The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
Parallel translations
- WEB Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
- KJV The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
- BSB The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.
- NASB A wicked person earns deceptive wages, But one who sows righteousness gets a true reward.
- NLT Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.
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
Wicked work brings deceptive, fleeting pay, but sowing righteousness yields a sure reward. Righteous living produces lasting fruit that evil cannot.
Overview
Using the imagery of wages and sowing, this proverb contrasts the illusory earnings of the wicked with the dependable harvest of those who sow righteousness. It teaches that godliness yields a reward as certain as planted seed. The New Testament takes up this image, promising that those who sow to the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Gal 6:8–9For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
- Eccl 10:8He who digs a pit may fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
- Hos 10:12–13Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to kindness. Break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek Yahweh, until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
- Jas 3:18Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
- Ps 126:5–6Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
- Prov 22:8He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
- Prov 1:18but these lay wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.
- Prov 5:22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
- Isa 59:5–8They hatch adders’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web. He who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.
- Job 27:13–23“This is the portion of a wicked man with God, the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
- Eph 4:22that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 11:18 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.