Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his hands will be paid back to 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 prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
- Jas 2:13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
- Ps 120:3–4What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
- Ps 28:4Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
- Prov 1:31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
- Ps 62:12Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.
- Isa 48:22There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
- Isa 65:13–15Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:
- Isa 65:20There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
- Deut 28:15–68But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
- Ps 1:3–5And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
- Ps 11:5–6The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
- Isa 57:20–21But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
- 2 Cor 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.