Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished, But the descendants of the righteous will be rescued.
Parallel translations
- WEB Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
- KJV Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall 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.
- 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 Yah! Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, who delights greatly in his commandments.
- Acts 2:39For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”
- Jer 32:39and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and of their children after them:
- Ps 37:26All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His offspring is blessed.
- Prov 16:5Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to Yahweh: they shall certainly not be unpunished.
- Prov 13:22A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored for the righteous.
- Gen 17:7–8I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you.
- Exod 23:2“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice.
- Isa 27:4Wrath is not in me, but if I should find briers and thorns, I would do battle! I would march on them and 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.