Making a fortune ¹  by a lying tongue is like ²  a vapor driven back and forth; ³  they seek death. ⁴ 

biblegateway Pro 21:6

The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.

Making a fortune through a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death.

Those who gather wealth by lying are wasting time. They are looking for death.

biblegateway Pro 21:6

A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapour and a deadly snare.

The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.

bibleoremus Pro 21:6

The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.

He who makes a fortune by telling lies runs needlessly into the snares of death.

biblegateway Pro 21:6

Getting treasures by a lying tongue Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.

The getting of treasures by a lying tongue [is] a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

biblegateway Pro 21:6

Making a fortune ¹  by a lying tongue is like ²  a vapor driven back and forth; ³  they seek death. ⁴ 

¹ tn The first word of the verse is the noun meaning “doing, deed, work.” The BHS editors suggest reading with the LXX an active participle – “the one who makes” (cf. NAB “He who makes”). The second word means “treasure,” from the verb “lay up, store up.” It is an objective genitive here.

² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

³ tn The Hebrew הֶבֶל נִדָּף (hevel nidaf) is properly “a driven vapor” (“driven” = the Niphal participle). The point of the metaphor is that the ill-gotten gains will vanish into thin air. The LXX has “pursues” (as if reading רֹדֵף, rodef); cf. NAB “chasing a bubble over deadly snares.”

⁴ tn The Hebrew has “seekers of death,” meaning “[they that seek them] are seekers of death,” or that the fortune is “a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.” The sense is not readily apparent. The Greek and the Latin versions have “snares of death”; the form מוֹקְשֵׁי (moqÿshe) was read instead of מְבַקְשֵׁי (mÿvaqshe). This reading does not make a more credible metaphor, and one must explain the loss of the letter ב (bet) in the textual variant. It is, however, slightly easier to interpret in the verse, and is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). But whether the easier reading is the correct one in this case would be difficult to prove.