The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.
- KJV The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance 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 the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Matt 6:30–33If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
- Ps 37:25I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
- Ps 34:9–10Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.
- Ps 33:19to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
- Ps 37:19In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
- Zeph 1:18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He will make a sudden end of all who dwell on the earth.
- Job 5:20In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
- Luke 12:31But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you.
- Heb 13:5–6Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
- Isa 33:16he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.
- Prov 14:32The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
- 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.
- Job 20:28The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.
- Job 20:5–8the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
- Job 20:20–22Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure.
- Luke 12:22–24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.
- Hab 2:6–8Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’
- Ps 10:14But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of 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.