When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
Parallel translations
- WEB When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.
- KJV When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
- BSB When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
- NASB When things go well for the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.
- NLT The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed; they shout for joy when the wicked die.
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
A city rejoices when the righteous prosper and when the wicked perish. The moral health of a community affects everyone in it.
Overview
This proverb observes that the flourishing of righteous people blesses a whole community, while the downfall of the wicked brings public relief. It teaches that righteousness has communal, not merely private, benefits. The reign of Christ, the perfectly righteous King, is the ultimate good news for which creation longs.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 28:12When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.
- Esth 8:15–16Mordecai went out of the presence of the king in royal clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and was glad.
- Ps 58:10–11The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
- Judg 5:31“So let all your enemies perish, Yahweh, but let those who love him be as the sun when it rises in its strength.” Then the land had rest forty years.
- Prov 28:28When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous thrive.
- Job 27:23Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
- Rev 19:1–7After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God:
- Exod 15:21Miriam answered them, “Sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
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
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 11:10 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.