The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectations of the wicked will perish.
Parallel translations
- WEB The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hope of the wicked will perish.
- KJV The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
- NKJV The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish.
- NASB The hope of the righteous is gladness, But the expectation of the wicked perishes.
- NLT The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.
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
The righteous look forward to joy, but the hope of the wicked comes to nothing. What we hope in determines whether our future is gladness or disappointment.
Overview
Hope grounded in God yields lasting joy, while hope set on sin or self ultimately perishes. The proverb contrasts two destinies that flow from two different foundations for hope. For the believer this hope is secured in Christ, in whom our expectation can never be put to shame.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Job 8:13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.
- Ps 73:24–26You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.
- Rom 15:13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Prov 11:7When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes, and the hope of his strength vanishes.
- 2 Th 2:16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,
- Rom 5:2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
- Job 11:20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
- Ps 112:10The wicked man will see and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked will perish.
- Rom 12:12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
- Prov 14:32The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
- Luke 16:23–26In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
- Ps 16:9Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell securely.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 10:28 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.