Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
Parallel translations
- WEB Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
- BSB Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape.
- NKJV Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.
- NASB Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished, But the descendants of the righteous will be rescued.
- NLT Evil people will surely be punished, but the children of the godly will go free.
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
Be assured, the wicked will not go unpunished, but the children of the righteous will be delivered. God's justice is certain even when it seems delayed.
Overview
The emphatic 'most certainly' underscores the reliability of God's justice: evil will be judged and the righteous will be rescued. The proverb steadies faith when wrongdoing seems to prosper. Its assurance finds its anchor in God's character and is fully vindicated in the final judgment Christ will bring.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 112:1–2Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
- Acts 2:39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
- Jer 32:39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
- Ps 37:26He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
- Prov 16:5Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
- Prov 13:22A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
- Gen 17:7–8And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
- Exod 23:2Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
- Isa 27:4Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
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 11:21 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.