Passage
It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For in righteousness a throne is established.
Proverbs 16:12 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Proverbs 16:10 A divine decision is in the lips of the king; His mouth should not err in judgment.
Proverbs 16:11 A just balance and scales belong to Yahweh; All the weights of the bag are His work.
Proverbs 16:12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For in righteousness a throne is established.
Proverbs 16:13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And he who speaks uprightly is loved.
Proverbs 16:14 The wrath of a king is like messengers of death, But a wise man will atone for it.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "abomination", "kings", "commit", "wickedness", "righteousness", "throne", and "established". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "abomination" and "kings", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 11's "A just balance and scales belong to..." into verse 13's "Righteous lips are the delight of kings...", so "abomination" and "kings" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "abomination" and "kings" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.