Proverbs 14 · Verse 12

Proverbs 14:12

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Proverbs 14:12, King James Version

Proverbs 14:12 in other translations

BSB	There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
WEB	There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
ASV	There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death.
YLT	There is a way--right before a man, And its latter end are ways of death.
DARBY	There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the ways of death.
BBE	There is a way which seems straight before a man, but its end is the ways of death.
Webster	There is a way which seemeth right to a man, but the end of it are the ways of death.

What does Proverbs 14:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

12. end thereof--or, "reward," what results (compare Pr 5:4). ways of death--leading to it.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man - This may be his easily besetting sin, the sin of his constitution, the sin of his trade. Or it may be his own false views of religion: he may have an imperfect repentance, a false faith, a very false creed; and he may persuade himself that he is in the direct way to heaven. Many of the papists, when they were burning the saints of God in the flames at Smithfield, thought they were doing God service! And in the late Irish massacre, the more of the Protestants they piked to death, shot, or burnt, the more they believed they deserved of God's favor and their Church's gratitude. But cruelty and murder are the short road, the near way, to eternal perdition.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

The ways of carelessness, of worldliness, and of sensuality, seem right to those that walk in them; but self-deceivers prove self-destroyers. See the vanity of carnal mirth.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 14:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יֵ֤שׁyeshthereH3426

דֶּ֣רֶךְDe.rekh[is] a wayH1870

יָ֭שָׁרYa.shorrightH3477

לִפְנֵי\־lif.nei-<to> beforeH6440

אִ֑ישׁ'Isha personH376

וְ֝אַחֲרִיתָ֗הּve.'a.cha.ri.Tahand end itsH319

דַּרְכֵי\־dar.khei-[is the] ways ofH1870

מָֽוֶת\׃Ma.vetdeathH4194

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Proverbs 14:12

Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
Galatians 6:3
For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Luke 13:24
Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Romans 6:21
What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Proverbs 30:12
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
James 1:22
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Ephesians 5:6
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

12:15; 16:25; 30:12; Mt 7:13,14; Lu 13:24; Ro 6:21; Ga 6:3; Eph 5:6
Jas 1:22

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Proverbs 14:11
The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Proverbs 14:13
Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

Read all of Proverbs 14

Proverbs 14:12 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Hay camino que al hombre parece derecho; empero su fin son caminos de muerte.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Il y a telle voie qui semble droite à un homme, mais des voies de mort en sont la fin.
German Elberfelder 1871	Da ist der Weg, der einem Menschen gerade erscheint, aber sein Ende sind Wege des Todes.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Est via quæ videtur homini justa, novissima autem ejus deducunt ad mortem.