# Proverbs 21.1

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-01 | updated: 2026-06-01 -->

**Book:** [Proverbs](/codex/proverbs/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> **1. The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever he will.**
>
> 2. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes; But Jehovah weigheth the hearts. 3. To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice. (Proverbs 21:1-3, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> **1. The king’s heart is in Yahweh’s hand like the watercourses. He turns it wherever he desires.**
>
> 2. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the hearts. 3. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice. (Proverbs 21:1-3, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> **1. The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.**
>
> 2. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts. 3. To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. (Proverbs 21:1-3, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> **1. Rivulets of waters [is] the heart of a king in the hand of Jehovah, Wherever He pleaseth He inclineth it.**
>
> 2. Every way of a man [is] right in his own eyes, And Jehovah is pondering hearts. 3. To do righteousness and judgment, Is chosen of Jehovah rather than sacrifice. (Proverbs 21:1-3, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Concepts:**

- [Concurrentism](/codex/concurrentism/)
- [Divine Conservationism](/codex/divine-conservationism/)
- [Foreknowledge vs Causation](/codex/foreknowledge-vs-causation/)
- [Free Will and Determinism](/codex/free-will-and-determinism/)

**Lexicon:**

- [H3824 - lebab](/codex/h3824-lebab/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.