Bible Strands
Proverbs 12:2
The good man obtains favor from the LORD, but the LORD condemns a man who devises evil.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text is embedded in a wisdom collection, positioned between exhortations to embrace correction and warnings about the instability of wickedness.
The words — The Hebrew term רָ֭צוֹן (Ra.tzon) translates literally to favor, describing what the good man receives from Yahweh, while מְזִמּ֣וֹת (me.zi.Mot) means evil devices, which provoke divine condemnation.
The thread — The motif of obtaining divine favor appears in Proverbs 8:35, while the description of a good man marked by spiritual fullness is echoed in Acts 11:24.
Why it lands — The text states that righteousness yields divine approval while evil plotting invites judgment, requiring readers to choose between disciplined obedience and self-destructive schemes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 8:35 For whoever finds me finds life and obtains the favor of the LORD.
- Acts 11:24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
- Psalms 112:5 It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.
- Romans 5:7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
- Proverbs 1:31 So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
- Isaiah 32:5 No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.
- Psalms 9:15 The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
- Proverbs 6:18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil,
- Ecclesiastes 8:8 As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.