Bible/Proverbs/12

Proverbs 12:5

12:4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

KJV

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The thoughts of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

12:6 The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

What does Proverbs 12:5 mean?

Proverbs 12:5 is a verse in the book of Proverbs, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include מַחֲשָׁבָה (machăshâbâh), צַדִּיק (tsaddîyq), מִשְׁפָּט (mishpâṭ). It connects to 15 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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The
thoughtsמַחֲשָׁבָהmachăshâbâh/makh-ash-aw-baw'/H4284a contrivance, i.e. (concretely) a texture, machine, or (abstractly) intention, plan (whether bad, a plot; or good, advice)
of
the
righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq/tsad-deek'/H6662just
are
right:מִשְׁפָּטmishpâṭ/mish-pawt'/H4941properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstractly, justice, including a participant's right or privilege (statutory or customary), or even a style
but
the
counselsתַּחְבֻּלָהtachbulâh/takh-boo-law'/H8458(only in plural) properly, steerage (as a management of ropes), i.e. (figuratively) guidance or (by implication) a plan
of
the
wickedרָשָׁעrâshâʻ/raw-shaw'/H7563morally wrong; concretely, an (actively) bad person
are
deceit.מִרְמָהmirmâh/meer-maw'/H4820fraud

Commentary on Proverbs 12:5

HENRY_FULL · Proverbs 12:5
ight: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. Note, 1. The word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and judges them. We mistake if we imagine that thoughts are free. No, they are under the divine cognizance, and therefore under the divine command. 2. We ought to be observers of the thoughts and intents of our own hearts, and to judge of ourselves by them; for they are the first-born of the soul, that have most of its image undisguised. Right thoughts are a righteous man's best evidences, as nothing more certainly proves a man wicked than wicked contrivances and designs. A good man may have in his mind bad suggestions, but he does not indulge them and harbour them till they are ripened into bad projects and resolutions. 3. It is a man's honour to mean honestly, and to have his thoughts right, though a word or action may be misplaced, or mistimed, or at least misinterpreted. But it is a man's shame to lie always at catch, to act with deceit, with trick and design, not only with a long reach, but with an overreach. 6 The words of the wicked are to lie

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 3:16

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. to thy: or, subject to thy husband

Numbers 14:29

Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,

Numbers 14:35

I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

Numbers 26:64

But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.

Numbers 26:65

For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

Deuteronomy 2:14

And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them. brook: or, valley

Job 5:6

Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; affliction: or, iniquity

Job 5:7

Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. trouble: or, labour sparks: Heb. the sons of the burning coal lift up to fly

Job 14:1

Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. few: Heb. short of days

Ecclesiastes 1:2

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 1:13

And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. to be: or, to afflict them

Ecclesiastes 1:14

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Ecclesiastes 12:8

Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Let: or, The end of the matter, even all that hath been heard, is

Ecclesiastes 12:14

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Topics

Wicked

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Proverbs 12:5.

Genesis 18:25

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

1 Kings 8:32

Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

2 Chronicles 6:23

Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.

2 Samuel 4:11

How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?

Deuteronomy 25:1

If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.

Exodus 23:7

Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

Exodus 9:27

And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

Genesis 18:23

And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

Frequently asked questions

What does Proverbs 12:5 say?

Proverbs 12:5 (King James Version) reads: "The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit."

Is Proverbs 12:5 in the Old or New Testament?

Proverbs 12:5 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Proverbs.

Reflect

As you read Proverbs 12:5, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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