What Does Proverbs 21:10 Mean?
The living soul of the wicked craves evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.THE KEY
The desire for evil changes what the living self can see: the neighbor receives no favor in its eyes.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks now: when the living self desires evil, the person beside it receives no favor in its sight. The fracture appears in both the desire and the withholding of regard.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that wishing harm is harmless while it stays inside: the verse shows that desire already withholding favor from the neighbor.
THE ROOT
אִוְּתָה
ʾiwwətāh
GROWS FROM
אוה
to desire, long for
“craves” in this verse is ʾiwwətāh. This form names a craving, not merely noticing evil. The desire belongs to the living self and is directed toward what is harmful.
ALSO GROWS
ʾāvāh: to desire, long for
אָוָה
The verb form shows the longing carried by “desireth.”
taʾavah: desire, longing
תַּאֲוָה
The related noun makes the craving explicit, echoing the appetite of the living self.
יַחֹן
yaḥōn
GROWS FROM
חנן
to show favor, act graciously
“finds no favor” in this verse is yaḥōn. The verse uses this root in a negated verb: the neighbor receives no favor in the wicked person’s eyes. Favor appears as regard that can be extended or withheld.
ALSO GROWS
ḥēn: favor, gracious regard
חֵן
The related noun names the favor the neighbor does not receive.
ḥannûn: gracious, showing favor
חַנּוּן
This related form describes one who grants favor, making the verse’s withheld regard especially clear.
THE PATTERN
When desire welcomes evil, regard for other people gives way to disregard or harm.
For the wicked flaunts the craving of his living soul, and the one who cuts for gain blesses and spurns the LORD.And the LORD saw that the harm of humankind was great in the earth, and that every shaping of the thoughts of his heart was only harm all the day.From where do wars and battles come among you? Do they not come from here, from your pleasures that wage war in your limbs?THE THREAD
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before your face, and I will call out the name of the LORD before you. I will favor whom I favor, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.Proverbs’ “findeth no favour” and Exodus’ “be gracious” draw on חנן (ḥānan, show favor). One shows favor withheld from a neighbor; the other speaks of favor given, making the shared word’s relational force visible.
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