Bible · NudgeRead the passage
Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man respects the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
What was happening around this
No individual speaker or named audience is supplied in the verse; it is part of the anonymous proverb collection. Its immediate literary setting is a sequence of short contrasts between righteous and wicked people (vv. 7, 10, 12–13), wisdom and a warped mind (v. 8), and productive work and “fantasies” (v. 11). The text does not identify a specific incident or occasion.
The verses on either side
- The wicked are overthrown, and are no more, but the house of the righteous shall stand.
- A man shall be commended according to his wisdom, but he who has a warped mind shall be despised.
- Better is he who is little known, and has a servant, than he who honors himself, and lacks bread.
- A righteous man respects the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
- He who tills his land shall have plenty of bread, but he who chases fantasies is void of understanding.
- The wicked desires the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.
- An evil man is trapped by sinfulness of lips, but the righteous shall come out of trouble.
Where this comes up