Bible Strands
Proverbs 21:10
The soul of the wicked man craves evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The wisdom writer addresses a general audience, positioning this observation between a warning about domestic strife and a principle regarding the corrective value of punishment.
The words — נֶפֶשׁ (Nepesh) denotes appetite or desire, and רָשָׁע (Rasha') identifies the subject as a wicked person.
The thread — This pattern of corrupted craving appears in 1 John 2:16 regarding worldly desires, contrasts with the command in Proverbs 3:29 against devising evil against a trusting neighbor, and aligns with Micah 3:2’s description of those who love evil and hate good.
Why it lands — The text states that a corrupted appetite actively seeks harm while rendering the neighbor worthless in the wicked person’s sight. It asks the reader to identify where personal cravings are distorting their assessment of others and to interrupt that cycle before perception hardens into action.
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
The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
Cross-references
- 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Proverbs 3:29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he trustfully dwells beside you.
- Micah 3:2 You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones.
- Psalms 36:4 Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
- Isaiah 32:6 For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.
- Mark 7:21 For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
- 1 Corinthians 10:6 These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did.
- 1 Samuel 25:8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on the day of a feast. Please give whatever you can spare to your servants and to your son David.’”
- Psalms 52:2 Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Psalms 112:5 It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.