Proverbs 11:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.

NIV: The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.

NASB: A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight.

CSB: Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord, but an accurate weight is his delight.

NLT: The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.

KJV: A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.

NKJV: Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight.

God has a strong displeasure for dishonest business dealings; He approves of those who are honest in their professions. Amos 8:5 quotes crooked businessmen as looking forward to the end of religious holidays so they can pursue their crooked business practices. They ask: "When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances?"

In Solomon's time, scales were used in the transaction of business, and stones were placed in the balances to weigh what was sold or purchased. Dishonest businessmen would use light stones when selling and heavier stones when buying to determine the cost of a product. Today, an equivalent might be dishonest scales in a butcher's shop or rigged pumps at a gas station. Spiritually speaking, any deliberate act to "take advantage" of others would fall into the same category. Dishonest business practices do not escape the Lord's attention.

Proverbs 11:1–8 describes the righteous life of a wise man in contrast to the corrupt life of a wicked man. The righteous person is honest and is delivered from trouble, whereas the wicked person is dishonest, crooked, lustful, and without hope.

Many of the proverbs in this section deal with contrasts between those who are righteous and those who are wicked. Righteous people follow God's will, bring honor and blessing on themselves, and have hope. Evil people disobey God, bring trouble on others, are hated, and their lives lead to disaster.

This continues a long passage filled with Solomon's general, common-sense observations. As in chapter 10, Solomon presents a variety of contrasts. We see distinctions such as those between integrity and dishonesty, trust in wealth and trust in the Lord, wise and foolish talk, true riches and false riches, the blessing of the righteous and the harm caused by the wicked, and the respective rewards of the godly and those who are evil.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.

Accessed 5/5/2024 10:43:24 AM