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KING JAMES BIBLE · PCE

Proverbs 10:20–22

TEXT EDITION
Pure Cambridge Edition selected
20The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
21The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
22The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
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Cross References

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Proverbs 10:20Cross-references · 10 ranked passages

  1. Open

    5¶ And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

  2. Open

    9¶ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

  3. Open

    18There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

  4. Open

    34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

    35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

  5. Open

    4A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

  6. Open

    21And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

  7. Open

    13Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.

  8. Open

    7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

  9. Open

    19My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

  10. Open

    11A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

    12As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.

Proverbs 10:21Cross-references · 20 ranked passages

  1. Hosea 4:6Rank 1
    Open

    6¶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

  2. Open

    16Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?

  3. Open

    29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:

  4. Open

    9And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

    10The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

  5. Open

    3Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

    4Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

  6. Open

    19When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

  7. Open

    4A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

  8. Job 23:12Rank 8
    Open

    12Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

  9. Open

    21Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.

    22After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.

  10. Open

    31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

  11. Open

    12And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

  12. Open

    23He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

  13. Open

    16Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

  14. Open

    19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

    20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

  15. Open

    18There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

  16. Open

    2Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

  17. Open

    15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

  18. Open

    15¶ So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

    16He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

    17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

  19. Open

    30The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

  20. Open

    28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Proverbs 10:22Cross-references · 20 ranked passages

  1. Open

    38He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

  2. Open

    12Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

  3. Open

    7The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

    8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.

  4. Open

    35And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

  5. Open

    2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

  6. Open

    17And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

    18But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

  7. Open

    22For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

  8. Open

    7He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;

    8That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

  9. Open

    21An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.

  10. Open

    2And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

  11. Open

    22He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

  12. Open

    26And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?

    27The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

  13. Open

    4I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

  14. Open

    23That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

  15. Open

    8For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

    9Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?

    10Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

    11I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.

    12Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?

    13This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.

    14If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

    15Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.

    16Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;

    17He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

    18He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.

    19The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.

    20Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.

    21The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

    22For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.

    23Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

  16. Open

    1GO to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

    2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

    3Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

    4Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

    5Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

  17. Open

    1BUT the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

    2And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.

    3And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.

    4So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.

    5And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.

    6¶ And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.

    7And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!

    8O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!

    9For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?

    10¶ And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?

    11Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.

    12Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.

    13Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

    14In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come man by man.

    15And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.

    16¶ So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:

    17And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:

    18And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.

    19And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.

    20And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:

    21When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

    22¶ So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.

    23And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.

    24And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.

    25And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

    26And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

  18. Open

    18And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

  19. Open

    19And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

  20. Open

    6Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

    7Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

    8Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

    9¶ Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!

    10Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.

    11For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

    12¶ Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!

WORDS IN THIS PASSAGE

Definitions

Open a word for its full definition and concordance.

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 10:20

COMBINED MEANING

tongue

↗

1. The organ of the mouth used for tasting and speech. 2. Speech, words, or a language. 3. A tongue-shaped projection or arm of land or water.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

choice

↗

Sense 1: The act of choosing; a selection. Sense 2: Selected, excellent, or preferred.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Skeat 1893

COMBINED MEANING

silver

↗

A precious white metal used for money, vessels, ornaments, images, trade, valuation, and refining; by extension, money or wealth reckoned in that metal.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

heart

↗

Sense 1: The bodily organ. Sense 2: The inward person: the mind, will, affections, conscience, or moral character.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

worth

↗

Value, price, usefulness, or comparative importance; in the older phrase woe worth, may woe befall.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 10:21

COMBINED MEANING

lips

↗

Sense 1: The physical borders of the mouth. Sense 2: By extension, speech or utterance.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

righteous

↗

Sense 1: Right, just, equitable, or in accord with truth, justice, or the will of God. Sense 2: Upright or innocent in a matter. Sense 3: Made or regarded as right. Sense 4: As a noun, persons so described.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

feed

↗

Sense 1: To give or take food; to nourish, tend, or graze. Sense 2: Food for animals.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

but

↗

Sense 1: However; marking contrast or qualification. Sense 2: Except or unless; excluding all others or alternatives. Sense 3: Only; no more than what follows.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Skeat 1893 · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

fools

↗

Persons lacking wisdom or sound judgment, especially in moral or spiritual conduct.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

for

↗

1. In behalf of or in the place of. 2. With respect to, concerning, or toward. 3. Because of or on account of. 4. During or throughout. 5. In order to obtain or reach. 6. As a conjunction, because or seeing that.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

want

↗

Absence, lack, need, poverty, or insufficiency of what is required; to lack, be without, need, or come short of it.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Skeat 1893

COMBINED MEANING

wisdom

↗

Knowledge, understanding, judgment, skill, or prudence.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 10:22

COMBINED MEANING

blessing

↗

Sense 1: The act or words of pronouncing good; divine favor. Sense 2: A benefit bestowed by God.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

maketh

↗

Third-person singular present form of make (to form, create, produce, cause, appoint, perform, or render into a stated condition).

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

rich

↗

Possessing abundance, wealth, resources, value, fruitfulness, or fullness.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

sorrow

↗

Sense 1: Grief, sadness, anguish, pain, regret, distress, trouble, or heaviness. Sense 2: To grieve or cause such pain.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

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Related Concepts

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READ THE PASSAGE

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Nearby verses · passage boundary unavailable · Proverbs 10:19–23

The selected passage is highlighted. Context is a study aid.

10:19In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

10:20The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.

Selected passage

10:21The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

Selected passage

10:22The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Selected passage

10:23It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

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