Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the guides of the wicked—are sin.
Parallel translations
- WEB A high look, and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
- KJV An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.
- NKJV A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin.
- NASB Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.
- NLT Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Pride — haughty eyes and an arrogant heart — is itself sin and the wicked's guide. It matters because it identifies pride as the root of wickedness.
Overview
A 'high look' and proud heart, here called 'the lamp of the wicked,' light the path of the ungodly and are condemned as sin (Proverbs 6:16-17; 16:18). Pride exalts self against God and underlies much evil. Scripture consistently opposes the proud and exalts humility, the disposition God gives grace (James 4:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 6:17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
- 1 Pet 5:5Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Luke 18:14I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Prov 8:13To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
- Isa 2:17So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Prov 21:27The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!
- Ps 10:4In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God.
- Isa 3:16The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—
- Rom 14:23But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.
- Prov 30:13There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes and pretentious are their glances—
- Isa 2:11The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 21:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.