Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his hands will be paid back to him.
Parallel translations
- KJV Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
- BSB Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
- NKJV Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, For the reward of his hands shall be given him.
- NASB Woe to the wicked! It will go badly for him, For what he deserves will be done to him.
- NLT But the wicked are doomed, for they will get exactly what they deserve.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Woe to the wicked, for disaster awaits them as their deeds are repaid. Judgment falls justly on those who do evil.
Overview
This is the counterpart to verse 10, declaring just recompense for the wicked. God's moral order ensures that evil deeds return upon the doer. The verse affirms divine justice, which is finally satisfied either in judgment or in the cross of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Eccl 8:13But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow; because he doesn’t fear God.
- Jas 2:13For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Ps 120:3–4What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you, you deceitful tongue?
- Ps 28:4Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve.
- Prov 1:31Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes.
- Ps 62:12Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness, for you reward every man according to his work.
- Isa 48:22“There is no peace”, says Yahweh, “for the wicked.”
- Isa 65:13–15Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed;
- Isa 65:20“No more will there be an infant who only lives a few days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child will die one hundred years old, and the sinner being one hundred years old will be accursed.
- Deut 28:15–68But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come on you, and overtake you.
- Ps 1:3–5He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
- Ps 11:5–6Yahweh examines the righteous, but the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates.
- Isa 57:20–21But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can’t rest, and its waters cast up mire and mud.
- 2 Cor 5:10For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 3:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.