Getting treasures by a lying tongue Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.
Parallel translations
- WEB Getting treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.
- KJV The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
- BSB Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.
- 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 gained dishonestly dwindles away, but he who gathers by hand makes it grow.
- Prov 10:2Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.
- Jer 17:11As the partridge that sits on eggs which she has not laid, so is he who gets riches, and not by right; in the middle of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a fool.
- Prov 20:21An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning, won’t be blessed in the end.
- Prov 8:36But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death.”
- 1 Tim 6:9–10But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
- Prov 30:8Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me;
- 2 Pet 2:3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
- Prov 22:8He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
- Prov 20:14“It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.
- Titus 1:11whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain’s sake.
- Ezek 18:31Cast away from you all your transgressions, in which you have transgressed; and make yourself a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Israel?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.