to know in Him is our safety. The other proverbs in this chapter giving direction as to life and conduct, warning against the high look and the proud heart, getting of treasures by a lying tongue, against heartlessness in refusing to hear the cry of the poor, against loving pleasure and luxurious living, against covetousness and other matters do not need further annotations.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 1. The king’s heart is In the hand…
v. 1. The king’s heart is In the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water, the thoughts and plans of the mightiest rulers, sovereign as they may seem, are like ditches and canals in which men lead water where they desire; He turneth it whithersoever He will; no matter what the mighty may fatuously ascribe to themselves in the way of absolute authority, there is One whose government directs even their actions in agreement with His will.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 The king's heart is a stream of water in…
The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of Yahweh
The writer speaks of the king's heart as if it were an irrigation ditch in a dry area through which people direct water to plants that need it. AT: "Yahweh controls the king's heart as a man directs water for irrigation" (See: Metaphor)
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The king's heart
The heart is a metaphor for what a person thinks and what he wants to do. AT: "The king's thoughts and actions" or "What the king thinks and what he wants to do" (See: Metonymy)
Every person's way is right in his own eyes
The eyes represent seeing, and seeing represents thoughts or judgment. The writer speaks of what a person does as if it that person were walking down a path. AT: "Every person thinks that what he does is good" or "Every person judges what he does as good" (See: Metaphor)
who weighs the hearts
The writer speaks of Yahweh deciding whether a person desires to do what is right as if Yahweh were looking at a physical object and deciding whether it is of good quality. AT: "who will judge the motives" (See: Metaphor and Metonymy)
translationWords
king
heart
hand
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 21:1 A king was the most powerful individual in…
21:1 A king was the most powerful individual in an ancient nation, and it seemed that he could do as he pleased. However, God directs the heart of the king.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.