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Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs › Chapter 12 › Proverbs 12:2

What Does Proverbs 12:2 Mean?

A good man obtains favor from the LORD,But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.Proverbs 12:2 · NKJV

Quick answer

The verse locates the outcome with God rather than with circumstances. What each man receives comes from the same source.

Read both lines

The pairing is careful about where the action sits. The good man obtains favor, which is receiving rather than earning, and the second line makes God the active party toward the schemer. What separates the two is not accomplishment but intention, since the second man is defined by what he devises rather than by what he has managed to pull off. The verse assumes something this book assumes everywhere: a life is being seen, including the parts of it that never made it out of the planning stage.

Related: Proverbs 8:35 · Proverbs 12:20 · Proverbs 15:3

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. Full copyright information. Scripture provided by API.Bible.

Go Deeper

If this verse has been used to put weight on you that it was never carrying, ask about it directly.