The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
Parallel translations
- WEB Getting treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.
- BSB Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.
- NKJV Getting treasures by a lying tongue Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.
- NASB The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.
- NLT Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.
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
Wealth gained by lies is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare. It matters because dishonest riches are worthless and lead to ruin.
Overview
Treasures amassed through deceit vanish like mist and lead those who pursue them toward death (Proverbs 10:2; 13:11). The verse exposes the emptiness and danger of ill-gotten gain. Lasting good comes only through honesty and righteousness, not through lying lips.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 13:11Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
- Prov 10:2Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.
- Jer 17:11As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
- Prov 20:21An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.
- Prov 8:36But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
- 1 Tim 6:9–10But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
- Prov 30:8Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
- 2 Pet 2:3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
- Prov 22:8He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
- Prov 20:14It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
- Titus 1:11Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.
- Ezek 18:31Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 21:6 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.