Treasure gained by lying is vapor in cold air, and what looks like a pursuit of wealth is in fact the pursuit of death.
A sober economic warning lands in Proverbs 21:6: The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death (v. 6). The Hebrew word translated fleeting vapor is hebel—the same word Ecclesiastes uses thirty-eight times to describe the elusive, vaporous nature of life under the sun.
What is gained by lies has the substance of breath in cold air—you can see it for a moment and then you cannot. Worse, what looks like a pursuit of treasure is in fact the pursuit of death. The man thinks he is chasing wealth; he is actually chasing his own destruction.
The verse refuses to romanticize successful dishonesty.
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Proverbs 21:6 meaning
A sober economic warning lands in Proverbs 21:6: The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death (v. 6). The Hebrew word translated fleeting vapor is hebel—the same word Ecclesiastes uses thirty-eight times to describe the elusive, vaporous nature of life under the sun.
What is gained by lies has the substance of breath in cold air—you can see it for a moment and then you cannot. Worse, what looks like a pursuit of treasure is in fact the pursuit of death. The man thinks he is chasing wealth; he is actually chasing his own destruction.
The verse refuses to romanticize successful dishonesty.