Yahweh will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.
Parallel translations
- KJV The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
- BSB The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.
- NKJV The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He casts away the desire of the wicked.
- NASB The Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger, But He will reject the craving of the wicked.
- NLT The Lord will not let the godly go hungry, but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked.
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
Yahweh will not let the righteous go hungry but thwarts the craving of the wicked. God provides for his own and frustrates the desires of the wicked.
Overview
This proverb affirms God's faithful care for the righteous and his opposition to the wicked. As a general principle of God's providence, it assures believers that he sustains those who trust him (cf. Matthew 6:33). Proverbs speaks in broad terms rather than absolute guarantees in every case, yet it reveals God's settled disposition toward righteousness, fulfilled in his provision for all who are his in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Ps 37:3Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
- Matt 6:30–33But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?
- Ps 37:25I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
- Ps 34:9–10Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him.
- Ps 33:19to deliver their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine.
- Ps 37:19They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
- Zeph 1:18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.
- Job 5:20In famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword.
- Luke 12:31But seek God’s Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.
- Heb 13:5–6Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”
- Isa 33:16he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.
- Prov 14:32The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.
- Ps 112:10The wicked will see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish.
- Job 20:28The increase of his house shall depart. They shall rush away in the day of his wrath.
- Job 20:5–8that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?
- Job 20:20–22“Because he knew no quietness within him, he shall not save anything of that in which he delights.
- Luke 12:22–24He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear.
- Hab 2:6–8Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’
- Ps 10:14But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.
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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 10:3 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.