The Meaning of Proverbs 14:12 Explained

Proverbs 14:12

KJV: There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

YLT: There is a way -- right before a man, And its latter end are ways of death.

Darby: There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the ways of death.

ASV: There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

There is  a way  which seemeth right  unto  a man,  but the end  thereof [are] the ways  of death. 

What does Proverbs 14:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Without the additional light of divine revelation we might conclude that any number of courses of action will lead to good ends. Nevertheless, God"s Word helps us see the end of some of these paths so that we can avoid them. Salvation by works is one example of this. As someone once told me, "I was climbing the ladder of success, but then I discovered that it was leaning against the wrong wall." This proverb warns that apparently good roads may prove fatal to the moral life (cf. Proverbs 7:27; Proverbs 16:25; Matthew 7:13-14) because their destination is wrong.

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 14

1  A wise woman builds her house

What do the individual words in Proverbs 14:12 mean?

There is a way [that seems] right to a man but its end [is] the way of death
יֵ֤שׁ דֶּ֣רֶךְ יָ֭שָׁר לִפְנֵי־ אִ֑ישׁ וְ֝אַחֲרִיתָ֗הּ דַּרְכֵי־ מָֽוֶת

יֵ֤שׁ  There  is 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יֵשׁ  
Sense: being, existence, substance, there is or are.
דֶּ֣רֶךְ  a  way 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
יָ֭שָׁר  [that  seems]  right 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יָשָׁר 
Sense: straight, upright, correct, right.
אִ֑ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
וְ֝אַחֲרִיתָ֗הּ  but  its  end  [is] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: אַחֲרִית  
Sense: after part, end.
דַּרְכֵי־  the  way 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
מָֽוֶת  of  death 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.