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Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.
Proverbs 1:31 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes.
  • KJV Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
  • BSB So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
  • ESV therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.
  • NKJV Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
  • NASB “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own schemes.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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

They will eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with their schemes. It matters because it teaches that sin brings its own bitter harvest.

Overview

The principle of reaping what one sows is stated plainly: their chosen path yields its own consequences. God's judgment often takes the form of handing people over to the results of their choices (Rom. 1:24). This warns that rejecting wisdom is finally self-destructive.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Prov 14:14The unfaithful will be repaid for his own ways; likewise a good man will be rewarded for his ways.
  • Jer 6:19Hear, earth! Behold, I will bring evil on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.
  • Prov 22:8He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
  • Job 4:8According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity, and sow trouble, reap the same.
  • Gal 6:7–8Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
  • Isa 3:10–11Tell the righteous “Good!” For they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
  • Jer 2:19“Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backsliding will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, and that my fear is not in you,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 1:31YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.

How Proverbs 1:31 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.